We'll see how this all posts now that yet another lightning strike has limited the effectiveness of my modem. But somehow I secured a cheap replacement on eBay, so we'll see how that works out. A good guess that it won't come in before I head off to Dallas for the AAJA Convention next week.

Are you ready for two-a-days?
I liked it a lot last year, and this year's edition of Hard Knocks is looking reasonably promising as well. Having Jerry Jones (aka Michael Jackson) on screen is actually a good thing in this case because he can help move the show along. The other coaches don't come off as arrogant and domineering as Brian Billick did last year, which could be a hindrance down the line. However, there are still some entertaining personalities, especially Joe Avezzano, who stole the show with his great profanity-laced tirades on the sidelines of the Cowboys-owned Dallas Desperados in the Arena League. Too bad we don't get more "raw" footage of coaches on the sidelines. Then again, those bleeped out tirades make for great TV.

We do get a bunch of Emmitt Smith early on, which is good, and they're slowly but surely trying to focus on some rookies and other longshots. I guess it'll take a couple of episodes to remember what's his face and that late-round draft pick like last year's edition. I wonder how much longer we'll get to see Richmond Flowers, although he was always an intriguing player when he was at Duke. Chad Hutchinson does have a great chance at a roster spot despite coming back from a stint in baseball; however, I'm not sure I need to hear him sing Pearl Jam's "Black," but that's just me.

On another football-related note, I guess that SNL Farley skit a few years back about Bocephus was close to accurate.

Deja video
I've been meaning to watch Degrassi: The Next Generation but always seem to miss it. So I turn it on today, and it happens to be the same damn episode I saw in the spring. Oh well. It is funny to hear these kids speak really Canadian. It's also a bit odd to see a couple of the kids from the original series coming back as teachers. Then again, if a couple of my classmates from high school have already done it, it's probably done everywhere else.

On a similar tangent, it was sad to hear that my freshman year English teacher, Br. Regis, passed away over the weekend. He was definitely a character and will go down as a legend at the school, even though he stopped teaching about five years ago.