Who Gets Invited to Kenny Pickett's Wedding?

As seen everywhere on Pittsburgh Steelers fan sites and social media, quarterback Kenny Pickett got married over the weekend. Congratulations to Kenny and his bride Amy! Kenny Pickett signed a contract for $14 million including a $7 million signing bonus, so money probably wasn't an issue for his nuptials and reception. For the sake of this blog post though, let’s say that the Picketts had a generous though not unlimited budget. So who in the Steelers organization makes the guest list? Full disclosure: It’s very possible that the wedding guest list was posted online, but I haven’t seen it and don’t plan on searching for it. This post is all about speculation.

A starting NFL quarterback is generally considered the leader of the team. As a team leader, Pickett may have wanted to include as many members of the team at the wedding as possible. I think it would have made perfect sense to invite the entire Steelers offensive line. You want them to be on your good side. However, did Pickett include offensive tackle Broderick Jones, the first round draft pick from the University of Georgia who just signed his rookie contract last week? Probably not since invitations likely went out before the April 2023 NFL draft. What about the coaching staff? I feel like it would be a big deal if Pickett didn't invite coach Mike Tomlin or offensive coordinator Matt Canada. 

What about the rest of the team? Maybe Pickett decided that he would only invite veteran offensive players. If that's the case, do you have to invite both sets of Watt and Heyward brothers? Seems like you would want to have Cameron Heyward and T.J. Watt at your wedding, but if you invite them, you have to include Minkah Fitzpatrick, Tyson Alualu, etc. The numbers on this guest list are going to add up quickly.

So who would you include or who misses the cut?

Photo by John Bacolo - Gabelli Studio and shared in People Magazine. (The money from People Magazine to have access to these pictures could likely pay for several additional tables at the wedding!)

Sean: A Professional Journalist?

Although I'm not a professional journalist, I like to think that I abide by journalistic standards, I'm not just going to write a blog post to spread unconfirmed rumors or gossip.* I give credit when quoting other articles or using photos taken by someone else. Sure, I received a cease and desist notice from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette years ago for using one of their photos, but I did give the photographer and newspaper credit before removing the picture from my blog.

I mention this because I entered the Washington, D.C. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists' annual journalism contest earlier this year in the blog/online news category. The general guidelines state that work entered must be of local interest or about the workings of Washington, D.C. and the greater DC metro region. Since I write about a wide variety of topics, including many about Pittsburgh, I entered my May 2022 post about the end of the Celebrate Fairfax festival, which was the largest annual festival in Northern Virginia but is now extinct.

SPJ announced the winners at the recent Dateline Awards held at the National Press Club. Since I was not one of the three finalists, I did not attend the ceremony/dinner. I later learned that the winner was WTOP.com. Although I knew that I entered a category in an open division, to quote John McEnroe, YOU CANNOT BE SERIOUS!

WTOP is a radio station and institution in DC. The station delivers local news and gives traffic and weather updates every 10 minutes 24/7. The website is a companion to the radio station and probably has dozens of employees between writers, editors, photographers, web designers, marketing staff, and more. How can Sean's Ramblings compete with that? The answer: it can't. 

It was nice thinking that I could be in the same category and room as professional journalists, but I guess I really haven't reached that level. Yet. Now if I can just get a media pass to a Washington Nationals game or the Oscars or Emmys, maybe one day I could be considered a professional journalist. 

* Please don't look at my previous 3,300 blog posts to see if this is accurate. If I did write a post spreading unconfirmed rumors, it was probably in an attempt to be funny and was not intended to be serious.

My Kohl's Victory

I visited Kohl's recently and purchased a short-sleeve button-down shirt for $24 and a pair of shorts for $29.99. Not the most exciting thing you'll read online today, but I rarely buy clothes, and these purchases made sense. Later that day, I received a 20% off coupon in the mail from Kohl's. Between the coupon and my wife not being a fan of the shirt I bought (I already had one that looks similar), I went back to Kohl's a few days later and returned both the shirt and shorts. I then repurchased the shorts, which were on sale for a lower price. With the 20% coupon, the cost of the shorts was $19.99, a savings of $10 in only a few days. I then bought a nice "dress shirt," something I badly need since some of my long-sleeve button-down shirts are older than my recent 6th grade graduate, for $27.99.

The total was $47.98 before tax, and Kohl's had a promotion where you get $10 Kohl's cash for every $50 spent. I went back through the store trying to find something useful for slightly more than $2. It was like going shopping on Wheel of Fortune. (Why did they always have ceramic animals?)

I found a bath towel for $3.99 (after the 20% off coupon) and earned the $10 Kohl's cash. So now, I have a new pair of shorts for $10 less than originally purchased, a new towel, a new shirt, and $10 off our next Kohl's trip, which will be soon to get clothes for the kids for camp. Good job, me!

Friday Video: River Iris

One of the podcasts I listen to regularly is The Tony Kornheiser Show. As a former Washington Post columnist and co-host of ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, much of the show is about sports, but Tony also discusses random things about his life and in the Washington DC area. The podcast also features original music, and a recent episode included Passenger Seat by River Iris. I love the guitar riff that starts the song. Just a great song to listen to while driving! 

Friday Video: 6 Underground

I went down a rabbit hole on YouTube recently of 90s alternative songs with female lead singers. There are some really amazing songs that definitely take me back. 6 Underground, this smash by Sneaker Pimps, has been in my head for weeks, so I thought I would share it today. 

Don't think 'cos I understand, I care.

And with that, enjoy your weekend!

Neighborhood News

This is somewhat of a follow-up blog post. Several months ago, I complained about my community management company announcing the removal of steps in my neighborhood. Although several of us tried to fight it, we failed. Apparently, the stairs were a liability issue and too expensive to fix to bring up to code. So instead of doing nothing, our community is going to have to pay somewhere around $2000 (though I don't know the exact cost) for the removal of the stairs and the addition of more mulch and plants. I really hope we have money in the budget for this since I don’t want our fees going up next year. Here are the steps before and now without the steps.

I guess it looks nice, but I’d rather have stairs. While the stairs were removed last week, we had a bigger issue a few days ago. Between 9:00 and 10:00 AM someone broke into two cars right near where the stairs used to end on the main street. There were several other break-ins around the same time in the neighborhood too. Very surprising that this occurred so brazenly in the middle of the day since there are almost always cars driving by and people walking.

I really want to blame the neighborhood management company for this. Maybe the person/people who broke into the cars wouldn't have done this if they saw the awkward stairs rather than the nice new mulch and plants! 

James Madison-Oakton Playoff Baseball

The Moose arrived home from elementary school recently and said that he wanted to attend a high school baseball game later that evening. We had nothing scheduled, so I took my three boys to a quick fast-food dinner and then their first high school baseball game. Guys night out!

This was a regional semifinal game between James Madison High School (21-4) and Oakton High School (16-8) located less than 1.5 miles away from each other. The place was packed since it was a playoff game between two rival schools. The limited bleachers at James Madison HS were full when we arrived, so we watched the game standing against the fence where the third base line met left field. Well, I watched the game as the kids played various football and baseball games with some of The Moose's friends in the huge grassy area adjacent to the field. 

I should probably mention that one of the attractions of the game was James Madison pitcher/first baseman Bryce Eldridge. In separate mock MLB drafts over the last few weeks, Keith Law of The Athletic projects the Baltimore Orioles to select Eldridge #17 overall while Jonathan Mayo of MLB.com (who apparently used to play basketball with my brother) has him going to the San Diego Padres at #25. It definitely appears that Eldridge will go in the first round, so seeing someone play before they are potentially a star was intriguing. Of course, it turns out that Eldridge didn't pitch in the game, and Oakton elected to intentionally walk him for all four plate appearances. More on this momentarily.

In preparation of writing this blog post, I searched online for a recap of the game. Some type of news article or a blog post. I came up with absolutely nothing except for this recap from the GameChanger app, which is clearly auto-generated. I guess I'll give a mini summary of the game. Tied 1-1 after 5 innings, Oakton scored 5 runs in the top of the 6th. While I might be wrong on the specifics, I believe that Oakton retired the first Madison batter in the bottom of the 6th before intentionally walking Eldridge. This makes no sense to me. Yes, Eldridge is the best player on the field, but the worst-case scenario is that he hits a solo home run. Maybe you think there's a 75% chance that he'll get on base, but that's still a 25% chance that he gets out. Of course, Eldridge came around to score and Madison ended up putting up 4 runs after a series of hits and errors. Then, down 6-5 in the bottom of the 7th (the last inning), Madison scored two runs including the walk-off hit batter which GameChanger described in great detail with multiple quotes from managers and players. A little local journalism would have been nice.

The highlight for the kids was the chance to meet Eldridge after the game. He stuck around on the field and was gracious in signing autographs for kids while he probably would have preferred celebrating the win with his teammates, family, and friends. I'm now definitely rooting for him, and my kids are too.

Once again, I show that I'm terrible at writing blog posts titles. There are probably countless options better than the one here.

Random Ramblings

* I was the assistant coach for Pedro Tulo’s soccer team in fall 2021. I recently worked as a referee where one of his teammates from that team played. I believe that this was the first time that I was a referee for a kid that I coached. The kid definitely didn’t recognize me, but he played an extremely solid game, so I feel like I deserve some credit for this!

* I think I found my calling: being a soccer coach for 5 year-old kids. I really enjoy coaching Luigi's soccer team. It's a half hour of various "practice" activities followed by 30 minutes of either 2v2 or 3v3 games against another team. There are no other practices during the week, and an hour total (followed by snacks) is the perfect amount of time for them. They don't have the attention or focus for more than this. I try to make all the activities fun. For example, there's a game called "Ouch" where they try to kick the soccer ball at me and if they're successful in hitting me, I say ouch. Red Light, Green Light is also a big hit, especially since we're not using Squid Game rules. That probably wouldn't go over well!

* I donated blood on Sunday and feel like a superhero!

* Later on Sunday, I opened a porta potty during Pedro Tulo’s track practice, and there was a bird inside. I held the door open, and the bird flew out after several seconds. While I have no idea how the bird got in there, and I was definitely startled when I first saw the bird flying around, I felt like a superhero again!

* I entered one of my blog posts into a writing contest for Washington DC area journalists. The information states that finalists would be notified by the second week of May. Today is May 23rd, so it seems like I didn’t make the cut..

* Ithaca College publishes the ICView Magazine several times per year geared towards alumni, students, staff and faculty and basically anyone already involved in the community. My goal is to get into ICVIew someday though I don't think there's anything interesting about me that would make for an interesting article. Being a soccer coach for 5 year olds probably doesn't qualify.

* Finally, in less than 24 hours, I heard Never Let You Go by Third Eye Blind on a commercial and while grocery shopping. While I could view this as an "I'm so old" moment, I'll be positive and share that I'm happy that the band is still making money off of a 23 year-old song. Still a great song too!

Sheffield Wednesday Wins Greatest Comeback in EFL Playoff History

I don't write about Sheffield Wednesday very often. While I watch highlight videos, follow Twitter for updates during games, and listen to the Owls Americast podcast, I haven't watched a live Wednesday game in about a year. That changed over the last week as I watched two Wednesday-Peterborough United playoff matches.

A quick summary of English football for those who don't follow. You know what, I'll let the first episode of Welcome to Wrexham explain. (Warning: One bad word in the video.)

Sheffield Wednesday has been around since 1867 with a long history of playing in England's top league. They were actually a founding member of the Premier League in 1992 but got relegated after the 1999-2000 season. That's when I was first introduced to the team though I probably didn't start following them closely until about a decade ago. Wednesday haven't been to the Premier League since 2000 and were relegated from the Championship division to League One (the third division) following the 2020-2021 season. The way English Football works is that the top two teams during the season earn an automatic promotion. Then, the teams finishing 3rd through 6th compete in the playoffs with the winner also going up. Wednesday finished 3rd this season meaning that they played a two-game series against 6th place Peterborough United. Peterborough won the first game last Friday 4-0 in an awful game. So to advance to the final at Wembley Stadium for a chance to move up to Championship League, all Sheffield Wednesday had to do was come back from a four-goal deficit. No team had ever been down more than two goals after the first leg and advanced, but to quote Jim Carrey, so you're telling me there's a chance. 

And then this happened:

Incredible. I don't think I've been this excited about a game and celebrated so much after a goal (in this case Liam Palmer's goal at the end of regulation) since the US-Algeria 2010 World Cup match.

I should probably mention that I almost predicted the result. I published this tweet several hours before the game.

When Peterborough scored in extra time, I figured, yeah, this is just like Wednesday. Get our hopes up and lose in the worst way possible. Fortunately, the team came through and won an amazing game.

Now, Wednesday will play at Wembley Stadium at 10:00 AM Eastern time on Memorial Day. I'll be watching!

Here's a little more about the game from the BBC and ESPN. Sheffield Wednesday also posted an extended video of highlights of the match. I may watch this all weekend long!

Campout Lockout

I recently celebrated my birthday by going on a Cub Scouts camping trip with Pedro Tulo. If I got to choose what I wanted to do on my birthday, attending a rainy campout and sleeping on the ground inside a tent probably wouldn't make my top 10. Or top 100. As I wrote in the fall, camping really isn't my thing. My son likes his Cub Scout pack, and everyone is nice and helpful, which is fantastic as I have very little to offer in terms of cooking, setting up a tent, etc.

On Saturday night, the rain finally stopped and the activities (and smores) concluded, so it was time to settle down for the night. Pedro Tulo and a friend ran ahead to use the campground restrooms. The campground has about 6-8 individual restrooms with sinks and showers. While I feel like most of the people with RVs don't necessarily need showers, they are nice if you just show up with a car and a tent. You can also get away from the dozens of Scouts for a minute or two to use the restroom in peace. 

Anyway, I found Pedro Tulo as he finished brushing his teeth, and I took his restroom after he departed. I placed my things down and apparently locked the door while I held it open. I hoped that Pedro Tulo would wait for me, but he decided that he wanted to head back by himself without a flashlight. As I tried to convince him to wait a few minutes to walk back with me, the door closed behind me. I attempted to open the restroom, but I managed to lock myself out. Not great, Bob.

Here are the items stuck inside the restroom: A lantern, a towel, my toothbrush, toothpaste, my contact lens case, contact lens solution, and my multifocal prescription glasses that I just bought last fall. Some other scouts/parents we knew tried to reopen the door by using a library card. (I didn't want to mess up a credit card.) That didn't work, so we went back to the campsite and found one of the scout leaders. I left Pedro Tulo with some friends, and a scout leader and I found the campground hosts.I was not familiar with the campground host position. Apparently, you get to stay at the campsite for free (and some places offer a small salary) in exchange for greeting and assisting campers, performing janitorial duties, and being available for late night emergencies. In my case, it was a 9:00PM emergency. I had another flashlight in the tent, and I could skip brushing my teeth, but I kind of needed my glasses.

The first host didn't have extra restroom keys, so he found the second host. This host had keys, which worked on the other bathroom doors but not at the one with my stuff. I found out later that some teenagers damaged the door last fall by setting fire to toilet paper in the bathroom. If I ever get a bill for my kids causing damage by lighting toilet paper on fire, they're going to be grounded for a year. The park replaced the door, but the master key didn't work on this particular bathroom. Despite being an amateur locksmith (I'm not sure I want to know what that means, but I'm picturing an Ocean's Eleven heist), the host could not open the door. The only option was to wait for park staff the next morning. I went back to our tent and went to sleep wearing my contacts.

That's pretty much the end of the story. I found park staff early Sunday morning, and his keys didn't work either. Fortunately, he called one of the managers on site and did have a key. I guess that Pedro Tulo and I helped the staff and campground hosts learn that they need a new key for the one particular bathroom.

Goodbye Ziggy

Over the last few years/decades, I've found that I express myself better through writing than through words. Writing gives me time to think things through, and I can easily edit what I type. I've also found writing, particularly through this blog, therapeutic. I really hope that this helps me right now.

On Wednesday, we had to say goodbye to Ziggy. We adopted Ziggy in November 2008 as a kitten from the Fairfax County Animal Shelter. He was with us when we moved into our current home in early 2010 and prior to the kids. I remember worrying about how he would respond to kids and how they would respond to him. It turned out that we didn't need to worry since he was fantastic. He kept us company during feedings and trying to get the kids back to sleep in the middle of the night, and he was patient as they got older and would pull his tail. 

Throughout this time, Ziggy would always find time for the two of us. When the kids went to sleep, he would curl up next to me on the couch. For many years, as soon as I got into bed, he would jump up and join me under the covers. He made regular appearances on Zoom when I worked from home and was a comfort during COVID always being near me as I worked. Sure, there were times he was annoying. Many nights, he would bite any loose paper around to get my attention to give him more dry food. He did this multiple times a night even with a full bowl. 

A few months ago, we noticed Ziggy vomiting nearly every day, so we scheduled an appointment with the vet. They discovered that he had a tumor in his lung which may or may not have contributed to the vomiting. Based on his age, it didn't make sense to have any type of surgery. The vet prescribed Ziggy medicine, and although he vomited less, he still dry-heaved every day or two. He also ate less and less even with medicine designed to increase his appetite. Without food or water, his energy was down. He barely moved from the bed the last few days and his walking was unsturdy. It was time for ZIggy to go. We know that this is the right decision, but it didn’t make it any easier. I'm typing this on the couch, and he's not sitting next to me. When I went to sleep, he wasn’t by my feet as he usually was. When walking around the house, I find myself glancing at places Ziggy usually was to see if he’s there. I’m sure this will fade over time, but I still expect to see him there.

The kids are sad but not overly so. Pedro Tulo and The Moose have already asked about getting a new pet. I’m not sure when or if that will happen.

A relationship with a pet is different than anything else. When I go away, I can still talk or FaceTime with my family. Pets may understand that you’re leaving based on seeing you pack a suitcase, but they don’t know when you’ll be back. My wife shared that Ziggy would often sit by the front door waiting for me to come home when I was away. Ziggy was also the first pet I had as an adult. The first pet I was truly responsible for. We had a bond, a connection.

I’m tearing up again while typing this, so I’m going to stop. I’m really going to miss Ziggy, and I’m glad he’s been part of my life. Here are some pictures through the years in no particular order.

Passover On A Boat

We took a family cruise with 4,500 of our closest friends for Spring Break. Royal Caribbean has enormous boats that include multiple dining rooms, pools, water slides, a casino, a miniature golf course, a basketball court, theaters, an ice skating rink (because why wouldn’t you put an ice skating rink on a boat?) and much more. While I could write about how I made a cruise activities staff member think I was a professional golfer, lost playing bingo and trivia, share that The Moose (now 12!) won a free throw competition against teenagers and adults, or other highlights from the trip, I'm going to write about the Passover Seder, which is the ritual dinner to start the holiday. Wow, that was a really long sentence!

Passover, one of the most important holidays in the Jewish calendar, commemorates the Israelites becoming free after being slaves in Egypt. Think The Ten Commandments starring Charlton Heston and Yul Brynner. Too old of a reference? Go with the animated The Prince of Egypt. Anyway, some cruises have a rabbi and/or a formal Passover Seder. Our cruise did not. Instead, the cruise provided a portion of a dining hall for a self-led Seder. While we thought the cruise was going to provide prayer books, they did not. Fortunately, another family brought a Seder plate and Haggadahs, which are the Passover prayer books. Unfortunately, the Haggadahs were completely in Hebrew with no English at all.

I guess now would be a good time to mention that there was just my family and another family in attendance. The other extended family consisted of a couple, their three elementary school aged kids, and the father's parents. The family was from Israel and moved to the United States several years ago. The grandparents still live there and only speak Hebrew, so the other family led a fast Seder all in Hebrew. We participated in a few prayers here and there, but any readings were recited quickly by the dad or grandfather.

It ended up being a nice and unique Seder. The cruise provided a good meal of brisket, chicken, matzah ball soup, and more including Manischewitz wine, which one of the other family's kids quickly discovered was not grape juice. We had a nice conversation, and there was a huge area to hide the afikomen (it's a piece of matzah that kids try to find). And again, did I mention that this was on a boat?

The next day, we took a tour of Nassau in The Bahamas and stopped in the Atlantis hotel. I noticed a few men walking around wearing kippahs, a traditional head covering, and realized that people were celebrating Passover at the hotel. My aunt used to go to "Passover resorts," where you spend the entire holiday away and have all of your meals prepared, but I'd imagine that Passover at the Atlantis is at a completely different level. Sure enough, celebrating the entire holiday for a family of 4 is probably going to cost five figures and that doesn't include airfare.

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

Canadians can bring back so much more than Americans!

Advice Needed For Television and Streaming

We have had DirecTV for television since 2010 and are generally happy with their service. Part of the reason we initially became DirecTV subscribers was for the NFL Sunday Ticket so I could watch Pittsburgh Steelers games from the comfort of my home. While we stopped purchasing Sunday Ticket several years ago due to the cost and being busy with kids’ activities over the weekend, DirecTV gave us the NFL package for free the last two years. Of course, Sunday Ticket moves to YouTube TV this fall, and paying $250 (plus the cost of subscribing to YouTube TV) does not seem to fit into our budget. 

I find that we watch less television than we used to even though we have DirecTV as well as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Disney Plus. So today's question is what should we do if we want to spend less money on television? Actually, the question is what do you do for your television and streaming services? Are you saving money and still getting all of the content that you want?

I will preface this by stating that having network telvision (ABC, CBS, NBC, and FOX) is a must. I also still like the idea of network television, and I try to watch the first 20 minutes of Good Morning America to start the day. We also watch live sports more than anything else, so besides watching games on these networks, we currently view sports and sports programming on the ESPN channels, MLB Network, NFL Network, TBS, and TNT (and occasionally FS1, NBA TV, and The Tennis Channel). What kind of options are available to keep these stations with some streaming services at a lower price.

You make the call!

Chewy Is Great

This is not a paid advertisement, but I really wish that it was. Ziggy, our cat who will turn 15 this summer, needed to take some medicine recently. The vet suggested mixing it in his food since there was no chance that he would take it on its own. So I crushed the pill, mixed it with the Meow Mix wet food Ziggy has had since he was a kitten, and watched him eat. Ziggy took a bite, noticed the different taste, and then walked away from the food. I repeated these steps the next day, and Ziggy ignored the wet food. He ignored his food the following day too. Even with no medicine mixed with his food, Ziggy stopped eating his wet food completely.

About a week before giving Ziggy his medicine, I purchased 7 boxes of Meow Mix from Chewy for a little over $50 so that I would get free shipping. Seeing that Ziggy was no longer eating this food, I contacted Chewy to return the unopened boxes. Chewy told me to keep or donate the food (which I did to the Fairfax County Animal Shelter) and gave me a full refund. A week later, I received a letter from Chewy wishing Ziggy well. 

I am now a Chewy customer for life. They gave me a full refund, allowed me to donate unused food, and sent a very nice personalized card. The box was pretty heavy, so maybe Chewy didn’t want to pay for return shipping fees, but that’s still a loss for them (at least short term). Of course, based on the goodwill earned and this blog post, maybe this will be a positive in the end. And we will all remember the friendships we made along the way!

My Pittsburgh Parking Court Battle

When I visited Pittsburgh in December, I helped the economy by staying at a hotel, eating at restaurants, and visiting several attractions. Sure, there were taxes associated with all of these purchases, but I also gave money directly to the city of Pittsburgh courtesy of a parking ticket. I paid the ticket by mail but then received a letter regarding late fees. I was not happy, so I sent my own letter back appealing the fee. I'm sharing all of this since the statute of limitations may have expired by now. At least, I hope they expired.

Dear Pittsburgh Parking Court,

I am writing regarding parking ticket number [redacted]. I received the ticket on Wednesday, December 28, 2022 after the meter expired near Mercy Hospital. I was in Pittsburgh visiting [redacted again] for [a reason] at Mercy Hospital. 

Sean's Note: I probably should have combined these two sentences, but I wanted to make a point that I was at a hospital and not just galavanting around town.

I paid for 2 hours of parking, and when the meter was about to expire, I attempted to add more time using the app. Unfortunately, I had difficulties using the app and then assisting [redacted one more time] during the discharge process. By the time I returned to my car, the meter expired and I received the $40 ticket. I am not disputing the ticket itself.

The reason that I'm writing is about the late fees currently on my account. On January 19, 2023, I called the Pittsburgh Parking Authority since I knew the ticket due date was January 18th, and I was concerned that the check had not been processed and my account showed a late fee. The representative I talked to assured me that there would be no late fee as long as the envelope was postmarked by the due date. However, as of today, January 31st, there is now a second late fee even though the $40 check has been processed. When I talked to the Pittsburgh Parking Authority representative today, she said that the payment must be received by the due date in order to avoid late fees which completely contradicts my conversation two weeks ago. She also suggested that I could appeal the late fee by writing this letter. 

Again, I am not appealing the ticket and paid the $40. I am appealing the additional $38 from two separate late fees since I feel that I paid my original ticket on time. In addition, I question why there is a second late fee when I was led to believe that my original payment was sufficient. 

Thank you for your consideration.

Although I never received a response, when I checked my account balance online several weeks later, it showed $0. I guess case closed!

Now might also be the time to mention one key point to this story. The reason for the late fee was because I didn't want to pay the $2.95 processing fee for paying the parking ticket online. Instead, I spent 60 cents for a stamp to mail the original payment, another 60 cents for another stamp for the appeal letter, and way too much time talking with officials in Pittsburgh (or waiting on hold before talking to them) and writing the letter. I definitely showed that online payment system!

My Affair Is Back On

Over a decade ago, I wrote about being unfaithful in a relationship. Instead of being in a monogamous relationship with the Fairfax County Public Library system, I got a library card from the Arlington Public Library. Throughout the 2010s, things went smoothly and I checked out books from both library systems. Everyone was happy. I mean, maybe one or both of the library systems were unhappy, but no one said anything. And then my dad passed away and COVID-19 happened.

Starting in March 2020, I stopped reading. I was too busy balancing family and work and attending online religious services daily. I didn't have the focus to read books. In addition, I rarely visited Arlington for well over a year, and the Arlington library branch I frequented closed for renovations. When I slowly got back into reading, I either purchased books or used the Fairfax County library. 

Last week, I learned that my old Arlington library reopened. My library card expired, so I visited the branch and renewed my account. The librarian mentioned that I had a book on hold from February 2020 which had been "frozen." He asked if I wanted to unfreeze the hold, but I had no recollection of having a book on hold. When I asked the name or author of the book, he replied that it was by Jessica Simpson.

Yes, I wrote an entire blog post just to share that I've had Jessica Simpson's autobiography on hold for over three years!

Who Are The Biggest Stars On Network Television?

I like network television. There's something comforting about the consistency of a show that's on nearly every week between September and May. I'm sure there's a lot of nostalgia too. It's remembering watching Cheers, In Living Color, The Simpsons, Seinfeld, and other shows when I was younger. In the time of cable and streaming services, it’s nice to see that ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and the other one (is it CW or WB? I don’t know) still produce shows that could be part of a national shared experience. I write "could be" since that doesn’t actually happen anymore other than the Super Bowl or Will Smith hitting Chris Rock. With so many shows on so many different stations and streaming services, I feel like the only place where there could be a shared experience is on network TV. That seems doubtful though as I'll explain below.

I started thinking about the current biggest stars on network television. Who would be the most recognizable actors in a modern-day Battle of the Network Stars? 

Are there any A-listers like George Clooney, Tina Fey, or Steve Carell on network TV? Before we proceed, my self-imposed rule is that it can’t be someone on a reality or news show. That removes probably the biggest names on network TV such as Ryan Seacrest, Sofia Vergara, Blake Shelton, and Anderson Cooper. My first stop was to look up the most-recent Nielsen ratings.

Taking out sports, reality, and award shows, we're looking at four scripted shows. My wife watches the Chicago shows, so I'm familiar with them, but I can't name any actor except for S. Epatha Merkerson and Oliver Platt from Chicago Med. While I don't know any cast members on Young Sheldon or Ghosts, I believe that Jim Parsons serves as the narrator on the former. Of course, if we're allowing voices, Don Cheadle counts for his voice on Wonder Years. With all of that written, the clear winner as the most famous person on TV has to be The Rock from NBC's Young Rock. While I've never watched an episode, based on commercials, it seems like he has an on-screen role unlike Parsons and Cheadle. And if we're doing a Battle of the Network Stars, who's going to beat Dwayne Johnson and NBC? 

Here are others who receive consideration and should be a part of network star competition:

Ellen Pompeo - Grey's Anatomy (ABC)

Mariska Hargitay & Ice T - Law & Order: SVU (NBC)

Actually, any current cast member of these two shows who has been on for at least 10 years is eligible.

Queen Latifah - The Equalizer (CBS)

George Lopez - Lopez vs. Lopez (NBC)

Tom Selleck & Donnie Wahlberg - Blue Bloods (CBS)

Chris O'Donnell & LL Cool J - NCIS: Los Angeles (CBS)

Mayim Bialik - Call Me Kat (FOX)

Rob Lowe - 9-1-1 Lone Star (FOX)

Quinta Brunson - Abbott Elementary (ABC) -  I would love to see the event where Quinta faces off against The Rock!

Hilary Swank - Alaska Daily (ABC) - Yes, a 2-time Oscar winner is the star of a network TV show in 2023.

Ernie Hudson - Quantum Leap (NBC)

Cedric the Entertainer - The Neighborhood (CBS)

Are there any others I'm missing? Am I the only one who cares about network TV?

Is Tim Tebow's Wife A Pirates Fan?

Tim Tebow is not very popular in Pittsburgh. He led the Denver Broncos to an unlikely victory against the Steelers in a January 2012 playoff game. I'm not going to dwell on that game or the fact that Ryan Clark and Maurkice Pouncey didn't play and the entire Steelers defensive line got hurt during the game. Instead, I'm going to focus on this picture of Tebow and his wife, Demi-Leigh Tebow.

Apparently, the Tebows hosted a Celebrity Gala and Golf Tournament over the weekend at TPC Sawgrass in Florida. Demi-Leigh is a former Miss South Africa and Miss Universe titleholder. I mention this since I don't believe she has any ties to Pittsburgh. I mean, I guess it's possible that the Tebows have a home or vacation in Pittsburgh, but I feel like I would have heard about that. So why does it appear that Demi-Leigh wore a Pirates hat at the event? Maybe this is some type of play by the Tebows to buy the Pirates from Bob Nutting. Maybe she's a big fan of Gift Ngoepe, a South African native and the first African-born player in MLB history who played 28 games on the Pirates in 2017. Or maybe she forgot a hat, and the pro shop had a sale on Pirates hats. Whatever the reason, the baseball season starts this week so Let's Go Bucs! 

Photo from Demi-Leigh Tebow's Instagram account.

My Ray Bourque Hot Take

I’m going to be a sports blogger today. Specifically, I’m going to be a hockey blogger. After a multiple-year hiatus (stupid Covid), the hockey road trip returned this year with a stop in Denver to see the Colorado Avalanche. I’ll probably have multiple posts about the trip over the next few weeks. Today, I want to write about this.

Pictured are retired numbers of Colorado Avalanche players. The one that jumped out to me is #77 Ray Bourque. Bourque is one of the greatest defensemen in the history of the National Hockey League. He played nearly his entire career in Boston and was traded to Colorado to give him a chance of achieving a Stanley Cup championship. Even though he was at the end of his career, the trade was a really big deal. I think most Bruins fans are and were disappointed that Bourque didn’t play his entire career in Boston, but are and were happy that he won a title. 

Bourque played 14 regular season games for the Avalanche in 2000 after being traded from Boston tallying 8 goals and 6 assists. He then played 13 playoff games as the Avalanche lost to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion Dallas Stars in the conference finals. The next season, Bourque played 80 regular season games and helped lead the team to the title with 4 goals and 6 assists in 21 playoff games. Overall, Bourque played 93 regular season games and 34 playoff games in Colorado. So my question is why is his number retired?

I understand that Bourque is a Hall-of-Famer and helped lead the team to a Stanley Cup title. However, this was not the team’s first championship and his tenure was less than a year and a half. Since I’m a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, my comparison to Bourque is Bryan Trottier, who won 4 Stanley Cups and a Hart Trophy as league MVP during his Hall-of-Fame tenure on the New York Islanders. Trottier joined the Penguins at the age of 34 before the 1990-1991 season and played 115 regular games with 20 goals and 37 assists over two seasons (and played another 41 games in the 1993-1994 season). More importantly, Trottier played 44 playoff games in the 90-91 and 91-92 seasons with a combined 7 goals and 7 assists and earned two more Stanley Cup titles. With players like Mario Lemieux, Ron Francis, and Jaromir Jagr among others, Trottier wasn't close to being the team's top star, but he brought leadership and experience to the Penguins like Bourque did to the Avalanche. The difference is that it's likely that the Penguins organization probably never considered retiring Trottier's number. (The fact that the Penguins have only retired two numbers could be a topic for a completely separate post.)

Two other thoughts from the game. First, defenseman Cale Makar scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Even though he's only in his fourth season, he's done significantly more on the ice in Colorado than Bourque. Retire his number now!

Second, Peter Forsberg, another player who (deservedly) has his number retired was in attendance. He could easily pass as a social studies teacher or history or psychology professor now!   

An MTV Station Showing Music Videos

There was a free preview of several television stations last week including HDNET Movies, Sony Movies, and the Smithsonian Channel. There really wasn't anything on any of these channels worth watching or recording, but I decided to check out the station MTV Live. This station had a novel concept. It showed music videos.

For those of you under 25 (who am I kidding? No one under 25 is reading this!), MTV, short for Music Television, launched in 1981 and played music videos. The station added other shows over the years and pretty much abandoned showing videos. VH1, or Video Hits 1, emerged a few years after MTV and still played videos after MTV stopped, but they also chose other programming over videos. (RIP VH1's Top 20 Video Countdown). So I was excited to see a station showing music videos again.

Over about 30 minutes or so, I saw videos by Taylor Swift, several K-Pop bands, and other bands/artists I've never heard of. There was a new video by Limp Bizkit that wasn't terrible. Please don't consider that last sentence an endorsement. There was also this cool looking video by Julian Lennon, WHO is ROLLING like STONES as the son of a famous British musician. (See what I did there?)

I checked out the station the next night and saw some of the same videos again. And commercials. I quickly realized that MTV made the right decision not airing music videos anymore. While I still think there is value to a video countdown show, few people are going to sit and watch random videos with commercials breaks as long as YouTube is around. Or just about anything else airing or streaming.