Monday, January 28, 2008
Mass Rejection
What makes it especially joyous is how poorly one Rudolph Ghouliani is faring so far in the primaries. It warms my heart to see the man rejected by so many groups of people in so many different areas of the country. Yet there he was the other day on the campaign trail in Florida gamely jabbing at the air with those spastic arms of his flailing about. At his side at one Florida venue were pseudo-celebrities like New York Yankees outfielder Johnny Damon, proving that baseball players are consistently among the dumbest athletes in all of professional sports, ranking just ahead of ultimate fighters and NBA street ballers, as well as once-promising actor Jon Voigt, perhaps providing insight into why daughter Angelina Jolie wants nothing to do with him anymore.
Witnessing the sweet failure of Candidate Rudy, one of the more dispiriting, soul-crushing people to ever occupy a place in our depraved American diaspora, is reminiscent of that famous scene in the Wizard of Oz where the Wicked Witch literally melts into the floor, only Rudy's humiliation will play out agonizingly over the next few weeks. And behold, because there was great rejoicing and shouting unto the heavens, such was the joy of the faces of the people. Or something like that.
It now looks like John McCain will be the presumptive nominee. No way a plastic man like Mitt Romney will continue fooling people too far into the future. The guy will change his values and his opinions and even attempt to rewrite his past public record as he goes. Say what you like, but McCain is too damn stubborn to change now, and he will present a formidable challenger to the Democratic candidate, especially if that turns out to be Hillary Clinton -- a candidate with so much negative baggage that she would be the only one of this year's main contenders with the ability to turn the election in the Republicans' favor.
Let's put it this way. Nobody hates conservatives and right-wingers more than me, yet even the prospect of a Hillary presidency freaking these people out over a four- or eight-year period is not enough to sway me. In fact, were Hillary to capture the nomination, having to hold my nose and vote for the Manchurian Candidate against the Republicans would be a lot like what I'm faced with in the upcoming Super Bowl: rooting for the hated Patriots to emerge victorious because I detest the Giants just that little bit more -- a hate forged of a thousand burning volcanoes.
This is not the time for another Clinton, Hillary or Bill. Even before Bill starting making an ass of himself recently on the campaign trail with his jabs at Barack Obama, I was against an American presidential cycle playing itself out over 30 years as Bush-Clinton-Bush-Clinton. It's not good for the country, it's not good for business, it's not right for the customer. But I digress...
Caught John Edwards on Letterman last week. The guy seems genuine to me, and I believe his economic message has resonance in this savage Darwinistic economy we find ourselves in. Not that this rich trial lawyer was channeling Eugene Debs or something, but speaking truth to entrenched, fixed economic power has been a long time coming, and his stump speech contains a lot of truth in it. I believe a lot of voters would've been receptive to his anti-greed, anti-corruption, anti-lobbyist message. I was hoping Edwards would win, and ultimately team with Obama on the Democratic ticket. But it looks like there's no stopping Obama now, fresh off his trouncing of Team Clinton in North Carolina.
Boy, that love affair America had with Fred Thompson sure came and went, didn't it? There's only so far that spouting cornpone platitudes will get you, even if you announce your candidacy on the Jay Leno show. I saw through this guy's faux Reagan routine from jump street, and the rest of the country soon thereafter. I think Romney is next to fall, even if he still has a fortune to spend literally buying each vote one at a time. I don't know what that leaves, but as the residency of George W. Bush comes to its merciful close, it's shaping up as a McCain-Obama title fight, and I would put my money on the energetic up-and-comer against the grizzled old veteran. Politics, like boxing, is still a young man's game. McCain can also be a scary dude when you see the blood rushing to his face and he starts repeatedly pointing his finger out at the audience for emphasis, what some might call playing to his base.
Obama continues to tap into something unseen in American politics since JFK last strode to a podium over 40 years ago. As the major endorsements continue to roll in, I would not wager large sums of money against his continued ascension to the presidency. Only a fool, or a Republican operative, would tell you different. Some would tell you they're one and the same.
Monday, January 21, 2008
Life Is Sometimes Like An Overpriced Tuna Salad Sandwich
So imagine my chagrin and outright confusion when I got home last night and switched on my computer to check my email, etc. I always check the craigslist Writing/Editing Jobs classifieds first out of habit, and there was the very job I had started on Monday still being posted via another agency, something called Tiger Info. But make no mistake: it was the exact wordage found in the job outline sent to me by my own freelance/temp agency, known in encrypted acronym form as SWP.
It wasn't quite like seeing your own obituary in the local paper, but it did give me a Kafkaesque jolt, leading me to question whether I indeed existed in other than spectral fashion. Did I not just start last Monday in that very same position -- or was that my cursed doppelganger? Why are they still running the ad? Did I wear out my welcome already? Are they hiring another proofreader? You see the tricks my mind is playing -- stoking my own natural reservoir of paranoia? I wish I had never seen the stupid ad. I wasn't even gonna check craigslist that night, that's how much I thought I was gonna like working for AB ... what with Purity of Heart being to will one thing and all... I emailed my contact at the agency over the weekend and told him about the job still being posted, but I haven't heard back from him.
Anyway, another thing that sucks about being a freelancer is you have to get your time card filled out and sent to the agency, always gotta worried about getting it in on time for different agencies. Last Friday my supervisor was out, and he was the only guy apparently in the whole damn company who was authorized to okay my hours, sign the card, etc. So now I have to worry about getting paid this Wednesday. The first two days last week I get there early, only to have to wait in the lobby for like a half-hour because Security can't find my supervisor to get the okay to let me up. Finally I got an ID photo badge thing going on day 2. But I don't really deal with the supervisor during the day, who's the production manager. Instead I work closely with the other proofreader, a laid-back but quite reserved black guy. His door is always shut, and so as a new proofreader whenever I have a question, which is fairly often, I have to go through the ritual of knocking my knuckles on the door until I hear the requisite Come In.
I also interact with the 4-5 editors who work with the analysts to create these reports; the editors are all women, some working at home for at least part of the week, and so far I've got nothing but positive feedback from them, albeit in piecemeal fashion to say the least.
What I like about this job is it's busy in the morning, but there's tons of downtime in the afternoon. I'm all about the downtime if it's there, although of course time does tend to drag when you're not busy. I still don't have the computer in my office up and running, that's another thing I'm waiting on my supervisor for. Last week whenever my in box was empty and there was nothing else to do, I literally read over every back issue of their research reports that was in my office, probably 30 to 40 volumes cover to cover. In that way I used my time wisely, and now I am really up to speed on the kinds of things expected of me, and suffice to say I found tons of not only inconsistencies in these reports in terms of what their own style guide directs, but outright mistakes and errors. Let's just say they're quite fortunate to be acquiring my services when they did, with nary a moment to spare.
I have a small office all to myself. Everybody seems to keep their doors closed in my little wing, so you're constantly having to knock on peoples' doors; there are also a few desktop operators, outside our offices, who sit at cubicles and print out the stuff we read over, then make corrections based on our edits. It's all very low-key and quiet. There is a nearby kitchen pantry which is stocked with sodas, juices, bottled water, coffee, etc. That comes in handy, especially when you consider what happened to me on Thursday.
For lunch, I decided to check out the corner diner on 54th & 6th, goes by the name of Astro Diner. Well, I can tell you the prices are something out of the future, because when I ordered a mere tuna fish salad with swiss cheese on rye with lettuce and tomato to go, I was shocked to find that the bill they handed me along with the sandwich was for the atmospheric sum of $8.50, with another $0.70 tax added on for good measure, boosting the already overpriced item to $9.20. I did yet another double take on my way to the cash register, then decided I wasn't gonna encourage this sort of price gouging. I returned the sandwich to the waitress at the counter, and asked if there was some sort of mistake: surely the '8' was a '4' and the bill should read $4.50.
No, she said, it's $8.50, to which I responded: "Well, that's disgusting; even if I hit the Lotto I wouldn't pay that much for a tuna fish sandwich."
"You should have checked the menu first," she said as I exited the premises with a righteous sense of indignation. I guess other people don't bat an eye at paying these prices. I know the retail leases in Manhattan are absurdly high, but someone has to take a stand. I have no problem with it being me.
Anyway, back to the new job. Once I do get the computer operational, there are some other components to the job I will be expected to master, but it's nothing too complicated or beyond the scope of technical acumen; it's along the lines of spell checking a document for last minute quality control, attaching a set of disclosures to the end of a report, posting articles to the company intranet...how hard could it be?
I'm waiting for another small check from yet another agency, that check is already late and there's no mail today, so that sucks.
One good bit of news is that I completed a project over the weekend for that Astoria research report that I found on craigslist last month. The first document was 90 pages, I picked it up Thursday after work, then spent 3 hours reading it that night, another 2 1/2 on Friday night after work, and then Saturday finished going over it again and then making the corrections online before sending it back. Worked hard on it because I thought James needed it back as soon as possible, but it took me until today to arrange dropping the hard copy back off, and I did get a nice check for my 7.5 hours of work, but today all the banks are closed, even the check cashing joint, in honor of the afore-referenced MLK Jr.
So I've been busy, and there's supposed to be another document ready to proof as soon as tomorrow. If I could do even 2 or 3 such documents a month, that would be some nice little extra income on the side if you dig where I'm coming from...and I know that you do. If I do say so myself, I did a terrific job on the first one, catching stuff that only the most eagle-eyed of your proofreading class would even have a remote chance of finding. It's what I do. Thank god I use my powers only for good or else think of the havoc I could be causing...
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Fickle Football Gods
Late game first: Giants -- the hated division rivals in question -- visit frigid Lambeau Field to take on hometown Pack. Temps expected to drop below zero. I think the Giants string of road wins ends today at 9 games in a row; they run out of steam in the second half and I expect a big Green Bay win. Seriously big win. The score that keeps popping into my head is 49-10, so I may as well go with that.
The Giants' banged-up secondary is gonna cover that fleet of fleet wideouts? I don't think so; even in the cold snow last week, the Pack's passing game didn't miss a beat. And with RB Ryan Grant's continuing emergence, I don't see many punts today for the Green & Gold.
The Giants' offensive attack last week was indeed offensive in the second half, gaining a total of just 56 yards against the Cowboys. I don't see a whole lot more out of that bunch this week.
It's not that I like Green Bay as a Cowboys fan, I really can't stand Brett Favre if the truth be told, as blasphemous as that sounds. I don't like the Packers, but I hate the Giants with the intensity of a thousand suns. So I will hold my nose and root for Green Bay today, but then root against them next week. Unless of course they are playing the Patriots. My hatred of other NFL teams is a complicated thing... For instance, I know my boy Gatt down in FLA is a long-time Packers fan, but then again my bro Jimi the Greek bleeds Giant Blue.
The first championship game today, between undefeated New England and a banged-up but hot San Diego Chargers team, is foolishly slated to start late afternoon instead of the traditional for a damn good reason start time of 1:00, consecrated as such by the football gods -- who know best about such matters.
Looks like Phil Rivers is out at QB, which may be a good thing, then Billy Volek steps up; I've always liked Volek back to his days with ... well, whoever he used to be with. Tennessee most recently. He can play a little bit, as college coaches like to say. He's also not a bad Thrower of the Football, which is the latest cliche you hear being uttered by blowhards like Mike Francesa.
Wouldn't it be sweet if those same football gods picked today to dethrone the anointed Patriots from their league-sanctioned mission? Wouldn't it be so fucking sweet to see Tom Brady stalking off the field after the game, refusing to shake any hands, that trademark smirk wiped off his face? Yeah, I know, he'd still be a multimillionaire fucking a hot supermodel, but still...
Alas, that scenario appears unlikely, and since we're concerned first and foremost with the accurate prognostication of the game, put me down for Patriots 34, Chargerinos 23, in a game that's closer than the final score indicates, if that makes any sense. And at the end of the day it's poor Norv Turner forced to cross the field and seek out Bill Belichick's hand to shake.
Monday, January 14, 2008
A Dream Derailed
Looking back, Tony Romo made a huge blunder by going to Mexico during the bye weekend with Jessica Simpson. What happened to the free agent wonder who ate, slept, and breathed football? We hardly knew ya, Tony. Sure there were some key drops, and the pass protection broke down late in the game when they could least afford it, but Romo simply didn't make the plays he was making during the first three-quarters of the year when they built their 12-1 record.
Now it's another offseason of doubt, second-guessing and scrutiny. It's a long road ahead just to get back to the playoffs, where more than ever the Cowboys' postseason drought will be harped on ad nauseum, which I think is Latin for " a lot."
I had a bad feeling about this game all week, and all my suspicions proved true. The only thing left to do is move on, stay away from sports talk radio and the submoronic New York fans (not you, Jim!), and get on with your life.
Speaking of which, I did just get some good news on the job front. Last Thursday I had yet another job interview, this one with a major financial company to work on their research reports, full time, 9 to 5, the whole nine yards. Had a good meeting with my contact, and then took the proofreading test -- a 4-page report that the guy said should take 45 minutes. It was tricky, but when I handed it back to him he told me it looks like I got almost everything. I felt pretty confident because, hey, that's what I do. Out of three interviews at financial companies for a proofreading position, this was the only one that asked me to take a test. How they make an informed decision without administering any kind of test is beyond me, but that's their tough luck.
Ironically, the freelancing lately had slowed down to a dribble; first Christmas week and then New Year's week passed by without a nibble. So I applied for unemployment benefits, qualified for them, and was fixing on trying to get by on a fixed income for a while. I figured if I could get a few off-the-books editing projects, things wouldn't be too bad. But working for a living is the way to go.
Friday I was on my way down to Varick Street for my first freelance assignment in weeks, had just gotten off the train and was walking down Prince Street, when I made eye contact with a woman who looked quite familiar. As soon as she passed, it hit me: that was Bjork, that crazy Icelandic singer with the anger management issues. But she looked real cute and kinda gave me a nice smile. As I passed her, I saw a few other people doing a double take. I asked a real cute Asian girl -- the city is seemingly full of them these days -- if that really was Bjork. She thought it was, and so I had my celebrity sighting verified. If I wasn't headed to work, I should have struck up a conversation with the Asian chick -- or Bjork herself, for that matter. Oh well, what's another missed opportunity in a lifetime full of them.
While I worked the morning going over a few catalogs, etc., another agency called and asked if I wanted to work another proofreading job in the afternoon. I said I did, and after I got out at around 2:00, I headed uptown to a place on 27th street and worked from 2:30 to 7:30. It was a boring job going over pages and pages of mutual fund reports, and it was on my way to this place when I got the call saying the investment house wanted me to start right away, this coming Monday. It's a 3-month project, with a 6-week review, but it was stressed that there's a good chance it could turn into a permanent position.
So I started this morning, jumped right into it, going through a 70-page research report, then a bunch of chapters for upcoming reports as the time flew by. Got some good feedback already. It's all right up my alley, all the stuff I did while toiling for The Wall Street Transcript came flooding back to me, and so I feel very suited for this position.
All I can do is my best. Which is more than the Dallas Cowboys can say this morning. Ouch! That hurt to write, it's painful to read, but one way or another it had to come out. I'm ashamed of my team today, and that's the worst thing a sports fan can say about his favorite team. If it was any other team but the Giants, it wouldn't hurt nearly as bad. But it was and it does.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
No Place Like Home?
I have no preference in this game, don't hate either team or especially care one way or the other. I think Colts defense is a little better overall, although San Diego has more explosive athletes who are more likely to make a late game changing play. Whoever wins here, I will root for them like hell to derail the Pats next week. Just what I've been hoping for all year. Let's call it San Diego in a true squeaker, 28-27, and you were there.
Second game is being billed as the underdog Giants versus NFC East Champion Cowboys. Noting the Cowboys 12 All-Pro selections this year, Giants MLB Antonio Pierce tried to make it the All-Pros versus the All-Joes, although there is a fallacy to that line or thinking: it's not like baseball where one team outspends all the other teams; both teams spend the exact same amount under the salary cap. It's not my fault if the Cowboys have a bunch of exceptional young talent, starting with QB Tony Romo.
Now, Romo didn't have the easiest coupla weeks leading up to this game, what with the Jessica Simpson angle that this tabloid and gossip driven sports culture shamelessly ran with. In fact, has there ever been a second-year QB under more scrutiny than Romo has been, getting ready to make the second playoff start of his budding career, and just his 28th game as a starter period. I mean, did this kid do anything illegal, anything immoral to warrant this kind of backlash -- besides the cardinal sin of using some off days to take a break along with 3 or 4 other teammates? Yeesh!
Fortunately for Dallas, the game will be won or lost on the field. If there's an athlete who can handle this type of added pressure, I would guess it's the undrafted free agent who soared from obscurity to celebrity like a roman candle last year -- a Romo candle? -- with a refreshing blend of aw-shucks humility and brazen confidence. Today is either the latest stage in the upward trajectory, or another high profile setback like last year's Seattle disaster -- really no middle ground here when you're the starting quarterback of the Dallas Cowboys.
What's missing here is that Eli Manning is just one mediocre game away from his own avalanche of criticism and doubt. One bad game and all the negativity comes crashing back. There's only room for one hero and one goat. My money is on Romo to duplicate the success he's had when he was in mid-season peak form. With an offensive line that gave him all kinds of time in the previous two wins over the Jersey Giants ready to assert itself, I'm seeing a 29-13 score -- although a late garbage time TD may close the final gap to 29-20 before it's all said and done. As it is written, so let it be done...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Pick Your Poison
Let me get my football picks on record here before I have to run a bunch of errands. Waiting for the mail to come, then I gotta boogie.
Quick playoff stats. Four teams with the bye this year -- Dallas, Green Bay, New England, Indy -- have a combined record of 55-9. That has to be an all-time record.
Since 1990 in the NFC, home teams with a bye in this divisional round are 30-4 . In fact, the number one seed in the NFC has won the last 17 divisional round games. Roll that around in your mouth a while before you start dialing your bookie's number and riding the hot underdog getting all those points.
First game starts around 4:30, Seattle at Green Bay. I'll be rooting for the Seahawks against Favre and his boys, but do I think they can win and, more importantly, am I picking them to win? Yes and no, if that makes sense. I think Seattle's defense is very underrated, with big-time scheme disrupters Pat Kerney and Julian Peterson -- two NFL players who display a non-stop motor, come to play, leave it all on the field ... pick a cliche and run with it. If they can put enough pressure on, we all know Favre is susceptible to the pick when he forces things, and that could turn the game around at any point given how well Seattle's secondary has been covering.
I see Seattle playing a conservative game on offense, keeping it close, but in the end Favre will make too many plays. Also, the Packers get one of the more favorable whistles in the league; in other words, GB gets the benefit of the doubt from the officials, and I see that trend not only continuing but accelerating in the postseason. Look for a pass interference call here, a coupla key Seattle plays called back, and the NFL gets what it wants: the Packers in the spotlight with Golden Boy Brett advancing in a close one, 28-20.
Second game, mighty Pats hosting upstart Jags, with New England obviously heavy, prohibitive favorites. Jacksonville I believe had no Pro Bowlers; almost every other Patriot will be going to Hawaii or has at some point in their career gone there. The one positive the Jags have going for them is their physical play on both sides of the line of scrimmage. If the running game clicks, then I like their chances to not get blown out. If they get a few turnovers, I can see them sticking around into the middle of the 3rd quarter. But the football gods would really have to be smiling down on them this evening for them to make enough big plays to pull off the shocking upset.
Of course, that the football gods do exist and intervene from time to time is as undeniable as it indisputable. Maybe this is the week those gridiron deities finally decide to curse Bill Belicheat and the unbeaten Cheatriots once and for all. Maybe it's this week, maybe next week, or maybe ultimately in the Super Bowl, but until the season is over, don't count it out. This doesn't appear to be the week the Pats are cut down, however, so look for a final somewhere in the range of Patriots 34, Jags 17. I hope I'm wrong, but what are the odds of that happening? We'll find out.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Caper From Hell
They went inside to present the check, but a clerk said Mr. Cintron would have to cash it himself, and asked where he was, the police said.
“He is outside,” Mr. O’Hare said, indicating the body in the chair, according to Mr. Browne. The two men started to bring the chair inside, but it was too late.
Their sidewalk procession had already attracted the stares of passers-by who were startled by the sight of the body flopping from side to side as the two men tried to prop it up, the police said. The late Mr. Cintron was dressed in a faded black T-shirt and blue-and-white sneakers. His pants were pulled up part of the way, and his midsection was covered by a jacket, the police said. While the two men were inside the check-cashing office, a small crowd had gathered around the chair. A detective, Travis Rapp, eating a late lunch at a nearby Empanada Mama saw the crowd and notified the Midtown North station house.
(FROM:Corpse Wheeled to Check-Cashing Store Leads to 2 Arrests By BRUCE LAMBERT and CHRISTINE HAUSER)
And so these two clowns look almost exactly as you would expect them to look -- shifty, seedy, down on their luck. It didn't take long for The Times to weigh in on the episode, with a piece entitled In Corpse Episode, Echoes of a Grittier Time, by Christine Hauser, that strikes a nerve, hits a chord ... choose a metaphor and let's get on with it:
In some nebulous way, for all its comic potential, it speaks to something more significant: reflective of a different time in NYC's distant history: one more sordid, yes, and even more chaotic -- but somehow an era that, at least looking through our rose colored rear-view mirrors, seemed also more genuine, more human, more real perhaps than the present age, which gives off a fin de siecle vibe that permeates the streets that in some ways is more offensive than the stench of an old alkie's breath.Jimmy, James O’Hare, lived with Fox, Virgilio Cintron, in a second-story apartment on West 52nd Street. Both men were in their 60s and Mr. Cintron was ailing, so Mr. O’Hare often took care of laundry and grocery errands. He shopped for soda and sweets at Adam Altareb’s 99-cent discount store on 10th Avenue, counting out change or small bills at the counter. They regularly lined up for a free meal around the corner at the Sacred Heart rectory.
They were tolerated, even treated with affection, although they could be trouble: Each had been arrested numerous times since the 1960s on charges including robbery, drug possession and burglary. Their neighborhood was slowly improving, and in some ways, it was leaving them behind. “They are a throwback to the old Hell’s Kitchen,” said Paul J. Browne, a police spokesman.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Burying The Lead
What the hell were we talking about?! Football or something?
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
One Immortal Goose
He played for 9 different teams in his 22 big league seasons, spanning 1972-1994, but the sight of Goose Gossage and his trademark Fu Manchu mustache mowing down batters in a New York Yankees uniform from '78-'83 is how most will probably remember the closer's career. Gossage stood 6'3" but must have seemed at least half a foot taller to hitters. It couldn't have been a pleasant task to face the scowling man waiting to fire his blazing fastball toward home plate. Now he is officially Cooperstown bound.
One of the most intimidating players to ever climb a pitching mound, Richard Michael Gossage got the long-awaited call today from the Baseball Writers Association, informing him that he finally garnered enough votes to be elected to the Hall of Fame. The 56-year-old last pitched in 1994 for Seattle, and will be the sole player inducted this year. Long time coming, and well deserved.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
And Then There Were Eleven
Wild Card Weekend. 8 teams going at it, winner take all, while division winners New England, Indianapolis, Dallas and Green Bay sit back and take it all in.
In the Saturday games, I like Seattle to win a close game. Think they'll get a fairly big lead early, like 20-7 or 17-3, then do just enough to hold on and beat the Redskins something like 28-24. Matt Hasselbeck throws for 3 TDs. Just one man's considerably informed opinion.
Saturday night, Men of Steel hosting division rival Jaguars. Everyone is picking the Jags in this one, based on how both teams played in December, I guess. But I like the Steelers to play one of their best games of the year, which will be just enough to hold off the upstart Jags, one of the more physical teams in the NFL. Big Ben throws for 3 scores, Steelers over Jags, 31-26. Put it in the books.
Tomorrow you get Giants visiting Tampa Bay, and here the bandwagon is all in the direction of the New Jersey Eleven, based in large part on how well the G-Men played in their 38-35 loss to the Patriots -- one of the best games of the season. Let's hope we get even two games that good here in Wild Card Weekend. Here I gotta like the Bucs. Even if I didn't I wouldn't tell you. The Bucs have to be the league's most unknown good team -- with no national TV appearances, if memory serves. But I like them to hold down the Giants offense and do what no team has been able to do: shut down Brandon Jacobs and the rest of the running game. Which will allow them to do what many teams have done recently: force Eli Manning into more than his share of mistakes. Which translates into 3 picks and a lost fumble. Swashbucklers 27, New Jersey Eleven 16, with Gentle Jeff Garcia throwing 3 of his own TD tosses, 2 to Gellin' Joey Galloway.
And finally, San Diego finished at 11-5 after stumbling out of the gate to a 1-3 mark. By anyone's math, that's finishing with a 10-2 mark, which is an achievement even in their watered down division (Broncos, Chiefs, Raiders). They picked off the good Manning 6 times in handing the Colts one of their rare defeats over the last few years. LaDainian Tomlinson led the NFL in rushing with 1,474 of the quietest yards in NFL history and of course a bunch of TDs -- overshadowed for most of the season by Gentleman Tom Brady, Brave Brett Favre, Terrific Tony Romo and other feel-good stories of the past football season. This game has all the earmarks of the weekend's big blowout. The Chargers have been playing with a chip on their shoulder for the last 12 weeks, and they prove they're a force to be reckoned with in this year's Super Bowl tournament. Meanwhile, the Titans may be better off with Kerry Collins at QB instead of inconsistent Vince Young, but in this one, it's Philip Rolling Rivers chucking for 2 TDs while who else LT runs for 3 in a 38-20 laugher. Titans are still a few WRs short of advancing, and may have a good old fashioned Quarterback Controversy on their hands. Enjoy.