Oregon...you destroyed Colorado as expected - even without your starting QB or RB. The outcome was equal parts how good you are and how bad Colorado is. Get ready for stiffer tests coming up.
Colorado...sorry, this is not your season. Get through the rest of this one, reload and try again next year.
UW...rumors of you "being back" are greatly exaggerated to say the least. So-so offense and atrocious defense might work against Eastern Washington, Utah, Colorado or Hawaii, but it ain't gonna cut it against a good team like Stanford.
Stanford...well, UW was supposed to be your first real "test" this season. So, on one hand you rose to the occasion by clobbering the Huskies. But on the other hand, seeing what we all observed Saturday, perhaps UW is just another weak opponent. Your season gets real next week vs. USC in L.A.
WSU...poor performance in "the Seattle game" meant you lost to a pretty dang band Oregon State team. Like the Huskies, your resurgence has been over hyped.
OSU...well, well, well. The script remains the same year after year - poor start, middle of the season improvement (where you're at now) and then playing your best at the end of the season. We'll see if that last part comes true or not. Either way, you now have 2 wins for the season.
USC...your game is improving and you showed it on the road at Notre Dame. That win was worth it just to see ND coach Kelly squirm in front of the media afterwards. Big test for you next week vs. Stanford.
Arizona...you decimated UCLA to pick up your first win in quite some times - ironically just after your coach was fired. Nice job rebounding. Make a run in the second half of the season to build up to next season.
UCLA...heavy, heavy sigh. Just ain't work and hasn't for quite some time. I don't expect it will this season either.
Cal...a win against a school not named Presbyterian! Oh, that's right. You were playing league newcomer Utah. But hey, take it.
Utah...lets all say it again together, "The Pac-12 is not the Mountain West." Reality is really setting for you and you have not won a league game yet. Will you this season?
ASU...you did not play so nothing to say to you.
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Pac-12: James Coming Back Soon
What UW and Stanford fans do NOT want to see: http://kezi.com/sports/228015
I am not saying UO will beat the Huskies and the "Trees" this season, but deep down I think fans of those two schools thought they were going to catch a break and gain an advantage when James was injured.
Not so much it looks like.
I am not saying UO will beat the Huskies and the "Trees" this season, but deep down I think fans of those two schools thought they were going to catch a break and gain an advantage when James was injured.
Not so much it looks like.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Italy: La Dolce Vita - Tuscany
After four days in urban Italian environments, we were ready to head for the hills and soak up some relaxed country life. But to get there and do things at our own pace, we needed a car. While it's possible to see rural Tuscany by train or bus, it's a lot smoother with more options by driving. For example, trains and buses don't go to all the little towns you might want to visit, and of course there is a lot of waiting around at the station or stop for those vehicles to depart. No, for us driving in this part of our trip was the only way to go.
Photos for this portion of our trip now added to my Flickr Photostream HERE.
Also, I knew that once we got out of the city of Florence, driving would be pretty easy. Italian freeways are good. But, I was a bit nervous about how we would navigate the labyrinth of streets to find our way out of Florence. Luckily the kind people at the centrally located Hertz office in Florence gave us great directions, and after securing our vehicle we made our way out of the city just fine. Also helping the matter was that we had not just rented a car. No, ours was – basically – an SUV. Or what passes for one in Europe. So, with a size advantage we were more visible and more apt to have other drivers move out of our way. I was pleasantly surprised because I assumed we would be riding low in some super small Euro econo-hatch of one variety or another. (Left: Skyline of San Gimignano as seen from the restaurant we ate lunch at.)
Our end point for the day was south and east of Sienna, but instead of going directly there we decided to cut over to the beautiful town of San Gimignano for a visit and lunch. You may have seen this town on travel TV programs because not only is it a quintessential Italian medieval town, it also features tall, square towers that from afar look like skyscrapers. These structures are indeed 8-10 stories tall, but they were built by the town’s nobility as defense and safety structures. As in…if the bad guys came, they could retreat up into their towers and wait them out. And of course, over time how high one’s safety tower was became a measuring stick for how rich you were. So, the local rich big wigs built ever higher and higher towers to try and out do each other. In any case – makes for a good story and an odd visual.
More pictures, shopping and strolling after lunch.
Upon our mid-afternoon arrival and check in, we left our luggage in the room, grabbed a couple of the complimentary beers in our room’s refrigerator and made a beeline to the oasis of the pool. Overlooking a valley and a nearby village, this pool was the ticket – just the right place to be on this sunny afternoon.
More relaxation followed at the pool, and then we rested up before our dinner at the highly regarded restaurant on site at the hotel. Sitting in a covered-but-outdoors patio, our meal was very good, but the service this night was for some reason very, very slow. This was annoying. But, whatever. In hindsight it was nice to sit out and take in the view. (Right: The pool at Locanda d'Ammarosa.)
The sunny skies and magnificent fields of sunflowers greeted us as we took to the road for the short drive to the nearby town of Pienza. Pienza is another spectacularly preserved old town, but it's far smaller that San Gimignano and nearly as touristy. This made for a nice strolling visit as we walked through the walled city gate and up the narrow main road lined with shops up to the primary piazza of the town. You can really see the main sites in Pienza just a few minutes. What's extra nice is to spend some time walking through the narrow little side streets and also making your way to the edge of the town where you will be rewarded with sweeping views of the Tuscan countryside. We did both and in between we stopped at a teeny tiny little cafe and had a glass of cool and refreshing Proseco. (Above left: Pienza street. Above right: Tuscan sunflowers.)
Arriving at mid-day, we parked and walked up into the old city center, marveling at the walls, streets, passageways, etc. No matter how many of these medieval towns you go to, it never gets old...at least to us. Anyway, we arrived at the top at moment I would guess was the hottest of the day. We found some shade and got our bearings before exploring the church and surrounding streets. (Left: Main square in Montepulciano.)
By the time we got back to our vehicle, it was starting to rain and it increased as we made our way back toward our hotel. The original plan was to sit at the pool in the late afternoon again, but it was looking like this was a no-go based on what was happening outside. Sure enough, when we got back it was still gray, cloudy and drizzly. Warm, but not pool weather. We opted to rest up in our sumptuous room instead.
NOTE: All pictures in this post taken by Marc Osborn. No use of any kind is authorized without prior written permission from Marc Osborn.
Photos for this portion of our trip now added to my Flickr Photostream HERE.
Our end point for the day was south and east of Sienna, but instead of going directly there we decided to cut over to the beautiful town of San Gimignano for a visit and lunch. You may have seen this town on travel TV programs because not only is it a quintessential Italian medieval town, it also features tall, square towers that from afar look like skyscrapers. These structures are indeed 8-10 stories tall, but they were built by the town’s nobility as defense and safety structures. As in…if the bad guys came, they could retreat up into their towers and wait them out. And of course, over time how high one’s safety tower was became a measuring stick for how rich you were. So, the local rich big wigs built ever higher and higher towers to try and out do each other. In any case – makes for a good story and an odd visual.
The downside of visiting this town is that it is very well known – and there are loads of tourists there. It’s not so bad walking the streets, but parking is quite the ordeal, particularly if you don’t know where to look. My advice: save yourself a lot of time and frustration and park at the easier to find and more open lower lots and walk up the hill to the town. Note that it will cost you a few Euros no matter where you park, so make sure to have some on you when you’re done for the day so you can pay the machine to exit. (Right: Door knocker in San Gimignano.)
Once situated, we strolled through the streets – looking into the shops and happening upon an open air market in one of the ancient squares. But by now we were getting pretty hungry and we settled on a restaurant with an impressive view of the town and surrounding areas upstairs at the Hotel La Cisterna. Good food, nice local wine, spectacular view. Great!
More pictures, shopping and strolling after lunch.
Satisfied that we had seen the best of this burg, we hit the road with a mind to get to our villa hotel and sit at the pool on this sultry day.
Skipping Sienna
Now, at this point you might be wondering, “Didn’t you go to Sienna?” And your question makes sense because it's a beautiful town right near where we were. But, the answer is, no we did not. We had planned to, there were a few things that changed our minds:- Our already aggressive schedule – we knew we would be going, going, going for more than a week at this point in our trip and so we decided instead of taking in another city, we’d take a little “vacation from our vacation” and stay out in the country side at someplace really nice and relaxing.
- Driving, parking, and tickets – we had heard and read that driving in, out and around Sienna is tricky; that you are likely to get a parking ticket; and that if you drove in certain zones (not well marked by signs) you get a expensive ticket.
- Festival – we learned that there was a big horse festival going on in Sienna when we would have visited. Fun and all I am sure, but hotels were hard to find and, frankly, we didn’t want the hassle of trying to see the city with zillions of other people at the same time.
Finding Tuscan Paradise
Where we did go was a hotel out in the country called Locanda d’Ammarosa. Stretching back in history, this place had been a fort, a monastery, a tiny little town and probably all those things at once – more than once. Today, it is a beautiful walled villa that has been renovated into an extremely nice hotel property. Featuring rustic facades, stony walkways, iron gates, arched corridors and pretty much all the Tuscan charm you could want, the hotel also has very modern rooms with excellent amenities. (Left: Courtyard view of the Locanda d'Ammarosa villa/hotel.)
After some swimming and basking, a fellow guest bearing a bucket of chilled white wine walked by and introduced himself…inviting us to join he and his wife for some of the wine. We thought, “what the Hell” and went over to talk with them. Turns out they are a couple from the Toronto area who come to this place almost annually. Very nice people and full of recommendations for what to do in the area and where to eat.
The next morning, we had a leisurely breakfast set out in luxurious style in the hotel's bar/cafe. What a spread. With fresh eggs, cheese, bread, jam, honey and more, it reminded us of some of those wonderful Romanian breakfasts we'd had earlier in the trip.
Pienza and Montepulciano
The sunny skies and magnificent fields of sunflowers greeted us as we took to the road for the short drive to the nearby town of Pienza. Pienza is another spectacularly preserved old town, but it's far smaller that San Gimignano and nearly as touristy. This made for a nice strolling visit as we walked through the walled city gate and up the narrow main road lined with shops up to the primary piazza of the town. You can really see the main sites in Pienza just a few minutes. What's extra nice is to spend some time walking through the narrow little side streets and also making your way to the edge of the town where you will be rewarded with sweeping views of the Tuscan countryside. We did both and in between we stopped at a teeny tiny little cafe and had a glass of cool and refreshing Proseco. (Above left: Pienza street. Above right: Tuscan sunflowers.)
Our next stop was the town of Montepulciano. This is a bigger town than Pienza, but we'd heard that it was chock full of great restaurants and shopping. How could we say no?
Arriving at mid-day, we parked and walked up into the old city center, marveling at the walls, streets, passageways, etc. No matter how many of these medieval towns you go to, it never gets old...at least to us. Anyway, we arrived at the top at moment I would guess was the hottest of the day. We found some shade and got our bearings before exploring the church and surrounding streets. (Left: Main square in Montepulciano.)
Now it was lunchtime, and we found a place noted in the Lonely Planet guidebook called Enoteca a Gambe di Gatto. Situated on one of those narrow little streets, this is a small restaurant run by a husband and wife team. She's the chef and he's the service. Their "thing" is to travel the region annually to find suppliers of the freshest, best tasting and organic food for their menu. And wow, that effort pays off.
To start things off, we were presented with a fresh loaf of locally baked bread and a selection of olive oils from different areas around Italy. We were given a chance to taste each and then settle on the one we liked best for the table. Next, wine needed to be attended to. Similarly, several options of red were set up on our table - each local to Tuscany and one in particular from right nearby. We sampled and decided on the most local - a very nice 2007 red from Montepulciano.
Our entrees were to die for. Having loved this meal and service so much, we decided to buy some of the olive oil and perhaps a bottle of that wine. As were paying for our meal and those other items, out came the locally made Limoncello for a taste at the bar. We could not refuse. We tasted this lemony liqueur, loved it and decided to get a bottle of it as well. Sure, we were up sold, but it was worth it. For the entire package of food, service and setting, our visit to this restaurant has jumped onto our personal list of best meals ever.
Happy as could be, we decided to walk lunch off a bit by going back to the main piazza and doing a little shopping too. By now, heavy clouds had moved in and you got the feeling that it was going to rain. Before that could happen, we went to the tippy top of the town hall for a good view and then hit some shops where we bought some really cool shoes and bags. (Left: Local wine on our table as we celebrate one last evening in Tuscany.)
By the time we got back to our vehicle, it was starting to rain and it increased as we made our way back toward our hotel. The original plan was to sit at the pool in the late afternoon again, but it was looking like this was a no-go based on what was happening outside. Sure enough, when we got back it was still gray, cloudy and drizzly. Warm, but not pool weather. We opted to rest up in our sumptuous room instead.
To finish off this perfect day in Tuscany, we headed out to a small nearby town for dinner at a restaurant our new friends from by the poolside had told us about. By now, the weather had cleared and again we were looking at clear skies and a beautiful sunset - all the more delightful as we sat on an outdoor patio and enjoyed a meal of Tuscan specialties and wine as the sun slowly set before us.
Tomorrow we would make our way to Rome, but for this day we could not have envisioned such a wonderful experience.
Tomorrow we would make our way to Rome, but for this day we could not have envisioned such a wonderful experience.
Pac-12 Week 8 Quick Picks
Oregon vs. Colorado in Boulder. Ducks may be without their starting QB and RB, but it won't matter. Too big a talent and experience miss-match. They win big: 41-17.
UW vs. Stanford at Palo Alto. UW is reminded that their 5 wins to date have come against poor and injury depleated teams. Stanford is neither. Trees win 34-21.
WSU vs. OSU in Seattle. Neither school's campus is anywhere near Seattle, but yet they're playing there this weekend. For the Beavers, it won't matter where they play this one. Cougs win 24-10.
Cal vs. Utah in SF. Neither team is having a good season so far. I'm going to say that Cal gets off the losing streak at home with a win - 17-10.
UCLA vs. Arizona in Tucson. Pillow fight! Two bad teams slap it out in the desert. Arizona could be re-motivated with the loss of their coach and playing at home against a team similar in talent. So, I'm going to pick them to win a close one 24-21.
USC vs. Notre Dame in South Bend. Hmmm. Could be a close one. Neither team really setting the world on fire, but both have talent. Toss up, but I'll take USC 27-21.
ASU has the week off.
UW vs. Stanford at Palo Alto. UW is reminded that their 5 wins to date have come against poor and injury depleated teams. Stanford is neither. Trees win 34-21.
WSU vs. OSU in Seattle. Neither school's campus is anywhere near Seattle, but yet they're playing there this weekend. For the Beavers, it won't matter where they play this one. Cougs win 24-10.
Cal vs. Utah in SF. Neither team is having a good season so far. I'm going to say that Cal gets off the losing streak at home with a win - 17-10.
UCLA vs. Arizona in Tucson. Pillow fight! Two bad teams slap it out in the desert. Arizona could be re-motivated with the loss of their coach and playing at home against a team similar in talent. So, I'm going to pick them to win a close one 24-21.
USC vs. Notre Dame in South Bend. Hmmm. Could be a close one. Neither team really setting the world on fire, but both have talent. Toss up, but I'll take USC 27-21.
ASU has the week off.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Pac-12 Week 7 Re-Caps
Oregon...you achieved your best win of the season to date by beating a talented ASU team by two TDs. You are still on track for major collisions with UW and Stanford coming up soon. QB and RB hurt, but probably back before those big games.
ASU...well, you tried. The truth is that this loss does not impact your standing in the Pac-12 South - at least for now - as you beat your next best competitor, USC, already this season. But, if you have to match up again with Oregon in that championship game, you have things to be concerned about.
UW...you KILLED Colorado. So, that's good as you were expected to do that. But on the other hand, killing the Buffs is not hard to do this season. Your second opportunity to show you are a legit football power this season (the first one was big loss vs. Nebraska) comes next weekend vs. Stanford.
Colorado...long season keeps getting longer. Thanks for joining the league. Hopefully you'll get better in coming seasons.
Oregon State...the struggling BYU Cougars beat you by 10 points in your own house. The misery continues.
Stanford...you man handled WSU in Pullman. This was expected. Chalk up another win vs. not-that-great of an opponent...aka your entire season to date.
WSU...nice effort against Stanford. But, you still lost. At 3-3 you still have a bowl game in your sights, and with the Beavers as your next opponent, you probably will pick up win 4 next weekend.
USC...you killed Cal, which is becoming increasingly the norm.
Cal...your season is starting to look like OSU's.
Utah...you redeemed yourselves some by winning on the road at Pitt.
UCLA...you didn't play.
Arizona...you didn't play either, but given your record this season you could say that every weekend.
ASU...well, you tried. The truth is that this loss does not impact your standing in the Pac-12 South - at least for now - as you beat your next best competitor, USC, already this season. But, if you have to match up again with Oregon in that championship game, you have things to be concerned about.
UW...you KILLED Colorado. So, that's good as you were expected to do that. But on the other hand, killing the Buffs is not hard to do this season. Your second opportunity to show you are a legit football power this season (the first one was big loss vs. Nebraska) comes next weekend vs. Stanford.
Colorado...long season keeps getting longer. Thanks for joining the league. Hopefully you'll get better in coming seasons.
Oregon State...the struggling BYU Cougars beat you by 10 points in your own house. The misery continues.
Stanford...you man handled WSU in Pullman. This was expected. Chalk up another win vs. not-that-great of an opponent...aka your entire season to date.
WSU...nice effort against Stanford. But, you still lost. At 3-3 you still have a bowl game in your sights, and with the Beavers as your next opponent, you probably will pick up win 4 next weekend.
USC...you killed Cal, which is becoming increasingly the norm.
Cal...your season is starting to look like OSU's.
Utah...you redeemed yourselves some by winning on the road at Pitt.
UCLA...you didn't play.
Arizona...you didn't play either, but given your record this season you could say that every weekend.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
Mona - Lean Into the Fall
Mona just released their song "Lean Into the Fall" in the U.S.
A very good song in my opinion.
Check it out on iTunes or Amazon.
A very good song in my opinion.
Check it out on iTunes or Amazon.
Pac-12 Week 7 Quick Picks
Oregon vs. ASU in Eugene - Ducks are likely without their best player, but they are at home and have plenty of talent to pick up the slack. ASU better this year, but did I mention this game is in Eugene? Ducks win 38-28.
UW vs. Colorado in Seattle. Dawgs are better than Buffs. They win 27-13.
WSU vs. Stanford in Pullman. Road game for the "Trees" against an improving Coug squad. BUT, Stanford is better and will win 41-20.
OSU vs. BYU in Corvallis. Beavs coming off a win. BYU has a winning record against weak teams and lost to Pac-12 whipping boy Utah earlier. Beavs make it two in a row and win 21-17.
USC vs. Cal at Berkley. Cal has lost two straight, but return home. USC isn't what they used to be, but they're better than Cal this year and will win 24-13.
UCLA vs. Arizona in Tucson. UA has fired its head coach after losing 10 games in a row going back into last season. Ironically, they finally get a win by beating a weak UCLA team.
Utah vs. Pitt in Pittsburgh. Utah's woes continue as they lose 17-10.
UW vs. Colorado in Seattle. Dawgs are better than Buffs. They win 27-13.
WSU vs. Stanford in Pullman. Road game for the "Trees" against an improving Coug squad. BUT, Stanford is better and will win 41-20.
OSU vs. BYU in Corvallis. Beavs coming off a win. BYU has a winning record against weak teams and lost to Pac-12 whipping boy Utah earlier. Beavs make it two in a row and win 21-17.
USC vs. Cal at Berkley. Cal has lost two straight, but return home. USC isn't what they used to be, but they're better than Cal this year and will win 24-13.
UCLA vs. Arizona in Tucson. UA has fired its head coach after losing 10 games in a row going back into last season. Ironically, they finally get a win by beating a weak UCLA team.
Utah vs. Pitt in Pittsburgh. Utah's woes continue as they lose 17-10.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)