Get comfy in your couch, Fall has (nearly) arrived

Labor Day has passed, and it's time to start thinking about Fall.

Although, in SoCal, you tend not to notice the seasons passing as they do in the rest of the country. We tend to see things in more practical ways. You know, we're in Fire Season now, and soon it will be Flood Season. It's pretty much always Crime Season.

Anyway ...

But more than a change of seasons, Fall ushers in many important things in many of our lives. Mostly, more time in front of the television.

You see, pro football season and the Fall TV season are underway. The NFL kicked off Thursday, while new shows have started popping up across the dial. It's a couch potato's dream.

And the two do come at a time when the weather is starting to get a little cooler and the days are getting shorter. Who needs that pesky fresh air, anyway?

For me, football season really signifies one thing: Fantasy Football season. It's really the only reason I still pay close attention to the game ... I've got a stake in it.

Seriously. I could care less who wins the games each week, as long as my players do well enough for me to win each week, I'm happy. Even when we had our friendly competitions at the Bulletin, the wins in the league only mattered when they lined up with my choices.

I know that makes me a bad fan. You're not supposed to root for players - you're supposed to root for teams. But I just can't any more. I don't have a big screen TV with a dish to watch every game on every Sunday. Heck, I'm not even home on Sundays even if I did. Nor will I ever see myself shelling out the money to do so.

Sure, football is still entertaining, and you never know what will happen on any given Sunday (see Cincy-Denver this past week). But for the most part, football has become an overproduced, TV run event. The amount of actual sport that goes on in the 60 minute game (spread over three hours) is probably in the neighborhood of 20 to 25 minutes of game time. So, the other two-and-a-half hours is filled with talking, commercials, replays and standing around.

Meanwhile, with the Fall TV season, you expect overproduced fare to be hitting the airwaves. In fact, any new show that isn't overproduced probably wouldn't be making it onto a Fall schedule (especially at NBC).

I try each year to be at least informed enough about the new shows not to make snap judgments about each, and write them off before they've evened aired. But thanks to the Internet, I've actually gotten to see one new show before it debuts.

That show is "Modern Family," a new "documentary style" comedy that will be on ABC, and I'm happy to say that it was as funny as promised by many of the critics who saw it way back in May.

But, unfortunately, I don't expect to survive. Why?

Well, first it's going to be up against "Glee" on the schedule out of the gate. And most of the hipsters and buzz generators will be watching that. The teens and young girls will be over at the CW, watching back-to-back glamour with "America's Next Top Model" and "The Beautiful Life" and CBS will probably have some crime show that will trump them all (and no one cares about NBC, since Leno's going to be on in an hour anyway).

Second, sadly, was a critique by a commenter on the message board provided with the show. I can't quote it verbatim, but it was something to the effect of "When will you people learn we're still not comfortable seeing the gays."

The show is centered around three generations of one family. You've got the divorced father, who's remarried a hot and feisty Colombian half his age (and she has a 11-year-old who could be best described as Bobby Hill from "King of the Hill"). There's his daughter, who is married with three kids (15, 12ish and 10ish). And his son, who's been in a five-year relationship with his boyfriend, and just adopted a child.

The writing was first-rate and the acting was spot on. They've even got the a "big named" guest star lined up for later in the season. But we're still having that conversation.

It seems to me that unless they're queeny to the point of ridiculousness, or making your clothes on "Project Runway," middle America can't take a portrayal of a gay person. Why not? What's wrong with an honest portrayal of what life is for 95 percent of the committed couples who would love nothing more than to be treated just like the rest of us straight folk?

The show played everything as real as a television show might (though, the 10-year-old's punishment for shooting his 12-year-old sister with a BB gun was for his father to shoot him).

I hope you get the chance to check it out a couple of Wednesdays from now, and really hope ABC gives it a long leash with room to grow.

One thought, one story

HAIL TO THE CHIEF: So, President Obama spoke to the children of America and ... nothing happened.

The republic is the same as it had been before he spoke. Students didn't revolt. No one was "indoctrinated."

What was the big deal again?

You know, I understand why people were making a fuss. A new president, who's shaking up the status quo with a contentious plan during the worse financial crisis in many of our lives, decided to talk to the children of the country. Obviously, he was trying to earn their support for health care.

Of course he wasn't. That would have been absolute political suicide.

Seems to me, he was just looking to talk to the youth of America like he would talk to his own kids. Strive hard, reach high and one day you'll be able to achieve any goal you want ... even be, dare I say, President.

What's wrong with that? Shouldn't every President strive to inspire the youth of America?

And lets face the truth: Even if President Obama went to the youth of America with his health care message, it would have flown right over the elementary school students' heads, the junior high students would have ignored it and the high schoolers woulda called bull****.

When you're a young student, the President is the "king." He's the one who can do whatever he wants. You may make campaign promises about putting Coke in the water fountains, but he'd be the one who could really do it.

And it didn't matter who it was. Reagan was the President for most of my formative school years, and as far as I was concerned, he was the greatest ever. And the day he was shot (I was in fourth grade) was one that our teachers made known was a national tragedy. In fact, the teacher was practically crying because someone would do that to America.

But as you get older, you start to realize more about the office than "He's the President and he can do no wrong." You start to build your own opinions about how things should - could - go in the country.

It's not until you've reached college that you "get" it. You realized that the eight years Reagan was in charge weren't as hunky-dory as you thought they were while you were in school. Or that Clinton was lying when he said he "didn't inhale." Sure he didn't ...

It's something I've thought about often since becoming a parent. How would I react about the President around my son, especially if I thought he was a grade-A moron?

The conclusion I always come to is that no matter what I think of the man, or his policies, he is the President. He was selected to take office by the laws of the country (by the way, thanks for those eight years, electoral collage). And as such, he deserves the respect of the office.

In other words, don't take away a piece of your kids' innocence by demonizing the person or the office. They'll learn it on their own.

KING ME: So, I've been away for a little bit. Been busy. Generally not a whole lot to write about.

Well, except for Hockeyfest.

If you were following along on Facebook, or you've been around me at all in the last couple of weeks, then you'll know we had a great time. Got four autographs, some cool pictures and had a good time riding the train (except for all the bags we were carrying at the event).

But the big story was trying to see if we could get Luc Robitaille. And boy did we.

We were waiting in line for the autograph session with Anze Kopitar and Teddy Purcell, and we knew that baby Luc's diaper was stinky. Ripe would be a good word. So, we're in this tent on top of a parking structure looking to find a place to change him.

I grabbed the diaper bag while Gina held our spot in line. I looked around and found a nice, quiet, out-of-the-way spot to get him cleaned up before we went up to meet the two players.

It was this bench over by the edge of the tent. No one during our time there had anyone walked along there. So, I get Luc lied down on the bench and start struggling to get him undressed to take care of the business at hand. Shoes, off. Shorts, off. Clean diaper and wipes out and ready.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see people walking toward me from my left. They're climbing over the similar benches that are placed on the other end of the walkway and heading straight toward me. Five or six people. "Great," I'm thinking, "I'm going to have my son's dirty ass hanging out as these people walk by."

I keep looking, and I realize I recognize one of the people walking toward us. "F'ing A, it's Luc Robitaille."

Yes, that's my luck.

With his group (not sure if it was people chasing him or people with him), they came toward us, and stepped up on the benches to walk to their destination. I looked up and said "Hi, Luc," and he looked down, smiled and said "Hi." I woulda paid anything to know what was running through his mind as he looked down at that scene.

Couldn't get anything else out, cause he was movin'. He winged past Gina, who called to tell me about the Luc sighting (I didn't hear the phone, and didn't answer). So, I continued what I was doing and started getting my son dressed.

Got his shorts up, getting ready to get his shoes, and looked to my right, and here comes Robitaille again. No one in tow this time. I say, "Luc, can we get a picture?" He's in a hurry. He takes the time to turn and say that he can't right now because he's needed over at the Nokia Theater for another part of the program, but to come over there and track him down.

So, we get through the autograph session, and decide we've had enough of the tent, let's go over to the Nokia. And as we round the corner for the front, there he is, outside talking on his cell phone. He walked inside, as did we, and he was still there, talking on his phone. And being polite people, we left him alone. He was still outside the main theater when we went in to hear some of the NHL Experts Panel, but gone when we left.

So, no picture. No autograph. But one helluva story.

Maybe he'll come out to Ontario next week for the preseason game. We can only hope.