CBS Sunday Morning Power Rankings

 Random Introductory Topic I could not begin to tell you how excited 2004-me would have been for for September 1, 2022. In fact, 2004 me did see both Spoon and Interpol live at the once venerable Newport, KY venue the Southgate House. Alas, what was once the Southgate House is now the Thompson House , and despite claims to the contrary, they no longer seem all that interested in putting on live music event. The spiritual successor, the Southgate House Revival , tries its darndest, but does not draw the acts the Southgate House could in its heyday. It seems to be good for at least one E6 show a year though, so that's something. Two things srike 2022-me about the situation. First, I could never be as excited as 2004-me would have been about this. I guess that's part of growing older. Two generations of hipsters have made of Boomers still shoveling out cash to go see Rolling Stones gigs, although I don't think you could classify Arena shows as gigs. Is it some sense subconsc...

Regrettably, we've fallen behind here at CBS SUNDAY MORNING POWER RANKINGS . A common re-occurrence, I suppose a recap is whys and wherefores of our slow start to 2022 is not why you are checking in - I can hear my one reader out there shouting, "Just get to the damn show!" Well, these oftentimes confessional introductory paragraphs are not required reading, so feel free to skip to the power rankings if you wish - they are clearly labelled below. But in case you are wondering what has been distracting me the non-obligation of pushing these posts out in a timely fashion, I give you the following list: The Cincinnati Bengals highly unlikely Super Bowl run. Not an excuse for this week, I know... Tennis. The Australian Open ended last week so you don't have to listen to me on that unless I decide to circle back to complete my unfinished "Requiem for Jennifer Brady's Foot." Back injury. So I somehow aggravated my back taking a shower of all things a few weeks...

Unexpectedly, improbably the Cincinnati Bengals are going to Super Bowl LVI. I was five years old the last time that happened. I was seven the last time any Cincinnati sports team played for a championship of any kind. I need some time to process this. This happened. I have two weeks to unpack this. Until then, I'll tie it into Sunday Morning by bringing up that Tracy Smith is from the Cincinnati 'burbs and currently based in LA. The Super Bowl is in LA. I don't know when she would moved away or if she's a Bengals fan, but Bengals fans/ Sunday Morning recap bloggers are clamoring for Tracy Smith-Joe Burrow interview to hype the game. I know that media rights pretty much prohibit because NBC is carrying the game this year, but crazier things have happened this year - see the above picture. Heroes & Villains Please forgive an obsessive tennis fan a few words about the Australian Open. Halfway through the Świątek/Kanepi quaterfinal, I texted the following to a friend...

This be the entry for the final Sunday Morning episode of 2022. (Arrr, a pirate be I, says I.) I suppose the end of the year can be a time for reflection, which is where the whole idea of New Year's resolutions come from - what can I do better in 2022? As a Catholic, I'm already supposed to be pondering that for Lent, Advent, and, you know, pretty much any time I'm awake . I don't really believe in New Year's resolutions. The times I've wanted to make a change in my life, I just made them. I've been most successful at getting active and losing weight. Of course, what has helped the most with that is finding a network of friends that encouraged such pursuits. Sort of a chicken or egg thing though, because I found said friend group primarily because I was trying to get into biking in the first place. The group of friends definitely helped it stick though. Other things I tried to change or improve about myself have been more hit or miss. There's nothing a...