'Tis the season

A caller on the FAN590 has given me an idea. He told host Mike Hogan that yesterday he and his two adult sons took part in an annual family tradition. After having a hardy breakfast, the three men plunked their butt down on the family sofa and...didn't move for the next 12-hours or so.

Chesterfield Appreciation Day, he called it. An annual day, held just before the Christmas season, where the family spends a whole day watching movies and football. It sounds a bit like heaven to me.

I'm sure the TV was beside the point. The company was what would make a day like that worthwhile. It wouldn't really matter if the common interest was football or tiddlywinks.

But, this is a sports blog, so it's worth pointing out that sports often can provide that bond that gives us the excuse that's needed to spend the time. We shouldn't need an excuse, but we do. That's just life. And, as has been written here before, the shared memory and experience of sports is probably the single biggest reason why the winners and losers in seemingly meaningless contests matter so much to us.

Chesterfield Appreciation Day. We should all pick a weekend and make it happen. 'Cause life is short.

Last weekend I lost my great uncle. I don't bring this up to bring you down -- Bruce would not be happy with me if I did that. Rather, I wish to celebrate a life that was lived with passion. In Bruce's case the passion was music. By embracing that love, Bruce lead a life that touched many and ended with his loss mourned on the front page of the local rag. We all know that we will one day die. It's up to us to make sure that we live. And, if living to you means watching the Kings play the Panthers on your 60" Plasma HDTV, then don't let anyone tell you differently!