I have eaten my words with a bang-zoom and a curly W!

Not too long ago, I very seriously posed the question of whether 50 wins this season would be a long shot for the Nats. It would appear that someone upstairs was listening, because with yesterday and today's magnificent victories over the hated Braves (can we also say sweep???), the win column has now reached 52!

As I say, I have eaten my own words with a bang-zoom and a curly W! At times like this, I'm glad to have been proven wrong, because it was a wonderful feeling hearing the cries of victory after a long season of losses.

T-minus 24 hours and counting!

Honestly, I haven't been this excited since Haley's Comet collided with the moon, because we're now 20 hours away from Penn State's kickoff against Coastal Carolina!!!

Tomorrow's home opener is a day I've been yearning for almost since April, when I attended the annual spring teaser Blue/White scrimmage. At the time, baseball season had just begun, but with that small whetting of the appetite by the pigskin, my taste buds have since thirsted for football more and more each day.

I've been going to Penn State games now for close to 20 years, and the anticipation of the season-opening game truly never abates. That feeling of walking into Beaver Stadium and seeing the gridiron below, with the players practicing and JoePa pacing, is one that can't ever be put into words. Because in that moment, you feel alive. You tingle with an excitement and pride that runs deep into the soul. You feel part of something cosmic and timeless. And you feel bonded to the 110,000 Blue and White brethren that surround you.

Win or loss (hopefully win!), the experience of a Penn State football game is one like no other, and tomorrow I will lovingly embrace that most wonderful time of year with friends and family alike.

So let me say it loudly and proudly: We Are Penn State!!!

Happy birthday, Joel!

My cousin Joel turns 24 today. Normally I'd toast a beer in someone's honor, but today, I think a boilermaker would be more apropos!

The half-smoke turns 50!

Yesterday, the Post ran a story on the 50th anniversary of one of the biggest DC culinary landmarks—Ben's Chili Bowl.

It's kind of odd that DC only has one signature food item to its name, but even so, it picked a good one! Because a Philly cheese steak has nothing on a chili half-smoke from Ben's! Only once have I graced the indoors of that famous U Street establishment, but with the opening of a Ben's Chili Bowl stand at Nationals Park, the flavor of a Ben's chili half-smoke has forever been branded onto my subconscious (not to mention my taste buds!).

To celebrate the half-century of Ben's, there's a block party taking place on U Street this afternoon, as well as a party at the 9:30 Club. I'd kinda like to attend that block party, but instead I'll be at work. Oh, well. In theory, I can celebrate by a visit to Ben's this weekend. :) At which time I'll raise my half-smoke in honor of 50 years of excellent fare that has since become an integral part of our nation's capital.

Nothing is sacred anymore (IX)

I stumbled onto this YouTube clip yesterday, which shows various Peanuts scenes recut to the dialogue of Clerks. Let me tell ya, Linus spouting out Randall's dialogue, with Charlie Brown filling in for Dante, that's just priceless!

Nats fatigue

I never thought I would be so fatigued from hearing about incessant losses from the Nats. Our season record so far is 44-81, which is definitively our worst performance yet. But let's review our recent losses, focusing merely on the month of August:

• August 17 vs. Colorado, 7-2
• August 16 vs. Colorado, 13-6
• August 14 vs. NY Mets, 9-3
• August 13 vs. NY Mets, 12-0 (so humiliating)
  
• August 11 vs. Milwaukee, 7-1
• August 9 vs. Milwaukee, 6-0
• August 8 vs. Milwaukee, 5-0
• August 5 vs. Colorado, 8-2

Let's face it—this is beyond ridiculous. This is beyond disheartening. This is downright stupefying that we can barely even squeeze out a close game but instead have to lose by a margin of no less than 5 runs! I'm slowly starting to join the legions of fans who are shouting for the dismissal of Jim Bowden, maybe even Manny Acta, too. Because in the purest practical sense, if we're not recruiting good talent, then the talent we do have isn't being trained to their fullest extent on the field. And Stan Kasten's constant intonations of "The Plan" sound too similar to W's "Trust us!" whenever the Iraq War took another bad turn.

Again, I love the Nats, but having to watch them lose game after game after game makes my heart sink more than I ever could have imagined.

With only 44 wins under our belt and somewhere around 37 games left, I'm seriously starting to wonder if winning 50 games this season is too high a hope.

No more salisbury steak!

Okay, enough already! It's bad enough that Bernie Mac dies too young at the age of 50, but now Isaac Hayes, too? This is getting ridiculous, people! Enough with the celebrities dying!

I have to admit, it really hit me hard to learn of Bernie Mac's death, not only because he was a great actor and comedian, but because 50 is far too young for a man to die. I hadn't even known about his respiratory ailments that afflicted him until now. Watching Friday and Ocean's Eleven won't be the same after this. And I have to wonder, with Isaac Hayes now gone, who's going to voice Chef on South Park and sing about making sweet sweet love?

We've topped the Big House???

For years, I'd thought that Michigan's football stadium was the gold standard for attendance capacity, always surpassing Penn State's Beaver Stadium by just a maddeningly small margin. But if I'm reading this right, Beaver Stadium is now the #1 in capacity at 107,282, with the Big House coming in at #2 with 106,201 capacity!

As I've said before, any sort of victory over Michigan is acceptable in my book, be it on the gridiron or off. But could this be a signal that the tide may finally be turning in Penn State's favor in this rivalry? :)