Farewell, Steve.. May the Packers always win in Heaven

It is with deepest regrets that I inform you, our loyal SBS readers, that Steve Samichlaus passed away suddenly last Thursday, July 15th 2010. I thought it would be fitting to spend some time and space over here remembering him and recalling how we went from co-workers to long distance sports blogging buddies. And, of course, friends.

I met Steve in the spring of 1999, when I joined a computer consulting company called Datalan in White Plains, NY. I was just entering the world of software development after a couple stints doing QA out of college. He was the veteran network engineer type. They had this weird office layout. There weren't cubicles in the traditional sense. There were "mini-walls" that separated people from one another while facing each other. But then you were directly back-to-back with the person behind you. No wall. Steve was directly behind me, my "back-to-back workspace neighbor." (That's not as dirty as it sounds, trust me.)

Steve immediately made me feel welcome and comfortable. And we quickly found a common interest in football. He was a die-hard Packers fan. I am a geographically challenged Seahawks fan. Since Holmgren had just recently taken the job in Seattle after becoming a legend in Green Bay, Steve knew enough about the team and could even somewhat hope they did well for Holmgren's sake.

Although Steve and I didn't interact a whole lot during those years (as a network engineer, he wasn't in the office all that often) we had our share of laughs, softball games, and post-softball beers. And I can honestly say I always enjoyed his company. He had this unusual ability to be serious when needed and completely off the wall fall down hysterical at any time. All while being a completely genuine person.

Eventually I left Datalan to take a job in the city. But we stayed in touch via email. It seemed we could discuss football at length, give pretty deep opinions about teams and players, and even make picks on games. We attended each others' weddings. We met up for beers a couple times. Steve was an early supporter of my band Beer Drinking Fools, and even won the first official BDF contest! His prize? A free BDF t-shirt, a chance to have some beers with the band, and then he came and jammed with us at the practice studio. I'll have to see if I can dig up that Mp3 somewhere, I think I might have it somewhere. He was a pretty good guitarist.

(Oh, and let me not forget that when we first were discussing getting the band back together and where we would practice, it was Steve that directed us to the Abbey Tavern on 3rd Avenue and 26th street. That place was awesome. It became our weekly pre-practice ritual to meet up there after work, have some pints and some burgers, and then head over to practice. The Guinness was good for you and the service was excellent. In fact, the BDF song "Dear Abbey" is written about that bar. Sadly, it's no longer the Abbey. It's been turned into some trendy yuppie hellhole. But thank you, Steve, for introducing us to the place.)

This blog was born with the idea that some other sports fans might enjoy the email conversations we usually had discussing sports. And while we haven't always kept up-to-date with as many posts as we might have liked, it was always enjoyable to read his posts and carry on the conversation.

I last heard from Steve a little over a month ago, and it was classic him. I thought I'd share the email to put a fitting final entry on this site, as carrying on the sports dialogue without him just wouldn't be the same.

To put a little context on the email, I'm a Michigan Wolverins fan. Based solely upon seeing the movie "Red Dawn" when I was in my early teens, and it seemed pretty fucking cool for a bunch of high school kids to be running around shouting "Wolverines!" while they mowed down commie invaders with AK-47s.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Samichlaus
Sent: Friday, June 11, 2010 5:16 PM
To: Steve St. Ides
Subject: You have ruined me

Red Dawn is on HBO and I am compelled to watch it.

Dude, this is one bad movie.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: RE: You have ruined me
Date: Sun, 13 Jun 2010 13:35:14 -0500
From: Steve St. Ides
To: Steve Samichlaus

Hahah, the original or the remake? I haven't seen the remake. The original was awesome though... when I was 14... Haven't seen it lately so it might not hold up very well. :P

Sup? How bout that Big Ben jerk? I'm excited about Seattle. Excellent draft, new coach (though I was never a fan of Carroll). With the Cardinals losing Warner to retirement, the NFC West is wide open.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Steve Samichlaus
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 8:57 AM
To: Steve St. Ides
Subject: RE: You have ruined me

I figured you'd be (walter) jonesing football after the draft Seattle had. Right now Seattle's had the best offseason I think of anybody out there, and I think they could easily win their division So the Pete Carroll thing... I really liked him when he was the defensive coordinator for the Jets and the Niners, he was this young brilliant up and comer. But as time has gone on I just don't think he's a very good man. Didn't some other college coach accuse him of shacking up with some co-ed? Anyway I think thatright now I don't know what to think about him. I just don't get a warm and fuzzy feeling....

So I was watching one of those "Top Ten" shows on NFL network this weekend, it was top ten rookie seasons I think, and Rapistburger was 8 or 9. One of the comments that were made was "Somehow this guy drops to Pittsburg's slot, and the Steelers are thrilled. I mean, I don't know what the other teams saw that they didn't like". All I could think was "uhh, character issues???" My favorite part of this story is hearing about his "move". In every "Big Ben" story his move is to get drunk, segregate the girl, and pull is pee pee out. Nice. Sounds like one of my moves, though quite frankly mine looks nothing like a clock or the tower of London.

The Red Dawn I was watching was the original with Patrick Swayze. I'll give it to you because you were 14 and that's about where this movie lives, but the ending when Swayze is, well, cuddling his dead buddy is pretty gay even for a 14 year old. Maybe I should watch the whole thing for a little context. I dunno. That's two hours I'll never recover...

Oh, one thought on the Packers offseason: it's all summed up in a post I put on Facebook: "Welcome to the NFL Free Agency Season, or as Packer fans refer to it: 'Passover'"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We'll miss you, Steve. I'll raise a beer and toast you, and remember you any time I see the Packers on TV.

Wildcard Sunday!

According to Blogger.com this is our 300th post at SBS! That’s quite a milestone. OK, I thought I’d have more to write about said milestone but that’s all I’ve got. The truth is I haven’t had any coffee yet and I have a pretty busy day ahead of me. I need to pick up a few gameday groceries (chicken wings to be precise, oh and onion soup for the dip mix), and I need to take the dog out for a walk. Honestly. I can’t contain the excitement. Well, the Packers are in the playoffs and the games start soon, so let’s get to the predictions!


Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots (-3.5)
There is some discussion amongst us sports geniuses as to the impact of the loss of Wes Welker for New England. Welker is a serviceable possession receiver who has a knack for getting open on third down and is good for yards after the catch. I like Welker, but New England will not miss him. The reason is rookie receiver Julian Edelman. Edelman is a gifted athlete, built like Welker with similar skills. What he lacks is the experience that the veteran Welker has accumulated. But Edelman has had the year to be Welker’s understudy and will fill in nicely. With that said I’m taking the Pats and the points. New England is arguably the best home team in the league, and should handle the up and down Ravens with ease. I like Baltimore, but this week they’re in over their heads. Patriots 37 Ravens 20

Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals (+2.5)
Last week the Packers dominated the Cardinals who chose to rest their top players in what was a glorified exhibition game. I really liked Mike McCarthy’s approach: play the starters and let them dominate. I believe this will carry over to this week’s game. After a pedestrian 4-4 start to the season the Packers have played above and beyond my expectations. Had it not been for the loss to the Stealers the Packers would have effectively run the table after the inauspicious start. I’ve never thought much of the Cardinals, but they continue to prove me wrong. The Cards seem to always win the big games when they need to so that gives me pause for today. They are a veteran team, defending NFC champs who were a freak play from winning the Super Bowl. They have the experience that the Packers do not. But today I think the better team will win, and that means I’m taking the Packers. Packers 31 Cardinals 20

Your Saturday Games.

I feel like crap. I started sneezing Thursday morning at around 2:30 AM and have not been right since. I'm taking Claritin and Benadryl, and shooting some Vicks nasal spray up my honker for good measure. I have band practice tomorrow and haven't picked up an instrument since New Years Eve. So please constant reader take Ol' Samichlaus's picks with a grain of salt, or at least a shot of Makers Mark which I had plenty of on said Eve. And maybe just maybe if I feel up to it, we'll do Sundays games tomorrow...

New York Jets at Cincinnati Bengals (-2.5)
After what the Jets did to the Bengals last week, I was a bit dumb struck that the Bengals were listed as the favorites. However, the more I think about it the more it makes sense. The Jets are a one dimensional team: stop the run and you beat them, and last week the Jets ran all over the Bengals. The O line of the Jets were blowing guys up all over the field: it was almost as though the Bengals were playing possum. When the Jets ran their Wildcat formations, the Bengals simply let them score. It was too good to be true. I think this week is going to be different. I really do think that to some extent the Bengals were indeed playing possum. And the Bengals have been hard to beat at home. I like what the Jets have done this season. They have a great defense. They have a great O line. And they have a QB with tremendous upside in Mark Sanchez. Rex Ryan seems to be a good head coach. The team took a good first step this year, but it ends here. I like the Bengals to win and cover.   Bengals 24 Jets 17

Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (-3.5)
This is hard for me to admit but the Cowboys right now are playing the best football in the NFC. In fact, Tony Romo has been absolutely lights out the last 3 weeks. The Cowboys D has pitched two consecutive shutouts, and most importantly the team has gotten behind beleagured coach Wade Phillips. I really hate the Cowboys. But the Eagles, that's a whole other story. I watched the game Sunday at a bar in North Carolina, and the Eagles were absolutely pathetic. The thing that struck me is that they had something to play for and they didn't bother to show. The Cowboys dominated every aspect of the game and won easily. They clearly have built up enough momentum to carry them into this week. I'll take the Cowboys in a game that won't be close:   Dallas 34 Philadelphia 14

The new Anonymous?

Here at SBS we love it when our reader gets involved. Back when Anonymous graced these pages a tradition of back and forth banter was established between those who read and those who wrote. Indeed when Mrs. Samichlaus (aka Kiki) was a regular contributor I actually had a reasonable chance to improve my odds of having nookie by simply acknowledging her comments as a loyal SBS reader. So I wanted to take a moment to address Wisconsin's own Dan Glarus who had this to say after we failed to provide picks for week 17:

"apparently week 17 isn't important enough to comment on...or are you saving your predictions for for wildcard (or should I say) rematch weekend."

Yoiks and away

Dan, let me apologize. We are sorry that we didn't post picks last week.

Of course at some point you must have read the ongoing saga with St. Ides, uhh, ziti pool. Of course St. Ides would never compete in a money pool since such pools are illegal. St. Ides was leading his ziti pool by three games going into week 16 and had calculated that he needed six winners over the course of 2 weeks to win 5000 boxes of ziti. The way his ziti pool works is each player donates 200 boxes of ziti at the beginning of the season. Then the players pick five winners against the point spread every week. At the end of the season the records against the spread are counted up and the person with the most wins gets to take home all the ziti. Now don't for a minute think that just because St. Ides is Irish means he doesn't like ziti. St. Ides loves ziti as much as any of us, oh and lets not forget that the beautiful Mrs. St. Ides is Italian.

Anyway,week 16 turned out to be quite a disaster. St. Ides went 1-4 while the number two guy went 5-0. St. Ides was in second place, which really made him sad because as I mentioned before he really likes ziti:

Kill me now. I go 1-4, the guy right behind me goes 5-0. Un-fucking-believable. Talk about a choke job. I go from 3 game lead to trailing by 1.

I'm really about to jump out my window. Sadly, it's only 1 story up, so I'd probably only sprain an ankle.

Oh, and all 4 late games were very important to me. At halftime, all 4 were going my way. By the end, all 4 had gone against me. Between this and Seattle seemingly going reverting to their shitty pre-Holmgren days, I can't ever remember hating football so much.

Steve St. Ides

The truth is I really couldn't ask St. Ides to think about football last week. I mean if the whole ziti thing isn't enough please remember that St. Ides roots for the Seahawks. I mean, even Redskins fans have something to look forward to next season. But not St. Ides.

I haven't heard from my partner in crime this week. I imagine they're still adjusting his medications. Oh, and if St. Ides won his ziti pool I'm sure he would have let me know. So no, we didn't do picks last week, but tell you what: I'll make sure I share my opinions about rematch weekend later today.

And as for St. Ides, I hope he makes some picks. I enjoy reading his opinions as I am sure all of our reader do.