Ahhh...

Do you hear that? No?

Me either.

That, my friends, is the sound of an empty house.

Yep... first day of school here in NEPA. Nolan and Jake are off to learn their ABCs (and whatever other liberal crap that passes these days for education), Katey is at University, Liz is on her way to work... and I have the next two days off.

The morning went surprisingly well, actually. The whole house over-slept by about 20 minutes, but no one was crabby, fussy or belligerent and all got to where they needed to be on time, dressed and loaded with the necessities of the new school year.

Now, even more than bringing to mind the certainty of early afternoon naps on the couch and blissful quiet until 3 PM, this time of the year brings something else to my mind:

Football.

Jambo and our good friend John drafter the Cheesehead's roster this Monday past... and they did a hell of a job. I'm SO impressed, I thought I'd share the roster with all of you.

In no particular order (unless otherwise noted) here it is:

QB Aaron Rodgers, GB

QB Joe Flacco, BAL

RB Michael Turner, ATL

RB Ahmad Bradshaw, NYG

RB Michael Bush, OAK

RB Pierre Thomas, NO

WR Percy Harvin, MIN

WR Jeremy Maclin, PHI

WR Jordy Nelson, GB

WR Lee Evans, BAL

WR Mike Williams, TB

K Mason Crosby, GB

K David Akers, SF

Vikings DEF

Raiders DEF

Maclin and Harvin are studs, no matter who throws the ball, and Aaron Rodgers is the odds on favorite to lead his team to the next NFC Championship game. He's projected to have a 4k yard season, another 30 TDs and an average fantasy score (in our league, anyway) of more than 35 ppg. Thomas was a STEAL at where they picked him (9th round, I believe)... and YES, we know he'll share touches, but he is as good a receiver as he is a running back, and that is worth double points in our league.

In fact, Rodgers and Thomas square off in the season opener for both teams at Lambeau Field a week from Thursday. Potentially our two biggest scorers of the week playing on a Thursday night... we could start the season off with a BANG that game, huh? Brees and "da Saints" are looking to reassert themselves as Superbowl contenders (which I still feel they are) against the reigning champion Packers, and if the Packer defense is still tough as nails, Thomas will get his screen pass yardage all night long, with at least one TD before the game is over.

It was a good summer... but DAMN I love the fall.