A president has been elected, Robin has returned, the colossal tree in Carol’s back yard has been cleared away and order has been temporarily restored in the elaborate recording studios of the Fantoo Girls. After baseball practically every day for nearly 8 months, we feel that we can finally pace ourselves. And now that we’re not furiously switching the channel between political mudslinging election coverage and the playoffs, the NFL, NBA and NHL seasons are here for the enjoyment.

It was fun while it lasted.

Episode 141

Change, Champagne and an NFL Fine-A-Thon Campaign With The Girls!

Today The Girls are coming to you live from the Land of Change. Borrowing from the wildly popular and successful theme of the victorious presidential campaign, we see change abrew as the economy and the world of sports collide. Yet, with business deals slipping through team owners’ fingers like sand through the hourglass, the Yankees remain partially made of Teflon. Well, at least their stadium technology is obsolescence-proof. or so the claim goes. Funny thing, that technology – always going and becoming obsolete. Remember the top-of-the-line, super cool, room-sized computer you had in 1990??? But don’t worry about that, Yankees fans, go and enjoy the ‘artness’ of your audio-visual experience at the new Yankee Stadium, if you can afford a ticket. And try not to forget that there’s an actual game going on. Maybe Derek Jeter will even do your kid’s math homework.

Though The Girls are still basking in the glow of a Phillies World Series victory, they are slowing down on the champagne (Yuengling) intake long enough to recognize the phenom that is SF Giants’ pitcher, Tim Lincecum. Snagging his first of many Cy Young Awards, this time for the National League. Check out that stride - it was responsible for 25% of the Giants’ 72 wins this year.

Given his new status, he might be reaching down for something else than the frickin’ dollar at the end of his delivery. But then again, he might be reaching for more dollars than ever…

Over in the world of college football, LSU and ‘Bama prove that their fan base needs barely a trigger to escalate school pride into homicide. Maybe someone will write a song about that. Or maybe they’ll write a song about the continuing struggle of the colleges to protect their ‘student athletes’ by prohibiting a football playoff format. Um, excuse us as we choke on that statement like a piece of gristle.

Oh hey, the final NASCAR race is this weekend in Miami. It’s for all the beans. There is such excitement in the air as we all wonder who will come away with the prize. Okay, all right, we are really waiting for the season, a foregone Jimmie Johnson extravaganza, to conclude so we can get right to the banquet. Our loyal listeners know that we will not deprive them of a full rundown of that night’s prom-meets-roast festivities. The biggest question in NASCAR right now is not who will win, but which car manufacturers will still be in the game by next year’s Daytona 500.

Here we go, we’re just going to say it so we can get blasted later: The Lakers Are Winning The NBA championship. There, it’s done. Let the chips fall where they may. Although, LeBron’s mysterious 41-point gaming is an enigma to everyone – does it have a higher meaning? Big kudos to Shaun Livingston for proving that not only can you tear everything in your leg without it actually falling off your body – you can also play professional ball again (yes, we know he’s playing 3rd string with the Heat, but still). Some pants prunes on him for even surviving the rehab.

In the NFL, where do we start? With Roger Goodell and his merry band of fine-flingers? With the new ‘Tuck Rule’? With employment packages and conditions for the refs? With gift ideas for your favorite football fan? With Kerry Collins as the only unbeaten QB? With Brady experiencing acute stiffness upon his return to Foxboro? With McNabb experiencing acute out-of-breathness after running 17 yards? We’ll just let you listen in.

Speaking of acute afflictions, the Rangers – suffering from acute tight-wadness, try to exact a compensatory pick for the deceased Alexei Cherepanov, claiming that he would be technically eligible to be drafted next year. Um, in what capacity? From bad behavior to good – the St. Louis Blues have some interesting AHL-like promos to get butts in the seats and tackle the economy.

Our It Has To Be Said for the week tackles the delicate subject of a living spouse dying soon after the other passes away. Make sure everything is tied down tight in this time of tumultuous change and get ready to talk sports with The Girls!

Last but not least…a big thanks to all of you who voted for the Fantoo Girls in the 2008 Podcast Awards. We did not manage to bring it home this year, and must put our tiaras and taffeta back in the drawer. But there’ always next year and we were happy to be in the running.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 13th, 2008 at 1:43 pm and is filed under Fantoo Blog Home. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.