What?

So, Dallas and LSU end up with bye weeks the same week. Huh? How did that happen?

To fill in the gaps, I watched Mississippi State beat Kentucky, and pretty soundly at that. Then I watched Georgia beat Florida.

Today I watched the Giants and Miami play the first ever regular season NFL game in London, England. It was interesting to say the least. When I first heard about the game, I wondered how jet lag would affect the players' performance. I don't think it had a major effect, but both teams did seem a little off. What had more of an effect on the game was the local conditions. They played at Wembley stadium in the rain. One of the commentators said that the field just wasn't built for men that size. Think about it, the average soccer player weighs 165 lbs. There are 28 men on the combined rosters of the Giants and Dolphins who weigh more than 300 lbs. Thus the field got torn up pretty badly very early on in the game. Footing was very bad, and it had an effect on the game. Players would get tackled and would slide halfway across the field. It was like one of the old school mud bowls, according to one commentator. I can remember a few of those myself.

Another thing I found to be almost eerie was how quiet the British fans were. They were just sitting there quietly watching the game progress, only cheering if something major happened. It made me realize how truly rowdy American football fans are--even when we aren't misbehaving. But the British fans were blowing whistles throughout the game. This definitely was detrimental to the play, because the players would hear the whistles and think the play was over. They would stop, but the ball wasn't dead. More than one play probably would have had a different outcome if it weren't for this.

So, the Giants were ahead, but they got the ball back with 1:30 left in the game. They naturally did what a team does when they are ahead at that point and they have the final possession. Eli took three knees and the game was over. But, as soon as he knelt down the first time, the Brits started booing, and continued to do so until time ran out. My first thought was that they had no idea of sportsmanship, but I have to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe they are used to soccer, in which the ball is constantly changing possession until the final whistle blows. Perhaps they didn't realize that the game was over at that point, and to try to score again would be very unsportsmanlike--not to mention risking a turnover that could cost them the game. They were only ahead by 3 points, and a turnover could easily have led to a Dolphins touchdown which would have given Miami their first win of the season. As it was, the Giants hung on to win 13-10, moving them to 6-2, and the Dolphins to 0-8.

The commissioner, Roger Goodell, is talking about having more regular season games overseas in the future. I kind of hope they don't. It was a nifty little gimmick one time, but to do it regularly would be hard on the players.

At the same time as the Giants were playing, Indy was playing on another channel. In a move that would almost make a man proud, I flipped back and forth every couple of minutes to keep up with both games. To truly make a man proud, I'd have to flip every 2 seconds at most--preferably every .657 seconds. I did turn over just in time to see some guy pile drive Peyton Manning. I mean he picked him completely up and slammed him to the ground. That ain't easy to do to a 6'5" guy like PM. Yep, he got penalized for it, and will likely get fined too, according to the commentators. You just can't pile drive a quarterback. Be that as it may, Indy won that game decisively, and will face the also unbeaten Patriots next week. That's gonna be a good game.

And what did I knit while all this excitement was going on?

I got the first watermelon sock done. Here is Cody modeling it just before I grafted the toe.

I made it to fit his feet, because he wears a 10 1/2 shoe. If it fits him, it'll fit the average man. The colors pooled in sort of a wierd way. You can see the rambling green stripe wandering through the sock. I wonder if the second sock will do that, too.

We shall see.