Because they're probably the thing in life I'm most passionate about (perhaps this is a damning characterization of me, or a statement of the awesomeness of being a fan of anything, really), let's start with the Cats. The 2-0 Cats.

The 2-0 Cats should, without a doubt, be the 1-1 Cats. They were not the better team on Saturday. Outside of their bookend drives (the game-opening TD pass, and the game-closing TD pass), there was no semblance of rhythm. For the second straight week, they seem committed to not giving the ball to their best player (and when they got him the ball, of course, he got hurt, sadly.) They couldn't really stop the run, and they didn't really stop the pass. (541 yards of offense allowed.) CJ didn't really find his rhythm all game - I bet he didn't complete more than three passes is a row on the day.

The good things that developed:
1) Quentin Davie played more.
2) Brandon Roberson proved what we've suspected for years - that he's fast enough to get outside.
3) Ross Lane is officially a go-to guy. As clutch as they come.
4) The kicking game is strong. And Sherrick made a fine return.
5) CJ picked his spots, and did a great job scrambling when the spots were there.
6) Oh yeah. They drove, what, 79 yards in, what, 74 seconds. That was awesome.
7) CJ's got his first totally awesome win.

The bad things:
1) NU wasted a timeout that could've cost them the game, after the bonehead decision to give the ball to their fullback who never touches the ball on fourth-and-inches. This is a coaching mistake.
2) Clearly, Roberson or Conteh or Woodsum or anybody else is not an inside running option.
3) Sutton's hurt - perhaps hurter than we feared.
4) Eddie Simpson's hurt, too - but this opens the door for #41 to be awesome.
5) The D-Line hasn't played well yet.
6) They definitely didn't deserve to win.

Bottom line, though:
1) Gosh, they won, and their one-third of the way to this season's stated or unstated goal.

It wasn't a good win, friends, but they're all good wins.

All I know about Duke is also all you know about Duke. They're bad, streaking-toward-ignominy bad. I hope we're comfortable enough to hold Sutton out, or at least to not start him, to be honest. I'd rather him be healthy for the OSU game. He can help win that one, I think. (I'm delusional.)

- - - - - -

I just spent the weekend in Ann Arbor with Nemo. Of the four-to-five social activities that took place, two involved Nemo's parents. Two more involved Nemo's sister. I found this to be wholly satisfying. I think that's acceptable, right? It's kind of dorky. (But, then again, I like hanging out with my parents more than about anybody in the world; I guess it's acceptable to like hanging out with someone else's parents, too.)

I'd like to talk about Friday, briefly. We went to the Tigers game. Nemo, Carrie, myself, Mr. Nemo, and Mr. Nemo's little brother, Joe. Little Brother, like Big Brothers Big Sisters. I came away very impressed with the program, to be honest, and very impressed with Mr. Nemo's commitment to it.

Young Joe is clearly a different person than Mr. Nemo. Joe, for instance, he's a seventh grader, and his chief interests appear to be Nirvana and body hair. Mr. Nemo, by contrast, is so old that, when he was in high school, they didn't even have history class, and he is primarily interested in horse racing, golf, and the Chicago Cubs. But it sounds like Mr. Nemo has been doing something with young Joe on a weekly basis for the last four years. This may mean lots of bowling, or trips to McDonald's, or something. But, hey, Joe's been apparently dealt a rough hand, and I think Mr. Nemo makes it a little less rough.

Joe was clearly not interested in the Tigers game, but was pretty cool about being not-interested.

I recommended The Thermals to young Joe. Even wrote it down on an index card for him. I figure, they're poppy but aggressive (like Nirvana, in a way), and they're from the Pacific Northwest (like Nirvana, completely). Maybe he'll dig 'em. I hope Mr. Nemo's not upset with me - after all, The Thermals are the totally awesome band who put out an album called Fuckin' A. That's totally inappropriate for seventh graders, y'all.

- - - - - - -

The Cubs are committed to driving me, and you, and anybody with a soul, crazy. Great win today. Great win for Ted Lilly (which, by the way, is a great win for Willie's Destroyers, currently in a do-or-die round of the fantasy playoffs). Great to see a surge from Aramis and DLee. And everything that Jacque Jones does is satisfying.

I love Sweet Lou so, so much. Maybe I wrote this when I last wrote here, but the Cubs' performance this year is the first time - the first time - I've ever truly noticed an awesome managing job. He's so gutsy, and just so fantastic.

- - - - - - - -

Back to the weekend.

I drove down Friday afternoon, through a bit of rain, and back Sunday afternoon, in the sun. Friday, as detailed above, was the Tiges trip. Saturday was a sweaty morning run, followed by a happy viewing of the Cats on the Big Ten Network. Carrie's silent sleeping on the couch made for great game-watching company. And Better Made Potato Chips white cheddar popcorn made for great accompaniment.

As we were sitting down to watch the game (Carrie's a great sport for, you know, wasting her Saturday asleep on the couch while the Cats were on), Carrie began discussing lunch. She had just checked out the Nemo family kitchen.

The highlight is as follows:

Carrie: "Well, we have salami, and bread, and cheese."
Rud: "That sounds like sandwiches!"
Carrie: "Well, we only have enough for one sandwich."

I got a brat out of the deal. And some La Frontera chips and salsa. And then, as the game went on, lots and lots of white cheddar popcorn. I sure love white cheddar popcorn.

Saturday night saw, as referred to above, social activity with Margie Nemo. I've eaten at Margie Nemo's several times - maybe a full hand's worth - and every time is a smashing success. This time, there was corn on the cob and what was referred to as Ramen cole slaw (which, I'd imagine, is basically what I've written, which is to say cole slaw with noodles, kind of), and some fantastic rice, and tandoori chicken and teriyaki chicken. So, basically, we combined is was Rustic American-Indian-Japanese cuisine. And, as mentioned, it was superb.

C Nemo was there. C's worth seeing. Eventually, we discussed the night in, I believe, 2003 when I, apparently, broke into the Nemo family home on Dalton. Damone Brown was on TV, in the NBDL. (Unfortunately, neither Wikipedia nor the NBDL website do a good job of telling me when Damone Brown played in the NBDL. I do know, however, that he was the NBDL's 11th alltime leading scorer as of mid-January.) The most illuminating part of this story is the fact that, for a time, it was believed that my facewash was left at Margie Nemo's home. I don't think I owned facewash in 2003, however, because I have poor hygiene. And fantastic skin.

This night remains mysterious. It's probably listed in the 2003 RedHotHalos archives, but I'd prefer to leave it mysterious.

C, C, B, and I then barred. Eventually, we joined Josh. Then we had nachos. Nachos are a pretty good way to end a night. So is the Huron River Rats 1999 yearbook, kind of.

- - - - - - - - -

If I'm not mistaken, when Josh and Nemo and I golfed on Sunday, I lost a bet. I did not pay off this bet. Perhaps there were no actual stakes for this bet. However, I fear there were, and I'm just an ass for not paying.

I was pretty bad on Sunday, though I may have hit the shot of the day - a blind shot over a hill and onto the green. It was pretty sweet. I hit no other good shots on the final three holes, for the record, but everything worked on that one.

I didn't hit a good eight-iron all day. I think Nemo and Josh find it hard to believe that I'm usually better. After all, there was no evidence of better-ness.

(Though my putting was pretty good. Six straight two-putts to close the round, which is worse than six straight one-putts, but far better than it's been prior.)

- - - - - - - - -

Michigan rest stop vending machines sell Duplex cookies. Is Duplex a brand name, or just a descriptor? Anyway, they're those Oreo-like cookies. These particular cookies are half-chocolate/half-vanilla on the cookie part, and all vanilla creme on the vanilla creme part. And, at at least one rest stop, they're one dollar for 14 cookies. This is the greatest rest stop deal ever. (At another one, the one I stopped at on the way home, they're $1.25. This is still a pretty good deal.)

The cleanliness of Michigan rest stop restrooms is pretty hit-and-miss, I've noticed. In fact, at the $1.25 rest stop, fully half of the urinals were inoperable, and the restroom kind of stunk. But now I've gone too far.

(Though, of course, urine talk often increases comment-flow.)

- - - - - - - - - -

The trip to the Twin Cities is closer to happening. That'd be so fucking awesome.

- - - - - - - - - -

I was supposed to solo golf at the Ring Fingernail Friday morning, but was thunderstormed out. Instead, I watched Stranger Than Fiction On Demand. It's so, so good. I'm going to watch it again, right now, even though I should be awake for work in six hours.

- - - - - - - -

I briefly talked to my sister's friend Sarah tonight, though only brielfy. My sister's friend Sarah is pretty cool. I'm happy I'm able to claim my sister's friends as my own. I'd like to talk to my sister's friend Erin soon, as well. I've claimed her as my own, too.

- - - - - - -

My sister is happily in the Czech Republic now, and she sent me the greatest email. I'll talk to her soon enough. I'm really happy for her, really happy. She's fantastic.