I apologize for disappearing Thursday and Friday. Then again, there really wasn’t anything to report from those two days until 7:15, when I arrived at the Overland Park Marriott.

Two things totally distracted me Thursday. One was The Simpsons marathon on FXX which began at 9 a.m. FXX is airing every episode of The Simpsons in order, 552 in all, through Labor Day. My parents, my brother and I watched The Simpsons religiously in its early years, although I fell off the wagon when I favored King of the Hill when it first came on the air in 1997.

Love them or hate them, The Simpsons has resiliency. Look at the thousands of shows which have come and gone since The Simpsons first premiered as a stand-alone 30-minute show December 17, 1989. Prior to going on its own, The Simpsons were shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show on Fox beginning in 1987.

I’m just glad The Simpsons got away from centering the series around Bart. I found Homer and other characters outside the Simpson family to be far more intriguing. If I had to pick a favorite character, it would be the neurotic professor Dr. John Frink. I love his gibberish. Mr. Burns is also up there among my favorites. As for the Simpson family, I wish Maggie would have more starring episodes. She cracks me up.

The second distraction Thursday was Sports Jeopardy. I knew the creators of Jeopardy were starting a sports-themed edition which would air online and would be hosted by Dan Patrick, whose daily national radio show is also simulcast on NBC Sports Network.

Jacques Doucet, a sports anchor at WAFB, the CBS affiliate in Baton Rouge, sent me a link with tryout information Thursday. I missed the deadline this year, but hopefully I can try out in 2015. The questions aren’t the problem; the interview will be. Just hope it makes it to season 2.

I downloaded the Sports Jeopardy app for my iPhone, and of course, I was immediately addicted. There were a few questions in a few esoteric categories I was stumped by, but for the most part, I was kicking butt.

I left the house Thursday for a little while to drop in on Larry Bernard at Russell High and visit Jack and Kathy at the office.

Friday was a drag, at least for the first 15 hours. I could not get going, period. I wasn’t aiming to get out too early, but I wasn’t fully awake until 2:20. I kept dozing off during The Simpsons marathon before I finally realized I had better get it in gear. By time I left at 3:20, The Simpsons marathon was on the episode where Marge and Ned Flanders starred in Springfield’s production of A Streetcar Named Desire. That episode became infamous in New Orleans when Chief Wiggum led the chorus of a song which laid bare all of the negative aspects of the Big Easy, causing a stir among the city’s media and citizenry.

The trip east was uneventful, save for the idiot without a toll tag who got stuck in the tag-only lane at the Kansas Turnpike toll plaza near Bonner Springs. It took me less than five minutes to check in at the Overland Park Marriott and unload my stuff, and by 7:25, I was on my way to Zona Rosa and Buffalo Wild Wings.

Lisa said she would meet me there, but she got bogged down in homework from her college courses. Understood. However, she did take the time to come see me for a few minutes late, which meant a lot. I also got to see several of my favorites on the Buffalo Wild Wings team, especially Liz’s mom, Nadine. It was worth it.

I”m trying to get myself in gear this morning and out the door. I think I’ve finally got the sleeping part whipped. Now I’ve got to get in the shower and make myself presentable.