Mad props to Columbus Crew fans

By Jeff

This blog has always been a supporter of soccer. Having played my entire life, very few things frustrate me as much as people hating on the sport. Critics call it as sissy sport and constantly trash it for being boring. I get that people have their own opinions, but it's hard for me to understand how individuals can say soccer is boring, when there is constant motion. Baseball has players standing around doing nothing the majority of the game, and football has 25 to 40 seconds of idleness between plays. I'm not making fun of football and baseball, just pointing out that there is a lot of downtime during games.

There was no yellow smoke when I was there,
but it was still intense.

I attended a Columbus Crew (MLS) playoff game this weekend with Joe and Swan. It was great. The stadium wasn't sold out, despite it being a playoff game, but the hardcore fan section helped make it one of the best crowds I have ever been a part of. There was constant cheering and standing. In fact, there were signs throughout the section saying that cheering, standing, singing and playing instruments were encouraged. And when I say instruments, I mean about five drums, not lame cowbells.

Was it as intimidating as seeing a sea of Terrible Towels flying at Heinz Field? No. But there also wasn't anyone telling anyone else to sit down. At the last Steelers game I attended (Season opener against Tennessee last year), there were several lame fans who asked me and my friends to sit down so they could see the big screen. Then there was also this crazy woman who went crying to the usher every time the two young men in front of her stood. Thankfully, those guys were not forced to sit. Anyway, there was no chance anyone at the Crew game was telling someone else to sit down, which is exactly how it should be. You want excited fans getting into the game, not people who fall asleep (Another thing I've seen at Steelers game).

Now, there were so stupid fans at the Crew game that were spouting off profanities non-stop and clearly had no idea what they were talking about. It was really annoying, but the didn't ruin the game.

That trip took up all Saturday, but there are still some other stories from the weekend.

• I don't think the two goals Marc-Andre Fleury let in Saturday night were terrible. He didn't have much of a chance on either of them. But why was he starting the game after starting Friday night? He shouldn't have been in the game in the first place.

• I hope Pens fans realize how lucky they are to have Sidney Crosby. Not just the success he brings to the team, but the overall level of play he brings. Saturday night was a perfect example. I caught the encore, and Sid seemed to be everywhere. If only the team can get Evgeni Malkin going.

Someone told TK his stick
was made of black licorice.

• I still don't think very much of Tyler Kennedy, but he had a great road trip. The effort from TK is never lacking, just production.

• Good to see Mark Letestu score the game-winning goal in Saturday's shootout. He hadn't had a point since October 18.

• I'm thinking Utah was not worthy of their Top 5 ranking, hence TCU destroying them 47-7. Not quite as close as Mike predicted, but a win is a win! 

• If I were a Penn State fan, I would be excited for Joe Paterno and win No. 400. While I am not excited, you can't deny the significance of the achievement. Also, I wish I had the power to tell my employers to get the hell out of my house if they tried to fire me. Bad ass.

• Remember that whole Jenn Sterger/Brett Favre drama? That sure disappeared quickly.

Woooo! We needed a late comeback
 to beat the Cardinals!

• Speaking of Favre, should the Minnesota Vikings really be that excited that they came back to beat the Arizona Cardinals at home Sunday? As I said earlier, a win is a win, but a near loss to Derek Anderson isn't something I would brag about or view a possible season salvation.

• The Miami Dolphins were on in Pittsburgh again this weekend. They are really boring to watch.

• Detroit Lions players and fans should never make fun of kickers again. The Lions upset the New York Jets Sunday if Jason Hanson doesn't get hurt and Ndamukong Suh misses the extra point.

• Matthew Stafford is hurt again. Detroit can't catch a break, can they?

• The Pittsburgh Pirates have narrowed their managerial search to Clint Hurdle and Jeff Bannister. One hold a career record of 534-625 and the other has never managed before. Despite Hurdle's run to the World Series in 2007, I can't say I'm excited for either to take the reins.

• The Walking Dead is my new favorite show on television. Who doesn't love an hour of zombies every week? 

Pretty sure this was before the
Cowboys hit the 1-7 mark.

• Blog contributor Mike Z. would be the first person to die in the event of a zombie apocalypse. Fact.

• Usually I don't bring up specific fantasy football matchups. No one really cares. But I annihilated RJ this week and he is contemplating retirement. Mostly because my team in that league is really bad.

• The Dallas Cowboys have lost their past two games by a combined score of 80-24. Awesome.

• Steelers play the Cincinnati Bengals tonight on Monday Night Football. Check back for a live blog of the game. Just kidding. 

Led Zeppelin - Tangerine

Searching IMDB message boards more fun than it should be

By Jeff

If you can't tell, I'm kind of a nerd. This was something I used to try and hide. If I pulled up to soccer practice or something with a cheesy song on that I enjoyed, I would quickly change the channel to the cool station radio station. Those were dark times.

Today, I embrace my nerdness. And I take comfort in knowing there are much lamer people in the world than me. I found this out by reading the Internet Movie Database message boards.

Have you ever spent just 15 minutes reading the posts located there? The individuals creating and responding to threads definitely have more time on their hands than I do, and those who know me know I have plenty of time on my hands.

Sorry zombies, buzzkill13 says
you shouldn't be able to walk.

What inspired this post were some of the posts under AMC's new series "The Walking Dead". A thread there is focused solely on debating whether zombies should be able to run or not. The posters then explained their reasoning for which side they supported. Those who support running zombies think they should be OK to run if they are "freshly dead" and have not rotted away too much. Not so easily convinced, posters on the other side of the debate said rigor mortis sets in after three hours after a person dies, so dead people should hardly be able to walk, let alone run. Then there were those who were calling the infected people from "28 Days Later" zombies. Thankfully, these individuals were corrected, as the infected in that movie were still alive. Anyway, the running/walking debate continued for like 50 entries.

No one seemed to bring up the idea of suspending reality for the sake of entertainment, which was weird. After all, the topic was about zombies. And come on, it's clear that the virus passed on by zombies allows bodies to function similarly to humans. What idiots!

So you're cool with this guy living 500 years,
but question an axe's durability?

The IMDB boards have also become a haven for people who like to point out what they view are flaws in movies and shows. On the "Highlander: The Series" boards, a guy is complaining about the quality of an axe that was supposedly buried for 300 years. Other users than go an do research to see if the axe's handle really should be so well preserved or not. I admire the commitment, but come on! You don't watch "Highlander", a show about immortals trying to cut off other immortals' heads throughout history, and worry about the plausibility of a weapon still being in mint condition. You watch to see some heads roll.

OK, so maybe I'm still as big a nerd as these people, because I actually read these posts. Damnit! Anyway, the point of this post is to point out that if you're really bored, want to feel better about yourself  or need a little entertainment, the IMDB message boards are gold. And I just wanted an excuse to mention Highlander.

Scatman John - I'm a Scatman

Will the game be on the radio?

By Mike Roarty

So the game of the week is a great matchup between Utah and TCU and yet not many people are going to be able to watch it. The game will be on the CBS College network or something. I have this channel at my place here in Chicago but I will be visiting my sister in Champaign so I will have to explain to some cute waitress at a bar what channel the game is on as she smiles back at me not listening because she doesn’t care. (“And I am supposed to be impressed because she is wearing a backpack.” )

The game will happen anyway and it should be awesome. The game will be in Salt Lake City and will knock one of these two teams out of the title race. We have each gotten to watch each of these teams once or twice over the last few years and each is well coached and plays great defense. TCU’s defense is giving up an absurd 8 point per game. They come after the QB and will force turnovers. Andy Dalton is a ginger which is hilarious but he can play and moves the offense like Brian Johnson did a few years ago for the Utes.

Utah has flown under the radar all year even from me. I watched them beat Pitt but didn’t really think anything of it because I just thought that was Pitt being Pitt. (Maybe it was.) I can’t say I know much about the team other than they seem to have the ability to adapt their game to whomever they are playing.

I do hope to be able to watch the game as I expect some hard hitting defense and in the end I expect the ginger to make one more plays than Jordan Wynn. TCU 24-17.

Billy Joel- Vienna (Sorry about last week Jeff)

Week 9 picks: Let the mediocrity continue

By Jeff

Kelson sent me a nice message on Tuesday. He wished me congratulations for my first week finishing better than .500 for my picks. Either he can't count, or he can't read. I finished 6-7 in another poor showing, bringing my overall record to 49-63-4.

Maybe Kelson was just trying to encourage me. Maybe he was being a butt-head. Maybe both.

The worst part about Week 8 was that I felt really good about my picks until around the fourth quarter of the early games. Then Washington, Denver and Kansas City choked away their leads and I continued my run of mediocrity. I feel like the San Francisco 49ers. I entered the season with high hopes and expectations, even though there was no justification for it. At least the 49ers could look at their division and think it was ripe for the taking. I just came into the NFL season thinking I was going to redeem myself for my bad picks last year. Instead, things are going worse than before.

As for Week 8, how boring were the early games? The Pittsburgh market had the Miami-Cincinnati and the Green Bay-New York Jets contests. There was a whole lot of nothing going on in those games, especially the first halves. At least Pittsburgh didn't have to deal with Denver-San Francisco. That appeared to be a real snooze. Glad we send our best overseas.

My big miss for Week 8 was taking the Steelers in New Orleans. Not so much taking the Steelers, but saying Ben Roethlisberger would keep pace with Drew Brees. Yeah, that didn't come close to fruition.

Week 9's picks are below. The home team is in all caps.

Rivers' reaction after dunking on a 6-year-old girl.
What a tool.

BUFFALO (+3) over Chicago: My hatred for Jay Cutler might be influencing my pick. On the other hand, the Bills are playing all of their opponents very tough lately, and most of those opponents are a lot better than Chicago.

HOUSTON (+3) over San Diego: The Chargers have lost road games to the Seattle Seahawks and St. Louis Rams already this year. Until they actually beat a team on the road (0-4 so far) I'm staying away from the Chargers. By the way, I love the fall of Shawn Merriman. It's great to see cheaters turn to suck after they get caught.

New Orleans (-6.5) over CAROLINA: If you haven't noticed, I'm terrible at predicting what the Saints are going to do every week. Really terrible. They have to beat Matt Moore by more than a touchdown, right?

MINNESOTA (-9) over Arizona: That's a lot of points to give to a 2-5 team, but Arizona has Derek Anderson.


New York Jets at DETROIT: The Jets are so annoying. I hate it when they win, because I don't like the people showering them with praise and i think Rex Ryan is a tool. But even when they lose it's annoying because the games are so damn boring! It must suck to be a fan of this team (I'm looking right at you, RJ).

Miami (+5.5) over BALTIMORE: The Dolphins don't lose on the road. It doesn't make sense, but they don't.

New England (-4.5) over CLEVELAND: Belichick returns to his old stomping grounds where he was a lousy coach. You know, when he didn't have a guy named Tom Brady lighting up secondaries. This is one of the game where there are no winners. Whoever wins, most of America will be sad.

That dog looks terrified to be there.

ATLANTA (-8.5) over Tampa Bay: The NFC South is such a fun conference to follow. Seriously. There is no consistently bad team. Usually the last place team from the previous season wins the division the next year. The NFC East is like this too, but those teams get a lot more attention than the NFC South. Anyway, I like Tampa Bay this year. It's fun to watch a young team succeed when most (including me) thought they would be one of the worst teams in the league. But Matt Ryan is really good at home. I mean really good.

New York Giants (-6.5) over SEATTLE: The Seahawks are banged up. That's all I know because I haven't been able to watch a single Seattle game this season. Somehow I doubt I'm missing much.

Kansas City (+2.5) over OAKLAND: The Raiders have almost scored 100 points in the past two games combined. That's nuts for a team that starts Jason Campbell at quarterback. So why am I picking against them? Honestly, I'm just guessing at this point.

Manning is also confused as to
why he is the underdog.

Indianapolis (+3) over PHILADELPHIA: If the Colts are getting points, I'm picking the Colts. This should be a rule.

GREEN BAY (+8) over Dallas: So it turns out Jon Kitna is not the answer in Dallas. Who saw that coming? Jesus probably did. Suck on that, Jon.

Piitsburgh (-5) over CINCINNATI: Practically half the teams in a league have a single player on their team that has more sacks than the whole Bengals roster. If you give Roethlisberger time, he is going to kill you. Kill you with fire.

Better Than Ezra - Desperately Wanting 

Narrowing down where Moss will land

By Jeff

The Minnesota Vikings officially placed Randy Moss on waivers yesterday, making him available for NFL teams to place claims on him until 4 p.m. today.

Go ahead. Scream "Wasssuuuup".
I know you want to.

What's this, one of the best receivers in the league was waived? Well, Moss hasn't been very inspired this year. He only has 22 catches for 313 yards and five touchdowns. The touchdowns are nice, but the other stats are mediocre for a player of his talents. If you've watched him this year, he likes to just stop running if the play doesn't involve him. Adam Schefter is spending the next six days reviewing tape to see if Moss has actually blocked at some point this season. That's what insiders do, and they do it well.

So where is Moss going to end up? I have no clue, but that won't stop me from breaking down the likelihood of the other 31 teams in the league picking him up. The percentages may add up to more than 100 when all is said and done. Math was never my specialty.

He's not hurt. Derek Anderson just likes a good
 cry in the middle of a game.

Arizona Cardinals, 0 percent chance: They already have a stud receiver whose skills are being wasted because they don't have anyone that can get him the ball. How would adding another help or make sense?

Atlanta Falcons, 0 percent: They don't need him and the attention he would bring. Right now they have a great core that is putting the team first. Roddy White, Michael Turner, Tony Gonzalez and Matt Ryan don't mouth off to the media. They just play football, and they have been rewarded with one of the best teams in the NFC.

Baltimore Ravens, 7 percent: That offense that was supposed to be unstoppable prior to the season hasn't been. They have been OK. If they pick up Moss and give him an extension, expect Anquan Boldin to demand a new deal. He tends to do that.

Buffalo Bills, 5 percent: Because that Terrell Owens experiment worked out so well last season. I'm shocked Lee Evans hasn't had to miss time due to depression yet.

Carolina Panthers, 10 percent: They need another receiver. I know they have receivers other than Steve Smith, I'm just struggling to name them because I'm not sure they have any catches this season. There is also the added bonus of Smith possibly punching Moss in the face. He tends to do that.

Chicago Bears, 0 percent: Who wants to play with Jay Cutler? Anyone? Didn't think so. By the way, I was really hurting for a quarterback in a fantasy league this week. I resorted to picking up Cutler. He still sucks.

Cincinnati Bengals, 25 percent: This situation has Cincinnati written all over it! Pick up another receiver who has worn out his welcome every where he's gone. Maybe it will take away attention from Carson Palmer's poor play for another week.

"I didn't know Colt McCoy was only
this tall when I drafted him!"

Cleveland Browns, 1 percent: Eric Mangini probably wouldn't mind have Moss on the team, but Mangini has zero power in the organization. Mike Holmgren has it all, and his attempts to help the team have included the signing of Jake Delhomme. So if Holmgren doesn't know what he's doing, how are we supposed to?

Dallas Cowboys, 5 percent: Jerry Jones tends to overrate wide receivers' value. See Williams, Roy.

Denver Broncos, 0 percent: Josh McDaniels wants to show he doesn't need Bill Belichick, or anyone affiliated with the New England Patriots, to be a terrible coach who will be fired at the end of the season.

Detroit Lions, 0 percent: This bumps up to 50 percent if Matt Millen has a hostile takeover and resumes his roll as general manager.

Green Bay Packers, 5 percent: The team realizes the mistake they made years ago when they didn't trade for him and snatches him up. Then they remember that it's their running game and general team health that's been holding them back and they just wasted millions on a guy who doesn't seem to care anymore.

Houston Texans, 2 percent: Gary Kubiak could make a last ditch effort to make the playoffs and keep his jobs. Then he'll be stuck watching his secondary get torched for 400 yards-per-game and start updating his resume.

Indianapolis Colts, 5 percent: Their receiving corps. is all kinds of busted up. Dallas Clark is out for the season, Austin Collie is out a few more weeks and Pierre Garcon forgot how to catch balls thrown at his chest. Peyton Manning is also the type of player that could get Moss on the same page with the team like Tom Brady did when Moss first arrived in New England. There is also the added factor of some great commercial potential from a Manning-Moss duo.

Jacksonville Jaguars, 0 percent: Does anyone actually care about this team? Seriously. Anyone?

Kansas City Chiefs, 2 percent: Could Moss be the piece of the puzzle that gets them to the second round of the playoffs? He and Matt Cassel played well together that year in New England when Brady's knee was destroyed. Cassel should be pulling pretty hard for the Chiefs to sign Moss. After all, Moss is the reason Cassel was viewed by other teams as a starting quarterback.

Miami Dolphins, 0 percent: Brandon Marshall has behaved himself this season. They wouldn't risk screwing that up, would they?

Minnesota Vikings, 1 percent: No one picks Moss up, leaving the Vikings to just send him home and try and forget they wasted a draft pick on him.

For all of you wondering who the next
Batman villain is, here's a clue.

New England Patriots, 25 percent: I'm going to channel my inner RJ here with a conspiracy theory I couldn't help but come up with. The whole New England was upset with Moss and vice-versa was a diabolically clever ploy by the most diabolical mind in pro sports, Bill Belichick. Before the season started, he got together with Moss and told him to lash out at press conferences about his contract. Then they spread the other rumors, like Moss and Brady getting into over their haircuts. Finally, they trade Moss to the desperate team for a draft pick, where he will act even more disgruntled than he did in New England. Said team will then drop him, and all the other teams would too afraid of his attitude to pick him up, effectively allowing the Patriots to grab him again along with a third round pick. You can't tell me that's not something Belichick would come up with and execute without a second thought!

New Orleans Saints, 0 percent: They don't need a stud with the way Brees spreads the ball around. Marques Colston's fantasy owners are all banging their heads against a wall right now.

New York Giants, 0 percent: Nothing witty or analytical here. They just won't do it.

New York Jets, 5 percent: I'm not saying they would play him, but they might try to foil Belichick's diabolical plan. Rex Ryan is kind of a dick like that.

Oakland Raiders, 0 percent: Even Al Davis has to remember what a disaster Moss was in Oakland.

Philadelphia Eagles, 0 percent: Having Michael Vick just bomb the ball to Moss could actually work. And it would make Philadelphia even more hated than it already is. Sounds like a win-win but makes too much sense for Andy Reid to pull the trigger.

The Steelers' image may be slipping.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 0 percent: Not because the team doesn't have players of questionable character on the team, because they definitely do. It's because they don't bring those guys in from outside. They're all home grown.

San Diego Chargers, 2 percent: Why not? This team is destined to underachieve. At least let Phillip Rivers have a chance to break the record for passing yards in a season.

San Francisco, 0 percent: Moss would serve no purpose on this crappy team. Although, it would be fun to hear Mike Singletary's press conference after the signing.

The rest, 0 percent: I ran out of percent and this post is already too long.

Dropkick Murphys - Captain Kelly's Kitchen

Pittsburgh's best pizza tour: Campiti's

By Jeff

Before I go into my review, I just want to declare that there is no such thing as too much pizza. I had it like three times last week, and didn't regret one bite. Even that seventh slice at Fiori's when I was full after four. So worth it.

You can kind of see our "plates".

Anyway, Swan, Greg, Greg's ladyfriend and I stopped by Campiti's Friday night. This is another place I've always been meaning to visit, but it's even closer to Fiori's than Giovanni's. Needless to say I usually keep driving.

Overall, Campiti's was very good. It had that pizza shop feel to it. Small dining area and that "We don't care what it looks like" decor. That's how I like it. It is the pizza shop atmosphere. I don't want fancy, or even nice. Just give me the pizza. I love that they just give you paper instead of plates.

The taste was very similar to Giovanni's. Neither place had a standout ingredient or touch, just solid pizza. The crust at Campiti's was thin and crispy, making it easier to eat more. Always a plus in my book.

I have to be honest. I'm one of those people that doesn't always eat the entire crust. It's just not my favorite part of the pizza. The cheese and sauce combination is what makes a pizza special to me. So if you see one of my plates with a couple of crusts left, you know why.

As for the sauce, it was similar to Giovanni's. Kind of sweet, but not as sweet, or as good, as Fiori's. Campiti's definitely holds the upper hand in cheese when compared to Giovanni's. In a previous entry, I explained how Giovanni's went thin with the layer of cheese. There were bites you just couldn't taste it. Campiti's had a thicker layer, making the pizza better. I also liked that the cheese was slightly undercooked. Sometimes this is good, sometimes it's not. It was melted, but you could still see pieces that weren't completely. You know, when you can still somewhat make out the individual shreds?

The pepperonis were excellent. I think it's hard to mess up a pepperoni. My ladyfriend's brother has a problem with pepperoni's in Pittsburgh. He is from Philly and said he never had pizza with tiny pepperoni's before and he doesn't get it. I've never noticed. Either way, I liked Campiti's pepperonis.

Overall, Campiti's gets a 8.5 out of 10. The cheese made it a slight notch above Giovanni's, but I'm still just going to drive the extra mile to Fiori's if I'm craving Za.

Dave, Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich - Hold Tight

Steelers struggle against Saints

By Jeff

From this point on, Mondays are going to be random thoughts from the weekend day. Basically, SDEE doesn't really post on weekends. It's not that I'm too busy (I'm not), but most readers do. So I'm just going to review the weekend that was on Mondays, and try to touch multiple subjects.

He is who we thought he was!
Mike Shanahan apparently missed the memo.

• The Steelers did not adjust against the New Orleans Saints yesterday. I don't care how loud the dome is, Ben Roethlisberger has been a starting quarterback in this league for seven seasons. He should be able to make adjustments. There was no excuse for not taking advantage of the Saints defense giving the Steelers the entire middle of the field.

• Does Mike Shanahan really think that Rex Grossman is better at the two-minute drill than Donovan McNabb. I get that McNabb has been mediocre this year, but Grossman has been bad his entire career with the exception of like eight weeks. Maybe it was Shanahan's way to inspire McNabb. Remember when Andy Reid benched McNabb? He came back and played great the rest of the season.

• The Cincinnati Bengals have lost four games in a row. It's awesome.

• The New York Jets offense was really terrible. It turned what looked to be an entertaining game into a very boring game that made me sleepy. 

  

  The backup has become the master.

• Brent Johnson needs to start for the Penguins until he comes back to earth. I love Marc-Andre Fleury. I think the team needs him if they hope to win the Cup. But he's not right for the team at this moment.

• Pens fans eagerly awaiting Jordan Staal's return will have to wait about six more weeks. He broke his hand in practice today. Balls.

• Let the University of Pittsburgh National Championship talk in football start up again. They're 3-0 in the Big East! OK, they'll have to settle for Big East Champions, maybe. Where they will lose to TCU, Utah or Boise State in a BCS Bowl. The game will show how crappy the Big East is. It will also allow the BCS to keep Boise/TCU/Utah out of the National Championship game again next year if they are undefeated. How? Well they're BCS Bowl win will be over a not very good Pitt team. 

• The Minnesota Vikings waived or are going to officially waive Randy Moss tomorrow (conflicting reports). That was quick. The team dumps him after four weeks and a third round draft pick. Oops. By the way, Brad Childress is done.

  

  "Is it five yet?"

• Despite lots of turnovers and a humbling first game, LeBron James and the Miami Heat are looking good. By the way, how awesome is it to be Chris Bosh? He gets grouped in with LeBron and D-Wade, when he is nowhere near their level. He is also making a ton of money. I'm very jealous.

• "Dexter" is a great show. Season Five has been a little slow, but there is more focus and development going on with Dexter, so it's cool. I'm kind of annoyed with Julia Styles' character, though. Is it weird that I wish she was stuffed in a barrel in Episode Three? If you watch the show, you know what I'm talking about. We can be weird together. 

• The World Series is experiencing terrible ratings. NBC Sunday Night Football beat it out last night for the first time in a long time. Maybe it was the first time. I'm too lazy to look it up right now. 

• Is anyone surprised by that last observation? NBC had the past two Super Bowl teams playing on Halloween in New Orleans. One team (The Steelers), is one of the most loved and hated teams in the country. The other team won the hearts of the nation because their city was destroyed by Katrina and became a beacon of hope. In contrast, the World Series is the San Francisco Giants and Texas Rangers. That's all I got for it. 

• Take 5's are awesome. Awesome.

You broke her heart, Tony.
You deserve to be broken.

• Seeing the Dallas Cowboys fall to 1-6 was wonderful. There's one hiccup with their failures, though. They are a bigger story now than if they were 6-1! Media outlets can't stop talking about the team. When will Wade Phillips be fired? Who will take over? Has the team given up? Did anyone see this coming. Stop talking about the Cowboys!

• All of you need to start watching "Chuck" and "Community". They are NBC comedies. They are On Demand. Watch them and thank me later. Then I will thank you if they don't get canceled. OK, that had nothing to do with this weekend. More of a general plea for assistance. I can't do it alone.

• Bought the new Jimmy Eat World album this weekend. It's decent. They don't rock out very hard or have any really beautiful songs, but they don't have any bad ones that have you lunging for the skip button.

• The Pittsburgh Pirates still don't have a manager. Because it's the beginning of the Pens season and the middle of the Steelers season, no one cares.

Jimmy Eat World - Coffee and Cigarettes