Keeping the momentum up

So far so good. I'm still cautiously excited...

SENATE
Sheldon Brown called for us in Ohio.
Bob Casey replaces the execrable Rick Santorum in Penna.
A local channel has called R.I. for Sheldon Whitehouse, but nothing on the nets yet.
Holding Maryland and New Jersey.

HOUSE
Looks like we've picked up Kentucky-3, still leading in both N.H. races. 2 down, 13 to go.

Patrick wins! Dems pick up first seat, lead in others

Deval Patrick projected to win! Only question is by how much...

CNN calls Indiana-8 for Democrat Brad Ellsworth. One down, 14 more to go...

Dems still lead in KY-3 and in both (!) New Hampshire races...

8:38pm

Live election coverage all night

I'll be posting all night as the election returns come in (child-sitting duties permitting). I've got NECN and MSNBC on the split-screen, election returns on the web, and a bottle of formula on the table for Jackson.

The real fun starts after 8:00 when the polls in Mass. close, but there is a ton of other stuff going on all night.

First results from Kentucky! Dems lead in KY-3, trail in KY-4.

KY-3 (15% reporting)
Yarmouth (D) 51%
Northup (R) 48%

KY-4 (0.3% reporting)
Davis (R) 50%
Lucas (D) 43%

A lot of great races in New England to watch. More later.

My election ballot and predictions

Tomorrow, after a seemingly unending election season, we finally get to cast our ballots and then sit back and find out what direction our commonwealth and nation are headed in the next few years. Here is my ballot with a brief explanation of my votes, and my predictions for Election evening.

Massachusetts Governor
I am voting for Democrat Deval Patrick. I am convinced that Patrick will bring a positive voice and attitude to the corner office, something that the sate has been missing for the last few years. I support his position to change high school graduation requirements to include additional methods beyond the MCAS of determining the worthiness of students. I do not believe that we can afford to roll back the income tax to 5.0% at this time. I agree with Patrick's assertion that children of illegal immigrants who live in Massachusetts should not be punished for the choices of their parents if they qualify to attend state colleges and universities. I don't think that any of the other candidates for governor have made the case to me that I should vote for them despite my agreement with Patrick on the issues. As such, I heartily endorse his candidacy and will proudly cast my vote for him. Prediction: Deval Patrick 55%, Kerry Healey 35%, Christy Mihos 8%, Grace Ross 2%.

Massachusetts State Representative
I am voting for Democrat Jennifer Flanagan. Representative Flanagan has served Leominster admirably in her first term as state representative and she deserves to be reelected. Despite being a freshman legislator, Flanagan increased local aid to Leominster and city projects by more than $4 million over the previous legislative session. She is unafraid to stand for progressive issues such as marriage equality and a woman's right to choose. She has shown legislative leadership by making school nursing a priority and providing additional so that local schools can hire more school nurses. Flanagan has shown an understanding of Leominster's place as the leading city in North Central Massachusetts and has used that understanding to work with other cities and towns on regional priorities. Representative Flanagan's opponent left the Democratic party because it had become "too liberal" and because she did not believe she could defeat Flanagan in the primary (she lost by a handful of votes in 2004). The challenger has said that regional and health care issues would not be a priority, and that she would focus solely on issues facing the city. Representative Flanagan gets my vote because she is a progressive leader who understands the importance of state and regional issues and their impact on the city. Prediction: Jennifer Flanagan 52%, Claire Freda 48% (a difference of under 600 votes).

Ballot Question 1 -- Selling Wine in Supermarkets
I am voting yes on Question 1. I had been solidly in favor of the initiative until recently, when I became worried that the new law would require towns to add the new category of liquor license, instead of just allowing the town to issue new licenses. After reading the ballot question closely, I am convinced that local cities and towns will still have discretion over the licenses. Prediction: Yes 51%, No 49%.

Ballot Question 2 -- Fusion Voting
I am voting no on Question 2. Allowing multiple parties to endorse the same candidate--thereby allowing candidates to appear more than once on the same ballot--would be unnecessarily confusing. I am in favor of making ballot access easier for minor parties, but not in this fashion. Prediction: No 60%, Yes 40%.

Ballot Question 3 -- Collective Bargaining for Day Care Workers
I am voting No on Question 3. While I am generally in favor of unionization and collective bargaining, I am not comfortable with the thought of individual day care worker who take care of two or three kids in their homes being pressured to join a union. Prediction: Yes 55%, No 45%.

U.S. Senator
I am voting for Senator Ted Kennedy. He is one of the 10 greatest legislators in our nation's history. His opponent once went on the Judge Mathis show to resolve a legal dispute with a campaign aide. Prediction: Ted Kennedy 72%, Ken Chase 28%.

U.S. Representative
I am voting for Representative John Olver. Unfortunately, Leominster has been stuck in a district with Amherst and other Western Mass. towns. Leominster is an afterthought. Even so, Rep. Olver has fought for funding for highway projects in the region, and is a major proponent of the proposed Leominster-Fitchburg Rail Trail. Prediction: John Olver 63%, Billy Szych 37%.

Attorney General
I am voting for Martha Coakley. I believe she has been an excellent District Attorney for Middlesex County and will be an upgrade to current Attorney General Tom Reilly. Prediction: Martha Coakley 62%, Larry Frisoli 38%.

Secretary of State
I am voting for Green-Rainbow candidate Jill Stein. Incumbent Bill Galvin ignored Stein, refused to debate her, and then when he relented, he insisted on a five-minute debate in an undisclosed location. A particularly undemocratic response for the state's top election official. Prediction: Bill Galvin 82%, Jill Stein 18%.

State Treasurer
I am voting for Green-Rainbow candidate James O'Keefe. I have no beef with the job incumbent Timothy Cahill has done; my vote is to help the Green-Rainbow party achieve automatic ballot access by surpassing 3% of the vote. Prediction: Timothy Cahill 90%, O'Keefe 10%.

State Auditor
I an voting for Incumbent Democrat Joe DiNucci. Prediction: Joe DiNucci 78%, Rand Wilson 22%.

Register of Deeds
I am voting for Democrat Kathy Daigneault. She is a perpetual candidate from Leominster, to the point that she recycles her campaign signs by adding stickers with whatever office she is seeking this cycle. I'm hoping that if she wins, she'll ride incumbency to an easy victory in the next cycle and get rid of those signs. Prediction: Kathy Daigneault 44%, George Watts 32%, John Bowen 24%.

Tags: Massachusetts Election 2006 Debate Kerry Healey Deval Patrick

NFL Picks, Week 9

For entertainment purposes only. Picks are against the spread, straight up winners are in bold.

St. Louis (-2) over Kansas City (L, 17-31)
Baltimore (-3) over Cincinnati (W, 26-20)
Houston (+13) over NY Giants (W, 10-14)
Jacksonville (-9.5) over Tennessee (W, 37-7)
Washington (+3) over Dallas (W, 22-19)
Buffalo (-3) over Green Bay (W, 24-10)
Tampa Bay (+1) over New Orleans (L, 14-31)
Atlanta (-5.5) over Detroit (L, 14-30)
Chicago (-13.5) over Miami (L, 13-31)
Mnnesota (-5) over San Francisco (L, 3-9)
San Diego (-12.5) over Cleveland (L, 32-25)
Denver (+3) over Pittsburgh (W, 31-20)
New England (-3) over Indianapolis (L, 20-27)
Seattle (-7) over Oakland (W, 16-0)

Against the Spread

LAST WEEK   5- 9- 0  .357
TO DATE    53-54- 7  .496
THIS WEEK   7- 7- 0  .500
SEASON     60-61- 7  .496

Straight Up

LAST WEEK   7- 7  .500
TO DATE    71-43  .623
THIS WEEK   8- 6  .571
SEASON     79-49  .617

Tags: Football NFL Picks odds

Have an old car you want to get rid of?

You can donate it for a tax break, or you can wave goodbye as it rolls into the lake, as a Leominster man did yesterday:

LEOMINSTER-- A man drove his Honda onto a boat ramp yesterday, got out of the car and waved goodbye after it rolled into Lake Whalom, according to police and a witness....

Mr. Angelopoulos was not making a lot of sense before the incident, Lt. Marino said.

Police were told he walked into the Captain's Lounge, which is across the street from the water, and said he wanted to use the phone to call Leominster Police, Lt. Marino said.

He said he wanted to check to see if it was OK to drive his car into the lake, but didn't end up making the call, Lt. Marino said. The man had not been drinking at the bar, he said.

A man who was fishing in the area said he saw Mr. Angelopoulos fooling around with the 1992 Honda Civic, getting in and out of the driver's side door, before he drove it to the boat ramp and it traveled into the water.

"He waved goodbye to it," said the fisherman, who didn't want to provide his name.

A woman asked the motorist, "Is that your car?" the fisherman said.

"It's my car and I can do what I want with it," Mr. Angelopoulos told her, according to the fisherman.

I suppose you can't argue with that.

(via the Worcester Telegram and Gazette).

Tags: Massachusetts Leominster Whalom Honda Civic

What could be more fun that another Pats-Colts game?

Everyone this week is talking about this Sunday's huge game between the Patriots and the Colts. But instead of looking ahead, I'm going to take a few moments to look back at some memorable Colts-Patriots matchups.

Oh sure, the recent success against the Colts--especially in the playoffs--has been fantastic and memorable. But those aren't the games I'm talking about. I'm talking about many of the other games that the teams have played over the last 22 seasons.

You see, my brother Scott is a rabid Colts fan. I won't go into the whats and wherefores about how a kid from Leominster becomes a Colts fan; he just is, and always has been. Since 1985, The Colts and Patriots have played in Foxboro 21 times. Scott and I have attended 20 of them together. We also saw a Pats-Colts game in Indianapolis about a dozen years ago.

In those games, the Patriots are 17-4.

Here is a rundown of some of the games that I remember fondly. I'm guessing Scott's recollections aren't quite the same:

2001: Many Patriots fans remember this game as Tom Brady's first start. I fondly remember it for other reasons. Scott wore both his Peyton Manning and Edgerrin James jerseys to the game, with the plan of standing and cheering with the James jersey on if the Colts scored on the ground. If the Colts scored via the pass, he would rip the James jersey off and show his Manning jersey to the crowd (he could get away with this because we sat with a group of people who generally pitied him, and treated him well despite his affiliation).

True to his word, when the Colts scored their first touchdown on a Manning pass, Scott tore off his shirt to reveal the Manning jersey, preening and cheering as he did. The Colts were trailing 37-0 at the time. Three weeks later the Patriots added another new way to win, when David Patten ran, passed, and caught touchdowns for the first time since Walter Payton in the 1970s.

1999: An all-time classic Scott moment. The Colts go into halftime leading 28-7. Then Edgerrin James fumbles away one drive...and Marcus Pollard fumbles away another one...and Jim Mora gets conservative...and the Patriots come back to win 31-28, prompting an all-time great Scott blowup. After watching some version of the Colts collapse nearly every year for, 15 years, he finally has had enough. Following the game, he marches over to the runway where the Colts were leaving the field, hurls a long string of insults and other bits of, er, advice, and then rips the Colts jersey off his back and throws it back to the team. He vows not to wear another piece of Colts clothing until the Colts beat the Patriots again. Luckily, Indy holds on in the second meeting of the season, and Scott is able to pull out the paraphernalia once again.

2003: The Patriots beat the Colts 24-14 to win the AFC title in a steady snow. Among the ways the Patriots score is a safety when the snap is over the punter's head and out the back of the end zone. The play is ironic since the Colts had not been punted in their two preceding playoff games and did not punt on their first try in this game either. Of course the game was in Foxboro because the Patriots had won in Indy on a kickoff return with no time left in the first half, and the Colts inability to score on four tries from the one yard line at the end of the game.

2004: Two games in Foxboro. In the season opener, the Colts manage to lose as Edgerrin James fumbles on the goal line late in the fourth quarter on a drive that would have given the Colts the lead, and then Mike Vanderjagt misses a game-tying kick as time expires after taunting the Patriots by making the "money" sign at the Pats bench before the miss. When they meet again in the playoffs, the Patriots hold the mighty Colts to just three points.

1988: This was the first time that Scott started to get the idea that it's always going to be something. The Colts take a 17-14 lead late into the fourth quarter when Patriots' quarterback Tom Ramsey is replaced by Doug Flutie. Flutie marches the Patriots down the field and scores on a naked bootleg in the final 15 seconds to give the Patriots a 21-17 win. It is the only rushing touchdown of Flutie's Patriots career. It is the only win for the Pats in a five game stretch that includes losses of 36-6, 31-6, and 45-3.

1991: The Patriots score on the last play of regulation to tie the game at 17-17, then wins in overtime with a 60+ yard pass play from Hugh Millen to Michael Timpson. Scott, who I'm sure was standing right next to me as the ball was snapped, vanished before Timpson scored his touchdown.

1994: Our only trip to Indianapolis and another new way for the Colts to lose. The Patriots fail to score a touchdown, but win as the fourth Matt Bahr field goal clanks off the upright and flops over the crossbar with only two minutes left to play.

1987: The Patriots block a Rohn Stark punt on their way to a 24-0 December victory. Scott leaves after three quarters, citing the frigid conditions. It won't be the last time he leaves before the final gun sounds.

1985: Irving Fryar's punt return touchdown keys a 34-15 Patriot win on their way to their first Super Bowl appearance. The Colts have yet to appear in a Super Bowl since moving to Indianapolis in 1984, a 22 year drought.

1986: The Patriots raise the AFC Championship flag (trust me, it was a big deal at the time) as they open the season with a 33-3 win over the Colts. The kid sitting behind us got drunk for the first time and puked all over himself and the walkway between our rows.

There were a couple of memorable Colts wins too...

1990: Scott finally gets to see the Colts win, 13-10, avenging an earlier loss in Indy. The loss in Indy will end up being the Patriots only win of the season.

1992: We had a Northeaster the night before this game, and there was eight inches of snow in the stands that the team was unable to clear. As often happens after a Northeaster, the wind was howling out of the North at over 30 miles per hour, which made not only for an uncomfortable fan experience, but made it nearly impossible to kick or throw. The Colts executed a two-yard punt into the wind, and that wasn't even the worst kick of the day. Patriots kicker Charlie Baumann lined up for a 38-yard FG into the wind and it came up about 10 yards short. The Colts won 6-0, including a 50-yard FG with the wind at his back that Dean Biasucci only got about 15 feet off the ground.

2005: Finally Peyton Manning's Colts win at Foxboro, and Scott can't relax. He's so used to the Patriots finding a new and often odd way to win, that he refuses to believe that the Colts are going to win. Even after I've told him that the Patriots were cooked and many of the fans have left, he refuses to accept the result. It's too bad really. You'd think he could enjoy the win just a little.

So let's take a look at how the Patriots have managed to win over the years: a punt return, a blocked punt, a last second TD run by a local hero, field goals that ricochet off the uprights, an overtime thriller, a 21-point second half comeback, a TD pass run and catch by the same player, a kickoff return and four misses from the one-yard line, a missed FG by the most accurate kicker in history, and a punt snapped out of the end zone for a safety.

Can't wait to see what's next...

Tags: Football NFL New England Patriots Indianapolis Colts

Wearing your religion on your sleeve

Or in this case, on your entire jersey. An Alabama company has taken the jerseys of NFL, MLB, and NBA teams and altered the logos to endorse specific bible verses. While I wouldn't buy one, I can see how this could be clever marketing to a certain population. But I took a look at a couple of the passages referenced on the jerseys, and I can't figure out what they are getting at.

For instance, the knock off of the Spurs' Tim Duncan jersey pictured here points people to Deuteronomy 21. So I looked it up and was baffled that this chapter would be highlighted. The chapter outlines five Mosaic laws:

1. The procedure a village should take to atone for an unsolved murder;
2. The procedure to be followed when marrying a woman captured as a prisoner of war;
3. The proper way to split an inheritance where there are first-born sons of multiple wives;
4. The requirement that a rebellious son be executed by stoning; and
5. The requirement that criminals executed by hanging be buried before nightfall.

What in the world does any of that have to do with anything contemporary? I can get on board the "Psalm 23" knockoff of a Michael Jordan Chicago Bulls jersey or the "Exodus 20" knockoff of the NBA all-star jersey, but I have no idea what this one is about.

For locals, there is a Celtics version as well, a mock-up of a Paul Pierce jersey that reads "Psalm 34." This one is actually kind of clever for a guy whose nickname is "The Truth," since verse 13 reads: "keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies."

(Via Deadspin.)

Tags: Christian Sports Jersey NFL NBA MLB

"Is there anything that you care about in your soul?"

I suppose Christy Mihos asked the question that everyone's been wondering about Kerry Healey. It's an unfair question, of course, but she hasn't sounded like a real person yet in the campaign, and she hasn't tonight either. She's really in a tough spot: being warm and fuzzy won't make up 25 points, but going on the attack reinforces the perception that Healey is an angry woman.

Watching the debate reminded me of watching the end of an NHL game where the team behind 5-1 sends out the goons and starts fights all over the ice to try to prove some sort of point. Healey's not going to win, but she can try to bloody Patrick before the siren goes.

I thought Patrick let his guard down a time or two and showed a little anger in responding to some of Healey's charges. I don't think that helps him. It won't hurt him enough to make a difference, but he's done a better job of staying above the fray.

Mihos remains a loose cannon. I'm guessing he must get some sort of an employee discount on Red Bull at his convenience stores.

I remained impressed with Grace Ross. She articulates her positions well and does so specifically. In a lot of respects, the fact that she can't win frees her to speak candidly about what she believes in without worrying about turning voters off. I hope that she or another Green-Rainbow candidate down the ballot reaches the three-percent necessary to qualify the party for future ballots. I'd also like to see a Patrick administration find a place for her. I think she would be an asset.

The only question remaining is one of margin. By how much will Patrick win? Can he get to 50%? Winning a majority of votes in a four-way race would be an impressive feat and would allow Patrick to claim the mythical "mandate" that candidates claim give them the ability to aggressively pursue their agenda.

Tags: Massachusetts Election 2006 Debate Kerry Healey Christy Mihos Deval Patrick

Happy Halloween

We had a Halloween party Monday night and trick-or-treating Tuesday, so naturally Jackson needed two costumes (actually, Michelle liked one and I liked a different one, so we compromised and Jackson got to wear both). Which did you like best? Be sure to vote below.

Pumpkin or Rooster?
	Pumpkin
	Rooster
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