Now the Struggle Has a Name

It's grim out there, folks. Another grey, gloomy day, with bone-chilling temps, wind and rain. But I'm in a good mood. I got my last long run in before the marathon, a good 10-miler to Beverly Farms and back. I'm feeling strong and not too sore. Nine days to go before Boston...

My running column this week focused on race-day tips for Marathon Monday. I'll be up early and boarding a bus for Hopkinton chartered by my running club, the North Shore Striders. It's equipped with a bathroom, which will mean we won't have to stand in the endless PortaPotty lines in the Athlete's Village. That's one major stress inducer that's eliminated right from the start.

After several false starts due to scheduling, my buddy Eric finally made it over here Thursday night and we recorded a two-part conversation for the podcast about the decline of the newspaper industry. It was a very informative discussion and makes for good listening if you're at all interested in that subject. We talked a lot about the Boston Globe's current woes and what may lie ahead, and we also looked back at our days as young reporters at the Peabody Times. Part 2 will be posted early next week.

The podcasting fun continues tonight as I head over to Dr. Doobs' house in Shrewsbury to talk about pop culture in its various forms. Doobs is nothing if not opinionated about movies, TV and music (and everything, really), which should make for some entertaining talk. He also recently launched a movie review blog that looks at a wide variety of films from the obscure to the mainstream. Good stuff. I expect this to turn into at least two episodes of CompCon that I'll post in the weeks to come.

Deb and I went to the Sox-Rays game Wednesday night and had a good time despite temps reaching the mid-30s. We were way in the back of the right field grandstand and dressed appropriately, but it was still damn chilly. I was even rooting for the Sox because starter Jon Lester is on my fantasy team, but he got lit up by the Rays and the Sox lost 7-2. But the Jays have gotten off to a good start, taking three of four from the Tigers and winning last night against Cleveland. I don't expect that to last, but it's nice to see anyway.

Swingin' on the flippity flop:

• Man, these Somali pirate dudes keep upping the ante. Four of them still have the captain of a U.S. cargo ship as a hostage on a 28-foot covered lifeboat. The guy actually tried to escape and was in the water and tried to swim away, but he was recaptured. Hopefully he'll be rescued, but man, what a crazy situation.
• Even though my team, the Leafs, are out of the postseason for the fourth straight year, I'm still excited about the NHL playoffs, which start on Tuesday. There don't appear to be any locks to win the Cup, so things should be pretty competitive. Here's hoping the Bruins can make a good run. And reports are saying that Fenway Park will host the 2010 Winter Classic between the Bruins and another team, which would be awesome.
• Here's a strange, but cool story: Kal Penn, best known for playing Kumar in the "Harold and Kumar" movies, this week was killed off on "House" so he could take a job in the Obama administration. Despite the fact that he's responsible for the fact that I have to hear an endless string of lame jokes about my last name, I don't hold it against him because he seems like a good guy and has been in some good movies. He was pretty active in stumping for Obama during the campaign and apparently will be serving as some sort of minority liaison. Good luck to him.

Lucky Number

I got some good news on Monday: My running club gave me one of the six Boston Marathon numbers it has for 2009. Every year, the club provides volunteers to work the mile 12 water stop. We had 11 folks apply for the six numbers, so I was happy that they chose me to receive one of them. I ran Boston in '02 and '03; my goal this time around is more modest than my recent marathons. I'd be happy to break 4 hours on that brutal course. My training starts in January.

Speaking of running, my fifth running column ran today. This time around, I examine treadmill running, a necessary evil this time of year.

I joined a bunch of my buddies Tuesday night at the Midwest Grill in Cambridge for some all-you-can-eat Brazilian BBQ. Great food, but it leaves you absolutely stuffed at the end of the meal. I hadn't been there in a few years, so it was fun to go again. They've actually opened a second restaurant on Route 1 in Saugus, but I prefer to go to the original.

I'm working a half day tomorrow because we're expecting the first real snowstorm of the season to hit in the afternoon and I don't want to have a repeat of last December's horrendous traffic debacle. The snow is supposed to start in the afternoon, so I plan to head home early and work the rest of the day from the comfort of the house. I've seen forecasts of 6-10 inches or more, with another storm expected on Sunday night. Well, at least we'll have a white Christmas.

Snowballs:

• The seemingly neverending Mats Sundin saga is mercifully over: He signed with Vancouver today. The 'Nucks actually made him a two-year, $20 million offer during the offseason, but for some reason it took him until now to decide to accept it (although the story says it was a one-year deal). It had come down to Vancouver and the Rangers, although the Rangers would have had to trade somebody to fit him under the salary cap. Despite this annoying indecision of the last few months, he's still one of my favorite players and I hope he does well for Vancouver.
• The story of the jackass who sued a dry cleaner for $54 million over a missing pair of pants is back in the news again: An appeals court denied the moron's appeal of a decision throwing out his 2005 lawsuit. It would not surprise me if he tried to take it to the Supreme Court. Unbelievable.
• So apparently the only job that's profitable these days is that of Somalian pirate. Who knew?