what a shocking, beautiful win for the cats on saturday night. i sort of had a feeling that they'd keep it close, but i always have that feeling. i don't put too much stock in that. but it was so nice to see that, after taking a lead and blowing it, the cats were able to respond and come up with the late plays.

the defense was downright stifling, i thought. ohio state isn't oklahoma offensively, but i think they're better than recent additions of the buckeyes. but they were absolutely not a consistent threat all night long.

problem is, the schedule ahead remains rough. 'should-win' games include this week at indiana (the plan is to be there, although they've not been confirmed), senior day against illinois, and the final game of the year at hawaii. the 'probably-should-win' game is at penn state. that's six wins, which gets the cats to detroit (and perhaps gets me a uaw motor city bowl discount...?). the 'could-win' games are, i guess, at wisconsin, and i hope, against purdue at home. i think the game at michigan is about unwinnable.

it's too bad the hawkeyes dodged the cats this season. it's fun beating the hawks.

in other news...
i'm not sure if other people have this problem, but i find that my laundry is always - always - damp. sure, i overload the washer, but i also compensate by using the "washer+1" theory of dryer usage. that is to say, if i use two washers (which i generally do), i use three dryers.

my theory has now changed. last night, in between stints of watching trent green and company carve up the baltimore defense, i put in two loads of "washer" and then four loads of dryer. and, let me tell you, 'dry as a bone' doesn't even begin to describe the clothing. which is to say, they were dry and warm.

when in doubt, spend the extra 75 cents, i say.

i don't know if you make use of the public library, but i think you should. i'm constantly stunned by the quality of newish books that the fine d'port library has in stock. used to be, i'd go to the sports non-fiction section and simply search for one i had heard about. john feinsten books were sometimes checked out. thomas boswell compilations. things like that.

at some point, i decided that i just wasn't moved enough by reading exclusively sports books. i've since checked out things from the "suggested reading" list of a literary journalism class that i took. yesterday, i headed to look for a book that i had read about called wonderland, written by michael bamberger of sports illustrated (i guess i can't avoid the sports thing entirely). they didn't have it, but they will in the next two weeks or so. (it's checked out at a nearby library, but the inter-library loan system will be here to help!)

mildly unsuccessful and in search of something to read (i was bored a bit, what with no cleaning and only football, this weekend), i headed to the new fiction shelf. i browsed the titles, found nothing completely exciting. i wound up pulling a book about the criminals of the nba, and some other faceless political title. i walked to the checkout counter, first walking by the "new - just returned" cart. right there, in its hardback beauty, was the against all enemies book written by richard c. clarke. so i checked that out, and it's pretty fascinating. i'm about 20 pages in.

my fantasy football team is now a disputed 0-4 (disputed because week three should have been a tie). my fantasy football team is the only winless team in the league. my fantasy football team is also the sixth highest scoring team in the league. my confidence is shaken, but not shattered. problem is, we're only a 13-week league, so i've got a large uphill climb coming.

i also finished fourth - and out of the money - in fantasy baseball. argh. one other ill-effect of the cubs tumble (i'll elect not to analyze) was kerry's chokejob. cost me 50 bucks, which isn't much, but it's 50 bucks more than i have right now.

big ups to rico chenowith. we'll see that bastard on friday. or perhaps saturday.