And So It Begins

Here we are people. At long last, the fall is here. Well, not technically, but the calendar has turned to September, there are far fewer opportunities to BBQ and most importantly football is starting, which is refreshing after mostly being consumed with seasons that aren't real. So as far as I can tell, it's fall now and once the leaves start to change colors I'll have that confirmed for me. In the case of football, I am about as excited as I am every year, which is very, and even though the New York Giants won't be starting the regular season for 10 more days -- they actually have a preseason game yet to be played tonight in New England -- I am still ready to defend their underrated postseason chances.

I won't be doing that here, after all with this much time until the NFL season kicks off and my propensity for procrastination, my NFL preview will have to wait until next week. I will however opine on yet another season starting for my beloved Northwestern Wildcats. And next week you just might here me talk about the Geelong Cats' hunt for a third premiership in five years, but we'll get to it when we get to it.

Back to Northwestern. College football was never my biggest thing growing up, but covering it for and attending a Big Ten school dramatically changed me in my undergrad years and now I really can't get enough of it. In fact, it's almost downright upsetting to me that there are only 48 hours each Saturday and Sunday in the fall with which I can jam in my football viewing. There needs to be more. Either way, college football technically starts tonight when my sister's alma mater, Wisconsin, hosts UNLV and Mississippi State takes on Memphis, but for me it all comes down to Saturday, the opening for my Cats at Boston College.

The town of Evanston is getting particularly excited this year, so much so that they probably should clean out the water supply, and why shouldn't they? Northwestern continues to be on the upswing under coach Pat Fitzgerald, who has built on the foundation laid by the late Randy Walker -- and to a lesser extent Gary Barnett -- to make the once moribund program consistently competitive. No, we haven't touched a Big Ten title in about a decade or so now, but NU has played in more bowl games in the past decade than it had in the previous century. In two of the last three seasons Northwestern should have won an Alamo Bowl matchup with a team that nearly played in the BCS National Championship Game the year before, and should have won an Outback bowl against a team that won a BCS National Championship a year later.

Northwestern has also managed to play in January 1st bowl games the last two seasons. Really. Look it up.

This season in particular is bringing about quite a bit of excitement because Northwestern was 7-2 last year and fresh off a big upset of Iowa when their season hit a three-game tailspin before a TicketCity Bowl loss to Texas Tech. The big difference between Northwestern before and after was that the last four games of the year featured a team without starting quarterback Dan Persa, who had developed into a duel threat with the highest passing efficiency in the nation until he tore his ACL while tossing the game-winner touchdown pass against the Hawkeyes.

In 2011 hopes are high for another strong season and Persa, while not yet at full strength, is back and being heavily pushed by Northwestern for a potential Heisman shot. The chance is unlikely but it hasn't stopped the campaign from getting into full swing, taking the form of billboards, twitter hashtags and a very peculiar but inventive dumbbell campaign to sportswriters around the country.

Word is that Persa may not be at full strength for the opener this Saturday and that Kain Colter may be getting some or most of the snaps, which could have a deleterious effect on Persa's already slim Heisman hopes, but Colter looked decent in limited time last season using a very similar skill set to Persa, and even if Persa isn't at full strength this Saturday in Chestnut Hill, I can tell you one person who will be. Me.

Ok, so I may not be completely at full strength come game time after several hours of tailgating in the Alumni Stadium parking lot, but the point of the matters is that, as I said earlier this week, I will be in the stands and ready to cheer at Northwestern's opening game of the season at Boston College. Many other Wildcats, as well as a high school friend and B.C. alum, are traveling up to the Hub this weekend for the action and verily, there will be much rejoicing. Some of you may be familiar with that friend, Christian, whose curling exploits were detailed here in February of 2010 and whom I traveled to Philadelphia with in February of this year to see the Knicks play the 76ers.

He should know what he's getting into, but he may be overwhelmed by the sheer nerdery that will ensue amidst a bunch of drunken Northwestern alums calculating the rate of change of volume of their Miller Lite cans as they empty into a funnel. Then again, I'm not really sure anyone is prepared for that. The main point is that college football is back and hot damn will it be awesome.

Also, this trip here marks the start of my fall of sporting adventures that will also take me to West Point in two weeks, to San Jose and San Francisco in November, and possibly to Foxboro, Mass., and Pittsburgh. The possibilities are endless.

The great thing about the start of college football season, of course, is that right now for my Wildcats, too, the possibilities are endless. Hopefully come Saturday night, they still will be.

My Beer Free Lent

I've never attempt a lental 'fast' before.

But this year I decided that I was up for the challenge to test my will power and what way better than to do so by giving up beer?

A more Beer Free than a Free Beer Lent!

I'm a real ale/Guinness drinker. On certain select occasions (like these warm, warm days we're experiencing this week), a nice cold lager also goes down nicely. I don't like cider.

So with the Assembly election campaign reaching it's heightened climax, I thought the best thing to give up would be this beer. I'm glad to say that I have stuck to this challenge! Apart from a 'one-off' pint of Guinness on St Patrick's night, I've kept off the beer and stuck instead to the odd glass of wine here and there and in the main, diet coke!

I've also lost half a stone over the past 40 days. Now that could be down to the additional stomping of the pavements that comes with electioneering but I think the main reason has got to be because I've cut out those social pints of beer that I'll allow myself from time to time after a busy day of work.

So as the clock moved past midnight this morning into Holy Saturday, I drank a well deserved pint of lager to toast a successful 40-day fast.

But I'll also take heed of the fact that I've lost some much needed weight these past 40 days so perhaps in future, I'll stick a bit more to the wine!

Getting Ready For My Night At The Joe

I am mere hours from stepping into one of the more storied hockey venues in the world as I will be in attendance to see the Blackhawks visit the Red Wings this evening. As far as hockey arenas go, this is one of the ones I'm really most excited for given its relative age, tenant and history. The Red Wings have been among the most well-run franchises in professional sports for the last 20 years and tonight I will get to see, firsthand, one of the more unique arenas in the League.

Also the game is kind of really important.

This will be a fun and appropriate capper to what has been an enjoyable few days in Michigan. This state is actually the only one of the upper Midwest that I had never spent much time in, so not only was I happy to get a taste of Ann Arbor and various staple eateries such as the Maize and Blue Deli or The Cottage Inn, but I've also gotten the opportunity to try what has to be the greatest named beer I've ever heard of in my life, which was of course, a local brew from the city of Detroit known as.... Ghetto Blaster.

Yes, Ghetto Blaster.

I won't even claim to be above the fray on this one. We absolutely bought a pitcher of this beer simply because the name was hilarious and the word "blaster" made me immediately assume this was the type of beer that would be produced by some combination of events on The Wire and at Mos Eisley Spaceport. Whether or not they serve it at the cantina, I can't say, but if Han drank it he would almost certainly be shooting first. The beer itself isn't half bad, though I wouldn't consider it great.

Really the name sells the beverage.


Other exciting events of the week have included watching Michigan go to the Frozen Four National Championship Game in a massive group of Wolverines, which is an uncomfortable position when you don't really like Michigan, last night when I went to a bizarre karaoke fundraiser at a gay bar called Aut Bar, which had a somewhat overwhelming assortment of Robert Mapplethorpe photographs on the walls.

Also, I was only hit on by one man, which, even as a heterosexual, was kind of disappointing. I'm just going to assume they could tell I wouldn't be interested.

Of course, the biggest event so far was my visit to the Palace of Auburn Hills to see the Pistons beat the Nets in an entertainingly high scoring, and defensively nonexistent affair. The Palace is an interesting arena because it's more than 20 years old and yet as the forebear of the modern wave of luxury-suite laden basketball and hockey arenas, it actually holds up very well. It hardly seems as old as it is even though some of the murals are a bit out of date, such as the one depicting the three-time WNBA champion Detroit Shock, who have since moved to Tulsa, Oklahoma. Also, the ubiquity of dumbest basketball GM alive Isiah Thomas is less than inspiring if you're a Knicks fan, but otherwise the building has aged better than George Clooney in a number of senses. If I had been told it was four years old, I would have believed it.

Of course, 48 hours later, the far more meaningful event of the week, given the fact that both teams are still alive and have won Stanley Cups in the last three years, is happening tonight, and I am pumped. I have no idea what traffic heading into Detroit will be like, but I'm optimistic that I'll have plenty of time to see how the place looks and hopefully scope out that statue of Gordie Howe they've got. And there's also the outside chance that I'll get to see Chicago clinch a playoff spot depending on what happens between Dallas and Colorado, an event that, remarkably, in all my years of attending sporting events would be a first.

Of course, for that to happen, quite a few chips would have to fall into place. Beggers can't be choosers. I'm just happy to be there.

And if they serve Ghetto Blaster on tap, I may just be even happier.

It's Championship Sunday

As the Jets and Colts battle for AFC Supremacy, and the Saints and Vikings do likewise in the NFC, it is important that we remember and honor something that football simply wouldn't be the same without.

That's right.

Today is the 75th anniversary of the beer can. Few things have changed humanity quite so profoundly.

Oh, and I'm taking the Jets and the Saints. Everyone enjoy your football.