The Circus Comes to Town

This weekend was a blast from the past as a bunch of my old high school buddies converged on Salt Lake from across the country. The occasion was Chad Knowles' Bachelor Party. Two ski condos in Sandy played host to several Berwickians (Chad, Peter Clarke, Tom Beattie, Brett Richer, Chris Knowles and Pat Knowles) and various other really cool guys from Middlebury and Vail — about 14 guys in all, armed with alcohol, testosterone, and a raging passion for powder. They were here to ski hard and party harder. One theme of the weekend was their creative facial hair competition, the winner of which is anybody's guess. They also spent some quality time in a dirty hot tub which I dubbed "New England Man Chowder".

I met up with the crew Friday night as they were already well on their way to long night. I decided it might be best to crash on a spare futon downstairs, much to Tom Beattie's dismay as I snored him out of the room. The next day, we hit Snowbird for some great turns despite less than ideal snow conditions following 5 straight sunny days (yuck). The group of guys turned out to be pretty hard core and the pace was intense. That night, it was straight back to partying. I'll leave it at that. But I managed to sneak back to Patty and Gary's house for a much needed night of sleep.


Sunday morning — POW! The forecast was conservative, calling for perhaps up to 8 inches. Instead, we woke up to about 16 inches of fresh Utah powder. The group was ready by 6:30 am. From the first chair it was an epic day. There was hooting and hollering all over the mountain, and the large group quickly dispersed, invoking the "No friends on a powder day" rule. But Pete Clarke, one of my oldest friends in the world stuck with Sarah and me. I didn't grow up skiing, so it's a relatively new form of bonding for these two boys from Epping, NH. It was great catching up with Pete and charging fresh lines with him. We even egged each other on to huck a cliff or two.


Overall it was a fantastic weekend and I'm just glad no one was seriously hurt. Good times.

What it’s like to visit Utah

My brother Jay came out for a couple days this week. He flew to Phoenix from New Hampshire on Saturday night with his wife Jeannine, and daughter, Nichole to visit Jeannine's parents. He then took an early flight to SLC, arriving at 8:30. We were on the hill in about an hour. He brought his ski boots and used a pair of Volant Chubbs from Sarah's parents' collection. That morning we hit Deer Valley for a nice warm up. The weather got pretty dicey as the wind picked up and the hail started. But the snow conditions made it well worth it. We met up with my friends, Chris and Jody and then went out for an early dinner at Red Rock Brewery in Park City.

Day Two, we spent at Park City Mountain Resort, where my friend Bryan played tour guide for the morning, since he works there and I have not had the chance to learn my way around their 33,000 Skiable acres. Park City, had received about a foot overnight (at least) and there were fresh turns to be had in all directions. McConkey's bowl provided an epic first couple runs. And a late opening at Jupiter and Scott's bowls made the powder-day, and the resort tour complete.

That night we also made a trip to the Homestead in Midway (5 minutes from the house) to swim/dive at the famous "Crater". The Crater is an underground thermal pool inside a volcano-style cave with a hole at the top. You can swim or scuba dive in water that's 90° or more all year round. The water is about 55' deep and about 50' wide. Since Jay was already certified to dive he was allowed to rent scuba gear and explore the depths while Sarah and I watched with masks and snorkels from above.

Day 3, we hit Alta. Another 6 inches or so fell overnight while the wind swept the hill smooth. The sun came out early to a bluebird sky as we ate french toast and chicken fried steak at a trucker's diner in Heber. After a 45 minute drive into the valley and up Little Cottonwood Canyon, we made first chair on the popular Collins Quad. Our first run at Sunspot, off the Rustler traverse set the tone for another sweet day. We made an effort ride each of the four major chairs. We capped it off with a scenic overlook from the top of Supreme where we pointed out our house in Heber City over the Wasatch back. After a Mexican dinner at Cafe Rio, I dropped Jay back off at the airport to rejoin his family in Phoenix, exhausted and and satisfied.

Grand Targhee, What a Trip!

We took a weekend trip to visit our newlywed friends, and former neighbors, Neil and Mary in their new home in Driggs, Idaho. Joe's former co-worker at ASC, Neil has been working at Grand Targhee resort just across the border in Wyoming for a couple months now and is loving his new position. Mary has left as the Marketing Manager at the Park City Chamber and is currently doing contract work and enjoying the outdoors of her beautiful new surroundings.

The trip started out fine. We left Park City a little late and knew we'd be making the 5-hour drive in the dark. What we didn't count on was a fundamental oversight, that could have been easily avoided if we had simply remembered our trusty atlas. Upon exiting route 20 in Rexburg, we innocently took a left (west) instead of a right and proceeded to drive in the wrong direction. The road predictably narrowed, street-signs and marks of human involvement lessened, while low-lying layers of fog engulfed the car like sheets of wax paper blowing in the wind. We found ourselves driving at half-speed. The fog then yielded to happy sightings of fluffy bunnies on the road-side. At first we saw one or two alarmed little bunnies as we drew their attention from road-side bunny business. Then the frequency increased exponentially. Bunnies everywhere! Again we drove at a tortoise's pace, while making eye contact with each of the thousands of bunnies and evaluating their will to live. Some would dive towards the car in a last-ditch suicide attempt. We successfully dodged dozens bunnies before finally decapitating one determined hare. After that ordeal, we were able to maneuver around the rest of the population and escape bunny-ville without further casualties. Then came the deer. Pronghorns. And entire heard crossing route 33 in the dark. We of course waited for the last stragglers to pass and considered ourselves lucky once again.

At this point it occurred to us that we had seen nary a headlight in about an hour or so. We also noticed the mile-markers were counting down almost to zero and we weren't sure what that meant. Most disturbingly, we hadn't seen a single sign for Driggs and thought we might actually be lost. Could it be? We stopped at the end of route 33 as it met route 26 and called Mary who had been waiting up for us and had started to worry. As she tried to locate us on her map she confirmed the worst of truths, that we had been driving for the better part of two hours in the wrong direction. In fact, as we sheepishly made our u-turn, we immediately happened upon a sign saying 79 miles to Rexburg, our original point of digression. And worse still, we had to pass again through bunny-ville.

After arriving in Driggs at 2:30 Saturday Morning, we found the rest of our weekend to be a stress-free alpine delight. Mary and Neil treated us to some of the best hospitality in the west. The skiing was outstanding. The area was gorgeous. And the resort is very cool. We're very happy for our friends having this new, fresh start and we wish them the best of luck. But we hope they steer clear of the bunny patch.

World Cup Dual Moguls Competition

On Saturday, February 2, Joe and I braved 14 degree weather to go to the annual world cup dual mogul competition at Deer Valley Resort. You can see the course in the background.

For anyone who has not watch this event, 32 of the world's best mogul skiers compete side by side on the course which is made up of 3 mogul sections (all different lengths) and two jumps. It is amazing to watch these athletes negotiate the entire run. This is the last event in the overall world cup event so you get to see the top three men and women skiers for the event as well as the overall man and women event winners, Shelly Robertson and Vincent Marquis.

And the best was yet to come, De La Soul performed after the competition. It is by far the coldest I have been all winter but it was so worth it.

Super Sunday

No, I am not talking about the football game, in fact I didn't even watch the game ( I was passed out from skiing all day and 2 hours of shoveling snow). After dropping Joe off at the airport 35 minutes before his flight, we drove through white out conditions at 6a, I went skiing with my dad at Solitude Ski Resort. It was the most incredible day, we skied run after run of untracked powder. At one point I was up to my waist in Honeycomb Canyon just gliding through the trees. My skis were not even touching the trail. It is the greatest sensation in the world to ski bottomless powder. And...it snowed 17" overnight. The only down side to this is that I arrived home to 10" of snow our driveway. It is only February and we have a 7' snow bank around our driveway and then a 3' snow banks around the perimeter of our property. I wish I had pics buy our small digital camera is in Maine with Joe. You will just have to use your imagination.

One of Those (sick) Days

Wow. This week was crazy. we got 60+ inches since Monday (today is Friday, BTW) and finally I couldn't take it any more. I had to get some runs in this morning at The Canyons and it was the most amazing day you can imagine. Tough to say if it was the best ever, especially since Sarah wasn't there and I had to cut it short for work. But Damn. I'm just speechless. Face-shots all day long...almost every turn in fact. Max snapped a nice action shot of me in Silverado Bowl under the Golden Eagle Lift, a slow double on the front side running parallel to the Gondola. I may have had more runs if i skied a different lift but it's ok. That spot is empty and I can't imagine a better place to ski, in-bounds. Wow. Again.

Billy Poole, Freeskier Dies in Wasatch Mountains

Billy Poole: 1979 - 2008

Billy Poole, an extreme skier from Montana living in Salt Lake died today in Big Cottonwood Canyon. He was being filmed hucking Wolverine Cirque between Brighton and Solitude Resorts, a jump he had probably skied away from dozens of times. This particular time, his landing was not clear of rocks and he sustained fatal injuries and pronounced dead at the hospital.

I have recently had the pleasure of meeting Billy's best friend, roommate and business partner, Julian Carr. I've been corresponding with both Julian and Billy over the website their ski-inspired headwear brand, Discrete. My few dealings with Billy were extremely sincere and I'm inspired by his passion and dedication to skiing. I respect and admire his life's work and hope that his legacy is one of ambition and intoxicating love of life. Our condolences to his friends and family.

The bottom line is that guys like Billy serve as heroes to guys like me. Billy and I were the exact same age and yet I was in awe of him. In his 28 years, Billy lived more than most of us do in 100. He's done things and seen things from perspectives most humans will never know, and in doing so he achieved iconic status among his peers and the ski industry. He will be remembered as someone who squeezed every last drop out of life, and died doing the same. I believe there is honor in that. I'm reminded that life is a fragile and previous gift that must be savored every moment.

Don't Tase Me 2.BRO

In the wake of "Tase-Gate", you may be asking yourself "Where can I see MORE tasings?" Fear not. Today, my friend Chris let me in on his dark and twisted side. Apparently he gets a sadistic kick out of watching impudent morons rendered even less coherent by the stun of non-lethal force. And I love him for it. In fact, his new site Tase.tv will let you in on his delightful perversion with clips and stories of all the best tasings from around the internet world. It's so much fun it's shocking. He he he. And the best part is that most of the people you'll see getting tased COMPLETELY deserve it. There are some cases where the use of force was with questionable judgement but what's NOT up for debate is that it's hilarious. See for yourself!
http://www.tase.tv/

Sunday at Deer Valley

On Sunday Joe and I finally got a chance to take advantage of the Deer Crest Gondola at Deer Valley, just five minutes from our home. The gondola is an ideal way to start the day; you board in a heated building, ride on padded leather seats and unload inside another heated building all without having to carry your skis more than 5 ft. Now don’t get me wrong this is not our typical ski day but it is nice to see how the other side lives some of the time.

Back to the point - skiing. We headed over to Lady Morgan a section of the mountain that a group of us had hike and skied with our dogs last year. The skiing off the lift was awesome, weaving through aspens in fluffy snow. After a few runs there we ventured into Empire Canyon, scoping out our next line on each chairlift ride, cheering fellow skiers on as they floated below us.

Later in the morning we met up with Kristin and Cory for some runs off the Sterling Lift Chair. Getting off this chair is a truly surreal experience with 4 high speed lifts all unloading within yards of one another. Joe led us down a sweat run which still had fresh snow at 12n. Cory was laughing the whole way down and loving the snow. The entire day was filled with powder and our smiles were ear-to-ear as we arrived at our car at 3:50p. It was the perfect Sunday in my opinion.

Storm Coming...

I've been hearing various murmurs about a potentially huge storm system moving in this weekend. They say it should start tonight and last into Monday with totals anywhere from 1-5 feet. That's exciting and I'm starting to believe it. So far: nothing. But I'm being patient. People tell me there is such a thing as TOO much snow. I'd like to see for myself. We're planning on taking tomorrow off to take the dogs out for a long hike and pick up our Sundance Locals tickets. But Sunday should be awesome. We'll keep ya posted.

Lovin' My Music

If you work in front of a computer all day you have to have a soundtrack. I love my iPod but i only own so much music. Slacker is a relatively new service available for free. It's similar to Pandora (which I have not used as much) where you plug in your favorite artists and listen to their station which includes similar artists. OR you can create your own mix based on your own preferences. Your playlist is ever expanding as you can add artists or even ban artists or songs. You can also share your playlists with others to expand your personal preference list. Here's my playlist:

http://www.slacker.com/?sid=stations/2773108/1193775903

Enjoy!

All I Want for Christmas is to Get Superpoked?

People who know me as a computer guy know that I'm not a huge fan of social networking sites. I HATE MySpace and I've hated since I first heard of it in 2003 or 04. Yet, I have a MySpace page. Why? because my friends in Medina Sod had a page and I felt compelled to represent. To this day I think they're still my only friend on MySpace.

But I recently started playing with Facebook...Purely for research as I was constantly being asked to reference their UI and workflow for our MyFetch section on FetchDog. As much as I abhorred the concept, I found their interface well-built and their usability in some cases brilliant. But something happened between quietly poking around the site and accepting friend requests. I think I'm hooked. The ultimate turning point was when I started actively searching for people from my past. At that point, I was no longer a closet Facebooker. I'm that guy. That guy on Facebook. Now that I have the mobile app (embarassing), I'm REALLY that guy. That guy who writes on your wall and pokes you. I even superpoke on occasion. I'm taking movie quizzes and throwing Santas. I'm comparing taste in popular culture with people I barely know, and I've reconnected with people I haven't seen in 10 years. I still don't UNDERSTAND why I'm doing it, but for some reason I'm doing it. And it's the guiltiest of diversions. Sorry everyone.

FetchDog Wins CoolHomePages Design Award

Not a huge deal, but it's nice to be recognized. I don't actually bother submitting to too many awards sites, but there are a few that I look at regularly for fun and inspiration. And if submission is free, then what the heck. FetchDog was recognized by CoolHomePages.com in the categories of Products, Info, CSS-DHTML, and Color Schemes.

Thanks CHP.

Snow, Finally?

It's been over a month since we've had any significant snowfall in the Wasatch Range. But we did get a "dusting" last night. As you probably know by now, when there's a dusting in Heber, we expect to see up to a foot or more in various parts of the adjacent mountains. Early reports from The Canyons this morning show up to 8 inches. Alta has yet to check in, but our friend Tracy said it was "dumping" in the Salt Lake valley last night. On their respective commutes, she and Sarah both witnessed the vehicular mayhem typical of an early season storm, as people remind themselves how to drive in the snow...or into a ditch as it may be. Anyway, here's hoping this storm builds some momentum and sets us up nicely to receive another blast on Friday. The resorts have sheepishly started opening, offering mostly man-made snow, but so far this Fall has been stingy. The natives are restless at best. So if you experience any discourteous behavior from your Utah-based compatriots, please don't take it personally. Just pray for snow.

One Magical Time

Well, we finally did it. My brother Jay (Jeff Jr.) has been telling us for years about how much fun he has at DisneyWorld. Despite our cynical nature, we placed ourselves in his competent care for the week prior to Thanksgiving. We arrived at Disney's Dolphin hotel, walked a loop around a lake out back including a quaint boardwalk and had a tremendous sushi dinner in the neighboring Swan Hotel. Later that night, we met up with Jay and his wife Jeannine and their daughter Nichole. Joining them on their flight from Manchester, NH were my parents, Jeff and Cindy Myers and my other brother Jim with his wife Abby and 5-year-old son Jimmy Jr. Inevitably, a group of 10 will face difficulty when it comes to maneuvering through a crowded place. But overall, I think we handled it rather well.

There were lots of things to see and do, but Jay smartly kept us to an efficient, but flexible schedule. We bought the DisneyWorld Park-Hopper passes which enabled us to bounce from park to park as much as we liked with a simple card swipe and fingerprint scan.

Day one started with breakfast with Cinderella in her castle at the Magic Kingdom. After a quick photo op, downstairs, Breakfast was an all-you-can-eat affair while other Disney Damsels checked in at our table. From there we zipped straight to Space Mountain, using the fast-passes Jay had collected before breakfast. En route to this dark thrill-ride, all-you-can-eat started sounding a little ill-advised. But we made it through. We then skipped over to MGM Studios for some shows and more rides. We hit up the Indiana Jones stunt show and the Lights, Motors, Action stunt driving show. Both were action packed and gave us some good insight into how some of the coolest scenes in movies are made. After some buildup, we braved the tower of terror. Sarah was rightfully nervous about the 13-story drop at rate faster than gravity. But after some screaming and bouncing, we all survived. That night we took in Fantasmic, an extravagant Disney Opera where Mickey fights the forces of evil. This truly unique experience, included some live-action mascot characters on a man-made mountain set. Some classic Disney scenes are also projected onto water sprayed from the surrounding moat which at certain points is fully engulfed in fire. The moat is also used for various floats and boats where dozens of Disney characters are represented.

Day two was a trip to Animal Kingdom, where we took a wild safari ride through an African jungle. This mini-ecosystem houses dozens of large animals from apes to elephants to giraffes to wildebeasts etc. Really cool. The park is built around the Tree of Life, which we entered to see A Bug's Life in 3D inside a fully interactive theater. The seats have hidden features that add to the overall realism of the show. In this 15 minute movie sprayed us, blew on us, tickled us and more. We also hit the Mount Everest rollercoaster which includes many surprises including going backwards in the dark etc. Then it was time for a raft-ride to cool off. After Animal Kingdom, we took an afternoon pool break before the evening fireworks. We rented a pontoon boat to sit on the lake and get right up to the ellaborate fireworks display. That was a great way to see it.

Day three was all about Epcot. Sarah and my parents and I had reserved a Segway tour where we explored the park before it opened to the public. We then took a test drive in GMC's Test Track where we played test-dummy. Epcot is known for its world-of-the-future theme, but also its cultural cross-sections. They have dozens of mini-countries with stores, restaurants and monuments dedicated to each country's theme. We had a great lunch in Morocco complete with a Belly Dancer performance and all. Later that afternoon, Jay and Nichole participated in a guided swim with the sharks at Epcot's Aquarium, the second largest in the world. They had pre-registered and become scuba-certified prior to the trip. For about a half hour or so, they scuba-dived with sharks, sea turtles, and dozens of other species to the delight of their adoring fans. Sarah had picked up a stomach bug at this point so she had to miss a few of these activities.

Day four started with Breakfast with Pooh at the Crystal Palace in Magic Kingdom. Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, Piglet etc, were all on-hand to sign autographs and receive hugs from the kids. From there, we explored some of the older rides in Magic Kingdom including the Haunted Mansion and the Carousel. My parents and I headed back through Epcot for a quick Pint in an English pub. We then met up with Sarah who was starting to feel a little better and we relaxed by the pool a bit. That night Sarah and I met up with her College friend Amy. We also finally met her boyfriend Jason who turned out to be a really nice guy. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant in Downtown Disney and came back to the boardwalk by the hotel to hit the Dueling Piano Bar where we belted out dozens of songs in the audience sing-along. The evening halted briefly as Abby succumbed to an epileptic seizure. My brother Jim was able to get ahold of me as I was only a few doors away at the time. Jason stepped up and started driving us to the hospital, but Abby recovered quickly and had us meet her at her room instead. Throughout the scary moment, Jimmy Jr. stayed brave and quiet, until we reached their hotel room. The situation could have been a lot worse, but thankfully we were all close enough to act quickly.

Our final day at the park started out a little rough for me. We had a typically hearty breakfast before hitting Blizzard Beach, one of two Disney waterparks. Somewhere between the undetermined amount beers the night before, and my spiced apple waffle my stomach decided to revolt. I almost lost it on the shuttle, but was able to hold off until we hit a proper bathroom at the park. After that, it was game-on again. We started slowly on the Lazy River around the park. Then we hit a few small waterslides building up to the monster-slide at the center of the park. This slide was 150 feet straight down. Jay, my dad and I all tiptoed up the stairs and watch victim after victim disappear into the water-jets down a dark tube. Between the three of us our top speeds averaged around 55 mph on the radar gun screen below! The only way to describe that feeling is that I stood up giggling like a little kid, but I'm still not entirely sure I enjoyed it. I must have though.

Sarah and I left at 4am the next morning. My mom chased us down the hall to give us one last emotional hug. We had a wonderful time and it was clear that some family time was long overdue.

Dogs On Parade: "Howl-o-ween" takes over Main Street in Park City, UT

For our third year now, My wife Sarah and I dressed up our dogs for the October phenomenon known as Howl-o-ween in Park City, UT. Historic Main Street is the heart of this affluent ski town with its funky restaurants, bars and shopping. It's also the cultural epicenter for the über hip Sundance Film Festival. But for one-afternoon a year, the whole town goes to the dogs. Main Street is shut down to autos for a few hours while children are allowed to trick-or-treat at local businesses. But around 5pm the butt-sniffing mayhem begins. A town like this is full of dogs large and small. Their diverse owners have made this area their home for a variety lifestyle-oriented reasons and it makes for an eclectic arrangement of tail-wagging hilarity.

Our first year at the parade, we were a little reluctant to go overboard with costumes. Blü, our Weimaraner and Roxie our notoriously shy Siberian Husky were not used to dressing up and we expected some resistance. We found some little tutus at Target and tied them on. When we hit the scene and they saw all the other dogs in costume they got so excited that it's become one of our favorite oddities about this little town. This year we put a little more effort into it and found some hysterical dog-specific costumes. Roxie wore a Dorothy costume from the Wizard of Oz, while Blü was ecstatic in her Tin Man costume. They also exchanged "pleasantries" with the likes of Batman and Robin, Hanna Montana, Darth Vader, Wonder Woman, Yoda, Elvis, Buzz Lightyear, angels, devils, witches, princesses, pirates, you name it. And each dog seems to adopt a certain swagger in their costumes. Roxie, who normally hates crowds, was so brave in her costume — like she really was somebody else. Blü of course was her goofy self, but was noticeably proud of her new identity, and didn't seem all that eager to have it taken off.

Anyway, a good time was had by all. Maybe we'll see you and your trick-or-treater out there next year!

The Curse is Broken (again)

Photos courtesy of Boston.com
After 86 years of suffering (25 endured first-hand by yours truly) and 3 years of tepid arrogance and band-wagon, cross-country worship during which we've irreversibly waived our proud underdog heritage, Red Sox fans have another reason to march drunk and rowdy through Kenmore Square, raging against the unspecified protocol for celebratory behavior. The culmination of a season's worth of expectations met and goals reached is an unfamiliar circumstance indeed. (I do realize I'm not actually ON the team but for the purposes of this post, let's assume fans actually do have something to do with the victory.) I have to say I'm impressed with this team. Having so much talent in one dugout can actually be tough to manage. But the combination of youthful enthusiasm, veteran leadership, and pure silliness is the perfect recipe. Then there's the on-field arsenal of well-rounded hitting, solid defense aided by speed and consistency, and top-notch pitching: LETHAL. This team had everything going for it this year and come post-season was firing on all cylinders. You can thank management and coaching for recognizing where guys needed rest and when they needed to be pushed. Fox Sports asked fans last night which team was better: 2007 or 2004. The answer is without a doubt this 2007 team. 2004 was entirely different but utterly spectacular. We were still the underdogs. We weren't supposed to win. And in the words of Mr.s Cowboy-Up Kevin Millar, "We shocked the world." But despite the lack of any bloody socks in 2007, I do think that the stories from this year will live in Red Sox lore for generations to come.

There's no denying that we witnessed the birth of a hall-of-fame career in Josh Beckett this year. He was already considered one of the best young talents in baseball, having the one ring to his credit in Florida. But despite his dominance in 2003, it almost doesn't count until you prove it. Last year, was a good year for Beckett but it was obvious he was still getting adjusted to life in Boston. But as the only 20-game winner this year and being absolutely lights (4-0) out in the post-season this year, and being the ace on the best pitching staff in baseball Beckett has come into his own as the premiere starter in the game. What's more is the Zen approach to pitching he's developed. His android face and casual confidence has to be maddening in the other dugout.

The bullpen was on drugs this year. You gotta love Okajima being picked up from Japan while shopping for Dice-K like an impulse buy that was near the register. This scrawny man made fools of the AL all year long. Timlin, is a horse. Coming in late in game 4 with not a fear in this world, my favorite red-neck shut it down hard. West Roxbury native, Manny Delcarmen was impressive all year long. Not over-powering but he did his job well. I also like the look of Kyle Snyder and occasionally Javier Lopez. The one low-light of the season was the unnecessary trade of the promising young pitcher Kason Gabbord (and more) to Texas for the Canadian waste of space Eric Gagne, who immediately proceeded to blow almost EVERY lead with which he was entrusted and almost single-handedly cost the Red Sox their season several times. I don't want to dwell on this topic, other than to say that Harpo Marx looking goober is the worst thing to come out of Canada since Celine Dion and I've often said he should be set adrift in the Atlantic on raft made of sugar cubes, eh?

We also witnessed the continued domination by one of the most entertaining Red Sox pitchers in a while, Jonathan Papelbon. His mound presence is unbelievable. That stare to the plate (as my friend Keith putt's it) is that of a high-school kid who just got pushed into one too many lockers and is ready to start fighting back. But we also saw the other side of Papelbon. A side we all really got to like. No one can walk around all the time with the intense bravado that Papelbon carries on the mound. As it turns out, he's quite the party animal. And what's more amazing is that he's that way all the time, except from about the 7th inning, to the last pitch. This kind of colorful dichotomy is one of the quickest ways into a Boston sports fan's heart.

And what about the other career years that were had? Kevin Youkilis? Or as the rest of the league was calling him before this year, Kevin Whokilis. The guy had an absolutely monster first half. He cooled off a tad in the second half, but was absolutely murderous in the post season. He has willed his way into household name status with his consistent hitting and fielding. Setting a major league record for error-free games at first base (*a record that is still on-going in the regular season) and just killing the ball to all fields while wearing down pitchers by making the 10-pitch at-bat an art form, this guy's the most beautifully disgusting dipping mass of sweat I've ever seen.

And how'bout that Mikey Lowell? Theo Epstein took a chance on the aging third-baseman, figuring he'd bring some veteran leadership, post-season experience, maturity and class to the organization. Tough shoes to fill at the hot corner too, after the departure of Billy Mueller. But boy did that work out. Not only did Lowell set an all-time Red Sox season record for RBI by a third-baseman, but he was money in the bank in the post season. With a solid 21 regular season homers to his credit, he also provided some protection in the lineup for Manny Ramirez. With his much-deserved World Series MVP in hand, his free-agent leverage is securely in hand. I just hope the Sox can resist the urge to entertain the idea of allowing him to slip away while wooing the ever-nauseating and morale-killing A-Rod. It would be damn near impossible to ever cheer for that cry-baby pretty-boy. And I'll go on record that A-Rod does NOT deserve to wear a Red Sox uniform.

Jason Varitek. That's a complete sentence where I come from. The strategic, emotional, spiritual leader. He had a very Tek-like year. Solid enough at the plate, godly behind it. When Dice-K was brought over last spring, Josh Beckett's only advice for him was "Trust Varitek". And he's right. The guy is the most prepared, diligent and focused professional athlete you'll ever see. He's passionate, but classy. He gets beat up night after night but never complains. He has the respect of the entire league. And he handles pitchers better than anyone I've ever seen. But seriously, you CAN'T get enough of this picture. My favorite part about this scuffle from '04 was the jab Varitek muttered to instigate the incident. To refresh your memory, the Sox and Yankees were involved in an intense mid-season series. It was A-Rod's first season in New York and (surprise) he wasn't living up to expectations. A-Rod took exception to being hit by a pitch. Varitek, escorting him toward first base tells him "Relax, we don't throw at .260 hitters." CLASSIC!! Game on.

Then there's the rookies. Dustin Pedroia should be the rookie of the year. Period. 5'9"/180 hitting .317 with a strut to boot? Perfect. Jacoby Ellsbury came up for a taste mid-season and he brought some life. But coming back in the late season to give guys like Manny and Coco a break was awe-inspiring. The confidence of those two guys could spark any lineup. And with less than 100 at-bats in '07 Jacoby's still technically a rookie next year! Are you KIDDING ME?! Clay Bucholz came up like a restless child coming downstairs to crash a grown-up party. He turned heads in his first start, but dropped jaws with an unbelievable no-hitter in his second start. The Red Sox smartly protected his young arm after that by giving him limited work the rest of the season.

Then there's Jon Lester. The young left-handed World-Series clincher with big league stuff has an even bigger sense of confidence and perspective. So much is made of his battle with Lymphoma and it seems at times that discussing it with media was even tougher. But his maturity and poise in both cases is amazing. What struck me most, and what Fox failed to pick up on is the heart-wrenching passion of his parents in the stands. In June, he made his first start this year after a remarkably quick recovery from chemotherapy treatments. He proceeded to dominate the game, but a camera was fixed on his parents sitting on the first base line. His father welled up with quiet pride and admiration. His mother, paralyzed with fierce desire, clenched her fists in a kind of joyous anguish. With every pitch her tears seemed to project power into the ball. At one point, Jon struck out the side, and his parents leaped to their feet as if the power of the crowed lifted them out of their seats, out of their own bodies. I'm emotional just writing about it as they seemed so much like my own parents, rooting for each of us. Never with pressure, just furious love.

There's also these other guys, Manny, Papi, Dice-K, Shilling. Yeah they're ok too. It was a great season. I've thanked Sarah repeatedly for buying me the Extra Innings Package so I could see all the games. I'll miss watching the games, but I'm glad I can stop hearing Tim McCarver for a while. Looking forward to spring training, but it's time now to focus on Skiing. Check in soon for powder shots!

Introducing: FetchDog.com

FetchDog is a high-end dog catalog and online community for dog enthusiasts.
link: FetchDog.com

We're live! Sorta. Well we're in our "soft launch" phase for now. We're live but we're not screaming about it just yet. There's still a ton of work to do. The development agency, eOne has been doing a great job but at the break-neck pace we've required, there are still lots of clean-up items on our list.

But there are a lot of things that are 'right' about it too. The store works beautifully with very few flaws. There are blogs, articles, breed centers, resource libraries, and even a breed selection tool to match you up with the right kind of dog. There's even a social networking area where you can create a profile for you and your dogs, upload pictures, add friends and contribute all over the site. Not bad. There's also more to come, like video, forums, ask the experts and more.

So feel free to check us out at FetchDog.com.

Inches in the Driveway - Feet in the Mountains

It started snowing around dinner time last night. It wasn't very cold out so it was a nice surprise. I was surprised to see it accumulate. When we woke up this morning there were actually a couple inches outside. The thing about Heber is that our elevation (about 6,000 feet) puts us below the snow-line for most storms. So when we get any kind of accumulation here, you know it's probably pounding at 9-11,000 feet in the mountains a few miles away. Needless to say, we're excited about ski season.

For a map of the Heber Valley, click here.

Craig Sager - WHO Dresses this guy?!

Just got done watching the last inning of the Yankees' 2007 season. Truthfully, I wanted to see the Yankees win this one so the Indians could win it in Cleveland after an exhausting 5-game series. But I'll take it. The Sox are right on schedule and ready to steamroll into the World Series. The ALDS between Cleveland and NY was great. There were a number of show-stopping moments: the bizarre 30-minute gnat swarming forcing Joba Chamberlain to throw an ill-timed wild pitch; the lackluster performance by the delicate league-MVP, A-Rod; the week starting pitching (especially by Clemens); and the class-less crucifixion of Joe Torre, one of the greatest managers of all time by his team owner, George "The Boss" Steinbrenner.

But one train-wreck stands out above the rest. TBS put together what I thought was a great late-season ramp-up campaign to October, featuring the highly animated comedian and Arlington, MA native, Dane Cook. Then, in their first year (to my knowledge) of post-season exclusivity, TBS paraded a full line-up of weak-witted announcers (except for Boston's own Don Orsillo doing the NL games) and unpolished ex-players in front of the cameras on national TV. Among the worst, that I saw was a floppy toupée-wearing scrub of a sideline commentator named Craig Sager. A quick google search revealed that this clown usually holds a microphone over his head while sweaty basketballers humor him and politely rib on his tacky salvation army wardrobe. But after just a few games of his periodic drop-ins I question how conscious his clothing choices actually are. Does a guy like this get up the morning and say "Hmmm...how many dark patterned layers can I jam into the same outfit?....Or should I go with the classic powder blue sportcoat, a tired cream short-sleeve and an orange tie?" I guess you can't blame a guy for having no taste. But who IS to blame? Should we be embarassed for his wife who lets him leave the house like this? Is it TBS's fault for letting him on the air? Is it the camera man's fault for not framing him above the neck? I can't say. All I know is that everyone between his house and the ballpark — passing motorists included — should feel shame for allowing this guy to persist.


Apparently, it's not just me who's bothered by the TBS MLB Mockery.

But, who cares? It actually gets worse. As they signed off, the TBS announcers revealed that Fox's Joe Buck and the inimitably innane Tim McCarver (for whom I've mentioned my disdain in the past) will be calling the ALCS between the Sox and Indians. Tremendous. I'll encourage my friends in Boston to set their tuners to AM radio and mute the TV.