One more... this week.

Sox-Astros. Probably better than Sox-Cardinals - at least there aren't too many Astros fans around here - but certainly not great. I keep going back and forth on whether the Sox winning would actually be a good thing or not - I really don't like the Astros, but the Sox? In Gene Wojciechowski's article on ESPN.com, he has one person quoted whose thoughts more or less sum up mine:

"People have tried to convince me to root for them," Szczudlo says. "I'm sorry, I can't do it. I'd feel like I was betraying [the Cubs]. I don't think it would be true. It would be like I was abandoning them."

Szczudlo admits it: she's jealous and sad, too. "I know there are Cubs fans who are cheering for the city of Chicago," she says. "But the extremists are feeling like I do."

I don't feel like I'd be abandoning the Cubs per se - after all, a mild rooting interest in the White Sox isn't quite the same as going to the Phone Booth with a Sox jersey on (though good luck getting a ticket, regardless) - but there is certainly the jealousy aspect, and some aspect of betrayal. For better or worse, there is a rivalry here - and rooting for your rival, no matter who they're playing, is generally uncommon. Were Red Sox fans rooting for the Yankees in the late 90s because at least one team from the AL East was winning titles? Were Duke fans glad to see North Carolina represent the ACC last year? Do Manchester City fans think fondly on Manchester United's dominance of the English Premier League because at least it's a team from Manchester? Hell fucking no.

So maybe I'm an extremist. But while I won't bother rooting vigorously against the Sox, I certainly don't plan on supporting them. I get the feeling I won't be missed on the bandwagon.

In other news, I won the lottery! If by "the lottery," you mean "three dollars in the lottery." If the Powerball jackpot rolls over, I'll find myself driving to Wisconsin again before Saturday to roll the three bucks over; if it doesn't, I'll probably just have Alma cash it on one of her trips there. I got the bucks for playing 29, as part of my birthdate, as the Powerball number in one of my sets.

I also played 4-8-15-16-23-42 just for grins, but it turns out that hundreds of people did the exact same thing (link taken from Alma's blog). Good thing it didn't win; can you imagine having the winning Powerball numbers and only getting 400 grand? (Not that I'd say no to 400 grand.)