Vegas Halo Fan

For once, not a total collapse by the black, gold and teal.

Easy to say that until we face two Detroit pitchers and they carry a no-hitter deep into both playoff games, and we haven't even faced their ace yet. Just ask Boston.

Compared to us, yes.

With some variations, this is like the situation in the movie Castaway, in which the FedEx pilot is declared dead, his wife remarries and then he is rescued years later.

I have been a cigar smoker for about ten years. My favorites are too many to list, but among them are anything by Padron, CAO Brazilia, La Gloria Cubana Serie R, Rocky Patel Vintage 1990, Oliva Serie V, Graycliff Chateau Grand Cru (these are quite expensive), La Herencia Cubana Oscuro, Romeo y Julieta Habana Reserve and Reserva Real, Kristoff, Graycliff Turbo, Carlos Torano Exodus 1959 gold, 5 Vegas Relic and Cask Strength, most anything by Punch, Oliveros King Havano, Camacho, Macanudo 1968 and Portofino, H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon and Partagas Black. Also like pretty much anything in the Gurkha line. Your Rocky Patel Edge choice is an excellent one. Also like their Sun Grown, Decade and Olde World Reserve. The places I buy from: Cigars International/Cigar Bid Holt's Famous Smoke Shop/Cigar Monster (something like CBid, only with a fixed price and no bidding; twice daily they put all their deals up at once) Cigar Fox (you can make your own samplers at this place, and prices for singles aren't outrageous) Cigars.com Atlantic Cigars CVM Cigars The place I avoid: Thompson Cigars. I bought from them once, and the telemarketing calls started before my first (and as it turned out, only) order arrived. They continued for almost a year, sometimes multiple times daily. Awful reputation in cigar circles.

Glad to see the home team acquit themselves much better than anyone had a right to expect. This was a two-point game well into the second half.

Three games, all decided by one run, two of them 1-0, the other in 15 innings. Incredible. The only thing better would be to have an actual rooting interest.

Holy shit. This is actually a ballgame.

Significantly improved pitching would make up for a lot of other issues.

Everything in my neighborhood this morning is flattened. Must be North Korean troops that came in during the night.

The Dodgers are halfway to joining the Angels on the golf course.

Kiffin made enough enemies in the south in his one year at Tennessee that he can kiss off ever getting any kind of meaningful job in the SEC and probably the ACC as well. His transgressions in Knoxville were many, but perhaps the biggest was his blatant fantasizing about being at USC while coaching at UT. He had the photos in the football office of Tennessee greats replaced with photos of USC players - as if the school that produced Peyton Manning, Reggie White and Jamal Lewis needs help in that department.

That went well, didn't it? Just consider it our contribution to the Mack Brown Coach for Life Fund.

Johnson has the biggest potential for a big game, provided he's healthy enough to be somewhere near 100 percent. Johnson is a game time decision, so you are running a risk if you start him. Fitzgerald has been limited in practice all week with a hamstring, and he's going against the 49ers with a less-than-ideal QB throwing him the ball. I have Fitzgerald in an autopicked league and I face that dilemma every week. Allen seems to be getting a bigger chunk of catches every week. I would probably start Allen of the three, given the uncertainty of the injury status of the first two.

If there is a more useless sporting event in the United States than the Pro Bowl, I don't know what it is. The Pro Bowl has sucked for decades, and it has only gotten worse over time as salaries have climbed and players don't want to risk injury in a meaningless game after a long and grueling season.

On the way home from the watch party for the Florida-LSU game today, I was passed by a white Hyundai Elantra with a Raiders shield in the back window. Somebody had scrawled "SUCK" in the dust underneath it.

Since coaching doesn't make any difference, I'm sure it is pure coincidence that Mike Napoli went from being criticized for flailing at everything here to leading all of baseball in pitches seen per at-bat in 2013.

Two tourists from California who were hiking through the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area just outside the city were fined $275 each for going in while the park is closed.

Those are called "reliable sources" and "insiders".

Tried some today that I didn't know existed before lunchtime: Monty Python's Holy Grail Ale. Pretty good stuff.

I have a grandson about that age. I cannot imagine anyone physically abusing a child that age.

Selling used cars for Enterprise. Their Kia specialist.

As an Oklahoma alumnus, here's wishing the Horns a thorough ass kicking tomorrow.

Jeff Mathis. If it is really true that those who cannot do, teach, Mathis is the ultimate "cannot doer" when it comes to hitting. Besides, we haven't had a designated gumball passer since he left.

Mine is $16 per month at Las Vegas Athletic Club.