Sunday, August 30, 2009

Easy like Sunday morning ...

(Thanks, Lionel.)

I feel like The McLaughlin Group ...

Issue #1:

Crabs ... delicious, hot, heavy, Maryland steamed crabs. We dined with family last night at Ocean Pride. Throw in some steamed shrimp, cream of crab soup, "Old Bay" Chips, corn, and ice cold Yuengling - it was Scrumdiddlyumptious.

But wait, there's more. Dessert followed - we descended upon the Towson Diner. Talk about big portions ... and we didn't leave a drop. Two eclairs, apple pie a la mode, lemon meringue pie, a sundae and rice pudding.

Issue #2:

The Ravens continue to look like a very good football team. The loud groan you heard around 8:30 pm last night was Raven Nation reacting to the team failing to score a touchdown / field goal after a decent drive that stalled near the Panther goal line. However, Joe Flacco and the boys made amends and put up 17 points. Again, the defense was the defense - the starters have not allowed a touchdown in three games.

Reality check - none of this matters until November 29. That is the date of the first Steelers game. Until the Ravens beat Pittsburgh in a meaningful game, everything that Joe, Ray and the team accomplish is fluff. The Steeler game is Week 11 - if the Ravens are for real, they enter that game with a better-than-five-and-five record (my prediction - 7-3) and a chance to seize the division.

Certainly injuries can alter the landscape. The Ravens have not put together back-to-back strong seasons in quite some time, and the Steelers followed their Super Bowl win in the 2005 season with an 8-8 record the next year.

We'll see soon enough.

Issue #3

My kid starts kindergarten tomorrow. Can she really be 5? I love the irony of Lilly attending the school where I first taught, where her parents met, and where her mother teaches. Lilly has a great teacher - I taught her son when I worked there. It's a very familiar setting for us, so were excited and confident about her starting school for real.

One thing is for sure - she'll provide me plenty of blog material.

Until next time,

Marty