Anyway, because of all this buzz, I decided to watch the entire Sarah Palin speech video on YouTube. She actually was pretty good, maybe not the same kind of orator that Obama is, but good in her own way. However, I don’t think that’s going to be enough to stop the media hounds from doing their thing, going after her family, her past, and her record (all fair game for a national candidate, IMO). Still, maybe there’s a lot more to Palin than I initially thought….

Here’s part one of the Sarah Palin speech video. For the rest, just go to YouTube!

What is it about NFL players that seems to attract nothing but trouble? At about 2:45 local time this morning, offensive tackle Richard Collier of the Jacksonville Jaguars was “critically wounded” after being shot while waiting for two women outside an apartment.

Details of the shooting are still sketchy, but apparently Collier and a former Jaguars teammate met these women at a nightclub and were waiting for them to come back out from their apartment when a gunman sprayed bullets at Collier’s Escalade. Collier was hit several times, but so far reports have not specified where he was hit. All of the reports, however, say that his injuries are critical.

Collier’s passenger was unhurt.

Collier underwent surgery at Shands Jacksonville Medical Center, and remains in stable but critical condition according to a Jaguars press release. The medical center has declined to provide further updates about Collier’s health, which could be the result of a request from family members.

Because of the lack of details, the online community is left speculating about what might have happened. Some people think Collier was set up to be robbed by the two women after they found out he was an NFL player or whatever, while others think this was just a random event.

To me, it doesn’t seem all that random, especially since an early report indicated that the shooting occurred in an upper middle-class neighborhood. It’s not like Collier was hanging out in a shady or dangerous area of town where things like this happen all the time.

At any rate, I hope Collier pulls through this one. I can’t believe the number of NFL players who get into trouble off the field. It definitely seems to be a higher proportion than in other sports. Maybe it’s because the actual NFL season is shorter than other sports, giving the players more free time to mess around.

Imagine my surprise when I read the info and learned that the guy on the cover was Christian Bale!! He legitimately lost a whopping 62 pounds for the role, which is amazing for a 180-pound guy. Apparently, Bale didn’t even need to use Leptitrex or any other supplements. He just basically starved himself by eating only an apple or a can of tuna each day. Gross!

Well, I can’t even bring myself to post a picture of The Machinist because the image makes me want to vomit. Look it up for yourself if you want to see Bale looking like a POW.

The thing I don’t get is that McCain’s people had to have uncovered this during the vetting process, which means they were perfectly willing to roll the dice on Palin despite her inexperience, her unknown name, and her pregnant teenage daughter. Wow, how desperate are things in the McCain camp anyway?

According to the article I read, the Palins decided to come forward with news of their daughter’s pregnancy to dispel online rumors that their 5-month-old son was actually the daughter’s. Yep, there are people out there who believe that Palin faked her pregnancy to cover up for her daughter.

Wait, wasn’t this an entire storyline last year on Desperate Housewives? I can’t believe a national campaign would even bother taking the time to address this stupid rumor.

Either way, it doesn’t seem like the Palin selection was very smart. She might bring in a few extra voters for McCain, but something tells me he would have done much better going with a traditional selection.

I haven’t quite decided what kind of present to get her, but am leaning towards a formal portrait of my son in one of those nice custom picture frames that really make the photo look great. Her whole house is already plastered with pictures of my son anyway, so I’m sure another one would be more than welcome.

Since Grandparents Day is next week, I’ve really got to move on this idea if I want to pull it off in time. Maybe take the photo tomorrow after school and try to get it framed by the end of the week. It’s definitely doable, right?

I saw this Festina Road Warrior while browsing online, and I think it is awesome! I’d never heard of Festina watches before today, but was pleased to learn that the company is very established and has a 100-year history of making higher-end sports watches.

Anyway, the Road Warrior is a bit out of my price range right now, but maybe I can ask for it for Christmas or my birthday. That means waiting a few more months of course, but from what I’ve read, the watch will be well worth it!

This time around, people seem to be taking the government warnings more seriously. There’s a mandatory evacuation in effect, all highway lanes have been rerouted to lead out of The Big Easy, and everyone’s acting with a sense of urgency.

I really hope Gustav doesn’t do major damage to New Orleans and that all these precautions turn out to err on the safe side. The region just wouldn’t be able to stand another massive natural disaster.

Hopefully the Panthers organization carries some good NC health insurance to get these guys healthy and back in the lineup in time for the season opener on September 7. Otherwise, I think that tough San Diego Chargers team will simply be too much for them.

Football season for me means cool weather, weekends filled beer, chips, and pizza, and of course a bunch of smack talk with my friends about our fantasy teams. It means sitting out on friends’ decks to watch games through mid-November, and then huddling around their fire pits to watch games through the rest of November and December. It means wearing team apparel all weekend long, dwelling on wins or losses, and second-guessing fantasy decisions for the entire week.

In short, football season is my favorite time of year, so you better believe I’ll be a happy camper from now until February!

Even as a total football junkie, I feel this is a bit of overkill. With one team, I used to follow “my” players religiously, watching games that I wouldn’t otherwise tune into if someone on my roster was playing, etc. But with a total of five teams to keep track of (my sixth fantasy league is college pick ‘em), I doubt this is going to happen much. Maybe I’ll be able to do it after a few weeks when I see which of my teams will be worth following for the year, but at the beginning there’s no way I’ll be able to do it.

On the plus side, I have so many different players that it significantly cuts down on the stress factor. If one of my guys has a bad game, it’ll hurt one of my teams, but will inevitably end up helping another, so it will be a wash.

Well, we’ll see how having this many teams works out in the end. I’m sure by the midway point, I’ll just be making minimal roster changes in a few of my leagues while having a fighting chance in some others.

Either way, I’m still excited — at least at the beginning here!