Just me

Just seeing if I remember how to do this! Will you care? No...

Anyone?

Well, after spilling my sports beans a couple years ago and no one creating any dialogue, I simply stopped blogging. I have plenty of sports thoughts, but it's not that fun when there's no conversation. Unless you are a pro blogger who gets compensated, it's a chore to keep this up, and heck, this one is (was) relatively simple. I envy those that can do it, but I've found that most who have long, drawn-out, daily blogs tend to be boring, selfish and only do it for themselves in the hopes they get attention, yet hide behind an anonymous name and computer screen. I want to blog for YOU.

I know the Bunny Queen LOVES (sarcastic) my sports ramblings, so I guess I'll just keep blabbing to her. I might use this to post any predictions, but it doesn't make sense to go in depth here anymore, so odds are The Wedge Ledge will return to dormancy.

If you want me to keep this thing going, let me know!

Thanks, guys!

Tissue Time...Texas Time

The time is finally here.

I can't believe it's time to go home. This move has been many years in the making. I am Texan, always will be Texan, but I want to thank some wonderful people that have made my time here in Georgia special. You will always be with me.

Speedy

You are a remarkable young woman who bust down any walls I had around my heart. The love you give is a pure, genuine and warm. I look forward to hearing all of your college stories and watching you grow into the extraordinary woman you will become. Special things are in store for you down the road. We can't wait for you to visit us in Amarillo. We love you!

Mom of Speedy

Of that branch of the family tree, you have always been the one that has welcomed me. Even during my early days here, you asked how I was and said "hello" when we crossed paths. Sometimes it's just the simple things that make you feel good. Thank you.

Jeanette

The absolute sweetest person in Georgia. As I entered the professional workplace, your friendship was most cherished. You welcomed me into your life when I was young and inexperienced. You are loved and will be missed.

Da Nae

My "girlfriend." It was always a pleasure to have you fill in for the BQ when we could not meet up for lunch. You are a strong person and a great mother and I have the utmost respect for you. Much love to you.

Deola

From one quiet, hard-working person to another, you can be my co-worker anytime. I am glad to have made your acquaintance. May you always have someone special to take to lunch with you.

Wanda

I wish you nothing but happiness as you begin a new chapter in your life. I am glad we bonded stronger through all of the work mergers and changes we went through. Here's to a stable job life for both of us!

The Baileys

What great season-ticket hockey neighbors you are. Thank you for letting us into your section! We are proud to know you. Go Stars!!

The Silers

Well, I guess I just didn't have a good job without a Siler overseeing me! Thank you both for being great bosses for most of my tenure here. Want to come to Amarillo? Best of luck to both of you!

ECHL Columbus Cottonmouths

I'm sorry this town didn't support you more, especially during the tough times. Wherever you guys are scattered now, I hope your NHL dreams come true. Although there were no playoffs, the 2003-2004 season was awesome. Thanks for some great hockey.

*sigh*

*lump*

Well, the moving van is loaded and warming up.....

NFL Uniformity

Ah, it's the time of year when the NFL season starts anew with every team tied for first at 0-0. Whether or not your favorite team does well on the field, at least they can LOOK good.

I want YOU to let me know what your favorite and least favorite NFL uniforms are. In a week or two, I will give a division-by-division breakdown of my opinions. Depending on the amount of responses, your opinions will help influence a "playoff" leading up to the Super Bowl champion of uniforms.

So use the comment link and speak up! You know there are some you look good in and some that make you cringe. Obviously I am biased towards a certain team, but your opinions WILL influence my rankings.

As it will be difficult to link to EVERY uniform, the best place to go if you need to refresh your mind is nflshop.com and either click on "shop by team," "authentic jerseys" or "replica jerseys." We will simply keep it to today's uniforms and not to throwbacks that may be worn throughout the year.

Let's have some fun!

BQ UPDATE:

The BQ has been busy cleaning up our new place over the weekend while I have been packing up our old place. The repair dude finally fixed up a few things for her too. Although I miss her immensely, this way of doing things seems to be working out. There is still a good ways to go leading up to the final step of the process, which is finding me a job! I came up with blanks while searching over the weekend. We are past the half-way point of our "separation" and I can't wait to see her again!

Countdown!

It's the end of a hard fought, close battle...the home team is about to win and the fans start counting down the clock. 5....4....3....2....1....yaaaaaaaay!

Has anyone else noticed, that with the advent of the 1/10 of a second showing up on clocks during the last minute of the game that the countdown is technically off by a little bit? Before the early 1990's when the 1/10 second began to show up, the crowd and the clock were right on. Now, the fans are 0.9 seconds off each time. When the fans scream "4" the clock reads "4.9," which is actually much closer to "5." When it hits "3.9" the fans yell "3." ...and so on

This leads to that awkward final 0.9 when the crowd begins the uproar about a second too soon. Obviously, the fans are reading the "seconds" digit.

Sure, this is widely insignificant, but it leads me to another countdown:

The countdown to Amarillo! We have a place to live!! I am turning in my work notice and reserving the BQ's plane ticket and a moving truck. That nervous, exciting feeling is filling our veins again. Of course, I will probably be without a job for a little while, so that is always scary, but our plan continues to progress as planned. There will be some adjustments in our lifestyle until we are all settled in, but hopefully in the long-term, it will be well worth it.

The countdown is at 21 days...

On a somber note, be very thankful for what you have. I cannot even begin to comprehend the agony that the citizens of the New Orleans, LA/Gulfport, MS are going through right now. If you think you have it bad, you have not been watching any news lately.

Backup...We Need Backup!

There's no point in going through all of Roger Clemens' accomplishments. I will simply say that it is an absolute treasure that the Houston Astros have him.

But why-oh-why can't the Astros score for him? After Sunday's 1-0 loss to the Dodgers, the Astros have been shut out EIGHT TIMES during Clemens' 27 starts this season. (They have also been shut out a league high 16 times this year). It is amazing they are still in the Wild Card hunt as it is.

There's no question that the Houston offense is weaker this year, but the lack of support for Clemens is inexcusable. My best theory on this is that the opposing pitcher marks the date against Clemens on his calendar and throws the game of his life. Regardless, the 43-year old Clemens goes out to the mound and throws shutout inning after shutout inning. It is not uncommon for Houston to lose when a reliever gives up a late or extra inning run (three of the Astro shutouts have been 1-0 in extra innings).

That's no knock on the bullpen...they have done better than expected this year.

I went through every Clemens-pitched game this year and added two runs to the Astros run total. Obviously, as an official scorer, I have to make some judgment calls on this, but assuming all other things remained equal AND the bullpen did NOT blow a game in which he left with a lead, this is what Clemens' record should be: 21 wins, 3 losses, 3 no decisions.

Current record: 11 wins, 6 losses, 10 no decisions. Did I mention that this is a putrid record for someone was has a Major League-leading 1.51 ERA? ONE POINT FIVE ONE!

Using my theory, the Astros should have TEN more wins on the season. Adding these wins to the standings as of today (8/28), Houston would have an extremely comfortable eight game lead in the Wild Card race and would be battling St. Louis for the division title, only 4 1/2 games out.

Roger Clemens would never sound off on his teammates. He is a class act and fits the Astros' history of sportsmanship perfectly. But I am on my knees with puppydog eyes:

Just two runs a game. That's all the Rocket and his bullpen needs. Please?

BQ UPDATE:

The quest for a place to live is slowly picking up steam. We are working on a couple of possibilities, one that we definitely have our fingers crossed on. Although it's only been 10 days, I know the BQ has had some frustrating moments and hopefully this chapter of the saga will end soon. We're still taking it one step at a time, but we can't wait to get to the next level of the staircase.