If It's Monday, It Must Be a Rant...

Back from Israel but still cranky from jet lag, here's my Monday rant:

• A-Rod proved what an ego-maniac he is by having his agent announce he's opting out of his Yankee contract right in the middle of a World Series game. Here's the thing--this guy is off the charts with numbers, but he doesn't win. Four years with the Yankees, no championships. Any team who takes him will get a great player, but they'll also be mortgaging their future. If the playoffs proved anything, spend money on pitching first. Loved the fact that Red Sox fans were chanting "Don't Sign A-Rod" in the background after the win last night! The don't need a third baseman as long as Lowell is available.
• Speaking of the series, the Rockies were clearly overmatched by a great Boston team, but you gotta hand the overachiever award of the year to these guys. The 13 inning play-in game against San Diego is one of the best games I've ever seen in my 43 years. I'm a big Sox fan, but part of me was still pulling for the Rox to make a good run at it. They're a fun team to watch.
• What's with the Patriots bludgeoning Washington by continuing to pass for TDs when they're ahead 38-0? Granted, there's no mercy rule in the NFL but come on guys...here's hoping what goes around comes around.
• My luggage finally arrived home on Saturday afternoon from the trip...this after repeated calls to the airline and them telling me over and over, "We have no idea where it is." I even had them call the baggage office at the Salt Lake airport (they wouldn't give me the number) and was told that there was absolutely no way that it could be there because it hadn't even made it to Chicago yet. An hour later, I got a call from a delivery service asking where I wanted my luggage delivered. Ah, air travel...makes one long for the slow boat.
• Steelers looked sharp on Sunday, but it was the Bengals after all. I think they'll win the division, but they're still inconsistent enough to not look like a Super Bowl contender. Whoever comes out of the AFC, though, is going to win the whole thing. I talked to a Dallas fan who is simply ga-ga over them, but the Patriots made them look like the pretenders they are.
• If there's any better investment I've made in the last year than XM radio, I don't know what it is. The classic rock channels are awesome and the sports channels are numerous. I was air-guitaring to The Who while making dinner this afternoon (and, no, no video will be posted on YouTube).
• I'd love to sleep past 4AM sometime in the next week. The pilots in my congregation do the jet lag dance all the time, but I'm clearly a rookie.
• Hearing a Ronnie James Dio song on XM at the moment--man, there was some cheesy metal back in the 80s.
• OK, I feel better now...thanks for the indulgence.