"Crazy doesn't mean stupid. My ex-wife's living proof of that."

Hope everyone had a nice Christmas. Sadly, there was not much joy in the world with the tsunami that killed tens of thousands with the death toll spiraling endlessly. Then we received another dose of bad news yesterday, when the AP reported that Jerry Orbach passed away from prostate cancer at the age of 69.

Jerry had a celebrated career on Broadway as well as in numerous films (including Dirty Dancing of all things), but he will be forever known for his role as wisecracking detective Lennie Briscoe on Law & Order, a character he played for 13 seasons and one of the best characters ever on television. C’mon, who didn’t love Lennie? I can think of about a hundred awesome one-liners besides the one at the top of the page.

Jerry was not a young man, but at the same time you cannot help but feel he was taken much too soon. Although he will certainly live on and on through the endless L&O reruns on TNT.

I'm stuck in work, so I figured I may as well drop an update since I'll be busy with family-related business the next few days.

I was thinking about the whole "Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays" debate, and I think everyone needs to calm down.

If you're an atheist and someone says "Merry Christmas," is that really worth getting upset over? It's not like they said "You suck and I laugh at your values." Is wanting someone to have a merry Christmas really a bad thing?

If if someone says "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas," again, is it worth getting worked up about it? Isn't "happy holidays" a nice thought?

Personally, I always say "Merry Christmas" because that's what I celebrate, and it's what everyone I know celebrates. If someone said "Happy Chanukah" to me, I wouldn't take offense, although it would be pretty funny.

Merry Christmas everyone.

Ouch. Bad loss by the champs to the Dolphins last night on Monday Night Football, made even worse by the fact that I really hate the Dolphins.

As well, bad games happen to great players, and hey, better a bad game now than in January. I'm pretty much figuring we won't get the #1 seed in the AFC, although it is possible. More than likely we'll get the #2 seed and ultimately have to go through Pittsburgh to win the Super Bowl (like we did in 2002).

In other news, Dave Roberts (he of the mythic stolen base against Mariano Rivera in Game 4 of the ALCS) got traded to San Diego, and Orlando Cabrerra is off to Anaheim. Sad to see two guys so integral to the Red Sox World Series leave so soon, especially Roberts (the image of him holding the World Series trophy over his head while on Mike Timlin's shoulders is forever ingrained in my mind). But hey, he grew up in San Diego and gets to play every day, so bully for him.

Vaya con Dios:

"I'd rather one [World Series] ring in Boston than three anywhere else"--Pedro Martinez, on the 2004 World Series DVD.

As I'm sure you heard, Pedro Martinez is a New York Met, and I'm conflicted. I'm certainly not surprised. I predicted that he would leave the Red Sox in this veryblog a while back. But I am dissapointed.

If Pedro received the Red Sox offer, then one from the Mets, and choose the Mets,then that would be that. Pedro did what he felt was best, and I would have no gripe with that. But he got an original offer from the Sox, and several others from other teams. Then he went back to the Sox and got a guaranteed third year. And when he got that year,I thought he was a lock to sign with the Sox. But the Mets came along with a fourth year, and Pedro jumped to them. It's like he never had any intention of resigning, only leveraging the Sox to get another year from the Mets. It makes me wonder if he really meant the quote at the top.

It's a blow to the Sox, but I don't think anyone would argue Pedro is on the downswing of his career. Will he still be effective? Sure, but who know for how long? I don't think anyone would place money on his performance with the Mets, however long he pitches, matching his tenure with the Sox.

Besides, Pedro could come across a prima donna and a headcase at times (look at the whole "The Yankees are my daddy" speech). Maybe his exit will have a healthy effect on the clubhouse.

Whatever happens, I don't bear any ill will to Petey. Too many good memories to do that. Hey, I hope the change of scenery works and he has a lot of success in New York. As for Red Sox Nation, we'll just have to come to grips with the fact that for the first time in seven years, we won't get to see Pedro Martinez pitch in a Red Sox uniform.

Huh huh...he said "homeowner": Well, it's done. After weeks of paperwork, information gathering, and juggling finances, I finally closed on my condo today. You have no idea what a relief this is. Best of all, I love my new place--right price, right location, plus I got an interest rate below 6%, and I finally have something to show for all my years of hard work.

Moving will probably take place after Christmas. And man, with my bank account being drained, I'm glad I'm not exchanging many presents with people this year. I can't even afford coal right now.

Cemetary Gates: In an amazing story, guitarist Dimebag Daryl, formerly of Pantera, was shot and killed onstage last night performing with his new band Damageplan. I won't confess to being a huge fan, but they did have some great tunes and I may go out and finally get a CD copy of "Vulgar Display of Power."

Sidenote: As I was waiting in the bank today, I saw a guy walk in wearing a Pantera shirt. I wonder if he knew and wore the shirt as tribute, or if it was just a macabre coincidence. I thought about saying something to him, but I was wearing a suit and tie and thought I might come across like a dope discussing Pantera.

That's Hot: I saw Curt Schilling on Barbara Walters' "Ten Most Fascinating People of 2004" show last night. Hey, I (heart) Curt, but I don't know if I consider him fascinating. Then again, Curt was followed by Paris Hilton. The only thing fascinating about her is that she's famous for no reason except being famous.

I was thinking about telling the story of the time I nearly blew up my house as a kid playing with a G.I. Joe figure near a light socket, but I could not remember the name of the figure I was playing with. I knew he wore a red shirt and was part of a three-pack, and had something to do with Sgt. Slaughter, but I could not figure it out. I mean, this was killing me. Then I think, "hey, why not search the internet for this?" And I stumbled upon the fantastic site Yo Joe. If you used to collect G.I. Joe was a kid, you have to visit this site. Amazing place to kill some time.

It let me pose questions like: Who had the lamest codename, Sneak Peak, Tollboth, or Dialtone? Was there a cooler looking figure than Shockwave? Was the second Stormshadow figure awesome or silly looking? And was there anything funnier than Major Bludd's filecard? See for yourself.

Oh, and it was Mercer that almost eloctrocuted me as a kid.

With the shocking (well, not really) news about Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, now's the time to reveal the TV show I created with My Work Buddy Johnny (not to be confused with the script I wrote for the Bravo contest, and no, I haven't heard anything yet).

Our show is called Psycho & The Sheff. It would star MLB headcases Carl Everett and Gary Sheffield as baseball players who fight crime on their off days. But here's the catch: every episode would revolve around the duo interupting steroids being shipped somewhere (like going undercover in a high school or college to bust up a steroid ring). Every episode would climax with the duo being captured by the bad guys, and escaping in the nick of time by going into 'roid rage. They would then punch out the bad guys, and probably several cops and pedestrians too.

Every episode would end with the pair having their hands on a steroid shipment, and their sausy secretary would say "Well, guess we'd better turn these over to the authorities," and Sheff would say "Don't worry, we'll take care of it," and then they'd all wink at the camera. There could be all kinds of Major League guest stars, like the above mentioned Bonds and the Giambi brothers, and the corpse of Ken Caminiti.

Admit it, you'd watch.