Sometimes, I take emo too far

So I'm just thinking back this evening about J.D. Salinger. Like many, my first exposure to his work was in sophomore year of high school - the assignment of The Catcher In The Rye. I really took to J.D. and his work immediately, being the severe emo kid that I was. After that phase, I became a serious English major in college and dropped J.D. in exchange for more sophisticated and important authors. Then, maybe about a year or a little more ago, I became more interested in his work than ever.

I don't know what exactly caused it. Certain theories might include concerns about getting older (a common Salinger theme), degeneration of my critical capabilities (something I worry about every single day), or - maybe - a true appreciation of his ability to construct beautiful sentences that resound with truth.

Here're my favorite Salinger moments in my personal history:

• Making a photocopy of the elusive short story Hapworth 16, 1924 from the original copy of The New Yorker from Hesburgh Library for a girlfriend, complete with a rainbow-emblazoned cover made on Power Point. (At the time, I disliked that short story greatly, but perhaps I should check it out again.)
• Writing inspirational messages on my mirror with leftover shards of soap.
• Listening in horror to a friend's story of manufactured hatred toward Salinger - his sophomore year tests included review questions on the number of keys on Holden's typewriter or some other such pedantic bullshit.
• Admiring the dioramas in the Museum of Natural History with more than a little bit of meta-respect.
• Finally piecing together a comprehensive theory of the Glass family.
• Thinking about Salinger every time I think about the name of the degree you get at the end of law school. (J.D.)
  
• Checking out poets almost completely due to recommendations in Seymour: An Introduction.
  

Mitchell Report Leak

#5 has been listed on the leaked list from the Mitchell Report set to come out this afternoon.

I'm not going to say that this is entirely unexpected, but I always hoped for the best. I believe that Rick's used to come back from injury and that it was legal for use at the time. That does not mean that he deserves a pass, and certainly #5 doesn't either. McGwire will never make it to Cooperstown and his number probably will never be hung in Busch, either, and that's the way it should be. Yet, I still yearn for some explanation, some way to distinguish these circumstances from #25's.

This is definitely a ramble and emote session, but all my analytical faculties are tied up right now in legal stuff. I might reason this through later but the emotional harm I've sustained through this sports season has been difficult to deal with. Tragedy has been lurking around every corner, all brightness extinguished. In many ways, this sports year for me has been the mirror image of 2006. For all its joys, 2006 held some disappointments, to be sure but it has been nothing like 2007. There's not a single bright spot, not one. Even teams I moderately enjoy following, like the Redskins and Bears [a distant fifth place in my sports hierarchy] have endured great tragedy and competitive futility, respectively.

I have no other option but to bid good riddance to this entire sports year, for the sake of my grades, at least. However, from a purely emotional standpoint, I will not hesitate to say that this has been the most horrendous year in sports in my entire life.

[Update 2:14pm: According to CTRL-F, Pujols not listed in the report. Deep breath.]