How Bout Them Cowboys!!

The Dallas Football Cowboys looked great tonight as they beat the Packers 37-27in a battle of the best 2 teams in the NFC. All the great things that happened in a game half of the country (including myself) could not see because of the damn cable company:

- Tony Romo threw for 4 TD's, giving him 33 on the year, breaking the Cowboys all-time Season TD record. With names like Aikman, Staubach, and Meredith in our history, that's pretty damn impressive. He's also dating Jessica Simpson, which justifies my man-crush on Romo even more.

- The Cowboys ran their record to 11-1, the best in their history. They also pulled 2 games ahead of the Packers for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

- The Cowboys clinched a playoff spot, and depending on what the Giants do on Sunday, may have clinched the division.

I've gotta say, I am starting to believe just a little bit in this team. It's been a long 12 years since any of my teams did anything, so my skepticism is justified. But with 4 weeks left in the regular season, it's starting to look like this team can do some very special things.

A New Kenney Thanksgiving

Staci & I hosted our first holiday dinner as a married couple on Thursday for Thanksgiving. All of the family was here, except for Colleen & Hillary (we missed you guys!), as well as our extended family of Mari, Ian & Sharon. It was a full house, to be sure, but alot of fun. The turkey came out great, and Staci's chocolate pie was a hit, as usual! And we got to watch my Cowboys go 10-1 for the first time in their history. A day to be thankful for, to be sure.

Thankful For...

One of my favorite holidays has always been Thanksgiving, mostly for the tasty dinner and Dallas Cowboys football. One of the things we would do as kids would be to make a list, half serious and half funny, of things we were thankful for. I've decided to revive that for this edition of BK's Blog. I am thankful for:

- Staci's & my first Thanksgiving as a married couple;
- The first Thanksgiving since 1998 I will be with Mary, and the 1st since 1992 that I will be with Dad;
- The 9-1 (hopefully) Super Bowl-bound Cowboys;
- The great friends that I have, who lift me up in tough times;
- Barry "Big Head" Bonds being indicted on perjury, ensuring that his cheating ass will never play baseball again;
- Being able to listen to all the great Christmas songs starting on Friday;
- A great job in baseball (oops, maybe I can be thankful for that at Christmas);
- A new hometown that I actually like, away from traffic and knock-in-blocs;


Hope everyone has a great Turkey Day, and go Cowboys!

Ian's Birthday Celebration At PSU

Ian's birthday was last week, and the gang headed where we have 4 out of the last 5 years- to Penn State! A good time was had by all, as we wandered to old favorite places, and some interesting new ones as well. And aside from HORRIBLE service at our regular haunt, Ye Olde College Diner, everything was great. And we even found laughs in that situation as well!



It was good to see friends we hadn't seen in a while, and as the week of "Thanks" begins, you have to be thankful spending good times with people you care deeply about.

Dodgers: A New Hope?

The official introduction of new Dodgers, and former Yankees, manager Joe Torre took place yesterday. As deep as my hatred for the Yankees runs, I am actually pleased with this move. In a Yankee team full of classless individuals, Joe was always the epitome of class. And I never have a problem with a smart and proven manager/coach coming over from a hated rival and making my team better (see Bill Parcells).

Having said all of that, I still need to see if Joe can actually do what the last 6 Dodgers managers could not- bring home the World Series title to L.A. After years of suffering, this is the best news we have gotten in awhile.

More Convention..

A couple videos from the Q & A, taken by another fan. The questions aren't included, but Office fans will get the gist. Enjoy!

Part 1:



Part 2:

The Office Convention!

What an unexpected thrill to go to The Office convention on Saturday. It was held in my hometown of Scranton, the setting for the show. I braved the hard rain to go down and spent the entire day taking it all in. First, I got to be in the Office Olympics, a take-off of a Season 2 episode. I did ok, but did not win. Still alot of fun!


After that, I headed back over to the tent to pick up my free t-shirt, and Phyllis Smith (Phyllis) was signing autographs. I got to meet her and she was just as sweet as she is on the show.


Staci and I headed down to grab a bite at one of the many stands that were set up. The Good Alfredo's Pizza was there, as was Poor Richard's and Farley's, all of which are often mentioned on the show. As we walked back up towards the main stage Creed Bratton (Creed) and Craig Robinson were joining local band The Scrantones for a few tunes. Turns out Creed really was in the '60's group The Grass Roots (as is his character).



The highlight of the day was definitely the Q & A with the cast. 10 members of the supporting cast were there and they answered silly and serious questions for 2 hours. They really seemed touched by the reception they had received by locals and out-of-towners alike.



All in all, a great day, hopefully next year, we can all go and hit the non-free events!

We Are...

Penn State! Well, thanks to Jason, I was finally able to see the only one of my favorite teams that I had never seen. Only took 34 years! Penn State did not disappoint in my debut, as they tromped all over #15 Wisconsin, 38-7. Jason made sure I had the whole experience, from the great tailgating to getting onto the field after the game. Only 109,000+ fans in attendance. I will always love baseball first, but there is nothing like a true college football game for a sports fan.

From Good To Great- 5-0 Cowboys Have a Folk Hero

Wow! I have not had a sports night like this in awhile! Flipping all night between Monday Night Football with my Cowboys and the playoff game between the Indians and hated Yankees, I was in heaven. The Indians got off to an early lead, but the Cowboys were stinking it up against a much less talented Bills team.

Then, around 11:25 tonight, the Yankees lost and got bounced from the playoffs. As I celebrated that moment, I flip back to a much more important, but excruciating, Cowboys game, we're losing 24-16 with 2 minutes left. Then my boy Tony Romo finally gets on track and brings the Cowboys within 2, all they need is the 2 point conversion. They fail. With 20 seconds left, the Cowboys get the rare onside kick and get the ball back with no timeouts and 20 seconds left. Romo throws a couple short throws and gets the ball set for a long 53 yard field goal for rookie kicker named Nick Folk. Folk has not had a kick longer than 47 yards, but with no time left, he kicks a beautiful 53 yard field goal to win the game. The 'Boys are now 5-0 for the first time since 1983, amazing for a team that won 3 Super Bowls since that year. I couldn't be happier.

Postseason Baseball Fever..Catch It!

Sorry to loyal readers for being away for a couple weeks; honeymoon, moving to another state, and job-hunting will do that! On with the show...

Well, I have gotten myself psyched up for baseball's postseason once, in spite of the Dodger's September collapse that leaves them out of the playoffs. So many good stories, including:

- the Colorado Rockies winning 14 of 15, including a one-game playoff, to sneak by the Padres for the NL Wild Card.

- the Philadelphia Phillies winning the National League East on the last day of the season after spending exactly one other day there in the last 5 months, which couldn't have happened without:

- the New York Mets epic collapse, losing a 7-game lead over the Phils with 17 to play.

So, will there be a Kirk Gibson-like moment in the playoffs? Or will it be as boring of a postseason as last year? Time will tell, but here are my bold predictions:

National League:

- Rockies over the Phillies in 5 games.
- Cubs over Diamondbacks in 5 games.

- Rockies over the Cubs in the NLCS in 6 games.

American League:

- Red Sox over the Angels in 4 games.
- Indians over the Yankees in 5 games.

- Indians over the Red Sox in a 7-game ALCS.

World Series:

- Indians over the Rockies in a classic 7 game World Series, the first exciting one in 5 years.

We'll see if I have to modify any of my picks, but remember if I'm right: you heard it here first!