Patriots Preseason Game

Kristen was able to get tickets to the Patriots' preseason game against the Bengals back in August, which was a great experience. Unfortunately, my camera was not welcome at Gillette Stadium, so the pocket point-and-shoot had to stand in. Nevertheless, the game was compelling (as far as Games That Don't Count But Still Cost Regular-Season Prices To Attend), and it was nice to see former Sooner Roy Wiiliams and OKC native Wes Welkahhhhh (I believe I have the pronunciation correct).

Oh, and a big Chill Shades Bro to the guy in the fourth image.

Super Duck Tour

Kristen's parents were in town last weekend, so we decided to show them the city by going on another duck tour. However, this one was different than the one we had been on earlier as it went out into the Inner Harbor and stayed around the North End.

The trip was nice (and it ended up being free as we volunteered our seats so a party of 17 could get everyone on board), but if you are a first-time visitor to Boston, I recommend the 'regalah' Duck Tour instead.

Hall of Fame Game

After 6 months of waiting, football has finally returned with tonight's Hall of Fame Game in Canton. Preseason games get a bad rap for the most part because "the best guys don't play much if at all", but that's the nice part - it gives you a chance to get a look at players who normally wouldn't get onto the field, as well as see how teams change their strategy with new players or coaching staffs.

Buffalo is coming off of a third consecutive 7-9 season, and popular perception is that Dick Jauron is on the hot seat, leading them to make the bold move of signing Terrell Owens after he was unceremoniously dumped by the Cowboys earlier in the offseason. There's a lot of talk about how Owens will open up the passing game for other players, but that isn't going to matter much if the offensive line, which could be starting 5 completely different guys than last year, doesn't hold up.

Two players I am interested in tonight are Fred Jackson and James Hardy. Jackson has served as Marshawn Lynch's primary backup the last two years, and has filled in admirably during times when Lynch was hurt. Now that a league-imposed suspension looms, I want to see how Jackson looks running with the first team consistently. He seems to be a little shiftier than Lynch, but is not as polished as a reciever, which is something that can be valuable when the QB is running for his life.

Hardy is another interesting prospect, expected to take over the 3rd reciever role last year and be a good target in the red zone. However, he never really made much of an impact (only catching 6 passes) and tore his ACL at the end of the year. He's a tall guy, but not overly explosive vertically. Considering that there are only three corners in the AFC East over 6'0 tall, he could be a good matchup player.

The Titans, on the other hand, come off of a disappointing loss in the AFC Divisional Game that many blame on the play clock problem, but realistically when you turn the ball over 3 times, including 2 on fumbles in the red zone, you don't deserve to win. Their big offseason splash was letting All-Pro DT Albert Haynesworth go in free agency, but based on the way Jason Jones played last year when Haynesworth was out, he should be a more-than-suitable replacement.

This leads me to my player to watch, DT Sen'Derrick Marks, a rookie out of Auburn who they drafted in the second round. He's listed, weight-wise, as the largest DT on the roster and seems to be well-suited for the 2-gap nose tackle type role that would allow Jones and DE Kyle Vanden Bosch to take advantage of one-on-one matchups. I don't expect to see him running with the ones, though, as Jovan Haye is (at least for the time being) ahead of him on the depth chart.

Incubus Concert

Last Saturday, Mallory, Derek, Kristen, and I went to see one of my favorite bands ever at the Comcast Center in Mansfield. The venue was intimate, which is a nice way of saying "it was really small and parking was a disaster".

The show, however was amazing. Unfortunately, my 4-year-old Nikon D50 counts as a "professional camera" and was thus not welcome, but I was able to get some good, albeit grainy pictures with Kristen's camera.

New England Aquarium

I was not really that impressed by Boston's aquarium, although I suppose when you have been to the Atlanta and Monterey Bay aquariums (aquaria?) your standards may be a little higher. Nonetheless, it still made for a fun afternoon.

The second image below is Government Center in downtown Boston, where every year on the 4th of July someone comes out on the balcony and reads the Declaration of Independence.

Boston Duck Tour

A great way to see Boston is to take a Duck tour, which is a ride in an amphibious vehicle through the streets and down the Charles River. Some of them even go out to Boston Harbor as well. I highly recommend taking one if you ever visit the area.

The next-to-last picture below is an original, unmodified piece of the Berlin Wall.

Weekend in NYC

Kristen and I went down to visit Mallory and Derek in Manhattan last weekend, on what turned out to be the first nice day in the Northeast in about a month. We walked around Lower Manhattan, Battery Park, and the Financial District on Saturday afternoon, and planned to go see the Mets on Saturday night, but the cheap seats were sold out. Oh well, you have to make a $100 million payroll somehow.

Unfortunately, a lot of the pictures I took Saturday were too bright...I had my camera on ISO 800 all day.

July 4th in Hull

Kristen and I spend the 4th in Hull, on our friends' parents' boat. The weather was perfect for sailing, and it was a very exciting and relaxing day.

MIT

It was only a matter of time before I had to make a voyage to the Mecca of nerd-dom, just a short trip on the Red Line away. Fun fact: MIT has a football team. Their mascot? The Engineers, of course.

The middle picture below is the Green Building / Building 54, which hosts MIT's meteorology department. I couldn't get in there because of graduation-related activity, so I will have to go back some time and check it out.

Red Sox vs. Rangers

Since I rarely get to see the Rangers now that I live in RED SAWX NATION, I was excited when they came into town a couple of weeks ago for a weekend series. It was also my first chance to experience Fenway Park.
On this particular Sunday afternoon, Daisuke Matsuzaka gave up 5 runs in 5 and 2/3 innings, and Vicente Padilla was nearly thrown out of the game after hitting Kevin Youkilis, while Nelson Cruz fell a single short of the cycle. The Rangers ended up winning 6-3.