It's (Almost) the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

WHAT I'M LISTENING TO: "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" by Santa Esmerelda. If that opening minute doesn't get you rocking, you have no soul, and I will come to slap you.

WHAT I'M WATCHING: Just finished "Jaws: the Revenge" yesterday, because I absolutely hate myself.

WHAT I'M READING: Just finished the most recent issue of "Inside United" magazine.

A few quick thoughts as we recover from Mrs. JC's birthday and the social event of the year.

1. Had a loverly March 1st with the missus and Number One Son. Took her out to dinner at the place of her choice (Red Lobster for the seafood lover in her). Had her favorite birthday cake (angel food cake with Cool Whip topping) and let her (finally) open her gifts. Bought her all five seasons of the TV series "Angel". She's a huge Buffy fan and finds David Boreanaz to be hot (I don't personally see it, but what do I know about hot guys anywho). It's a gift that will keep on giving.

2. Saturday was the Social Event of 2007. My brother-in-law (finally) got married to his long time companion. Not the gay kind, but the female kind. BIL and his lady began dating on March 4, 2000, just two short months after my wife and I met. They finally got engaged last year. I still swear it had something to do with his girlfriend graduating and becoming a (six figure earning) pharmacist, but my wife insists that it's love. So did the pastor doing their wedding, as he boldly stated "have you ever seen two people more in love?". To which I thought yes (a) my wife and I and (b)my brother and his right hand.

I kid, I kid.

He did say it though. At least, I think it was the reverend, as the view of everybody in the church was blocked by the wall of people in the bridal party. I counted sixty three bridesmaids before losing interest (actually, there were only eight bridesmaids).

After the wedding came the reception. Food was good, so I enjoyed it. I'm a food guy. The best kind of food? Free. Seriously. You'll never hear me complaining about free food. Chicken? Good. Free chicken? Very good. Pork? Good. Free pork? Very good. Those little red potatoes? Good. Free those little red potatoes? Very good.

Ya gettin' the picture yet?

Mrs. JC enjoyed the champagne quite a bit. She never reached the drunken stage (as I've been told that involves table dancing and the baring of the breasts) but was much more social than normal.

In the end, a good time was had by all. We even made it home safely after driving through what seemed like two hundred miles of backwoods roads covered in snow at a safe speed of twenty. It's always nice when you can't tell if your on a road or in Farmer Bob's field.

3. Saturday was made better because Manchester United got a one-nil win over Liverpool in the a.m. to stay on top of the English Premier League. First loss at Anfield all year for 'Pool. Man U are now down to the final nine games of the season.

4. Tuesday and Wednesday are the second legs of the Champions League Round o' Sixteen. I've already made my predictions (and judging by my Oscar picks, you might want to put big money against them). Should make for some good viewing:

TUESDAY: Chelsea v. Porto (Setanta 2 pm LIVE)
Lyon v. Roma (Setanta 5 pm Delayed)
Inter v. Valencia
Barcelona v. Liverpool (ESPN2 2:30 pm LIVE)
WEDNESDAY: Arsenal v. PSV Eindhoven (Setanta 2 pm LIVE)
Bayern Munich v. Real Madrid (Setanta 5 pm Delayed)
AC Milan v. Celtic
Manchester United v. Lille (ESPN2 2:30 pm LIVE)

In case you are too bored to scroll down and look, these are the eight I think will advance: Chelsea, Lyon, Barcelona, Arsenal, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Manchester United, and Valencia.

Based on the first leg, I think the Munich-Madrid clash will be the game to watch.

5. Last, but not least, the title of this posting refers to this past Friday, when I did my annual ordering of the Major League Soccer Direct Kick sports package. For the low, low price of $79, I will get to watch 125 MLS games this season (beginning April 3rd and finishing up at the Cup on November 18th).

And DirecTV has this cool option where you can pay in four easy installments, which is nice. Or, as the great Mitch Hedberg would say, three easy installments and the last one will be a bitch. But I don't think they'll charge me in wampum.

Be Seeing You.