Eddie Guerrero's life story would have made a hell of a movie. He thrived in the wrestling business despite his diminutive size, becoming arguably the top performer of the 1990's and early 2000's. Then a car accident nearly ended his life in 1998, and even though he survived he found himself addicted to pain killers and much worse. The addictions got worse and they ended up costing him his job with the WWE in 2001.

Eddie was at rock bottom then, forced to work small shows in armories in front of maybe a few hundred people on a good night, when previously he worked before thounsands live and millions more on television.

But we kept hearing good things, that Eddie had cleaned himself up and was working hard. Then he got the most precious gift in the world: a second chance. He got another shot with the WWE, and he made the most of it. Even though he was never positioned as a top guy, the crowds kept cheering him like one. The momentum kept building, and then, in February 2004 he defeated Brock Lesnar to win the WWE Title. He had clawed his way from the bottom of the barrel all the way to the top of his profession. Fade to black, roll credits.

Sadly, life is not a movie. Eddie Guerrero was found dead in his Minneapolis hotel room by his newphew Chavo on Sunday. He was only 38.

The autopsy results came out today, saying the cause of death was heart failure,
so all the damage Eddie did to his body finally caught up with him. And given that Eddie worked so hard to clean himself up (his greatest accomplishment by far), it just doesn't seem fair.

Real grief should be reserved for those who knew Eddie personally (I've personally never been within a hundred feet of him). But after watching the man nearly every week on TV for a decade, and hearing of his travails outside the ring, you can't help but feel a connection to the man. I have a million memories of Eddie, from great matches to funny interviewed to him standing in the middle of Madison Square Garden with Chris Benoit to close out Wrestlemania XX.

It's sad that wrestling fans won't get to see him perform anymore. But the ultimate tragedy is that three little girls will have to grow up without a father, a family is missing a son, a brother, an uncle, and an ex-husband, and a respected, well-liked, and phenomally talented man was taken from the Earth well before his time.

Here's a fun idea - go through your iPod and, for each letter, list the first song that shows up alphabetically. It's actually a pretty good summary of my musical tastes. I got the idea from the blog of Dr. Frank of the Mr. T Experience, who curiously shows up five times on the list.

A Praise Chorus - Jimmy Eat World
Ba Ba Ba Ba Ba - Mr. T Experience
Can't Get There From Here - Mr. T Experience [R.E.M. cover]
D. Boon - Uncle Tupelo
Effigy - Uncle Tupelo [CCR cover]
F.O.D. - Green Day
Garden Grove - Sublime
Hang Up - Parasites
I'd Do Anything For You - Mr. T Experience
J Church Sucks - J Church
K Street [live] - The Fastbacks
Last One Out of Liberty City - Less Than Jake
Major Leagues - Pavement
Name - Rancid
O Girlfriend - Weezer
Paper Lanterns - Green Day
Queen For a Day - Dance Hall Crashers
Racist Society - Screeching Weasel
Sackcloth & Ashes - Mr. T Experience
T-Shirt Commercial - Mr. T Experience
U Not Like Me - 50 Cent
Van Horne - Chixdiggit
W. Texas Teardrops - Old 97's
X-Ray Specs - The Lillingtons
Yeah, Well, Whatever - The Queers
Z - er, don't have a song that starts with "Z" yet.

Oops.

Well, on the plus side I did end up winning $50 in the football pool. It came down to overall points - I picked 59 and the final total was 61, so I was closest. I think the Football Gods smiled down at me for standing by my team.

I've had a pretty tough time this year in the office football pool. Lots of 10-4, 9-5, and even a craptacular 6-8 week. Just when I thought I lost my mojo, I rattle off an 12-1 record so far this week, with the Monday Night game left to be played (the only loss came when I picked against the Lions - I don't think I've gotten a Detroit game right this season). Unfortunately, everyone one else had a great week as well, so there's a potential six way tie.

Of the six, four of them picked the Colts, while I and another co-worker went with the Pats. It's always been a condundrum, picking for or against your team in the pool. On the one hand, if you pick against your team, you feel guilty because you're secretly wishing them to do poorly. But if you pick for them, you may just be setting yourself up for a fall if they're overmatched.

Of course, as a Pats fan, this really hasn't been a problem the past few years. When your team goes 14-2 you very rarely feel conflicted about picking them. Not this year - injuries combined with a grueling schedule have the Pats at 4-3 through their first 7 games (they only lost 2 games all of last year). Now the 7-0 Colts come to down, rested, healthy, and seemingly clicking on all cylinders. They're four point favorites, and let's face it, if they're ever going to win in Foxboro, it's going to be now.

Lot of people seem to think this way - lots of folks picked against the Pats this week. Not me. I picked the Pats for two reasons.

1. Dwight Freeney's appearance on PTI this week, where he said "Even if the Pats beat us, it doesn't mean we're guaranteed to meet them in the playoffs." Translation: We're scared shitless of this team and there's no way we can win.

2. I never bet against my team. One of my cardinal rules (I have a bunch - I should write them down at some point). This team's been good to me, I'll be good to them.

Pats 31, Colts 28, Joe is $50 richer.