Ravens @ MindSay 
If the Patriots can get trounced tomorrow night, all will be well in the world of sports until baseball season begins anew in 5 weeks. So, for tomorrow, go Bears...go Chargers and thank Slayer the Colts outplayed the gang banging criminals called the Baltimore Ravens. Ray Lewis should be in prison.
Before this trip I had visited England once before, when I was in fourth grade with my parents. I don’t remember much from the trip except that I was extremely bored at the Changing of the Guard, and that I absolutely loved the Tower of London. I wanted to go back to see the Tower on this trip, but it is prohibitively expensive—twelve pounds for a student admission! Hannah’s mother, though, told her that if she only saw one thing in London it had to be the Tower of London, so in the interest of being a good host I splurged and we went to the Tower together.
The Tower was every bit as fun as I remembered. It’s a twelfth century fort that was converted into a prison and has hosted some of England’s most famous prisoners, including Anne Bolyn and her daughter Queen Elizabeth (Ann lost her head in the tower, Elizabeth was a little more lucky). We had a really fun guide. He was dressed in the appropriate Beefeater regalia and was really campy. He got a kick out of putting on a show, pretending to be bloodthirsty and relishing the gory details of the executions and tortures that he described. At least I think he was pretending. Any way, I learned a lot of interesting and gruesome facts. Like for instance, I knew that the Tower of London was associated with ravens, and the legend has it that if the ravens that live at the Tower of London were ever to leave the tower would fall down. What I didn’t know was how the ravens got there. Apparently, after prisoners were executed their heads were put on pikes, and the ravens would come to feast on the flesh of the dead prisoners. Not the most appetizing thought.
No trip to the Tower would be complete without a visit to the crown jewels, which are kept under strict lock and key. There’s a ceremony to lock them in every night, which we missed, but we got to see the collection, which was fun. I liked seeing Queen Victoria’s small jewel crown, the one that she wears over her veil in all of her portraits. It’s surprisingly small in real life; it could easily have fit in the palm of my hand. Seeing the crowns in general was a bit of a drag. They’re so eager to keep the line moving that the only way to see the jewels is to stand on a moving sidewalk that takes you past the crowns so that you can’t stop to gawk. It makes you feel like you’re at the airport. I did like the non-moving sidewalk portion of the crown jewels, though. My favorite part was seeing the coronation dinnerware. I was just really amused by the fact that there’s a set of dishes that goes with being crowned ruler of Britain. They were all shiny gold with elaborate engravings on them. I liked the huge wine basin that was easily the size of a Jacuzzi, and came with a long spoon to ladle out the wine.
Other highlights of the Tower included a trip to the Bloody Tower, which housed the two princes who disappeared under the watch of Richard the III (though there is no conclusive evidence that he was implicated in the murders, it was just really convenient for him that they were found dead), and a visit to the White Tower, the oldest building at the Tower of London, which now houses the Tower armory. I like seeing the suits of armor that are my height (I’m five two in my stocking feet), and thinking I could’ve totally beat up many of the knights from that period. They also had a great exhibit on Guy Fawkes at the White Tower, who was kept and tortured there before his public execution. They had a fun video on what would have happened if the gunpowder plot had succeeded, which was done as a mock newscast. Hokey, sure, but fun.
It was a beautiful day when we left, and we walked back over Tower Bridge. I remembered the last time I had walked over that bridge it was cold and gray, but now the sun was shining and there was little more than a light breeze. Maybe, just maybe, spring was finally here.
It was a ugly win; a real nail biter but chaulk it up as a win anyways!
GO STEELERS!
I only wish I would of caught more of the game! I was all geared up for Monday Night Football with the Pittsburgh Steelers playing, but no sooner than there's a kick-off my eyes begin to fail me and I find myself drifting off.
Now I know, if I don't do something quick, sleep will take over! Don't you know that no sooner than I think that thought I am sound asleep. Of course I don't realize this until I wake up and there is only 10 minutes left in the 4th Quarter!
I was so mad at myself... and my husband; for not waking me up of course! That I brewed for a half an hour during the "5th Quarter" because I was determined to catch up on what I missed. I don't think I am over my siesta because I want to find out where I can get a copy of the game so I can watch it?!
For the overview of the game, I was reading journalist Joe Bendel from the Pittsburgh Tribune Review take on the game:
"The Baltimore Ravens dressed up like a competent football team Monday night and put a scare into the Steelers at Heinz Field. They entered as AFC North bottom-feeders and without star defenders Ray Lewis and Ed Reed, but came disguised as the Ravens of old and wreaked havoc for much longer than the crowd of 64,178 people had anticipated. A margin that was far closer than the pregame double-digit point spread had indicated.
By kickoff, the Steelers were 14-point favorites. By game's end, they were happy to escape with any type of win, considering it boosted their record to 5-2 and kept them a half-game behind the AFC North-leading Cincinnati Bengals (6-2) (another Steeler rival team). The Ravens dropped to 2-5 and 3-1/2 games out of first place. The Steelers are 11-0 under Coach Cowher in Monday night home games.
OK here's the kicker: Steelers kicker Jeff Reed hit a 37-yard field goal with 1:36 remaining for his second game-winning kick of the season, both occurring on Monday nights. He also beat the San Diego Charger in Week 4.
The final scoring drive featured back-to-back completions of 14 and 23 yards by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to Antwaan Randle El and Quincy Morgan to get things started. Verron Haynes followed with a 7-yard run on a draw, then tailback Jerome Bettis did the rest, carrying four consecutive times for 16 yards to set up Reed's winning kick.
The fired-up crowd was relieved, but only briefly. That's because the Ravens took over at their 31 with 1:29 remaining and drove to the Steelers 50 with less than a minute to play. But on third-and-three, Ravens quarterback Anthony Wright was thrown for a 3-yard loss by backup Steelers defensive end Brett Keisel.
Keisel's stop made it fourth-and-six from the Ravens' 47. Then, on the final play of the possession, Ravens running back Chester Taylor dropped a pass at the 50, ending Baltimore's hope of an upset in front of a national television audience.
For the Steelers, the victory not only ended an uncharacteristic two-game losing streak at Heinz Field, but also showcased rookie tight end Heath Miller, who scored both of the Steelers touchdowns and continued to emerge as a bonafide candidate for rookie of the year.
The No. 1 draft choice gave the Steelers a 7-0 lead on the game's first possession with a 4-yard scoring reception, then scored on an 8-yard pass to open the third quarter, pushing the advantage to 17-10.
The Steelers nearly self-destructed midway through the fourth quarter. On fourth-and-10 from their 45, they botched a snap on a punt attempt. Up-man Sean Morey walked up behind long snapper Greg Warren to warn his teammates that the Ravens had two returners back, including the dangerous Deion Sanders, but Warren snapped early and the ball hit Morey's leg. Morey picked up the loose ball, then threw back to punter Chris Gardocki, who threw incomplete to Morey.
The Ravens took over at the Steelers 45 and turned the miscue into the go-ahead field goal, a 47-yarder by Matt Stover, who was 4 of 5 on the night. The Steelers then responded with the game-winning drive....with 3:21 remaining Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis and Jeff Reed put the finishing touches on the win. In the end, the Steelers squeaked by with a 20-19 victory!"
After all that, maybe I don't need to watch the game afterall. I'll just wait for their win against Green Bay Packers this Sunday. And you won't find me sleeping, since game time is at 4:15 pm! No Sunday at 4:15 pm is good for me.
We go to Sunday School from 9:45 am - 10:45 am. Worship/Sermon begins at 11 am and ends at 12:30-1pm. Fellowship afterwards for 1/2 hr. and the ride home is another 20 mins. I prepare early dinner and we eat at 2:30 pm. Plenty of time to prepare snacks and get ready for game time at 4:15pm.
There are two other games in the month of November that are late nights, so I will smack myself silly if I even think about going to sleep!
