Tubs of Rancid Yak Butter

So I was 'saved' from having to work through the temp agency by... Target. By 'saved' I mean instead of an eight-hundred pound gorilla with a chronic case of diarrhea sitting on me, I now get to hang out with a close-talker who has halitosis. Sure one is better than the other but neither is exactly ideal. I am now reminded of Marie's job at UPS, who swore those initials actually stood for Ugly People of Satan - and I'm suddenly thankful just for having a job, haha.

Had my birthday shindig on Friday (another perk of getting hired by Target, I just wish they'd call me about orientation) and it was pretty amazing. Especially when I managed to get lost for 20 minutes on the University of Western campus. Thanks for the not so awesome directions, Kenzie, but mostly, thanks for being the awesome person you are, even if your navigational skills are even worse than my own.

The Lions open up the regular season this afternoon at 4:15pm EST. I can't help but admit that I am absolutely giddy about this game. First off, it's against the Raiders, the only team in the NFL whose record was worse than the Lions, so on paper we have a pretty fair chance at coming out of this with a win. I'm also very excited to see the Lions starting offensive and defensive units as a whole, in particular the offensive line (which is completely healthy coming into the season, I honestly can't remember the last time this happened) and rookie Free Safety Gerald Alexander, who replaces the injured Daniel Bullocks (torn ACL, out for the season) and is starting over 6 year veteran Idrees Bashir. Whenever this happens it always begs the question, is the rookie really good or the veteran really bad? My hope is that the rookie is really good, but you don't get to see the DBs all that much in preseason and Alexander mainly worked with, and against, the 2nd and 3rd units.

I believe the Lions will win this, the Raiders have too little offense and the Lions have too much, though one never knows with Detroit. Keep an eye on Cory Redding and Shaun Rogers, working together in the NT/UT positions for the first time, these two could become the premier defensive tackle duo in the NFL. Tatum Bell and Shaun McDonald are another pair to watch. Both of these guys were let go/traded due to under-performing with their previous teams, both looked great in the preseason and both are coming into today's game with a lot to prove. On the Raiders side, keep an eye on Josh McCown and Mike Williams, the tandem traded on draft day from Detroit to Oakland and both with something to prove against their former team. Warren Sapp is another Raider to watch. He lost fifty pounds this off-season and led all defensive tackles last year with 10 sack and yet didn't go the Pro-Bowl. If anyone in this game is going to come into it with a chip on his shoulder, it's gonna be him.

That's all for now folks. I hope you're all doing well and keeping it rockin' for the kids. Tune in next week when I'll discuss my nose-hair, or something else you're not all that interested in reading about.