Michigan 14--PSU 9

( S I G H )

They simply have our number, and again, we beat ourselves. But unlike 2005, there aren't calls that went a little too far the Michigan way, or mysterious seconds being added to the clock.

There were just critical fumbles, and lackluster playcalling.

And an amazing defensive performance. Again. Talk about heroes.

I had been so good all week. I didn't talk smack. I respectfully read Michigan blogs to see what they were saying, and noted a quiet unease about this match-up. Normally, I would have put a sign on my desk that changed every day that starts "Ann Arbor is (fill in the blank)." For example, Ann Arbor is...a girl I would never take home to my mother.

But this week, nothing. I was nervous about this game, and in the end, it came out much as I expected. I warned my friend Morris not to invest heavily on PSU with his sports entertainment broker (you may know that as a bookie), but he didn't listen to me, and lost big.

But still, this morning I woke up in Baghdad, and unlike most of the 5 million people in this city, could take a hot shower, relax in air conditioning, and have an easy commute to my office. And as I type this entry, I just felt the not-too-distant thud, and felt the concussion, of what was probably a car bomb. No sign of smoke from the windows, so perhaps, insha'allah, it was my imagination.

It sort of puts things in perspective. (Or maybe that's just my post-game day coping mechanism!)

More later on my Sunday morning activities.