The Best of 2005

Dec 312005
 

2005 was hands-down the worst year of my 30 years. I don’t think anyone can argue with that. I’m glad to see it go away. While I won’t remember it fondly, I will acknowledge 2005 as a life-changing year. The events of 2005 weren’t always the easiest to swallow or even manage, but their effects will continue to affect my life, and those of my family and friends for years to come. How we deal with those effects is up to us. We can use it as an excuse to give up (the Saints) or we can rise above those events beyond our control and build a better future. I’m choosing the latter. I don’t know of any other way.

Here’s to a better future in 2006. I can’t wait to put 2005 behind me and start over. Thank you to everyone who has been here (from a distance or right in my own house). Without the people I love, 2005 would have been unbearable.

I started this post as a “Best of elbuzzard.com” type thing and got a little side-tracked. Here are some stats from the blog’s first year.

Most Popular Posts – by number of comments
While she doesn’t post very often, Leslie snags 2 of the top 3 most commented-on posts.

  1. Leslie’s Good Things (not necessarily the top 10 of all time) by Leslie- 16 comments
  2. Picking a new team… by Kent – 13 comments
  3. The Top Ten Good Things About Christmas by Leslie – 12 comments

Total number of posts: 196

Total number of comments: 383

Most Prolific Commenters (not an author)

  1. Marnie and TygrrToo (tie) – 30 comments
  2. Staceman – 18 comments
  3. Capn Jack – 7 comments

Happy New Year, everyone!

Number One

Dec 292005
 

The Nebraska Cornhuskers are the greatest college team in the history of all things Collegiate. They could beat the best Duke Basketball team by 40 points. They would have hit consecutive home runs over and over again off Roger Clemens when he was at Texas. If the Cornhuskers were a person, they would be Jesus. When they beat Michigan yesterday, it meant that they are going to be great for the rest of time. Other teams will have to start using handguns just to hang in against Nebraska. The same goes for my other favorite teams. The Baltimore Orioles will no doubt become unstoppable based on the results of the 2005 Alamo Bowl, and yes, so will the New Orleans Saints. The Saints will also move back to New Orleans, which will be completely recovered in the next 3 months. Thanks again Nebraska. For fixing everything.

Hour and 20 minutes to go

Dec 242005
 

Kids asleep, last of the presents wrapped, mince pies and carrots left out, glass of Jim Beam and pwning the Ebolter FFL league.

Merry christmas everyone! We’ve got 9 people for dinner tomorrow so we’ll be busy :)

Santa comes early for Saints fans

Dec 192005
 

According to ESPN, Jim Haslett is seeking a five-year contract extension worth, including a substantial pay increase and control of the football operations.
Merry Christmas, San Antonio Saints fans!

Does this sound weird to anyone else?

Dec 152005
 

From a story on bbc.co.uk about the Iraq election:

At one stage, an election official in Falluja said that so many people were voting, they had run out of ballot papers

ummmm….does this scream “electoral fraud” to anyone else?

How can you run out of ballot papers? Surely you know how many you need based on the number of registered voters, plus a few for spoilage purposes?

Story here

Tom Benson Says New Orleans is Unlivable

Dec 152005
 

saintsdoggle is reporting:

WWL radio reports this evening that Tom Benson has told Saints employees at a meeting in San Antonio today that the team’s training facility is still occupied by FEMA and National Guard troops, and that employees must stay away from New Orleans as it is “unlivable.”

Benson can go to hell. Where the hell are my parents living? Sure its hard, but they are living there.

And the Saints training facility in Metairie was not damaged, and is not occupied by anyone at this time. Tagliabue just toured the damn place and said it was in first-class shape.

It’s obvious that Benson has given up on the city, and is trying to spread his feelings among his staff. The Saints are a symbol of New Orleans, just like Bourbon Street, Mardi Gras, Jazzfest, and Cafe du Monde. That’s what the country thinks of when they think of New Orleans. When those things go, so goes the city. Just like cancelling Mardi Gras would tell the rest of the country that there is no hope of rebuilding New Orleans, so does moving the Saints out.

Ray Nagin has decided that Mardi Gras will go on, even if it is to be scaled down, but Benson has decided that he’d rather leave the city that gave him all his money to flounder on its own. Thanks Tom. Way to sell out the people who put you where you are.

Something for Paul

Dec 142005
 

It’s Becky Allen:

From Metroblogging New Orleans.

New Respect for Aaron Brooks?

Dec 142005
 

Wow, I never thought I would say that again after Aaron Brooks’ debacle on Monday Night Football, but take a look at what he had to say in an interview with Westwood One’s Jim Gray:

JG: Do you think that the league has dealt with the Saints fairly throughout this whole tragedy?

AB: No (pause), not at all. I feel that more should have been done. And if they want to put the burden on the owner, I think some needs to fall on the Commissioner, on the NFL. I think everybody’s involved in the situation. I felt like the Commissioner should have came down and spoke to us immediately after it happened – regardless if anyone, whether it was the coach or owner who denied him the right to come down, I thought he should have came down anyway. Because he’s first of all the Commissioner of the NFL. Everything goes through him and the owners and our team needed to be addressed from that standpoint. And I think a lot of it has been swept under the rug. I think it was more of a political platform than anything. And I say that because our first home game was in New York after we just finished traveling from Carolina and other places to play a home game in New York. And when we get there, we got the Commissioner, we got the President, we got all these politicians on the football field in our way so that we can’t warm up. So, I took it personally. I had had to cuss him out. I told him [NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue]: ‘Get the hell off the football field.’ And I thought that was [b.s] because it wasn’t about that. It was a great cause, and I hope all the money went to all the shelters that were needed but I just thought it was [b.s.] and I think that they (inaudible) enough to help us out in the situation. And for those who don’t understand, come down to San Antonio to see what our conditions are like and what we are going through, and see our facility is being shuffled from month to month. And, it’s just bad. And, it’s just uncalled for. The league is worth over billions of dollars and you can’t accommodate a football team that’s probably worth over $600 million better than what we’ve been treated. I just think it’s [b.s.], Jim.

Continue reading »

My Favorite Thing About Christmas

Dec 122005
 

My favorite thing about this time of the year is when people start getting all indignant about other folks wanting to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. Get over it.

“Oh my God goodness! What will happen to Christmas if is not sanctioned in the way I wish to celebrate it by society as a whole! Oh my God goodness, my culture and heritage is oppressed! Whoa is me and Christianity! However will we overcome? Soon the government will be throwing us to the lions! Oh the state of the true religion religion of the majority in this country! The damn political correctness crowd will be the downfall of the American Way!”

Here in Atlanta, people actually make it on the news complaining about “Happy Holidays.” There was a news story on last night about someone who took out a billboard that read:

To hell with the “holidays”; keep Christ in your Christmas

I can understand complaining about “Xmas.” “Keep Christ in Christmas” seems legitimate to me. (of course, I do find it funny that the cross is the symbol of Christianity, yet folks don’t like Xmas).

I’m not even going to mention the irony of swearing in your religious statement.

Vegas

Dec 092005
 

Dave is no longer allowed anywhere near Las Vegas…

System Would Let Gamblers Bet and Bet and Bet on Game
By PETER SANDERS

LAS VEGAS — Gamblers watching an Indianapolis Colts game here may have a hunch that, on the next play, star quarterback Peyton Manning will throw a long bomb to receiver Marvin Harrison for a touchdown. But right now there is nothing they can do about it — casino sports books don’t accept bets on individual plays.

That may be about to change. Boosted by improved technology that makes it easier to take bets on every play in a sporting event — rather than just the outcome — gambling-technology companies are on the brink of launching new products they hope will entice gamblers at casinos to keep wagering throughout hours-long games.

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