A Steelers Loss, A New Month, and Visit to the Mental In-Box

Cleaning out the Mental In-Box on the 1st day of a new month.....

• While out on our morning walk this morning, we had to stop to let a beautiful buck pass in front of us. What a sight!
• Well, I did call the Saints to beat the Steelers last night. Roethlisberger played like this was his first game back after his suspension, they couldn't run the ball, Mendenhall's 38 yard TD scamper notwithstanding, they could stop Drew Brees in the second half, and that Heath Miller turnover was a real killer.
• On the other hand, the Saints DID win the Super Bowl last year, so it shouldn't be considered an upset to lose to them.
• Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians gets killed in the media and the talk show circuit every time the Steelers lose, but his defensive counterpart Dick LeBeau never seems to draw any ire whatsoever. Let's see now, the Steelers defense blew five fourth quarter leads last season, as well as a fourth quarter lead against he Ravens this season. Last night, Drew Brees went through the Steelers defense like they only had nine men on the field, and was there a critical third down conversion that the Saints did NOT make in the second half? How much longer will Coach LeBeau get the free pass that his offensive counterpart never seems to get?
• Moving on to other areas, the San Francisco Giants seem to be turning the World Series into another anti-climatic conclusion to the baseball season. Game One was a one-sided affair, Game Two was close until the Rangers bullpen imploded and wasn't able to throw a strike in the eighth and turned the game into a rout, games three and four were compelling ones, but unless the Rangers can extend the Series tonight, this Series will go down as a pretty unremarkable one. Unless, of course, you are fan of the Giants.
• And how about Madison Bumgarner? A first round draft pick who has advanced quickly through the Giants system and who finds himself to be a World Series hero after pitching a gem last night at the age of 21. I know that I am beating a very old and very dead horse here, but if Bumgarner were in the Pirates system, would he have advanced beyond the high Class A Bradenton Marauders at this point in his career?
• Speaking of the Pirates, they are certainly being deliberate in their search for a manager, aren't they? We'll see if they inertia continues once the World Series comes to an end.
• Are you glad that Election Day is tomorrow? As one of my Facebook friends posted today, "when did politics get so RUDE?" I suppose that it was always thus, but it is sad to see that the level of discourse has sunk so low. I suppose, I hope, that there are still some statesman and women out there, but they are becoming increasingly hard to find.
• It is fashionable to knock Tim McCarver as a broadcaster, but I like him.
• Put carrots on a dinner plate in front of me, and I will eat around them. That said, Marilyn makes something called a Carrot Souffle that is one of the best things you have ever tasted. She made it for company over the weekend, and last night we enjoyed the leftovers.
• In addition to the aforementioned buck, hardly a day goes by in Stonebrook where we are not visited by a flock of wild turkeys on the grounds.

Best wishes to all for a good week and good month of November!