I realized Friday that I had 10 days of vacation left and only about nine weeks left to use them. Since I can never find time to take more than a day or two at a time anymore, I took Monday off and made a long weekend of it.

Friday night was the usual ribeyes on the Big Green Egg and cold beers at my wife's sister's house. Saturday was homecoming for lots of the kids (not including my nephew) who had to work and waited to long to ask anyone. Instead, we stood in the street hooting and whistling at other kids as they were picked up by their dates' parents. Good times. I can't wait until they are old enough to be humiliated for real.

Saturday was a half-empty half-full day in football, as my Auburn Tigers kicked the shit out of Lousiana Tech but Georgia lost to Tennessee. I always root for UGA to be undefeated because it's either fun to beat them and ruin their year that late in the season or if we're both having great years it makes the game even bigger here and around the country. Having the two of us undefeated and in the top five when we meet in November would be unreal!!

Anyway, UGA lost and didn't look great doing it, which scares me and puts me in full "glass is broken all over the floor mode." Auburn hosts Arkansas this weekend and their ninth year QB Matt Jones. I wish the guy would retire already, as I am tired of him running for 250 yards or more every time we play them.

We took Lauren to the opening of a Farm / Park saturday that included a hay ride, sitting on some really old tractors, seeing some farm animals and eating a bushel of boiled peanutes. You'd have thought she won the lottery.

Anyway, Saturday night was a leisurely night of BBQ ribs on the egg and mussels courtesy of the neighbors. It was one of those first beer at 2pm days, so by 10pm, we were pretty beat and went home to chill.

Sunday brought the Falcons game and the Cup race at Kansas as well. Falcons lost, Joe Nemechek won, it was discovered that Tony Stewart beat up a teammate of his on Saturday, so all was right with the world.

I was looking forward to my vacation day Monday, which actually turned into a busier than shit day where all I really got done was one load of laundry. I kept my daughter alive too, so that's a win as well.

We took Lauren to the mall Monday to ride the merry go round and to buy her a new Auburn cheerleader outfit. I also bought a Red Sox hat for the playoffs, which brings me to the reason for my post today.

The Braves lost in game five to the Astros. Who cares? Not me. This team wasn't supposed to come close to winning the division, much less making the playoffs. As long as AOL Time Warner runs the team, they will be, for all intents and purposes, a small market team.

The Sox bounced Anaheim in three straight, but it wasn't that easy. They were up 2-0 in the series and 6-2 in the game in the sixth, when vlad "I'll be fat like Elvis by my 30th birthday" Guererro hit a grand slam to tie the game. The Sox never wavered, and eventually won on a two run walk off homer by David Ortiz. After the game, Johnny Damon said that it "helped to have idiots on the team" like himself. Who doesn't like these guys?

The Yankees, conversely, trailed 1-0 in the series, and were down a run in extra innings, but came came back to win game two. They won the next two as well and and ran the Twins out of their own building. It was sad because the series literally turned on Gardenhire's NOT making a pitching change. Sad.

Anyway, in the off-season, there were two big name, high dollar free agent pitchers: Curt Schilling and Randy Johnson. Both had won titles with Arizona. Both had stellar careers. But one of them wanted more.

Schilling, when approached by Boston, went to Boston. He checked it out. He called in to talk radio stations and logged into messageboards. He found out what Red Sox baseball was about, and he decided that he could help.

Conversely, Johnson refused trade offers, then when the deadline came late in the year, he was faced with a dilemma: stay in Arizona playing for a shitty team, pitching in meaningless games or take a trade to a contender, take a team on his back and be the man.

Johnson chose to stay in Phoenix and strikeout guys in games no one watched to pad stats no one cares about anyway.

Yesterday, Curt Schilling was asked about pitching game one in Yankee Stadium in the ALCS. He replied:

"I'm not sure I can think of any scenario more enjoyable than making 55,000 people from New York shut up."

Yeah, I think Schilling gets it. He gets to pitch in games one, four and seven with Pedro in games two and five. Considering the Yankees answer to those two is Mike Mussina and Kevin Brown, I like the Sox chances.

And I hope Schilling shoves it down Steinbrenner and Jeter and Sheffield and Mariano Rivera and Joe Torre's collective throats. And I want them to win the series in New York, because that would be the ultimate way to make 55,000 people from New York shut up.