Billy Jack Attack

Hey. Checking in midweek with a quick post. No last-minute Christmas panic here. Everything's under control. Except for the whole cleaning-the-house-before-company-arrives deal, but we've got a few days to get everything done, so I'm not worried.

Got a couple of runs in this week with temps in the 20s and not much room on the roads. The icy patches are a little tricky, even in broad daylight.

Tilt-a-whirl:

• Sports fans here in the Boston area are all agog because free agent center fielder Johnny Damon, a key member of the Red Sox the last few years, signed with another club. But it wasn't just any club, it was the hated Yankees. Other former Sox have gone to the Bronx Bombers before (Roger Clemens), but few have gone directly from one to the other (Wade Boggs comes to mind). Damon might as well have been hiding Osama Bin Laden in his basement; what he's done is considered downright traitorous to Red Sox Nation. And, of course, by going to the Yankees, he'll have to shave his beard and cut his hair to meet George Steinbrenner's club rules; he'll go back to the clean-cut look he had when he first joined the Sox. As a Jays fan, it's nice to see the Sox get weaker, especially considering the potential replacements available are nowhere near as good a leadoff man as Damon. Gotta love baseball's Hot Stove League. Keeps things interesting.
• The Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, are fast approaching (they kick off Feb. 10) and defending gold medal hockey winner Team Canada unveiled its roster today. GM Wayne Gretzky and co. stuck with many of the stalwarts from the 2002 team and the 2004 World Cup champs, keeping young talent like Sidney Crosby, Eric Staal, and Jason Spezza on the outside. I figured one or two of that trio would make the team, especially since Mario Lemieux and Steve Yzerman had both said they wouldn't be playing because of injury and/or diminished performance. Staal, Spezza and Maple Leafs defenseman Bryan McCabe (who leads all NHL d-men in scoring) are on the reserve squad, to fill in if someone gets hurt. The U.S. roster was announced earlier in the week, with longtime regulars Jeremy Roenick and Brian Leetch (who are both having subpar seasons) left off the team. Ever the self-promoter, Roenick complained that he was "blackballed" by USA Hockey and that he should have been named to the team based on his past accomplishments, not his current stats. He then broke his finger in his next game and will be out for four to six weeks, so it's a moot point.
• This has already been well blogumented, but just wanted to point you to a hi-larious video that ran on Saturday Night Live last weekend featuring Chris Parnell and Andy Samberg rapping about the joys of going to see the Chronicles of Narnia. Without a doubt, this is one of the funniest things I've seen on SNL in many moons. Check it out here.
• Looks like this fish is a distant relative of the three-eyed goldfish on the The Simpsons.
• Finally, this video clip from mid-80s Chicago is unbelievable. Two words: Ditka rapping. Wow.