Thursday, March 29, 2007

A Night With The Blonde Bomber

Last night I went to the Strand with my brother to see Terry Bradshaw speak. His speech "Why not your best?" was a hit.

Though he admittedly said that he simply chose the title because he thought it "Sounded Good" and didn't speak about anything to do with it, he was very entertaining and his football stories were both funny, and interesting. Our seats were amazing as we were 3rd row from TB. I got some really good photos and the best part was we were a little off to the right so we didn't get spit on by Bradshaw. (Yes the people front and center did.)



Bradshaw's thing is humor, and simplicity, and he portrayed himself the same way last night as he does on TV, so consistency is a good thing. I believe TB to be genuine, and it was an impressive set up last night for the most part.

Following the speech there was to be a meet and greet with TB that Laura so nicely decided to add to the tickets (Thank you baby.) This is where the night got weird....

There was no mention of a meet and greet or anything. No announcement, nothing. As we were waiting around not sure what to do, I noticed to my right 2 guys and a boy waiting as well. He was sporting his vintage Steelers Bradshaw jersey, a Steelers hat, and Zubaz pants. Yes, this guy for sure was going to the meet and greet, and he knew what was going on. So I asked him, and sure enough he knew it was going to be on the second floor, and all the details. We headed to the second level and found about 150 people up there with a bar, snack tables with cookies, veggie trays, cheeses, your basic party munchies. Unsure of the set up we thought there would be a table set up for him to sit, a line to walk up and get your pictures, handshake, and a little banter with him. After all this was a Meet and Greet right? Not so. There would be no table, or any kind of structured set up. You can probably see where this is going to lead. We walked around for a bit, got some things to eat and a couple beers from the stand (it was actually free?!?) and waited for the man to enter. We decided to try and figure out where he may enter from and not long after we got our drinks, he came walking through the door about 10 feet from us. This was cool because we were the closest people to him, we would be able to get to see him right away! Wrong. There was suddenly a mob surrounding us. I had my camera case over my shoulder, my camera in one hand, and my drink in the other with no place to put it. Well, I finally found a place to sit the drink and we tried to get in to get our picture and what not. We were within about 2 feet from him as people pushed there way in to see him. A lot of people were pushing their kids, and wives to get in there, along with a very ballsey guy with a broken arm who basically shoved his way through the crowd as if we owed it to him to let him through because he had a broken arm. Whatever dude, this was supposed to be a upscale event at the Strand and these people were just smothering him. After about 10 minutes of waiting in this mob, ever so close we came to the conclusion that we weren't getting in there, and even if we did there was no way we were going to get a good picture with him. No one was able to get good pictures in that environment, there was just no way. We decided to retreat and regather. We went to the end of the pack of people and decided once he got through there, we could possibly get a better chance to meet him. It was working perfectly, he was making his way toward us and we were even going to get this other guy to take a picture of us with him. He needed AA batteries, I had them, he owed me..whatever. So here he came, we were all set..and then suddenly...his bodyguards grabbed him, and they took him out of there! Just like that. Unsure of what just happened we approached one of the event people and Scott asked "Are the pictures with Mr Bradshaw finished?" "OH ABSOLUTELY" She said. This answer was unacceptable, after all you paid for a meet and greet. But, there was nothing more we could do. TB was gone, and we decided that we were gone too. We weren't going to hang around any longer.

We leave the Strand, and started walking to the car. We ended up parking across from the White Rose Bar and Grille, this was key because mostly everyone parked in the garage, and they missed it. They totally missed it. As we passed by the alley I noticed something. A running black town car, and a body guard standing beside it. What else did I see? The Zubaz guy again! YAHTZEE! It was the bomber's car! We decided that we would wait to see if we might be able to catch him on his way out the door. I was talking to Zubaz and he really wanted a picture of him and his boy and his buddy with TB, and Scott and I wanted our picture together, so we switched cameras with this guy and had it all set up..all we needed was an appearance from the bald man. After about 10 minutes, the trunk is popped on the car, and another bodyguard appears..here we go, it was time. TB follows and his response when he sees 5 people waiting for him in a dark alley? "You guy's are out here like a bunch of hooligans" I'm not sure he was real thrilled that we were out there, but once he saw we had the cameras switched, and Zubaz started talking to him, he was quick to oblige in a handshake, some light banter, and what you see below. By the way I asked him, so I know the story with Franco and the Immaculate Reception. I can't tell you if he caught it or not though.. :)

Needless to say..we got our Meet and Greet. I hope the event lady reads this and knows that only Zubaz and us got the real deal. "ABSOLUTELY"

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Bird Seed


I know the baseball season is starting, and the NBA is wrapping up, but I have to mention some off season NFL action. In what has been one of the craziest off season's in recent memory, the Eagles finally made some noise with the additions of Kevin Curtis, and most recently Takeo Spikes. I absolutely love the Spikes pickup! This guy was an anchor for the Bengals and for the year he was healthy the Bills had one of the best defenses in the league. Once TKO went down, so did Buffalo's defense. This guy is a game changer on defense, and coupling him with Trotter, our stellar D Line, and secondary and this defense could be a top 3 defense in the league talent wise. The knock on him will be that he is older (31) and injury prone, which I can't deny, but if he can stay healthy along with the Freak and Co watch out! Trotter, Jones, and Spikes at the linebacker position will give us 2 legitimate run stoppers, and some big hitting as well. This could be one of those moves that could win 1 or 2 more games for us this year.

With my bracket busted, it's time to focus on baseball, next Monday we finally get to see what these Phillies and Nationals teams can do. I predict one wins 70 games, and one wins 87. Which one do you think is which?

Monday, March 26, 2007

MRM: Say Anything

Say Anything is an 80's movie starring John Cusack, Joan Cusack, and John Mahoney (The father on Frasier.) Cusack is the man, he especially was in the 80's and this movie was nothing more then a reminder of that. Amazingly, this was the 1st time I saw this movie despite having seen the shot of Lloyd Dobler (John Cusack) holding that boom box over his head outside Diane Court's house.

The gist of the story is a high school setting, and Lloyd Dobler asks valedictorian and untouchable Diane Court out on a date and mysteriously she says yes. Come to find out they are a perfect match even though Dobler's only real desire in life is to kickbox, and hang out with Diane. The odd couple really hit it off, and as you would think they end up together. The great thing about this movie is it's unpredictable, yet happy ending. It has a good story line, and good acting in it. If you like the brat pack movies, such as Pretty in Pink, The Breakfast Club, or Sixteen Candles, give this movie a look and I think you will find it surpasses them all. 4 of 5 stars.

Thursday, March 22, 2007

AI 6 and Spring Fever

What a joke. As exciting as it is to follow AI it is equally frustrating as well. Stephanie Edwards was booted last night, while Sanjaya Malawful, Chris Sigh, who is apparently bringing "Chubby Back", and Phil Stacey (Ok, he's not that bad, but the bald head look does not work for this dude..see Chemo patient) outlast her. I think there is a simple solution to solving this problem, and that is limit the amount of times you can vote from a phone line. If you don't, then this is what you get. For crying out loud our current American Idol is Taylor Hicks!! If you think about it, that Peter Noone guy, (who i never heard of b4 this week's show) said it perfectly, it's NOT a singing competition. I can live with that, but at least give us some watchable TV, please. Yes, there are some good candidates left for the Idol...Blake, Sparks, Richardson, and Jones would all make good idols. I stand by my final 3 of Blake, Sparks, and Richardson, but at this point who knows what will happen. If Sligh, Doolittle, or god forbid, Malakar win, the show has officially became a joke. Don't get me wrong, Melinda is an excellent singer, but you can't have someone that unconfident become an IDOL, it just doesn't work that way. MJ brought that up a few weeks ago, and after thinking about it, she's right on, it's called American Idol, and you have to exude that to hold that title. This season can still be a success, but I am actually kind of hoping that show is fixed, and we are given the best talent at the end. It's time to get rid of the ridiculous Malakar please! This is getting to be worse the Covais now. Kids literally crying in the audience?? For this guy? Seriously? I mean if that shot of him doing the limbo or whatever with the Hawaiian music didn't crush whatever popularity he had what will? Ok..I'm going there..does the gay community have that many votes?? If my daughter was voting for or liked this kid, we'd have to have a serious talk.

On a positive note, it's awesome outside today! I'm on the bandwagon for Spring Fever, and with our baseball teams drafted and ready for action..let's get the season started. Spring Fever..catch it!

Tuesday, March 20, 2007

Play Ball!

Fantasy Baseball is upon us as Fantasy Basketball comes to a close. On Sunday we held the Keystone Ball and Stick League annual draft. It is a 12 team NL only league, so you have to get creative with your team. Here's how things panned out for me:

C- Johnny Estrada- (wanted to get McCann but couldn't pull the trigger early enough) I actually had the Indian ranked #3 on my catcher list, so I won't complain about this pick in rd 12.

1B- Derek Lee- I'm excited about this pick, as Lee should be a top 1B option with some speed. My 2nd rd pick would have been Carlos Lee had he been available, but the horse was gone. I'm happy with "settling" for Lee and for once have a solid option at 1st.

2B- Brandon Phillips- I had him for part of the year last year and Brandon was solid. One of the few 2nd sackers that can rack up steals, and RBI. I was looking at Ricky Weeks, but he was snared prior to my pick. I expect a nice year from Phillips.

3B- David Wright- My 1st rd pick #6 overall should be the top option at 3B this year and I liked him for his mixture of power and speed (20+ steals from a 3B is great). The fixture of my lineup should be better then ever in a stacked lineup and 2 years MLB experience under his belt.

SS- Rafael Furcal- I always end up with this guy. There are 5 big time base stealers from the SS position, and Furcie is one of them. I fell fortunate to have at least one of the 5 guys.

LF- Cliff Floyd?!?- I messed up. I thought Giles could play center, and he can't, so for the time being Floyd is my left fielder. Hopefully he is Cliff of 2005 and I would take those numbers. I will try and upgrade this spot since I have some depth at hitting in other spots.

CF- Eric Byrnes- I wanted a outfielder that could cover multiple spots, and steal me 20+ bases with some pop. The Crash Test Dummy is the answer and I am excited about his potential this year.

RF- Brian Giles/Shawn Green- Will play whoever is hotter, or whomever doesn't get traded to upgrade my LF spot. Giles is good for a cool 80, 80, 10. I'll take that.

UTIL- Scott Rolen- Love this pick. He may not stick on my team (see LF), but he is a big stick following Albert Pujols in the lineup. YAHTZEE!

BE- Mike Jacobs, Wilson Betemit, Kelly Johnson- A nice core of bench hitters, Wilson covers all of my middle infield spots, and Jacobs has big time power potential. I like my lineup for the most part.

Pitching-

SP- Tim Hudson- Didn't really want him, but hey 10th rd and no SP's yet..I'll take it.
SP- Brad Penny- Another solid starter taken late, Rd 11. A decent 1-2 punch considering how late I picked, but I wasn't able to land a front line pitcher, and it only gets worse..
SP- Matt Morris- No comment, this guy is awful.
SP- Aaron Cook- Hopefully, this guy pans out. He was pretty good in Colorado last year and has one heck of a sinker ball.
RP- Scott Linebrink and Rafael Soriano- Wanted to corner the market on holds, hopefully I did just that with these 2 guys. Should be good for 30+ holds a piece.
RP- Scott Eyre- 21st rd pick, and a solid holds guy to add to my 2 studs in that department.
RP- Solomon Torres- This guy is the man, and heck he is a closer. Not bad for a 13th rd pick, i could run him out if i was facing someone with no closers.

All in all I would say i get a B- for the draft because of the Floyd/Giles mess up. Things like that just can't happen when you have been doing this stuff for as long as I have.

I have another draft on Wednesday night, all player universe. Should be fun..of course drafting is always fun!

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Everybody in the Pool!

March Madness is upon us!! It's that time of year where everyone fills out there bracket to find that we really don't know anything at all. Is there a better time of year for sports then the opening 2 rounds of this tournament? Upsets will be a plenty, and this tournament is exactly what is right about College Basketball, and wrong with College Football. 65 teams have an equal chance to win a championship, and as George Mason showed us last year that is truly the case as they advanced to the Final Four. The Madness begins Tonight with the play in game, and starts up for real Thursday night. The VU Wildcats have drawn a #9 seed, and a tough opening round opponent in Kentucky. If they manage to win the Cat fight they would have to contend with #1 seed and Big 12 Winner Kansas in the 2nd round. It will most likely be a short lived tournament this year for Nova, but hey, at least we have a shot! Turns out that Syracuse/Nova tilt in the regular season finale was bigger then most expected as the Cats claimed a bid and the 'Cuse is left to the NIT this year. I personally think they were jobbed, and am shocked that a 22-10 record in the Big East doesn't get you an invite, but whatever it is what it is. Here's my overall synopsis of the tourney:

Toughest Road for a 1 seed: North Carolina having to potentially face Marquette, Texas, and Georgetown just to make the Final Four!!

Easiest Path for a 1 seed: Ohio St having to play what I feel is the weakest #2 seed, Memphis, and earler matchups of Xavier, and then UVA seem to be favorable.

The Weakest #1 seed: Kansas they seem to always find a way to lose in the tournament lately.

Possible Sleepers (#10 and up) Illinois, Gonzaga, Creighton, Ga Tech, Geo Wash

My Final Four: UCLA, Wisconsin, UNC, Texas A&M

Final 2- North Carolina vs UCLA

Champion: UCLA

Monday, March 12, 2007

MRM: Borat, Mission Impossible 2

Well, I finally got so see Borat on Friday night. It was as advertised, some very funny parts, and some extremely disturbing scenes. I will have to watch it again to fully get all the jokes I am sure. As a journalist from Kazakhstan he travels to the states to interview people from this country to help improve life in his home country. This "documentary" is nothing but comedy from the start to finish of the movie. No real plot, just Borat being an idiot the entire time. This is definitely a guy's movie for sure. It's worth checking out if you are looking for laugh out loud comedy, but be prepared if you don't like shows like Jackass, or Austin Powers type comedy, this probably isn't for you. 3 of 5 stars for it's comedic value, but you have read the fore warnings.

Mission Impossible 2- This movie was disappointing in a big way for me. I just don't buy Tom Cruise in this action role with him shooting people, and doing these stunts. The parts of the movie where he wasn't involved in crazy stunts or shootouts I liked, but the story I thought was stupid as well. I enjoyed the 1st MI, but will not watch MI3 after seeing this one. Thumbs down for me on Cruise and MI2. 1.5 of 5 stars.




Friday, March 9, 2007

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Anytime you end games with 5, 3, and 4 strikes you would expect a very nice series to go along with that. Well, that is unless you can't convert ten pins, or you leave tough splits in each game. All in all a 596 series is good for me, but again I leave myself looking for more. Oh well, it happens, but that brings me to the segment:

The Good- After sitting in last place and 12 games out of the playoffs as of 3 weeks ago, our team has won 15 of 16, and has surged to within 5 games (before last night) of a playoff spot. Last night we took 3 of 4 from the 1st place team that had lost only 9 games the entire half.

The Bad- Blew a chance to win the last game. Despite a relatively strong 10th, weren't quite able to make up the ground we needed and lost by 32. The good in the bad, it wasn't my fault this time as I punched out with the final 4.

The Ugly- I don't get into brackets that often, in fact I had only gotten in once before this year (which I won), but felt like last night I was due for a good night so I signed up and paid my $5.00 I won my 1st round and was pitted against some dude with a 143 average. This gives him 57 pins handicap against my 9. I shot a decent game of 194 and with my 9 that gives me 203. This clown I am up against shoots a 148, and with his 57 pins beats me 205-203. Two words from a wise man sum this up: "Real Nice" Thank you Paul Mummert.

No real surprises in AI last night besides the loss of Sundance Head. I think his crying last week may have done him in. I guess it's hard to get the rocker vote when you are seen balling your eyes out everytime someone gets eliminated. It was also good to see Malakar in the bottom 3 this week, perhaps his departure is imminent?

Songs I downloaded today: Love you down- Houston
Watch You Dance- Ne Yo
I'm Gonna Be- Donnell Jones
Gone - Frankie J
Just to Feel that.. Taylor Hicks

Tuesday, March 6, 2007

Movie Review Monday: Forget Paris

I was going to do the Departed today, which I saw Friday night, but decided instead do to an older flick today I saw for the 2nd time last night. Forget Paris is a decent movie made in 1995 which stars the greatest Emcee of all time, Billy Crystal. The basis of the story is Mickey (Crystal) is a NBA referee who meets a woman in Paris while burying his father whom he wasn't close to at all. They end up dating and once Crystal goes back to the States for the start of the season, he isn't the same. In fact among the many NBAers guest starring in the film, he ejects Kareem Abdul Jabbar, and Isiah Thomas from a game, along with Bill Laimbeer. It's a romantic comedy that is a good couple movie, which goes through the trials and tribulations of a long distance relationship, and then a marriage. It's entertaining enough to watch more then once, but fails to live up to When Harry Met Sally, Crystals best flick. The Highlight of the movie is when he makes a gutsy call during a Suns, Spurs playoff game when Barkley's game winning shot was called off. Overall the comedy is pretty good throughout the movie and the little man (BC) is as usual on queue with his humor, short and sarcastic. I like that. 3 of 5 stars, and I would watch it again.

Friday, March 2, 2007

Is American Idol Fixed?

I'm beginning to believe it truly is. Maybe not entirely, but I believe that some parts are definitely done by AI to increase water cooler fodder or results they do in fact want. The puzzling one is Hick's winning last year, but something tells me that McPhee's attitude toward AI and her petrified look every results show had something to do with it. If I remember correctly..there was something that happened towards the end of that show with McPhee. I'm researching that now as I write this. My thought is that they booted Daughtry early to add to the water cooler talk, with the intent on McPhee winning, and then she did something that caused them to have no choice but to let Taylor win. That's just a theory. At any rate there is no way that Kevin Covais should have been in the competition as long as he was. He was terrible, and it drove me crazy he continually got through. Meet 2007's version of Covais, Sanjaya Malakar. This kid is may be more annoying then Covais. While he has a little better of a voice (well no lisp) his look and goofy smile make his staying almost as bad as KC's last season. Did he even sing that song he tried to perform on Tuesday? Because I didn't hear it. That may have single handedly been the worst performance on Idol ever. Yet here he is amongst the top vote getters? Come on. Who seriously voted for this guy? He dressed up like Michael Jackson and then comes out and sings a 20's or 30's ballad? Ok..whatever. Heck he even looks extremely uncomfortable up there, he wasn't even looking into the camera most of the time. Yet he is connecting to the audience?? I hope that Idol is in fact, genuine, but anyone who saw the movie Quiz Show, or remembers the 2000 presidential election knows that this kind of thing can happen, and happens more then people think. No, I don't think Nick Pedro or AJ Tabaldo were going to win, but they deserved another week on the show over this clown.

Well, here's to hoping the show is truly a competition, I will now unveil my Idol picks:

Final 3 Guys: Blake Lewis, Chris Richardson, Brandon Rogers
Final 3 Girls: Jordin Sparks, Melinda Doolittle, Stephanie Edwards

Final 2: Jordin Sparks, Chris Richardson

Winner: Chris Richardson

Update: I was just made aware of this site: http://www.votefortheworst.com/node

Perhaps they are partly to blame as well?