In retrospect ...

It's everywhere ...

No matter where you went today. No matter what water cooler you drank from. No matter what newspaper you read. No matter what TV station you watched. It was there ...

NBC's Brian Williams tonight called it 'The call heard 'round the world.' Already going down as a play in postseason lore, it will become even more notorious if the Angels lose this series.

Almost 24 hours later I'm still having trouble getting over it. And even after debating the play with a cohort at work today -- who I might add is a pretty hard Sox fan who seems to thinks he's always right -- I'm still convinced the ump, Doug Eddings, made the wrong call. And I was reassured that I (let's emphasize the capital I...) was right when they showed the replay for the one zillionth time on local news tonight in super slow motion and it shows Angels catcher Josh Paul's mitt clearly between the ground and the ball. The way I saw it, the ball dropped into the outer webbing of Paul's outstretched mitt and then bounced into the palm of the glove. On top of that, how Eddings, standing behind Paul, had a clear view of the ball's direction is beyond me...

It seems a majority of the talking heads and polls tonight, I might add, are also showing that most people believe the ump made the wrong call. You'd never know by listening to A.J. Pierzynski though. Every new interview I see of him, starting with the postgame last night to standing at his locker this afternoon, shows him stretching the truth further. Last night he said he ran on pure instinct. Today's he's saying her heard two clear noises as if the ball hit the dirt and then skipped into Paul's glove...

Ah, who am I kidding... Mike Scioscia said it best after the game. If the Angels had played better, we wouldn't even be talking about this. ... Let's hope the Angels play well enough to keep us from lumping the play with Don Deckinger, Bill Buckner and Steve Bartman.

Here's what others are saying:
a Chicago Tribune, Mike Downey: An ending too unbelievable for words
a Associated Press: The morning after -- Angels and White Sox head West, fans head for water coolers
a LA Times: Angels Lose Game in Bizarre Ending
a USA Today: White Sox pull out controversial win in ninth
a Tim Dahlberg: Controversy makes series worth watching
a Jim Caple: Mr. Eddings ... you're guilty
a Umpire's Call Is Defended By MLB
a NY Times: Umpire Giveth, and White Sox Taketh Away

and pllllllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaassssse!!!

Pierzynski is NOT a hero...

* * *
'Lost' last night was pretty good. Maybe even the best of the season thus far ...

Yes, Hurley's dream during the opening sequence was a trip, but it didn't trick me. I had it pegged for a dream the moment Jin started speaking English. Yet, I found Hurley's backstory and his reasonable resistance to change to be one of the most endearing of any on the island. ... The best part of the episode were the scenes of everyone, thanks to Hurley, laughing and feasting on the beach. And then we got that topped with the revelation that Rose's significant other really is ok!

But please. Finally, we were treated to an episode during which Jack wasn't Mr. Attitude. (The scene of him walking in on Kate in the shower was pretty comical) Thank you ... now we have to deal with Miss Attitude leading 'the others' clan. I agree, Sawyer SHOULD kill her ...

... I didn't get around to watching 'Invasion' (...which by the way has a cool web site!) until my lunch break this morning. And, thankfully, last night's episode finally kept my attention for almost all 60 minutes. ... Now if only the writers could give us one of those 'Lost'-like flashbacks to show us what the heck is Tom's (aka Sheriff Creepy's) backstory.

* * *
It hasn't taken a lot of news-watching lately to make me awestuck at what kind of crazy year this has been ... a tsunami, the unending war in Iraq, Katrina, the Pakistan earthquake and now flooding in the northeast ...

Makes you really thankful for what you've got and reminds you NEVER to take anything for granted ...