The Sporting Life

Please break my heart: Duets bring back memories of Johnny & June, George & Tammy

Someone apparently should deliver a beatdown on a stylist at YepRoc for trying to make Thad Cockrell resemble a Keith Urban/Rascal Flatts clone. However, that doesn't take away from the fantastic album that is Begonias, his 2005 CD with Caitlin Cary.

I didn't hear it until I received it for Christmas, so I'm a little late to the game.

If you are, too, here's your chance to give it a listen:

• Cary and Cockrell bring back the '70s
• Cary and Cockrell on NPR's "The State of Things"
• Cary and Cockrell on NPR's "Weekend America"

Neglect

I realize it's been a while since I posted any new content. I'll be back on track later this week, for those five or six of you who visit.

What would the Pharisees do?: The Georgia Baptist Convention has cut all ties with its flagship university, Mercer. The straw that broke the camel's back? Why, gays, of course.

Related: The Rev. Adrian Rogers, one of the architects of the conservative takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention 25 years ago, died Tuesday at age 74.

TiVo alert: If you didn't catch CNN Presents' "Undercover in the Secret State" on Sunday night, you have another chance this Saturday. The footage secretly shot inside North Korea is eye-opening.

Through a glass darkly: In this year's art and architecture issue of The Oxford American, out now, Erik Reece puts the photography of Shelby Lee Adams under scrutiny. Are his images of Appalachia harmful or only misinterpreted?

"What Louise Hall considers exploitation, Adams calls 'an exciting, dramatic lighting event.' Adams the formalist can't understand how Hall might be insulted by an image that portrays her sister as that most hated of mountain cliches — 'trash.'"

Sony side down: So Sony is pulling its products that load copy-restriction software onto customers' PCs. According to Wired, the damage has already been done.

"Should the average person write software that took control of a computer at the system level without a user's knowledge and distributed that software across the world, there are plenty of laws that would put him behind bars. But what happens when Sony does this, ostensibly to protect its intellectual property?"

Cat in the hat? Maybe not such a good idea: Esquire's latest issue includes an article about one researcher's findings that point toward a surprising source for schizophrenia: that feline curled up in your lap.

Also, in its annual "Best and Brightest" section, the magazine gives readers a good look at the work of Banksy and the man behind it. Note to the guy plastering Atlanta with a rip-off of the Pac-Man monsters: His sort of work is interesting and creative. Yours isn't.

The sound of music: Musical peformances and interviews at NPR I've recently enjoyed include Steven Page, Nickel Creek, Simply Red and Jerry Douglas.

Coming soon: Here's hoping Be Here to Love Me, the new movie about Townes Van Zandt, makes its way to one of the art house theaters in Atlanta.

There's only one time in life when an Auburn fan loves to hear the words "Roll Tide": when he or she is leaving Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga.

It means the Tigers have just gotten another win against the Georgia Bulldogs on the road. War Eagle!

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And congratulations to the Thrashers for the huge road win vs. the Hurricanes, stopping Carolina's nine-game winning streak with a 9-0 thumping.

Mr. Telephone Man, there's something wrong with my line: I'm ashamed I didn't make it to the polls on Tuesday. But even more ashamed should be all the politicians who telemarket with those damned recorded messages. For the last month, I was averaging one a day. I don't recall listening any further than five words to any single one.

Wait a minute, Mr. Postman: Speaking of uninvited intrusions on time, it appears the research firms are having a tough time pinning me down to a specific demographic. Just in the last three months I've gone to my mailbox and discovered: firm breasts and pouting lips coaxing me toward a Penthouse subscription; fashionable separates available to me in a Coldwater Creek catalog; requests for money for the Republican Party and for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton; urgent messages from five or six environmental lobbying groups as well as the National Rifle Association; and pleas from the Human Rights Campaign and some religious organization on behalf of opposite sides of the same culture war.

In short, marketing groups think I'm schizophrenic. Or just crazy.

Trip Through Your Wires: Matthew Ryan and his friend Brian Bequette put on a great show at Eddie's Attic in Decatur on Tuesday night, featuring many of the tracks from 2003's Regret over the Wires. Upon release of the album, Esquire said, "A collection of big-sounding songs about big ideas, this criminally underrated Nashville singer-songwriter's fourth full set offers stunning meditations on devastation, vulnerability, and hope. His protest song, 'I Hope Your God Has Mercy on Mine,' inspires."

For more samples from Ryan, here are "Return to Me," "Long Blvd." and "I Can't Steal You."

Into the blue: I don't know whether it's OK for me to reveal his identity, so I'll just say I'm proud a friend of mine is enjoying his new role as the writer and reporter for the Atlanta Thrashers' Blueland Blog. I tagged along with him Wednesday night to watch our guys punish the Pens, 5-0. You know a guy loves his job when he opts to put his tie back on and secure some post-game interviews on his night off.

Jesus Loves You! Everybody else thinks ...: The Revs. Jesse Jackson and Pat Robertson. Each of them ran for president and lost. Each of them loves the camera. And each of them is prone to make statements that lead most people to shake their heads. Yesterday Pat Robertson espoused his newest gem, a warning for the people of Dover, Pa., that they shouldn't be surprised if God abandons them in a time of need in the future because they opted to remove every school board member who supported the teaching of intelligent design.

You have to hand it to him for staying consistent. He said immoral people caused 9-11 to happen. He said immoral people caused Katrina to devastate New Orleans. So it would make sense that he would say it shouldn't be shocking if disaster befalls the alleged immoral people of Dover.

It would be nice if we lived in a world that could be explained so simply, but we don't. An innocent boy contracts AIDS and dies; a man murders two people and not only avoids jail time but also continues his extravagant lifestyle.

Sometimes bad things happen to good people, and sometimes good things happen to bad people. At least that's the impression I got from Matthew 5: 44-45.

Wow.

On alert for Linus, Sally and Snoopy
The guy who's been renting the field behind my parents' house chose to grow pumpkins this year. Previously it's always been corn, soybeans, sorghum or potatoes. I took this photo early in the morning of Oct. 23, after the harvest. The pumpkins you see are some of the leftovers, and I brought 10 back to Atlanta.

Battle fatigue

Days later, finally able to discuss Astros' amazing run that fell short

What? You mean the World Series has been over for days? How long have I been asleep?

Seriously, by the time it was down to Game 4, my brother said, "Well, look at it this way: If we win tonight, then we didn't get swept. If we lose, then we've been put out of our misery and can start getting some sleep."

All those late-night games really began to take a toll on me. Even though it would be an exaggeration, it seemed like I was going to bed after midnight every night for the last three weeks. Houston's final game vs. Atlanta went 18 innings; Game 3 vs. the White Sox went 14 innings.

So now that I've had some time to shake off fatigue and gather my thoughts, I thought it would be unfair to the Astros and their incredible journey in 2005 if I let the season go without any sort of acknowledgement.

  · I agree with what a couple of commentators pointed out: Albert Pujols perhaps cost the Astros a World Series. We'll never know whether it actually would've made a difference, but Roy Oswalt would've taken the mound in Game 1 of the World Series if Pujols' infamous home run hadn't forced a Game 6 in St. Louis.

  ·  It killed me to see Brandon Backe's Game 4 performance go to waste. You have to love his enthusiasm for the game.

  ·  I was glad Jeff Bagwell got a hit during the World Series. It was great to get him there, but I hated the thought of him not contributing in any way. I suspect, however, that he would trade situations with Frank Thomas, given the chance.

  ·  A lot of fans from other teams got to know Lance Berkman, my favorite player besides Bagwell, for the first time. For even more insight into this character, check out this story and this one. You gotta love Fat Elvis.

  ·  This World Series was the lowest-rated one in TV history. I heard many people say, "After my team's out, I no longer watch or care." I hear this sort of comment frequently, especially in college sports. It makes me wonder whether a person is truly a sports fan or simply a fan of a team. If you watch a game only when it involves your team and never at any other time, then I'd say you certainly have passion for your team but don't really have a true love for the sport.

  ·  By the way, if you cared enough to root against the Astros only because of George H. and Barbara Bush, you're as small as anyone who rooted against the Arkansas Razorbacks in their run to the Final Four because of the Clintons.

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  ·  Thousands support Astros at rally
  ·  First taste Series well worth the wait
  ·  No tricks left in a magical season 

House of Cards
Astros overcome Game 5 to bring down Busch Stadium,
reach World Series for first time in franchise history

More than six months ago, a birthday card arrived in my mailbox from my brother, sister-in-law, nephew and niece. Inside were two handmade tickets — tiny vouchers, according to the words printed on them, that I could exchange for admission to the Saturday and Sunday games between the Houston Astros and the St. Louis Cardinals in April.

My brother and nephew wanted me to go with them to see Busch Stadium during its final season.

I'll admit I wasn't sure. For one, it would require a lot of driving. First to my parents' house in northeastern Alabama, where I would meet my traveling companions, and then on to St. Louis by way of Nashville and across the Tennessee River where I'd never seen it before, in Kentucky.

Besides the time the three of us would spend on the road for only a two-day trip, the past also had me doubting.

My brother and I had traveled to the Northeast just a couple of seasons earlier for historic first-time trips by the Astros. After our flight and procurement of a rental car, we journeyed to some nondescript roadside hotel in Connecticut, dropped our bags in our room, turned on the TV and discovered, in our absence, Houston's pitching staff had thrown a no-hitter against the Bronx Bombers.

But we would be in attendance not until the next day, for the final game of the series at Yankee Stadium (a loss), followed by the first game of the series at Fenway Park (another loss).

So I had my reservations. But I hated more than anything to pass up a chance to spend time with my nephew. So off we went.

And the Astros lost back-to-back games on the road in my presence once again.

On that chilly Saturday afternoon or intensely sunny Sunday afternoon in April in the Gateway to the West, in the middle of Houston's 15-30 start to the first 45 games of the season, if you had told me I'd later see my team put this place to rest for good en route to a World Series, I would've said you're a sick-minded bastard to taunt anyone from such a tormented fanbase.

But you would've been right.

What an unexpected gift this season has become.

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  ·  The joy of Game 6 erases a painful past
  ·  First-hand account of fans beginning the celebration
  ·  Roy Wonder puts team on shoulders
  ·  Biggio finally has reason to celebrate
  ·  Work day, school day, the celebration goes on
  ·  White Sox up next for the new NL champions
  ·  Astros cast out ghosts of past Octobers
  ·  Biggio and Bagwell's long wait ends
  ·  A new chapter written in Astros history