The Whiskey Vault

The Whiskey Vault
This year's Whiskey Vault outing with Texas Auto Writer Association buddies in Austin for the Texas Truck Rodeo.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Some Worries Are Bigger Than Others

It's late Friday morning and I have two worries on my mind. That one of them has to do with the Steelers in the Super Bowl, is some sort of a statement, I guess, on the absence of true adversity in my life. That's really not the case; I have simply trained myself to ignore my larger problems.

No, this morning I am still concerned about my Hong Kong flights. I fly out of Greenville-Spartanburg Airport at 7:30 AM on Monday and issues regarding my flights continue to linger. What I have seen of my itinerary is in two separate pieces: domestic and international. I have a question as to whether these flights were booked at the same time by the same agent or if they are considered, by the various airlines involved, as separate trips. If they are considered separate, I will be forced to check in when I leave Greenville and again when I reach JFK. If I check a bag, I'll have to retrieve it at JFK and recheck it to Hong Kong. I await an answer on this question.

Moreover, at least for the domestic portion of this trip, the tickets are in just my middle name, rather than my full name as current FAA regulations demand. I have been assured by the PR agency handling arrangements on this end that they are trying to make the required change. Tic-toc, tic-toc.... If they can't, I'll be sitting this trip out.

A lessor issue: Whether I must recheck my bag at JFK or not will determine how I pack and which suitcase I take. Rechecking my bag will mean I'll pack very light and use my carry-on rollerboard. If I don't have to recheck, I'll take everything I think I might need and use my larger, 5-day suitcase. There is still plenty of time to pack.

The other topic on my mind is the health of Steelers starting center Pro Bowler Maurkice Pouncey. In a story in the online edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette this morning, it was reported that further x-rays revealed that not only is Pouncey's ankle sprained, but there is a broken bone as well. He is now in a plaster cast. For what is, for all intents and purposes, the Steelers second-string offensive line, Pouncey has been the leader credited with making it work. Now he is gone.

Doug Legursky replaced Pouncey after the opening drive in the game against the Jets. If you don't count the two points it gave the Jets, the offense didn't score during the second half. Was that all do to the loss of Pouncey? Probably not, but it certainly had a hand in it.

Legursky will enter the Super Bowl with two weeks of snapping the ball as the presumed starter. That should make a difference. I hope it's enough. It worries me, though.

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