Why I'm Grateful For Canada

Today is Canadian Thanksgiving Day and while hockey is a given, I thought I should offer up my five favorite things Canadian for which to give thanks.

1. The Rheostatics--If you have never heard this band, you haven't really heard Canadian music (sorry, Barenaked Ladies fans). And if you haven't heard "Whale Music", then you are missing out on the only perfect album ever recorded. (Listen in headphones to get the full appreciation for the production values.)

2. "Kids in the Hall". I raised my son on this show and he's one of the best, most well-rounded people I know. 'Nuf said.

3. The Colorado Avalanche--Thank you, Quebec, for giving us your Nordiques!!

4. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation--Fabulous projects, great movies, terrific TV.

5. The Bombadier Company and the Embraer Company--If it wasn't for CRJs (Canada Regional Jets) most of us wouldn't be able to get around and I wouldn't want to fly. Small, safe planes, easy boarding, and friendly crews. And on the Embraer, the A seats get their own, private row!!

So thank you, our great northern neighbors. You help us raise our own bar, strip a lot of the cold out of our weather patterns, and make melancholy cool.

Hibernation

"Life is what happens while you're busy making other plans," sang John Lennon.

I will be hibernating (technologically) this next week as LIFE has walked up, rung the doorbell, and smacked me square in the face, demanding my attention.

Forgive the sabbatical, dip into the old posts if you're interested, and tune in next weekend or so for some fine and funny stories from the trail...the foolish, dusty, goofy old trail we create as we stomp ourselves across the Earth's crust.

Hey, do all the billboards really slow down Earth's rotation? I've always wondered about that one.

Be safe, have fun, see you soon...

WEEK FIVE: Out of the BS

Wow, when I'm wrong I'm really really wrong. Thanks for the effort (not) USF! Congrats to Pitt.

Now for the truncated list of WEEK FIVE picks, and as usual, winners in caps:

*Ball State @ OKLAHOMA
*ALABAMA @ Florida
*Nevada @ BOISE STATE
*University of California at Los Angeles @ STANFORD
*Nebraska @ WISCONSIN
*Auburn @ SOUTH CAROLINA
*CLEMSON @ Virginia Tech
*BAYLOR @ Kansas State
*TEXAS @ Iowa State
*Southern Methodist University @ TCU
*GEORGIA TECH @ North Carolina State
*Bowling Green @ WEST VIRGINIA
*Oregon State @ ARIZONA STATE
*Michigan State @ OHIO STATE
*IDAHO @ Virginia (Going out on a big ass limb, here. But that's where the magic is...)
*HAWAI'I @ Louisiana Tech
*Bethune-Cookman @ MIAMI
*Notre Dame @ PURDUE (There's that limb again. Maybe it won't snap just yet.)
*University of Mississippi @ FRESNO STATE
*WASHINGTON STATE @ Colorado (Really want to pick the Buffs, but I'd be lying.)

There are my 20 for now--of course I'm going into this with that Thursday night smashing loss, so we'll see if there is any redemption.

GAMES TO WATCH/CLOSE ONES:
Nevada at Boise St.
Nebraska at Wisconsin
Auburn at South Carolina