Shine

Trey Anastasio's new album, Shine, comes out on Tuesday. You can listen to the whole thing on VH1's website. This is his first solo album since Phish broke up last summer and I generally like it. I'd say its bit more alt-rock sounding than I expected. Compared to the last Phish album, Undermind, its less radio-friendly, though Phish fans who long for a return to the days of 'Lawn Boy' and 'Story of the Ghost' will be disappointed - it completely lacks the meandering psychedelic feel that characterized the Phish glory days. The Phish vibe can still be felt in the lyrics, which adhere to the general Phish axiom that life is a pretty cool mystery.

I feel like lots of rock stars get lazy as they get older and stop challenging themselves. Their arrangements/accompaniments begin to sound uninspired - they settle into a boring and non-offensive James Taylor-like sound. Thats not the case with Trey so far. Overall, I was very pleased by a lot of his guitar work on Shine.

Trey is touring now and based on one listen I think these songs will be very jam-friendly.

Boston College Football (ranked #11 this week!)

Check out this article in the Cincinnati Enquirer about the Boston College football coach:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051014/SPT01/510140417/1063/SPT&template=printpicart


Its rare for an article on college football to mention academics, but this article mentions how BC got an award for having the highest graduation rate among D-1 football teams (100%!). Football commentators are not doing their job if they do not mention this in the broadcast of every single BC game.

Graduating student athletes must seem like a strange concept to the people of Cincinnati: the University of Cincinnati's football and basketball teams routinely graduate no one. Maybe the basketball players graduate to more advanced felony and assualt charges during their tenure with the program. That should count for something in the eyes of the NCAA, i guess.

With all the bad publicly the NCAA gets for scandals and off-the-field antics of its more dubious stars, why isn't the NCAA hyping programs like BC? Maybe more attention on which school has the highest grad rate (and other academic achievements) might make this more of a point of pride for programs. Likewise, more attention on those that never graduate anyone might shame some programs into improving. Oh wait - doing that might reduce the revenue of the NCAA, and then some bowls might not be able to give all the players new DVD players.......

Astros 5, Cardinals 1

So as everyone knows by now, the Astros won game 6 and are now getting ready to get crushed by the White Sox in the World Series. The Cardinals offense was terrible. I think they hit .225 the whole series. Edmonds, Walker and Reggie Sanders were particularly bad. In game 2, Pujols led off innings three times, which meant Edmonds made the last out in three innings. Perhaps if Pujols had more RBI opportunities, they might have fared better.

During the offseason, the Cardinals will need a replacement for Larry Walker, since he will most likely be retiring. Starting pitching should be in good shape. They could use a couple new middle relievers, though. Otherwise, next season looks promising, even if they won't be playing in 'old' Busch Stadium.

Cards 5, Astros 4

Amazing.

I'm not sure if there is anything else that needs to be said about tonight's game. Pujols ninth-inning, 2-out homerun - only one out away from elimination - was one of the greatest homeruns in baseball playoff history. I'd been waiting all series for Pujols to make his mark and he chose the perfect time. This more than makes up for relatively low-key stats this post-season from Pujols. Earlier in the game, the Cards squandered several scoring opportunities and it looked like it might be a repeat performance of Game 4. The ninth was perfect: a two-out single from Eckstein, who's scrappy play this series has been one of the bright spots for the Cardinals. Give him a lifetime contract!! Then a walk from Edmonds. Edmonds redeemed himself here by simply playing smart and not trying to get a big hit. After getting ejected last night, Edmonds showed real poise in making Lidge throw strikes. And then Pujols......

Now the series heads back to St. Louis with the Astros leading 3-2. Oswalt is scheduled to pitch against Mulder on Wednesday night. Busch Stadium will be electrified. The fans might be edgy though, considering this could be the last game in Busch, so this could add a weird element to the home-field advantage.

Astros 4, Cards 3

I hope the MLB is reviewing the spiking of Nunez in Game 3 of the NLCS. It looked intentional to me, especially given that the Astros know that St. Louis doesn't have another third baseman. The runner was clearly slidding into Nunez, despite the fact that he was about 10 feet away from third base. Luna's throw on the following play was pathetic but I guess thats what happens when you don't get a chance to warm up. However, the next play - the grab behind third and a bullet to first to get the runner - was quite amazing.

It'd be nice to see Pujols get an at-bat with runners on base. I noticed they moved Edmonds behind Pujols. Jim is hitting about .100 this series and has blown any chance for Pujols to get RBI opportunities. Someone in the Cardinals lineup is going to need to get clutch hits if they are going to get back in this thing.

Astros 4, Cards 1

Oswalt was pretty hard-core last night and he really shut down the Cardinals. I'm not sure what the status of Reggie Sanders is, but the loss of Sanders (or a less effective Sanders) would be tough since almost all the offense in the Padres series involved him somehow. Errors not withstanding, the Cardinals middle relief has given up most of the runs they've allowed this post-season. In the first two games against the Atros, starts have given up 4 runs over 12 innings, while the middle relief has given up 4 runs in about four innings. I like the idea of using Marquis in relief and I hope that continues.

The Cardinals now go to Houston for the next three games of the series. The Astors will throw Clemens tomorrow. That could be tough game on the road, but Clemens wasn't too sharp most of September and August.

It is mathematically possible for the Astros to win without having to come back to St. Louis. If that happens, then last night's game was the last game played in Busch Stadium - Or in old Busch Stadium, since the new Stadium will bear the same name. I've never seen a soon-to-be demolished stadium get such a send off like Busch has gotten this year. No one in St. Louis is talking about the new stadium, they only talk about the passing of the old one, which is somewhat bizarre. Busch Stadium was no architectural gem, but I think most people agree it was a great place to catch a game. I think they could have gotten 5 more years out of it. Too late - it will be completely demolished within a week of the last Cards playoff game.

Cards 6, Padres 2

Thursday's St. Louis - San Deigo game was another early one - I think it started at 4pm Central Time. I guess ESPN didn't have high hopes for this series since they didn't give it any solid prime time slots (Game 3 will air at 11pm on the east coast). Mulder looked good in Game 2, only allowing 1 earned run in 6.2 innings. Despite the score, Padres out hit the Cardinals 10 to 6. The Padres also got 13 hits in game 1. This should offer some hope to Padres' fans - their offense is only one or two timely hits away from splitting or taking both of the first games. While Moulder gave up eight of those hits, he only allowed one run and got some timely defense in the form of 4 double plays. The Cardinals' offense was very efficient - getting six runs on six hits. Walks are a big part of the story here: the Cards drew 5 while the Padres only got 2.

Game 3 is at San Deigo. San Deigo must win to stay alive - good pitching will be the key. Cards can't get complacent - the margin of victory in the first two games was deceptive and a home crowd might be all the Padres need to tip the balance.

Cards 8, Padres 5

I'm surprised that ESPN would set this game for noon in Central time. It featured two of the season's best pitchers - Carpenter and Peavy - and could have been marketed well as the featured prime time game. The Cards won largely on strong offense and good pitching from Carpenter. With Peavy injured, the prospects for Padres look dim for the last two games of the series, which will force them to throw a mediocre No.4 or No. 5 starter. The Cardinals hit well and got good production from a range of players, not just Pujols. They're hard to beat when Pujols gets good support.

Bad news - though the media didn't focus much on it- is that the Cardinal relievers nearly lost the game. They gave up all 5 runs after Carpenter's stellar 6+ innings. Isringhausen loaded the bases before escaping in the ninth, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate before ending the inning. The other playoff teams feature stronger lineups that might be able to capitalize on such a situation.