Being a Saints fan has never more rewarding than it was this year. First, they hired Sean Payton as their new head coach. Then they signed Drew Brees as a free agent. Then they drafted Reggie Bush, Marques Colston, and Roman Harper (who unfortunately got injured early in the season). Then they won their first 3 games, including a huge, morale boosting, domination of the division rival Atlanta Falcons.
In week 6 they had a huge victory over the Eagles, which was the first real test of the season. It was the first time the media took notice of the fact that the Saints were a quality football team. In week 14 they had another huge win over Dallas. And if people were not taking them seriously at this point, then they never would. Another solid victory over the Giants in week 16 clinched a bye week and home playoff game.
In the fist playoff, they beat up on the Eagles some more, who at the time were the hottest team in the league. And then yesterday, they lost to the Bears, who will face the Colts in the Super Bowl.
A hell of a season.
And I didn't even mention Drew Brees's MVP worthy play, or Sean Payton's 'Coach of the Year' win, or Marques Colston's runner-up in 'Rookie of the Year' voting, or Duece McAllister's mentoring of Reggie Bush, or the emotional way in which the city of New Orleans rallied around this team, or a dozen other notable things from this year.
It's much more of a season than anyone was thinking about in August. Can't wait for next year.
This might sound like smoke to you, but if we can assume for a minute that they were not going to win the Super Bowl, then I'm glad this is the game they lost. It would have been a heart-breaker to lose to the Eagles the week before. And to make it to the Super Bowl, then lose, is a much harder loss to take than losing in the NFC championship game. This way they have something to strive for. Something to build on next year. They can be confident in their ability, their rookies have more experience, the team can grow, and come back strong next year.
That is, as I said, assuming the Saints were not going to win the Super Bowl. Obviously I'd have preferred for them to go to the Bowl and win the whole damn thing! But if they were going to lose, this was the right game to lose. Have you seen what has happened to the Super Bowl loser the last few years? Seattle did okay and went back to the playoffs this year. The year before, Philadelphia went 5-11 after the loss. In 2004 Carolina went 7-9. And In 2003 Oakland went 4-12 after losing the Super Bowl. Not exactly the sort of company I'd want the Saints to keep right about now.
Anyway, here's to the best season in Saints history! May next season bring an even better result!
The CEO of Goldman Sachs, Lloyd Blankfein, received a bonus of $53.4 million dollars. Apparently it's a record setting amount for a bonus.
I want to take a moment to think about that money. What else could be done with it? How deserving is Mr. Blankfein of this huge sum of cash? I have to argue, not very. I'm sure he works hard and all that, and his company earned a dozen boat loads of money, but still, the success of his company is determined more by market conditions than anything he did. If they had a different guy at CEO, would they have performed much worse? I doubt it.
Here's what that amount of money could represent instead.
* $53,000 annual salary for 1,000 people for one year.
* The cash purchase of $270,000 homes for 200 families.
* The down payments on $270,000 homes for 1,300 families.
I'm not saying it is Goldman Sachs's responsibility to be more charitable with their money, but I guarantee there are people working within that company who could use the money, who are underpaid, who are under appreciated, who are part of the backbone of what makes that company tick.
And in this age of such severe income inequality, and dwindling middle class, I think companies should do all they can to help rebuild the middle class instead of increasing the divide between rich and poor.
Yippie. Excuse me while I vomit from all the excitement.
The iPhone is yet another in a long line of overhyped gadgets. Yes, the touchscreen interface looks "cool". Yes, the software appears pretty slick. Yes, you can't live without one. Yes, it will solve the world's problems by its mere existence. But so what?
Don't get me wrong, I love my iPod, but I bought it 2005, not 2001. I bought one after the product had matured and become more versatile and practical, and cost effective. $600 for an 8 gb iPod with a built-in smartphone? Currently you can get an 30 gb (!) iPod for $250, and a killer smartphone for $300. How does combining those 2 devices (while quartering the storage space) make the resulting product worth more than the separate parts?
Even if you think the cost is reasonable (and if you do, you probably think the PS3 is a bargain), it only works with one service provider, Cingular. What a silly move that is. You think Verizon customers are going to switch to Cingular just to get this device? A few hardcores will, but the masses won't. And when it comes to consumer electronics, it's all about the masses. If you don't have the masses, you have nothing.
[Update: 11:07 am January 11, 2007 - Looks like I'm not the only one who is less than excited about the prospects of this phone.]
This would be the most awesomest building ever erected, if only some city would have the gall to do it. I say build it today!
