One of the most shocking things I could say...

JC is a decent dude. Sure, he's the same guy whose profanity laced tirades in the comments for the past 12 months have alternately entertained and horrified us. And yes, he has a serious problem with alcohol and rage, and it's true that he may or may not have killed someone without realizing it, but I'll give him props this week for being decent. First off, he bothered to email me about The Black Donnellys. How did I manage to miss this series? It's about four Irish-American brothers who engage in general thuggery. It's poignant, funny, very well acted, and the pilot episode was riveting. Go get this brief series on DVD. You won't be disappointed. Second he made my day by sending us this amazing picture:

It's of the Providence Grays circa 1880. The man in the front left is JC's great great great grandfather Jimmy Downy. The Grays were an early member of the National League, and were 'World Champions' in 1884. I love the classic baseball, and this even predates The Glory of Their Times. It's a great photo.

Finally, he wished us luck with the game last week. God knows we needed it, and quite possibly the improbability of him saying that was just the absurd cosmic push we needed to get over the top in Minnesota. So there you have it. Who knows for how long, but last week at least. JC was a really decent dude. Thanks man.

LINKS:

Shake posted this on Stampede Blue. It's a very solid laundry list of what's wrong with the Horse. Basically, this week is a must win. Then comes the bye, and beyond that we should be ok.

Indianapolis Monthly does a long feature on 18. I saw the issue on the stands, but didn't remember to look it up until I saw it again on the AFC South blog.

ESPN Power rankings

No Colts related stuff, but some thoughts on the Jags and a generally good read as Don Banks looks at perception vs. reality.

TMQ for this week. I knew I got that 55% number from somewhere...

Here's a great piece on the authentication of a Lou Gehrig jacket.

Will Carrol wonders if the Colts could be burried by all the injuries. I think we all are wondering that. The tide has to stop rising, or we will go under. The good news (compared to last year) is that we haven't lost anyone for the season yet. Win this week, get a week off, and things can still be ok.