Tuesday, September 16, 2008

One of the most shocking things I could say...

JC is a decent dude. Sure, he's the same guy whose profanity laced tirades in the comments for the past 12 months have alternately entertained and horrified us. And yes, he has a serious problem with alcohol and rage, and it's true that he may or may not have killed someone without realizing it, but I'll give him props this week for being decent. First off, he bothered to email me about The Black Donnellys.

How did I manage to miss this series? It's about four Irish-American brothers who engage in general thuggery. It's poignant, funny, very well acted, and the pilot episode was riveting. Go get this brief series on DVD. You won't be disappointed.

Second he made my day by sending us this amazing picture:

It's of the Providence Grays circa 1880. The man in the front left is JC's great great great grandfather Jimmy Downy. The Grays were an early member of the National League, and were 'World Champions' in 1884. I love the classic baseball, and this even predates The Glory of Their Times. It's a great photo.

Finally, he wished us luck with the game last week. God knows we needed it, and quite possibly the improbability of him saying that was just the absurd cosmic push we needed to get over the top in Minnesota. So there you have it. Who knows for how long, but last week at least. JC was a really decent dude. Thanks man.

LINKS:

Shake posted this on Stampede Blue. It's a very solid laundry list of what's wrong with the Horse. Basically, this week is a must win. Then comes the bye, and beyond that we should be ok.

Indianapolis Monthly does a long feature on 18. I saw the issue on the stands, but didn't remember to look it up until I saw it again on the AFC South blog.

ESPN Power rankings

No Colts related stuff, but some thoughts on the Jags and a generally good read as Don Banks looks at perception vs. reality.

TMQ for this week. I knew I got that 55% number from somewhere...

Here's a great piece on the authentication of a Lou Gehrig jacket.

Will Carrol wonders if the Colts could be burried by all the injuries. I think we all are wondering that. The tide has to stop rising, or we will go under. The good news (compared to last year) is that we haven't lost anyone for the season yet. Win this week, get a week off, and things can still be ok.


12 comments:

Anonymous said...

You guys remember when jc was calling people out on this site to call him and talk trash then? That was great. If you look back in the archives you might be able to find jc's actual name and number.

That could be a fun bye week excercise....tell your favorite jc story.

BTW, that is an awesome picture....really neat. Thanks for sharing, jc.

Bob M. said...

zac,
Well, at the end of last season he said bye and signed his full name to a post, which I won't mention. I thought of looking him up and sending a Colts post card or something, but figured I'd respect the wall of anonymity the Net provides.
He actually posted his number? I bet it was that of his parole officer or some guy he really doesn't like. Drunk Colts fan at 2 a.m.: "You lousy Pats-loving piece of BLEEP! What, wrong number? Sorry...."

Shake n Bake, nice post. While you're a little more "glass half full" than I am (Dungy reference), I agree we could right the ship after the bye if nobody else drops to the turf. The interior line worries me the most.

Not a big fan of the pitch, but it might open us up for another kind of riskier play-fake than the old stretch: envision a pitch-sweep play, with a fake toss, then PM pivots and bootlegs the other way (naked) looking for a receiver on the right side of the field. Could be HUGE, or he could be smothered and maimed by backside pursuit.
But if it works once, the pitch is guaranteed to get another yard every subsequent time it is run because the D will have to hedge its bets.

Anonymous said...

Bob I think I posted my number because, ironically, you accused me of hiding behind 'the anonymity of the internet'.

It's akin to Keanu in Speed saying "shoot the hostage, take him out of the equation"

Sox -1.5 with Becket vs. Sonnanstine.

Anonymous said...

This final two weeks is a huge deal in the AL right now. With home field advantage being what it has been for both the Rays and the Red Sox, whoever wins the division has a distinct advantage over the other to advance to the World Series.

Does anyone else find it amusing that the best team in baseball (according to records) is being largely ignored in the talk of a World Series title? Anyone even know which team I am referring to?

Can the Angels win it this year?

Anonymous said...

The Brewers?

Who ARE you referring to?

Bob M. said...

JC,
There are a lot of loud-mouth a-holes out there yelling ONLY because they can hide. That's frustrating. That is my default assumption when confronted by what appears to be know-nothing LOUD homerism; it takes some time to appreciate that someone might yell or taunt from time to time but is not run-and-hide loudmouth fraidy-cat. Sorry if that language offended anyone.

In other news, I think I deserve congratulations, condolences, or a beer: My baseball teams might achieve a rare double-double--the Yanks are in 4th place and the Pirates are in last, as usual.

Anonymous said...

Yes jc, in a convo about the AL, I reference the Brewers. You must have taken too many pharmaceuticals.

Anonymous said...

We own the Angels in October.

Especially John Lackey, a.k.a Sloth from The Goonies.

Anonymous said...

The Angels are the least intimidating contender, that's for sure. They cake walked to their division title without being seriously challenged.

As far as you owning them...haven't the Angels dominated the Sox this year JC?

Anonymous said...

I said October bro.

Bob M. said...

Hey, the Brewers used to be AL...

Interesting quote from the Dungy conversation at colts.com:

That's the easy thing to point to... Jeff Saturday's out, so we're not running the ball well.' We had runs where we knew what to do and we blocked everybody. We made some yards. Joseph Addai had a run that went for six yards and Anthony Gonzalez ran a pass route because he didn't hear the audible. If he (Gonzalez) blocks his guy, it might be 65 yards. You look at it and say, 'Well, it's a six-yard run.' People don't know. You say, 'You only ran for 20 yards.' That might have been 90 yards with just one guy hearing the audible correctly.

Interesting.....

Bob M. said...

Thanks for the link to the Indiana Mag article--for a non-native, it was particularly interesting to see how the city and the career are intertwined. Though his, or any celebrity's, inability to buy a Coke at a 7-11 is regrettable.
Also nice to see that the signed jersey I bought after a few consecutive losses in 2001 for $44 is now worth around $400--as if I'd ever get rid of it. Trouble is, with three sons, who gets it? Answer: The one who picks out my retirement home in 40 years.