Forget Yourself

Another work week draws to a close. The girls are already on their long weekend. They had a half day of school today and get tomorrow and Monday off as well. The weekend will be a full one. I'm meeting up with some of my Daily Grind buddies tomorrow night to celebrate a couple of birthdays in Harvard Square. Saturday, Lily's got a makeup of last Saturday's soccer rainout and then the Siegels arrive from New Jersey later in the day. Sunday night, I'll be attending the Them Crooked Vultures show at HOB.

Earlier in the week, I made an appearance on the great Rink Podcast, talking hockey and the Leafs with host James Gralian. He talked to several hockey podcasters/bloggers in different cities about the teams they follow. It was a lot of fun. James is going to be in town for work in February, so I may do an entire show with him then.

I also had a new running column in the Salem News today, this one about whether marathons are worth all the aggravation. Speaking of which, I've given up on doing a half this fall, just because I'm too busy on the weekends and some races have already filled up. I've started thinking about which marathon (not Boston) I want to run in the spring. I'd like to do one I haven't done before, which would rule out Vermont and New Jersey.

Deb's gearing up for the Nike Women's Half next weekend in San Francisco. She's flying out Friday afternoon and getting back the following Monday. She's done a hell of a job training and building up her mileage despite having to go to physical therapy for a knee problem.

Well, the Leafs are off to an 0-3 start. Ottawa beat them 2-1 Tuesday night. Rookie goalie Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson played pretty well in his first NHL start, but both he and standout rookie forward Viktor Stalberg are on the shelf with a groin strain and suspected concussion, respectively. Oh, and they play the defending Cup champs Pittsburgh Saturday night. That could be ugly.

The baseball playoffs are underway. As I type this, the Red Sox are taking on the Angels. People around here are pretty cocky about the Sox winning this series because they've had the Angels' number over the years, but you never know...

Tonight I watched King's Ransom, a great documentary about the Gretzky trade directed by Peter Berg. It's the first in ESPN's 30 for 30 series and offers a behind-the-scenes look at what went into the biggest trade in hockey history. Even if you're not a big hockey fan, it's well done and worth checking out: