Chili Quick Takes

I want to start off this week by thanking the readers over the last month for giving my blog a look. I hope you found something that you liked and will continue to read and comment as well as continue to let others know about it and show them the way to The Chili. Now on to this weeks Quick Take Blog

Olbermann Out.      
I must say I wasn't totally surprised by this move when it came down last Friday that Keith Olbermann would no longer host his show on MSNBC. The word on the street was that he was having his issues with management. No big surprise since he has had issues at MSNBC before. In 1999 ,He left his show then. Also no surprise considering his relationship with ESPN when he left was considered to be on the sour side as well. I'm a fan of Olbermann not just because I'm a democrat, it actually goes back further to his days at ESPN. I always appreciated Olbermann's delivery. The way he went about reading the stories. I truly believed that when he talked about sports that he was a fan above all else. The fact that he also was a democrat was just a bonus. Say what you want about Keith and most people do, you have to at least acknowledge his oratory skills. There are not many guys in the media who have the ability to write and speak and be funny and be introspective and interesting all at the same time. He has re-invented himself before and I expect he will do it again somewhere down the line and I'll be ready when he does. You have to admit, ESPN sucks and has sucked without Olbermann and Dan Patrick doing Sportcenter.Again, less Stuart Scott please!!

Cutler = Persona Non Grata    
It was amazing to hear the vitriol spewed toward the direction of Bears QB Jay Cutler in the wake of last Sunday's loss in the NFC Championship game. I do understand the Bears' fans plight. It sucks to watch the Packers go to the Super Bowl. I get it but don't put all the blame on Jay Cutler because he got hurt, blame the coaches, blame the O-line and blame the team for just not getting it done. This notion that Jay Cutler quit in this game I just find laughable. This is the same Jay Cutler who was under siege for the better part of the season working with an old patch work offensive line.Not to mention some pretty average receivers who weren't always the easiest guys to throw to. This is also the same player who took a 9 sack beating at the hands of the Giants and still kept battling until a concussion finally forced him out and was also getting the snot beat out of him for much of the first half of this title game. He spent more time looking up at the Chicago skyline then he did Bears receivers and after all of that you're saying he quit??? Based on what? His body language? You're going to have to do better than that. The body language argument is just plain silly in this case because his body language hasn't been any different all season. He always looks disengaged and aloof so I am not sure what you can glean from this particular version of disengagement. The body language thing works when talking about Favre this season. It was clear that his body language was noticeably different than it was the year before and year before that but like I said that's not Cutler. People just hate Cutler for some reason and will grasp at whatever straws they can to further the argument that he is not a franchise QB. I can think of at least one team that should wanna have a guy like Cutler over what they got currently. Any ideas??


More next week, until then...
Tim

Wintertime Blues

                                                                           
I'll come right out and say it. I'm not a fan of winter. I'll go a step further and say that I hate it. I can't stand it. I hate every part of winter. The snow, the cold weather, the wind chills, the short days, the lack of sunlight and I could go on and on. People ask me "why do you live here if you hate 4 months out of 12" I say because I love the other 8 and because no situation can be 100% perfect. Sometimes you have to take the good with the bad. I love the Minnesota golf and theatre scene. I also love the fact that this a consistent stop on any Barenaked Ladies tour. I also love the fact that people are genuinely nice. Winter however, well that's a different story.

This winter has been especially challenging to me. All the years of bad knees and bad dieting and single living have finally caught up with me. I find myself staying up late and waking up tired with my knee pain often beating the alarm clock to wake me up in the morning. Some people hop out of bed. I meander out of bed. It's more of a fall or slither. I even on occasion do this serpentine motion where I move to right out of the covers and then to left for a stretch and then back to the right for some reason and then back to the left to complete the symmetry. I then get ready to walk outside and it's cold and biting or its snowing and wet and you're battling a cold for three months solid. I often work outside and just my luck this winter I have worked outside through every major snownami and after this week of sub-zero temperatures I am ready officially to declare this winter over and move on to spring. The funny thing is that it never used to be this way.

 Some of my fondest childhood memories have occurred in the snow. I started thinking about it this week while talking to my speechies.They are scheduling this night of sledding and hanging out. I remembered that I used to love sledding. When we moved in to the house where I grew up one of the perks was this big hill that bottomed out at this gully right behind our house. It was perfect and it was ours and every year I couldn't wait for the snow to fall so we could go out and sled all day and build ice jumps. I still don't know why we did that because we always built it too high and I always fell out of the sled and would go ass over tea kettle into the snow. I also liked to shovel snow which is my least favorite thing to do now. The day after the 1991 Halloween Blizzard I went out the next day and shoveled driveways and made 50 bucks which turned into my WWF action ring and my Jake "The Snake" Roberts action figure. I also looked forward to winter because it meant basketball season and school snow days and during recess it seemed we got extra time to hang out and play football or soccer. The world just seemed better as a kid in the winter time. A few years back I said I am going to go sledding and I did. I went to the famed Knox Hill in Coon Rapids. Famed only to people in Coon Rapids. I went and climbed the hill and the hill seemed like K2 to me now. It took forever to climb. I took off at the speed of light and hit the jump and fell ass over tea kettle just like the old times except this time I just laid there.

I spent like 2 minutes gathering my thoughts when I heard this kid saying "Hey dude!!!... Your blocking the jump." I got back up and started my Everest-like climb back to the top of the hill. I made my way back down 1 more time before I turned in my sled for the last time. I then spent the next 2 days swallowing humble pie and Extra Strength Tylenol and accepting the fact that I wasn't as good as I once was. I wasn't even as good once as I ever was! My relationship with winter was sealed forever at that point I think. It was like when you're in a relationship when you both mutually realize that you don't love each other anymore. Whatever that spark was that drew you together has gone the way of the dodo bird... but your comfortable and the unknown scares you more than the known so you stay and deal with each other.

I think that's why I'll never leave this place and I'll keep dealing with winter.Maybe one day our relationship can turn back around. Maybe one day I can take the old sled out of mothballs and take one more crack at Knox Hill and show the world that the old guys in the village can still stand on top of the hill and be accounted for.Until then....


Thawing out
Tim

Sports Chili- The Freezing My Ass Off Edition

This picture pretty much sums up my feelings towards this winter and this current blast of arctic air. I'm surprised people haven't started trying to kill one another with frozen bass. This is exactly why I don't ice fish in the first place. Anyway time for sports!!

I couldn't have been more wrong on the New England Patriots last week. I realized that I didn't put enough thought into those games and settled for 2-2 on the weekend but it is championship week in the NFL and here comes the picks.

New York vs. Pittsburgh (-3.5)
I have to give it to the Jets. They played a great game. They had an amazing game plan and they stuck to it. It forced Brady to do things he didn't want to do. It's a tempting line for all the betters to take the Jets and the points this week against Pittsburgh. You aren't crazy if you like the Jets. I mean, in consecutive weeks they have beaten two of the 10 best quarterbacks in NFL history combine that with the fact that the Steelers O-line is in shambles and just played a grueling game against the leagues most physical team (Ravens). With all of this information in hand....I'm taking Pittsburgh. It's my belief that the Jets shot their wad last week against New England. I think it's going to be hard for them to find the extra gear to take down the Steelers and How many times can you remember Big Ben coming up short in a big spot....I mean except all those girls he tries to fondle while drunk. I can't bet against the Steelers. Pitt wins and covers 23-17

Green Bay(3.5) vs Chicago
I was rapping today with my friend Brian about the last time a team was a home dog in a championship game. We think it was when the Giants played the Vikings in 2000. I think we all know how that turned out. This won't be 41-0 like that game but I am going to take the Bears in a high scoring battle and I say this for a couple of reasons. 1) I hate the Packers and the idea that my Packer Backer friends could hold another Super Bowl appearance over me is just unthinkable.2) Special teams often decide games like this and I'll take Devin Hester if that's the case and finally I want Mike Tice (Bears O-line coach) and former Vikings coach to have a shot at the ring just so he can stick it to all of the dumb Vikings fans who wanted Brad Childress instead. I also hope he passes by the Wilf's house with his ring dangling out the window of his Escalade or whatever the hell he's driven these days. Bears win 24-23

Oh one more thing. I'm sick and tired of these athletes at the end of games going with the  old "Nobody Believes in us!" "All you haters". This idea that your motivated by what Jag-offs like the guys at ESPN say is just pathetic. Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuMy1EG2StM

Here is the thing Bart Scott, If you didn't get your teeth kicked down your throat by 40 on national television 6 weeks ago, maybe someone would have believed in you. Here is the other thing, talk about how winning is what motivated you or how you get paid to win or how it's your goal to get to the bowl instead of using the tired cliche' that nobody believed in us and we wanted to show the world what we were all about. Oh Happy day that you showed that to us. Oh how our mundane lives have been enriched and we promise to never doubt you again. Seriously guys, get over yourselves and let's see you run your flaps like that this week against Pittsburgh.

Ok Folks, That's it for me. See ya next week.
Stay Warm and Don't Fumble
Tim

Maybe we aren't done as a society.......yet!

I've been sitting here thinking about how I could talk about the events in Tucson without sounding like some sort of blowhard or crazy. It's something that I have strong feelings about and as much as I'd like to sit here and do a little four score and seven years ago about Sarah Palin and Sharron Angle further dividing the culture with their hateful speech and insidious rhetoric forcing people to feel like they have to defend themselves and their beliefs, I can't. Not because I physically can't because it's my blog and I'll say what I want. I just conscientiously cannot.

Even up until last night I was willing to shred the world and further add to the division but I instead would rather light a candle then curse our darkness. I instead will use this blog to be the rising tide that lifts all boats. It's not because I'm a bleeding heart liberal like my friends on the right would like to say.Instead it's because something has happened to make me feel different about this even if its just for a day. Being the idiot that I am, I lost my wallet in the middle of downtown Minneapolis last night. I didn't know it was gone for an hour or so and by the time I retraced my steps it was gone. History, Finito,Goodbye Charlie. Losing your wallet is the easily the shittiest feeling in the world. Your life is lost in the ether somewhere. Somewhere in the universe, somebody was enjoying my driver's license and bank card and Kwik Trip punch card and laughing at my driver's license photo which shows an overweight man with no neck.

I went home crestfallen and angry at myself. I wanted to just crawl in a hole somewhere and I did. In bed by 1am which was a new record for me when all of sudden at 7am my phone rang and it may have been the sweetest voice outside my friend Howse's voice saying to me "Tim Anderson please......" My groggy response"Yeah". This is Mesha and I found your wallet and since I work at your bank I was able to get your number." I did that thing that Jeff Bridges does in Lebowski after getting his car back. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iApz08Bh53w

I felt like my confidence in my fellow man to the right thing had been restored and for a moment I thought I don't care who she is or how old she is or if she looks like "Precious" or not, I should marry her!!! I thought better considering it probably wouldn't be worth it to her. Might make her never wanna do a good deed for someone ever again. So The wallet is back with me and I'll call it serendipity!

Now What does this have to do with Tuscon? Nothing really except that the ability to do good and help others still manifests itself in our divided society. If we are ever gonna get back on track in the civility department, we need to take a page out of my new friend Mesha's book and just do something because it's the right thing to do. She wanted nothing from me, Saying my thanks was enough and I went on my way. It's like the great philosopher Red Green says "Remember I'm pulling for you and we're all in this together." Preach on

Keep your stick on the ice
 
Tim

Thoughts on NFL, BCS and more

Playoffs!!! Don't talk about Playoffs!!
See, I bet you were assuming I'd open by talking about the NFL or as like to call it, the only game of football that matters but instead I'll open with my thoughts on the BCS and College Football in general. So Auburn is the apparent "National Champion" for this season in college football. Great!! I'm sure it was a real struggle through that grueling tournam.........Oh but it was apparent they were the best when they beat TCu...... Yeah.....seems none of that happened. Yeah, unfortunately the two teams were picked by a group of computers almost 40 days in advance of the game while the hype machine at ESPN exploited their images for millions of dollars.

It doesn't make sense, How can you be considered legitimate when you have 130 some odd teams in Division 1 college football when only the big major conferences are up for consideration for the title. TCU and Boise St. could have played 100 games and won them all by 50 and never would have been given a chance to play for the title.The Fact is unless you come from the money conferences like the SEC and Big 10 or thr Pac-10 you have no shot to play for the title. Instead. we have some lovely parting gifts for you backstage furnished by Rice-a-Roni and Cuisinart. Also, you can get an all expenses paid trip to Mobile,Alabama for the "Beef O'Brady's Bowl" The NCAA claims they have the students best interest in mind. Ok. If that's the case, How much of the 10's of millions of dollars in revenue generated in these games goes towards the athletes and school facilities. How come these bowl games have CEO's with six figure salaries?Bottom line, I'm bored with it, I didn't watch one second of this game and I'm glad, glad you hear. Get a playoff and then get back to me.

Playoffs!!! for real this time.
Ok time to talk real football. Here is the breakdown
Seattle at Chicago (-10)
If someone said to me at the beginning of the season that the Bears were going to host a playoff game and be giving 10 points to their opponent, I would have laughed that person out of the building with my patented BAHAHAHAHA.I was wrong. The Bears were tough this season and took care of this division in surprisingly easy fashion. There is a concern because Seattle already went on the road and beat Chicago once this season. It stands to reason they can do it again. For that I say they cover the 10 points but will lose the game in a tight one 24-21. Bears win.

Green Bay at Atlanta (-2.5)
Practically a pick 'em with a slight edge to the Falcons according to Vegas. It has been trendy to take Green Bay in this game and I too on my friends blog thought Green Bay but I am going to amend my initial gut pick and take Atlanta to win this game. Two reason why, one, Matt Ryan has only lost twice at the Georgia dome including quality wins this season over Green Bay and Baltimore. Ryan is a cool customer and taking nothing away from Aaron Rodgers, Atlanta is just better. Two. Mark Schlereth took Green Bay on ESPN, I think that guy is an idiot and refuse to agree with him on anything. If he told me the sun set in the west, I would believe it sets in the east. 31-24 Falcons

New York at New England (-9)
Back in February this year I took the jets as the team to come out of the AFC for this season. I said because I wasn't sure what New England had in the tank. I was wrong on new England. The jettison of Randy Moss and emergence of Danny Woodhead and a couple of rookie tight ends and the return of Belichick "the mad genius". Rex Ryan has been talking a good game and the rest of the Jets have been brash and loud. Sounds great but the loudest guy in the room is often the most worried guy in the room. Give me new England to cover the 9 points in what might be the most lopsided game of the round. 35-14 Pats.

Baltimore at Pittsburgh (-3)
What a slobberknocker this is going to be. A defensive struggle between two teams that truly don't like each other. I look at history here. The Ravens and Steelers always play close, always play in a low scoring game and if it's the playoffs the Steelers always win. Give me Big Ben and Mike Tomlin and the points . 17-10 Pitt.

Enjoy the games. The long blog is coming soon. Enjoy today

Some Random Takes...

In addition to the regular blog every week, I'm also going to provide a blog of some quick takes on sports and movies I've seen and observations in general of the things I see around me.

Blyleven is in
I say good for Bert. Baseball for years has made their hall of fame about statistics. They talk about benchmarks like 3000 hits and 500 home runs and 300 wins. If it's about statistics, it's pretty hard to ignore the numbers. 242 complete games, 5th on the all-time strikeout list, a no-hitter, and 2 world championships. Impressive to say the least but I'm still rubbed the wrong way about the manner Blyleven has gone about this. I have a problem with people who openly campaign for an award or an honor. An honor is something that is granted to you, bestowed upon you and it shouldn't be something you have to lobby for. Bert's squeaky wheel has finally gotten the grease and again I say he deserves it but next time maybe some humility. If you wanna keep campaigning maybe shine a light towards Jack Morris.

The Kings Speech & The Fighter
I have seen some amazing films this year. I have stood firm all year that "Inception" and "Toy Story 3" were in a fight for Best Film of the year. I've been forced to amend my statement. First, I saw "The Fighter". A powerful true story based on "Irish" Micky Ward and his brother Dicky. The movie is a gritty depiction of their once strained relationship in the early parts of Ward's boxing career. While Mark Wahlberg is his traditional, likable self, he is carried by his supporting cast. Christian Bale as his brother and Amy Adams as his girlfriend. Both should and probably will receive Oscar nominations and should have a good chance to win. I then saw "The Kings Speech". The profoundly interesting story of King George VI and his fight to cure his speech impediment with the help from a commoner speech therapist. Impeccably acted from top to bottom with tour de force performances by Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush.  It's an acting clinic from beginning to end and it makes you laugh while offering you insightful characters to study. It could be the best film I have seen in years.

Vikings Dead.
And not a moment too soon. Is it me or did this season take an ice age to complete. They say smoking takes 3 minutes off your life every time you burn a heater. Well if that's the case this season was liking smoking a carton of Parliaments! I swear to you that I have lost years from my life the past few seasons with this team. They were like that girlfriend in high school that was just a drama machine and wanted to argue about everything and turn everything into a production that eventually you are just driven to the point where you holler at her and swear your going to break it off and move on but you can't because she starts crying and whaling about how she will change and be better and you cave because you're a pansy ass and can't bear to be the douchebag ex that she talks about to her friends for the remainder of time. There. Now I feel better.

More quick takes next week along with some bold playoff predictions.

A New Year, A New Chili

A lot of folks around this time of the year like to sit around and take stock of themselves. This period of self-improvement or self-loathing depending on how you look at it is meant to bring forth some sort of meaningful change. For most people the new year provides us with the motivation needed to quit smoking or lose weight or give up watching MTV. I'm no different. I too have set some modest goals for myself moving forward in 2011 and that's the subject of "The Chili" today.

First off, about the blog itself, I could have renamed "The Chili" to "The Broth" last year. I didn't devote the time and attention to it that I wanted to. Six entries is no way to do things and for that I am sorry. Folks have been asking when I would start blogging again and up until about Christmas I wasn't sure I would do it again. I told myself that the only way I would do it is if I made a commitment to it. Call it my third job. Expect me to give you two installments a week. One will be a more central themed blog and one will have a bunch of random quick takes. I'm hoping it will keep my creative juices flowing and keep you entertained.

Another resolution is that I will finally after years of procrastination and neglect on my part address my weight problem. I did a stand-up set a few weeks back and someone was nice enough to record it for me and my plan was to post it on my facebook and stuff but I couldn't bare to watch it. I was embarrassed to look at myself. I looked like Chris Farley and not the happy-go-lucky "Tommy Boy" type but rather the near death, get me a 8-ball and ham sandwich Chris Farley. It was sobering to say the least. You just never think you are that big, you look around and you say things like "ahhh that dude is bigger than me, Good thing I'm not that guy" but upon furthur review I AM that guy and it's sad and it's going to change this year. I have made the life and death committment to do like friend Jeff would say and "Get it Fixed".

The key to making it all work is to not try and change a hundred things all at once. Odds are you'll do everything half-assed and give up by March. Better yet, just take two things you want to see different and bust your ass to get those things accomplished. Nothing beats a resolution made.......except a resolution realized.