The Recapping of the Weekend

As promised, let's recap the weekend that was...

- Friday night went into the city to be a guest of the Jessica's at a New York Comedy Fest event featuring Mario Cantone. Even though his IMDB.com entry may not be the most impressive we've ever seen, he was pretty damn funny. Before the show, we were in a private cocktail hour and Mario actually came in and was mingling with the guests, which I thought was pretty cool. Just the fact that this guy was in there going up to people in the room, saying hello....it was a nice gesture. As for the show, I was very surprised by all 0f the dead-on impressions he did of celebrities. He was doing impressions of everyone from George W. Bush to Jessica Simpson to actors/actresses from the 1950's. He did this whole song and dance routine, and overall, was very entertaining for close to 2 hours.

- Saturday: Big excitement of the day was the PSU-Wisconsin game. I guess the guys in Las Vegas know something that I don't when they put a 10.5 point spread on this game in favor of the Nittany Lions. That's why they're the book makers and I'm just a schlub that questions them. Regardless, how many great things can you say about this team? Great performance all-around. Michael Robinson...gotta love his control over the offense. Whether it's the runs, the improved passing accuracy, whatever...the guy's been a true leader this year. Tony Hunt has also looked great. The guy quietly ran for 150 yards and has done an outstanding job this year. And how about Deon Butler stepping it up this game, getting not one, but two receiving TD's and ended up with 125 receiving yards of his own. On defense, gotta point the finger toward Tamba Hali, who was an absolute beast, recording 4 sacks and numerous tackles. This guy is a playmaker and definitely increased his draft value after this performance. Of course, we can't question the legend of Joe Paterno. Although he may sound like he was hitting the bottle before interviews, the man is 78 years old and can still field a team that is among the top in the nation. All Penn State has to do is win on November 19 against Michigan State and they'll wrap up their first Big Ten championship since 1994.

To anyone that was in attendance at the game on Saturday, I'm interested to hear about the atmosphere. How was it compared to the Ohio State game this year?

- Saturday night...it was great having a nice dinner with the crowd. As mentioned in the weekend preview, there was 8 of us enjoying the food at a great Italian restaurant. Note to everyone out there: Possibly one of the finest things in life is enjoying dinner with a large group of friends. Don't get me wrong: it's always fun to eat dinner with your girlfriend/boyfriend/best friend/whoever. But it's rare to get a large group of friends together, given that people are often busy or out of town on the weekends. Without a doubt, good times all around.

Afterwards, went to a quiet Irish pub called Jameson's that we like. I've decided that the chill places are the best to hang out in. I'll be honest: I don't need a bar with a ton of people. I don't need loud, thumping music. I don't need to yell in order to have a conversation with the person next to me. I find it far more enjoyable to be able to sit down at a table, with some decent music in the background (not agonizingly loud), and possible a nearby TV with a football game on. That is the way to go, my friends. Also went to some quaint lounge as well, which was cool because it was rather chill, not very crowded, and as we noticed, played almost all 80's songs. Basically, the conclusion from the night is that the less people in the bar, the better it is.

- Sunday: New York City Marathon day. You can't help but be impressed by anyone who can run 26.2 miles all at once. Back in my track days, I used to be happy when I made it 7 or 8 miles. I couldn't imagine trying to triple that distance. We watched the leaders finish on television before heading out to watch all of the "common folk" run near the 16th mile marker as they enter Manhattan from the Queensborough Bridge. I gotta tell you, these people are nuts. I saw people running in chicken costumes, squirrel costumes, dressed up like the Amish people (top hat and all), running with video cameras, running with flags, running with pizza boxes. I couldn't believe some of the things I saw. Regardless, these runners just kept moving, and I think the statistic is something like 98% of all runners complete the course. I'd say that's a rather impressive figure. I say, whatever keeps them on their feet and moving in the right direction is fine by me. I only hope that someday I'm in decent enough shape to run a marathon. Ok, you can stop laughing now...

I'm going to refrain from commenting on the Eagles because there isn't a whole lot to say. We all know about the parity in the NFL, and I just have to resign myself to the fact that this team was solid for 4 straight seasons, and the window of opportunity is closing. On the other hand, the division opponents went through some tough seasons during that period, so now is their time to turn it around. All of the distractions from this season obviously haven't helped much, and you can't help but wonder what it'd be like through 8 games without this whole TO nonsense, McNabb being healthy, etc. Oh well, what can ya do?

- That's it for tonight. This dog and pony show will return on Monday night.