The smoothest of transitions.

Symbolic of nothing but the natural way of things in Pittsburgh, the Pirates had their last game of the year in the afternoon, while the Steelers played their final pre-season game of the year. While indicative of the unnatural times that baseball finds itself, I couldn't have timed it any better. Whether bad or good, the Pirates are an afterthought at this time of year, and if the strike comes, and brings something that gives us a financially sound structure, then it's all for the best. It's not good; good would require us to have already reached that solution, good would require both sides to realize they're completely alienating the people who pay the money, both fans and advertisers.

Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Paladins completed their very rapid turnaround, having lost 100 games in 2002, winning the wildcard in the 2003 season of Baseball Mogul, losing to Atlanta in the Division Series. I'm starting to obsess over this game. It allows me to feed my control freak sports fetish, and I don't have to do the stuff I never remember, like pushing the controller to the right when pressing the triangle button to check the runner at first.

How to incapacitate Joe: While watching the game, we saw Chris Fuamatu Ma'afala run into Minnesota's Corey Chavous, leaving Chavous on the ground dazed. My response: "Corey Chavous does his best Bob Barker impression after being run over by a Samoan."
How to incapacitate me: After watching more of the game, we started wondering about the whole choice of how somehow the word "demon" in football is either associated with "speed" or "special teams", the former seeming to fall out of favor. Prompting the following.
Joe: "So what exactly is a special teams demon?"
Me: (demonic voice) "I demand a sacrifice of Jahine Arnold."
Joe: "Do ya really want that? He'll kind of do it to himself anyway."
Me: (demonic voice) "That's a valid point."
Joe pauses, then explodes the shot back. "WHAT DEMON USES THE PHRASE 'VALID POINT'?!?!"

Valid point...