Do Fish Need Knees?

Daunte Culpepper - Miami Dolphin.

Odd kind of ring to it. For the non-football peeps out there, Daunte is/was one of the better QBs in the NFL. He's big (6'4" 260 lbs), strong and mobile. And the only reason for the "is/was" is 'cause nobody's quite sure about the guy at the moment. Last season, he tore not one, not two, but three (!!) ligaments in his knee. It hurts me just thinking about it. He wanted out of Minnesota and today, he was traded to Miami for a second round pick in next year's (2007) draft.

Is he worth it? Well, 12 months ago, this deal woulda been a huge steal, but when you have a guy who's gonna have the inside of his knee re-built, it's maybe a little bit of a gamble. If he plays and can return to form, then it'll finally give the 'Phins some relief from their QB woes. And he's only 29, so it will actually give them a while to find the next "next" QB. If he's able to partially come back, he's still probably better than whoever they were gonna have. If he fails miserably in his comeback attempt, well, it's a 2nd rounder, but in a draft that no one is really even thinking about right now.

But I find myself kinda bummed about Drew Brees. He's a QB who had been with the San Diego (Super) Chargers, but his coach never really seemed to believe in him. And then in the last game of the season, and his contract, he's left out maybe a little too long and completley screws up his throwing shoulder*. Now, Brees is a high priced free agent with a questionable shoulder and a big price tag. Apparently not big enough to scare off the New Orleans Saints, who signed Brees not long after Culpepper signed**.

So Miami had to choose between the high priced re-constructed knee and the higher priced re-constructed shoulder. They went with the knee.

I'm kinda pissed they have no chance at one of the top QBs in the draft, though. Frikin' Nick Saban - how dare you? We were supposed to suck!


*I had been hoping for a few hours that the Dolphins mighta drafted Brees a few years ago. They had a late first round pick, Brees had slipped down the draft board to them, and they went with a receiver. Sure, it was Chris Chambers, but I'd have rather had a QB for all the good Chambers has done us.

**I'm not sure how happy Matt Leinart is about that, but he went to USC, so F him. But with my luck (and yes, the world does in fact revolve around me [and to a lesser extent, Emmanuel Lewis]), he'll go to a good team that moves up in the draft to get him.

Pictures and Another Name

I just finished coding a slideshow for the pics I took on my trip to the Getty Museum with Lisa when she was in town.

You can see it here.

Also, any recommendations for web hosting would be appreciated. I'm in the mood to finally put up darby.net.

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And on the "Just when I think I'm out, they keep pulling me back in!" front:

AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) recently sold the NY/NJ MetroStars of the MLS. AEG now owns 1/3 of the teams in MLS (4 of the 12), as well as my Los Angeles Kings.

Who'd they sell the team to? Red Bull Co, Ltd. - manufacturers of Red Bull Energy Drink.

Upon buying the team, the franchise was quickly re-named... Red Bull New York.

Now, advertising has a long tradition of sponshorship in soccer. Teams in Europe don't even prominently display their nicknames or cities on their jerseys. Manchster United, one of the most popular sports franchises in the world, wears this shirt:


I think they're sponsored by Vodaphone. And you should see some of the jerseys in Euro hockey! But I dunno of any team being named after their ownership before.

Oh, well. I mighta been upset if it wasn't already in soccer, even here in the US.

Loose Ends

So there're a coupla things I need to close up here, and I figured I'd just take care of them at once.

The Last Word on Rent

As it turns out, my last words on the subject could very well be my first words on the subject. I wrote a quick assesment of my conception of musicals before I saw Rent and I have to say I was pretty close.

There were some good times. There were a few times where the singing actually made the moment, and that’s not unexpected. There were some times where I thought, “This could only really credibly take place in a musical.”

But for the most part, I found the whole thing to be melodramatic, condscending and maybe a little hypocrytical.
--Didn’t like Angel (archetypes, in general, upset me, and literal ones are even worse).
--What was with Tom? Are ya James Bond? “Tom. Tom Collins?” Really? He was very overly affected.
--And what was with the general fascination with Santa Fe?
--There wasn’t a real story, and I always felt sorry for the little blonde kid. Someone please give that guy a hug! He was like Snoopy, but without Woodstock – the quiet center of the whole shebang, but always alone.
--And the general attitude that “artists” are “better” was kinda annoying.

Okay. All done there.


"I Feel So... Un-syat-isfied"
(to channel KGB)

Ladies and gentleman… the Houston Dynamo?


“Dynamo is a word to describe someone who never fatigues, never gives up," said team president and general manager Oliver Luck. "The new name is symbolic of Houston as an energetic, hard-working, risk-taking kind of town.

“To me, Dynamo has a blue-collar feel to it, as well as an association with the energy business, which is one of the things Houston is known for. We think this is a great name that greater Houston can rally around."

Let’s face it, Oliver: You had to go down to at least Plan C on this one. We can wink and nod all we want, the name’s not great. And you lost the $19.99 I was all ready to spend on my 1836 hat.

105 Minutes, Kinda Felt Like 525,600

So, I saw Rent last Friday night with Lisa.

Seriously.

You can ask her.

I think I have to watch it again.

I've been trying to write about it, but it's like I'm choked up.

I need to focus my disbelief, annoyance, and rage.

More to come.