Incoherent Ramblings and Mumblings

2000 AK Championship and NW Regionals

2010-07-23T17:12:00.000-07:00

I read in the Anchorage paper today that the AK American Legion State Baseball tournament is starting. I was surprised for a few reasons. One, its July 23rd, the State tournament usually started early August. Two, each team appears to have only played 20 games, not including any tournament games. It's been a while since I played AK ball but I could swear in my day we were playing at least 40 games not including tournaments.

Regardless of what day it is, this year marks the 10 year anniversary of the 2000 Dimond Lynx state champions squad. It's a story I've never really told people, especially Texas folk. It is kind of long, and to be honest I was only a sophomore so I didn't play and the 2002 title we won is much more meaningful to me. That doesn't diminish being a part, or the experience, of 2000.

In 2000 there were two teams that set themselves apart from the rest of the state, us (Dimond) and a school called Chugiak from Eagle River, AK (just north of Anchorage). We entered the state tourney as the #1 and #2 seeds respectively, and easily took care of business to meet up in a match of unbeatens to that point.

It rained all day that day pushing back the games from earlier in the day until it got us. I remember it felt like this game ended like around 2 in the morning. We jumped out ahead but Chugiak was able to chip away and take the lead and eventually win. Not only did we lose, our second best player got ejected for arguing balls and strikes, although I don't think he said anything obscene or anything at all really. Now we have to win 3 games while Chugiak has to win 1.

So we come back the next afternoon and take out East (Yes, thats there name) while Chugiak also rolls. So now we are faced with having to beat Chugiak, who has their ace ready, back to back. The first Championship game started out a lot like the winner's bracket game did, but reverse. Chugiak jumped out and we gradually started to chip away and were able to get it to 7-6 with the tying run on 3rd and 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th. Sean Seaman hits a routine ball to second base. I remember my Dad saying he thought it was over because it was a harmless ground ball hit to Chugiak's best fielder. And this isn't being kind, this guy was REALLY their best fielder.

He catches it, reaches into his glove, and as he's pulling it out... he drops it. Kids, this is why you run every ground ball out, because crap like this can happen.

My JV coach had the best line to describe this game. He said you could take a hair and split it and that was how close we were to losing this game.

We tie the game, our side is going wild. The next batter, Brian Montalbo, hits a ground ball to short. The short stop launches it over first and the ball caroms parallel to the fence and rolls far enough into right that Seaman scores from first and we win the game.

Next came the 'If Necessary' game, and we blew them out. Chugiak's morale had to be gone. They were punching trash cans, fans abruptly left, there might even had been arguments between parents and players, I don't know. The score was so lopsided I thought I might get a chance to play, but no. And looking back at it, I probably wouldn't of played myself either in that situation.

So we win the State Championship and are off to the Northwest Regional Tournament in Yakima, WA. Ironically this was the second trip to Yakima for us this summer as we played there back in July. Yakima is a very powerful baseball town in Washington. They have two teams in the 'AA' level of American Legion Baseball, the Pepsi Beetles and Pepsi Pack. The team that hosts the tournament gets in automatically, in this case the Beetles. The Pack were also able to get in because they won the Washington State Championship, but it was the Beetles who made it all the way to NW championship game.

It gets more interesting because the Oregon and Idaho state champs in this tournament were teams that we saw in Alaska for an annual tournament we have every year. So in this tournament of ours (The BP Tournament) you had the AK, OR, and ID State champs as well as a team from British Columbia who went on to win the Provincial Championship that year. Interesting side note, the BC team had a guy on their team named Adam Loewen who became the #4 overall pick in the 2002 MLB Draft. The 2000 BP Tournament was the most talented non college baseball tournament ever to be held in Alaska.

The team that won the NW was the Northern California team from Danville, CA. To this day, it's still the best team I ever played against. They were a baseball team all built like football players with scouts who knew everything about every team in this tournament. Including us. They went on to win the National Championship that year.

So I don't really have much of a part in this story until we get to our 3rd and final game of pool play against the Pepsi Pack. Our first game was against the MT state champions. During the MT infield I was sitting at the top step of our dug out behind 1st base with most of our guys just getting back from our infield. The MT 2nd baseman was covering first and not paying attention when a throw came his way. I saw the ball coming the whole way and what is perhaps the coolest thing I have ever done I reached out very casually and caught the ball bear handed. Sadly the only people who saw it were the MT players who were at first and looked surprised. Had I missed it, it probably would of pegged one of our guys in the head.

We lost the 1st game to MT and the next day get killed by CA. That we played the 8 AM game and afterward we had the rest of the day to kill. Some guys on our team went to the local mall... and got in trouble with the law. Not me I'm too much of a prude, but the guy who was going to play 1st base next game did get in trouble. Our other first baseman was pitching that game, so with no one left guess who is now playing first?

Anyone who knows me knows I'm not a big guy for a first baseman. So imagine a 16 year old me having to play first base. We go out for infield and the Pepsi Pack are on the first base side. They see me and some body shouts "Wow you're big," I look over and someone yells "What are you looking at?" So I know I really can't say anything. All I can do play. At the plate I was overmatched for sure but I held my own in the field, making plays and looking competent. There was one foul pop up in front of their dugout that I could hear them start trying to yell at me but stopping in a tone like "Okay this kid is not bad enough to drop this." So in my mind it was them giving me respect for a sophomore hanging with a bunch of seniors on the field.

That is my 2000 Championship story that I've always wished I could tell more people that I didn't and finally got off my chest so I don't have to tell it any more. 2000 was a peak year for AK High School baseball and I have a lengthy opinion on how the quality of play has deteriorated the past 10 years but that is another bore for another time.

ABS: Minute Maid Park

2010-06-21T19:07:00.000-07:00

This might become a yearly tradition.

I was lucky enough to have the weekend off and head to Houston for the first half of the Lone Star Series and my second trip ever to Minute Maid Park in Houston. Last year it was really fun to see the Rangers play in their road unis and in a environment we are not use to seeing, in addition to watching them beat down the hapless 'Stros.

When I went to Minute Maid Park last year, the game was played with the roof close and it was raining pretty hard outside. The idea of indoor baseball is fairly odd to me and I just couldn't wrap my head around it for the one game. You don't play baseball in a warehouse, unless maybe your from Alaska and you have no choice.

There are a lot of differences between Minute Maid and Arlington. Arlington is in a place that was set aside for itself and is aesthetically pleasing from afar. Minute Maid on the other hand looks like it was stuffed in a spot that maybe was a little too small but they maid it work nonetheless. Arlington opened up about 5 years before Minute Maid and many people feel that Arlington, like Minute Maid, should of been built with a retractable roof itself, which has some validity. Thank God Minute Maid has a roof because after spending 2 days there and really experiencing humidity I don't know how anyone down there does it. I'm starting to wonder how I've been able to do it. Luckily Dallas is a little better when it comes to humidity.

Another huge difference is food. The food in Minute Maid is excellent, the best of all the ballparks visited so far. And that is without visiting their Bagwell/ Biggio restaurant which is probably very expensive.

The experience factor is a little different as well. Here is the thing about the Astros, growing up there are teams that everyone is indifferent to, and the Astros are one of them. Not for anything they did or did not do. Growing up in Alaska, they never play the Mariners, their games aren't televised, their history is decent, so you don't feel bad for them like the Royals and you don't hate them like the Red Sox or Yankees. As a predominant AL fan, I have never had to rely on them for wins or feel the need to beat them. I respect them and what they have done, but thats about it.

Regardless, it is a nice venue to watch a game when the roof is closed in the middle of summer. Would have to try it with the roof open though for a full verdict.

The bigger thing about this weekend was the fact the Rangers swept Houston to go 8-1 on their NL road trip. They won with hitting and pitching. Josh Hamilton is quietly having a tremendous month and should be AL Player of the Month. Sunday he went 5-6 knocking in the tying and winning runs. Borbon is finally starting to hit and Smoak has also found a groove. Colby Lewis pitched well on Saturday and after a rough start C.J. Wilson kept the Rangers in it long enough for them to chip the Astros' lead and win in extra innings. They are now #5 on ESPN's Power Rankings.

It's fun to see all the Ranger fans get into the game down there. At the end of the Sunday game there were almost as many Rangers fans as there were Astros fans.

I don't want to get carried away either. Yes, they swept the Astros. Yes, they still have to prove they can beat good teams on the road. Yes, its still only June and their is no reason to think the Angels will catch and pass the Rangers like last year, and you know the Angels are going to go out an add a piece while the Rangers sort out matters in court. Yes, there is no reason to think the Rangers have the arms to match the Rays or Yankees or Red Sox if they were to play in a playoff series.

One thing at a time. Let's see if they can stay in and win the West, then we can worry about the playoffs.

Next on the tour, Chase Field in Phoenix, 4th of July.

ABS: Dr. Pepper Park

2010-06-13T12:36:00.000-07:00

This weekend I had a chance to check out Dr. Pepper Park in Frisco. It is home to the Frisco Rough Riders, the Rangers AA affiliate, which plays in the Texas League.

I believe they opened play in 2003 and some good current Rangers have actually spent time here developing themselves, the most recent being Elvis Andrus. Ian Kinsler, Chris Davis, and C.J. Wilson have also put in some time and have their pictures up in the ballpark.

For a AA ballpark it's really nice. It's got a lot of like club or patio seating, in addition to the grass seats in the outfield reminiscent to Spring Training. This is the first park I have been to that utilizes dirt paths in a way that adds to the ballpark. All the Alaska stadiums have dirt paths but that is because they can not afford to put down some sort of walking surface. Maybe they have, apparently AK baseball stadiums have changed a little since I was last there, but that is in a post I have coming.

As for this park it is heavily geared toward the family. I didn't find too many people there around my age, it was boy scouts night so maybe that did have something to do with it. Tickets were $13 bucks each so a little more expensive than the Rangers but I think it is okay when you consider it was down the 3rd base line. Parking was a little more expensive but hey what can you do.

One thing you have to keep in mind is that Minor League teams have to be way more creative in terms of ways to draw out fans and keep them entertained. They had a lot more gimmicks in between innings than the Rangers did, one of which I would like to try. That is to freeze a t-shirt then thaw it out and try to put it on as fast as you can.

The game itself was a snoozer that saw no offense until extra innings. The more baseball you watch at the different levels the more you realize how good the MLBers are.

Next stop, Minute Maid Park in Houston. Hopefully the Rangers can overcome their road woes and beat down the Astros like everyone else has this year.

Mess in the West

2010-06-02T20:52:00.000-07:00

In the beginning of the baseball year I predicted the AL West would play out 1. Seattle 2. Anaheim 3. Texas and 4. Oakland. Right now that order looks like it will end up in reverse.

The big disappointment has to be Seattle. I thought this team was going about it the right way adding more pitching and adding hitters for average rather than guys who go for the long ball. Instead, Cliff Lee has said he's out the door at the end of the year and the Mariners still can't score runs. There was also this great article in the beginning of the year on how the culture in the Mariners dugout had changed and that Ken Griffey Jr. was bringing a different mood to the clubhouse and eating sushi with Ichiro, even though he's allergic to it. They brought in characters like Eric Byrnes and welcomed Milton Bradley with open arms. Now, June 2nd, Eric Byrnes is playing softball somewhere, Milton Bradley is still trying to get his head on straight, someone snitched on Griffey that he was sleeping in the dugout and now he has retired. A still surefire hall of famer who suffered unfortunate injuries in Cincinnati and hopefully will forget his dismal ending in Seattle.

So what started out as promise for the M's is turning into 2008. Kind of like the old self fulfilling prophecy, they tried to avoid being the $100 million dollar 100 game losers and they are heading that way.

On the flip side Oakland has been serious contenders for the entire year. I don't know what to make of this team. I do think their starting pitching is legit but like the rest of the baseball world, I wonder if they have enough offense to sustain themselves for the entire year. Only time will tell. Maybe they would be better if they had kept Huston Street and Carlos Gonzalez but I don't know.

The Angels have been a little disappointing but not to the point of the Mariners. They are still with in striking distance and if their pitching gets on track I think they still have enough offense to overtake both Texas and Oakland. However I was thinking that before the Angels broke Kendry Morales' leg while celebrating a walk off home run. It's an unfortunate I wouldn't wish upon any team except the Red Sox but I won't object if it helps Texas increase their lead by a couple games.

Then we have the currently 1st place Texas Rangers. As of tonight the Rangers are 28-24. In the beginning of the season I said if they finish with last year's record it would be a good year. Nolan Ryan predicted 92 wins. Or was it 95? Anyways, I think I am more on track right now at the moment.

There are different ways people are looking at the Rangers' current record. They have a sub .500 record on the road, and even worse record against the better teams in the AL. The other way to look at it is they are hanging around in a weak division and because of that have a chance to win a division title and make the playoff for the first time since 1999. Assuming the Rangers win the AL West their reward will be made into the first sacrificial offering made to the Yankees or whoever wins the AL East.

The frustrating thing about watching the Rangers this year is the fact the starting pitching can not get deep enough into games which results in a bullpen so overtaxed (and remember it's June 2nd today) that management has to watch how they are using their relievers at this point in the season. I thought one of Nolan Ryan's big things was pitching deep into ball games? I just hate looking up and seeing whether its Feldman, Harden, Wilson, or Lewis' pitch count at 73 pitches at the start of the 4th. Roy Oswalt could be the #1 starter the Rangers need to be considered a potential playoff threat, but at what cost?

And what about Vlad Guerrero? The guy is having such a big resurrgence that it might get bigger offerings coming to knock on his door. Do you trade him when his stock is at its highest and get some pitching? But if the Rangers do get into the playoff they'll need his bat.

It's an interesting dilemma.

The bottom line is this is the worst the AL West has looked since the mid early 90's. Seattle and Anaheim are down. Oakland is better than expected but there are still skeptics out there, and the consensus is Texas has the talent to win the division, who knows if they will. Good thing they don't play in the NL West. Four really good teams bunched up at the top. Unlike the AL West teams, the Dodgers, Giants, my Rockies and Padres (The A's of the NL West right now) are deep, armed with starting pitchers who can pitch deep in the game and are wishing they played in the AL West to balance out that division.

Wasn't it only a couple years ago when the NL West was the crap division in baseball?

ABS: Coors Field

2010-05-31T10:36:00.000-07:00

Three day weekends are going to be a blessing for ABS'. This weekend the tour headed over to Denver for the second stops in as many weekends for two games at Coors Field against the Dodgers and Rockies.

I was already liking Colorado simply for the fact that you can tickets for $4. I was also thinking there may not be many people because it just did not seem like the Rockies were as perennial a draw in Denver like the Cardinals are in St. Louis. At least for this weekend, I was very wrong about that. The Saturday night game drew more than 43,000. Okay, Saturday night, downtown Denver, nothing else really going on, so not really inconceivable. Sunday afternoon should be a little less right? Absolutely not, Sunday pulled more than 48,000 fans. So if you look at the attendance from last week in St. Louis and this week in Denver, the Rockies had about 1,000 more fans show up between the 2 game sets. Very surprising, especially when I was under the assumption that no matter what the Rockies do these days because of there dismal history and the Broncos close by getting in would be along the lines of Kansas City. Not so, so glad to see the people coming out in support.

If this were ranking the cities with MLB Stadiums then Denver would be our new #1. A very vibrant downtown with a big bar scene and restaurants surrounding the place. Also the Platte River runs through downtown and that place was buzzing with activity ranging from kids in the river, to joggers, to hippies, to hobos. Reminds me of Anchorage and Campbell Creek in a way but with fisherman traded for kids in the river. I mentioned hippies, and now I see why maybe Cartman has so much disdain for them in South Park. I'm not saying I have a problem with them but I saw a # of them and can understand how it might bother someone of a xenophobic nature. You get the feeling if Girdwood grew large enough into a metropolis and formed its own government you'd get Colorado.

The stadium itself was a little above average, a lot like Rangers Ballpark in Arlington. In fact I think they are close to the same age with Rangers being a year older I want to say. There just wasn't something very distinctive or different about it from the likes of St. Louis and Kansas City. Part of that may be due to the fact the Rockies don't really have a long history like a team like the Cardinals have, but if you like watching baseball then it is as good of a place as any.

At first I wanted to place Coors Field just below Rangers Ballpark, but after thinking about it I think I'll slide it slightly ahead. The main reason being the Rockpile. The place where you can get $4 tickets for. It's a high 3rd deck type of seating in Center Field which I really like because I'm partial to watching the game from there. Rangers Ballpark has $7 tickets but that is for the right field corner 3rd deck which is harder to gage the action from. Other than that the food was average, the merchandise was a little below average (I was hoping for a black player tee but had to settle for gray) and you can't walk all the way around the stadium like with Rangers and Busch.

The Rockies team itself is very exciting to watch. The way they play reminds me of the way I played back in the day. Nothing quick or flashy but has guys who can get the job done through the whole lineup and off the bench. Carlos Gonzalez (Cargo) is a beast who was acquired in the Matt Holliday trade along with Longhorn Legend Huston Street. The Rockies look like they did what the A's do to most teams when they made that trade. There starting pitching can go deep into games (Rangers please take notes) and they have some decent bullpen guys as well. I don't know statistically what there defense is like but they can make some plays in the field. In the final out in the first game, Todd Helton caught what must of been an in between hop by going to his backhand and catching the ball up around his chest. He's a Gold Glove 1st baseman so he is an expert but I'm still trying to gather how did he even know he would need to do that? A typical 1st baseman would probably have stepped towards the ball likely muffing up the catch and maybe resulting in an error on the throw. There were some other great defensive plays by both teams. One by LA's Xavier Paul making ESPN's Web Gems.

Colorado won the first game in a blowout 11-3. LA came back with a 4-3 win on Sunday. I really enjoyed watching the Rockies play and I think maybe I have finally found an NL team I can be fan of (Jeff Francis, Glacier Pilot alum btw). I would definitely like to go back to Coors Field, not mainly for the stadium like in Kansas City's case, but Denver is one pretty cool city.

So for next week I was hoping to go back to LSU for the beginning of the NCAA tournament but after my trip about 5 weeks ago the Tigers fell on some hard times win wise. I got my hopes up when I saw they won the SEC Tourney but dashed when I saw they were headed to play in UCLA's bracket. Oh well, guess I save money on gas. The next couple stops on the Tour will likely be Houston when the Rangers head down for that rivalry, and likely Phoenix for the 4th of July when Arizona will play the Dodgers.

Here is Colorado's badass intro...

ABS: (New) Busch Stadium

2010-05-26T17:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend the Andrew Sullivan 2010 Tour rolled into St. Louis to check out Busch Stadium. I made one upgrade in the form of a new camera. You've seen the commercial with Taylor Swift getting a picture of all of her fans? Yes, I bought that one. The panoramic feature on the camera is pretty cool. It especially is helpful in taking pictures of like landscapes, skylines, and small rooms. Ballparks not so much unless you like staring at many empty seats. I'm interested to see the shots this camera takes this weekend as the Tour stops in Denver for the Memorial Day weekend.

The best thing about St. Louis is that it is a baseball town without a doubt. I talked to another fan who said in St. Louis its Cardinals one, Blues two, Rams three. I'm sure people in Texas could never imagine a time or a situation where football would take a back seat to baseball and hockey. Another way to tell that St. Louis is a baseball town is that a standing room only ticket is $25. For this coming weekend in Denver, two Rockies tickets cost me a total of $16.

St. Louis is pretty rich in history and tradition when it comes to baseball. 10 World Series Titles and a myriad of Hall of Famers with statues in front of the stadium. The biggest one belonging to Stan Musial with a 10 foot statue and his autograph inscribed in the pavement in front of the stadium. Also a statue of HOF broadcaster Jack Buck who called over 6,500 Cards games. That's kind of insane when you think about it.

The only thing I was really wondering was that Old Busch Stadium stood partially where New Busch Stadium is now. So where they able to tear down that part of Old Busch and build New Busch in the time between seasons? Because I don't remember the Cardinals having to relocate like you see NFL teams do when their stadiums are being built.

They sure pack them for the Cardinals. Over 40,000 for both games and apparently, as I was told St. Louis has more girl fans than any other team. I don't dispute that but at the same time it doesn't really help me any. During the game on Saturday the section in front of me had an unruly fan that was giving Anaheim a lot of grief. So much so that the Angels asked for security to escort the guy out. I couldn't hear what the guy was saying but he must have not been very entertaining because when the police escorted him out the first time all the other fans around him were waving bye. I say the first time because the guy somehow got back into the stadium and tried to fool everyone by going back to his same seat just with a different shirt. Well his trick didn't work and police were a lot more forceful with him the second time. I would think the general rule is if you get kicked out and somehow find a way back in, don't go to the spot where you were kicked out from. Maybe don't even come back at all because I 'm sure its not worth getting the collar and booked for just a baseball game.

Some guy standing behind me was actually familiar with this dude and said he originally gained fame at a wedding when he got naked and did a belly flop on the table with the cake and then ran around like a crazy man. I wonder what a girl would think about that if that happened at her wedding.

The weather was great as their wasn't a cloud in the sky on Saturday and only a few on Sunday. I was pretty muggy though and I need to do a better job applying sun block equally on my entire arm. The game Sunday had a walk off ending which my camera was able to capture in a very high quality which is below.

Overall the Busch Stadium has a very good baseball feel to it. More to do around the park during the game than in Rangers Ballpark but not as spectator friendly as Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City. I felt like downtown St. Louis was disappointing as there really is not much to do around as I found before the game on Saturday, although I did find out later Joe Buck's Restaurant is only 238 steps away. So Sunday instead of getting there really early I went to look at the Gateway Arch and the Mississippi River which is flooded right now. So much so you could walk in the river if you wanted to.

I liked St. Louis but it wasn't like Kansas City when I left telling myself, "I got to get back here!" It would be good to go back with someone in the future, but that might be a ways down the road.

My current order of MLB Stadiums...

1. Kauffman Stadium (KC)

2. Busch Stadium (STL)

3. Rangers Ballpark in Arlingon (TEX)

4. Minute Maid Park (HOU)

Here's how the game ended on Sunday...

Howard Stern

2010-04-30T16:44:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I got a satellite radio for my car for when I hit the road. One, err two, of the channels I get, amongst many, is Howard Stern. I've never listened to Howard Stern's radio show before, I remember when they use to show his radio how on A&E or E! I always thought it was entertaining, but that TV show is nothing compared to the radio show.

Howard's got a lot of interesting characters, and talks about some stuff you'd never hear on the normal radio, and does some great interviews, but I've only been listening for a couple weeks and there is already one little fucker I already hate, and I think other Stern fans would know who I am talking about.

Eric the Midget. Seriously, read his wikipedia page, it is creepy as shit.

I'm not coming out and trying to make of someone because he is physically challenged, just a lot of things he says is really bizarre. And it is perplexing because despite him being seemingly so angry all the time with Stern and co. he is always listening and always calling in. In one of the 'videos' I watched on YouTube, Artie Lange asked him what about the Howard Stern show does he enjoy, and Eric struggled to spit out an answer.

You don't feel so bad for him when you realize that he uses the Howard Stern show to push his own agenda. For example, he had this contest where he is (maybe was) looking for the hottest striper. The 'winner' would win a 7 year contract with his 'modeling agency', which I can't find evidence of it really existing. Stipulations of the contract being the winner would give Eric half of her earnings, would be required to live with or near him, and would get a Playboy style photo shoot which he would submit himself to Playboy.

It doesn't stop there. He is trying to get someone to publish his children's book he wrote called, Dougie the Puggie's Holiday Adventure. The book is about a pug who follows around some girl named Diana Degarmo from American Idol fame and gets her to fall in love and marry his master. Stern's crew points out this would be the first children's book about stalking.

Someone on YouTube has uploaded many videos with the audio of Eric's almost daily phone calls. If you step back and analyze the overview of the videos, they don't seem that interesting. Eric's life might be a little more interesting than mine but not on the level of Howard Stern taking an interest in him. Still, I'm addicted to these videos like crack! I think its mainly because Artie Lange does a good job making fun of him. There are A LOT of videos about him and if you have time take a listen.

This is my favorite, I don't know when its from but Artie and Gilbert Godfrey are pretty awesome in it.

ABS: Alex Box Stadium (LSU)

2010-04-21T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have a family connection with LSU. I have a cousin who goes to school there and an uncle who works there on occasion who is also a baseball fan. So a somewhat spur of the moment idea came to me in the form of a family visit to Baton Rouge. I've been living in Texas for over 5 years and just now I decide to go to Louisiana. Great visit and saw some good college baseball.

If you are like 99% of the country you probably don't follow college baseball until the College World Series begins. So the only thing I knew about LSU baseball is that they won the CWS last year and they have a historic program that once tried to recruit a guy I use to play with back in Alaska. So I did not know that they had built a brand new baseball stadium which is now two years old.

Very very nice ballpark for the college level. LSU is a little different from UT as it is not crammed into the middle of a city, so it's a little more open. I don't know how many college parks have box suites but this one does. In addition to playgrounds, some sort of members only club and what looked like a Hall of Fame of sort.

Also unbeknownst to me was I was attending the game for Ben McDonald, who I only remembered as someone who pitched in the Majors and Alaska (I'll get to that). For all of LSU illustrious history they have only retired one number for an old manager whom the field is named after.

To LSUisans Ben McDonald is a local legend mostly known for baseball and did play some basketball. He holds a lot of records and did a lot of things at LSU. He didn't win a national championship though, as a matter of fact my uncle told me about a grand slam he gave up in the CWS with LSU up three. He even mentioned giving up that grand slam in his speech which I thought took a lot of pride swallowing and made me really respect him. over 10,000 people were at this game, the most in the stadium's short history.

Watching college baseball consistently takes getting use to. First the comparison between MLB pitching and D1 pitching, is non-existent. After watching two games, I am convinced that back in my prime with the same amount of practice, I could of had a little success in D1, emphasis on a little. The big difference between D1 and D2, D3 is the hitting. Just looking at the stats for LSU and Alabama, whom they were playing, there are a lot of gaudy averages. Hitting .400 is very doable for some of the excellent hitters. Everyone can hit consistently, and with those metal bats, no lead is safe. I think that is why big comebacks in college are not uncommon. I think it is also why it is very hard to translate college success to MLB success. In a perfect world, colleges would use wood bats, but its a money thing so I get it.

One funny story though, so because it was Ben McDonald night they had a Ben McDonald trivia question. The question being which Alaska League baseball team did McDonald play for during the summer of his freshman (or sophomore) year. Two of the four the answers they gave were non existent Alaskan teams (The Anchorage Anchors, probably the worst name for a team from Anchorage, and the Fairbanks Kodiaks, because a lot of Kodiaks hang out in Fairbanks). The fella behind me was a LSU know it all and as soon as I revealed I knew something he didn't he comes back with "Well maybe those teams were called something else back then." Not wanting to be condescending but dude, please. If there is one fan in the stands who knew ANYTHING about the Alaska League, and even played in it for 3 games, its me. The only two answers were either the Anchorage Glacier Pilots or the Mat-Su Miners. Because the name sounded familiar it had to be the Glacier Pilots. I don't remember too many Mat-Su Miners.

Of course I was right.

For the record here are the Alaska League Teams...

Anchorage Bucs

Anchorage Glacier Pilots

Mat-Su Miners

Alaska Goldpanners of Fairbanks

Kenai Penninsula Oilers

Athletes-in-Action (Not a 'real' ABL team but they play in the league)

... and if we want to get historical, Hawaii Island Movers (now defunct)

All in all going to Louisiana was awesome. I had crawfish, witch took some practice, but very good. I had a really good time and will look to attend another game as we get closer to the NCAA Tournament. That will be in Early June, next on the list will be Kansas City and St. Louis come May.

ABS: Rangers Ballpark in Arlington

2010-04-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

With my new found freedom thanks to Honda, I will be able to visit a lot of Ballparks this year, and not just Major League parks. College and Minor League parks will be in play as well as I will try and tour as many as I can and document them here, or if I feel like it, maybe I'll start a new website or something. Anyways, I call it ABS, Andrew's Baseball Stadiums, and I'll start with the easiest one, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington.

Rangers Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994 and was called, "The Ballpark in Arlington." The following year it hosted the 1995 All-Star Game. It was called "The Ballpark" till 2004 until Ameriquest bought the naming rights to the field and was called "Ameriquest Field in Arlington" until 2007 when Ameriquest was dropped and

the stadium has been Rangers Ballpark in Arlington ever since.

Ranger Ballpark in Arlington is perhaps the most notorious hitters ballpark in the AL. Sometimes referred to as the Coors Field of the AL, some have suggested the Ballpark should have been built with a retractable roof like Minute Maid Park in Houston, that could counter the scorching heat and make it easier to attract start of the line starting pitching. However the technology that is used in places like Houston and Seattle wouldn't come for at least a decade later. The only retractable roof at the time was at the Rogers Centre (aka SkyDome) in Toronto, but that had a steep price tag and was built for multi-purpose uses, Rangers Ballpark was not.

The Good: From the outside, Rangers Ballpark is one of the prettier stadiums in MLB. Unlike a lot of stadiums that are built in highly urban areas, The Ballpark was built on an open patch of land and looks kind of like something out of Super Mario Bros. The open land gives the stadium a lot of room to breathe, and with the development of the surrounding land, and the addition of that other stadium, Rangers Ballpark is very easy on the eye.

The atmosphere inside the stadium is really good. Texas does a good job at making the experience very family friendly. This season and last they have had these concert series on the lawn outside the third base line of the stadium. I have actually not been to one, but I can see why and how it would be good use for a venue.

The Bad: The biggest gripe I have with Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is that I think it is TOO big as far as seating. The capacity is listed as 49,200. The only time I have seen that many people at The Ballpark is on Opening Day. The rest of the time it seems like The Rangers may draw an average of around 30,000 for the year. So knowing that, does there really need to be 3 decks in this stadium? The other side of that is it makes ticket prices really inexpensive and thus easy to see teams like the Yankees or Red Sox, even with the followings these teams generate.

I feel like the food is average at best. I know that stadium food is going to be expensive regardless of the food and/ or the stadium, but I can get some of the same food at my high school football games. The flip side of this is that the Rangers' staff is cool with bringing in food (and water, because you don't want to pay $5 for something you can get for $1 at Quiktrip) as long as its not in glass or what not. The Rangers also have $1 Hot Dog Night. Sure, the hot dogs look like they are a month or so old, but how can you complain for $1? Seriously?

The other 'bad' is the Rangers' Scoreboards. Like the retractable roofs, big scoreboards, like the one in Philadelphia, didn't exist till a decade later. It is hard to see the scoreboard if you are sitting down the first baseline. Also, until last year, if you were sitting in right or center field, or had suite in center field, you wouldn't be able to see the score unless you were actually watching the game. The Rangers rectified this problem last year by installing new, high tech, chaser lights around the inside of the stadium. Now anyone can see the score, out of town scores, batter statistics, and pitching statistics. They also got rid of their Fenway style scoreboard in left and added a smaller version of the scoreboard in right.

The Odd: I find it odd the only time a Canadian flag can be seen is when Toronto plays. Every other game the Texas flag flyies side by side the US Flag.

All in all, Rangers Ballpark in Arlington is a good place to take in a game, even with blazing hot temperatures in the summer. Just wear your sunscreen. It is also a good place to bring the family and they have stuff for the kids to do if they don't want sit in the same place too long. It is what a stadium should look like, and with all the stadiums that opened after The Ballpark in Arlington I think this stadium is holding its own.

AL West Preview

2010-04-03T20:08:00.000-07:00

Baseball starts tomorrow when the only two teams the media really cares about Boston and New York squares off. The rest of MLB starts play on Monday. The Rangers open at home vs Toronto and I hear Roger Staubach will throw out the first pitch. I remember when I went to opening day two seasons ago and I can't tell you who the guy who through out the opening pitch. I was a little bummed out because they were showing prior opening day honorees including Michael Irvin and T.O. yet the guy I get to see didn't stick out. Anahiem hosts Minnesota and Seattle squares off against Oakland.

Nolan Ryan came out earlier this year and predicted the Rangers will win 90 games and win the AL West. Honestly, if the Rangers finish with the same record they ended with last year, which I think was something around 82-75, I would be happy. Amongst fans, I don't think the expectations are that high. A lot of people don't even think they will finish above .500. I don't I think I would bet the farm on that, but it wouldn't shock me if it did happen. They have lost a lot of veteran presence, like Marlon Byrd and Kevin Millwood, and are banking on a patchwork of starting pitching including Rich Harden who has never started more than 15 games in a season I think. I don't have the numbers in front of me.

The team I think will win the West is Seattle. A couple years ago the M's had a really good season and went out and tried adding a couple big bats and other high priced signings and their reward was becoming the first team ever to lose over 100 games with a $100 million dollar payroll. Fast forward to this year and the M's try to build off a good year by building off of pitching strength they established last year by adding Cliff Lee. Cliff Lee and King Felix give Seattle the best 1-2 punch in the AL. They got a couple more hitters, not necessarily power hitters, and look like they are trying to copy Anaheim's blueprint for success. Cliff Lee is going to start the year on the DL and we'll see if they can score more runs than they could last year. If the offense and pitching improve off of last season than Seattle will have serious chance to play post-season baseball this year.

Speaking of the Angels, there is no reason to expect a huge drop off from reaching the ALCS last year. A couple pieces interchange, Vlad Guerrero for Hideki Matsui, Chone Figgons and John Lackey out, replaced by some minor leaguers.

The Angels still have to be taken seriously because for one they still have Mike Scioscia who I think is the best manager in the AL. It's because of Scioscia, who's style is rubbing off on Seattle, that the Angels style of play always keeps them in the hunt. Some people call them Yankees West, but they are much more likable. The also have this amazing ability to throw any Joe Shmo on the mound and get 5 good innings out of him. All of these constants have to keep the Angels as the ESPN favorite to win the West. If the Mariners don't win, the Angels will.

Then there is Oakland. It seems for the past five years people say Oakland will be good when there young guys mature. Well the young guys get good, the team still sucks, they trade their good guys for more young guys and the cycle starts over again. I haven't heard or read too much buzz about Oakland this year. They did pay out the ass to get Ben Sheets. That tells me when they are 15 games out of it at the trade deadline they will trade him to some team on the cusp of the playoffs needing one more starting pitcher and get some good prospects in return. Only to see them develop and trade for more good prospects.

Overall, the division will be stranger as a whole than it has been since the early 2000's when Seattle was dominating, Oakland was really good, and Anaheim surprised everyone and won the 2002 World Series. Still to date the only AL West team to make and win the World Series since MLB went to 3 divisions.

The final order...

Seattle

Anaheim

Texas

Oakland

The Champ Jack Swagger

2010-04-02T20:07:00.000-07:00

I didn't watch Wrestlemania for a few reasons. For one, I was in Omaha. Two, like Bill Simmons points out in this article paying $54 for a ppv, kinda ridiculous. Also, I wasn't exactly excited about the whole watch it on line for free. Had to sign up for a load of Spam and then the quality was lackluster. Three, with 10 guys in MITB I was pretty sure Christian wasn't going to win, and that turned out to be true.

The winner wasn't favorite Drew McIntrye but The All-American American Jack Swagger, which I really didn't mind.

Unlike Sheamus, Swagger has been in the league longer than 2 weeks and has some credibility to his record with quality wins. After he was traded from ECW to Raw by Donald Trump he basically did nothing. An occasional feud with Evan Bourne, a brief feud with The Miz, trying to seduce Eve Torres before losing out Chris Masters' pecs, and a nice part in the Bragging Rights tag match back in November. Actually, when Jesse Ventura did his Breakthrough qualifier I thought it was Swagger who should of won instead of that hack Sheamus.

It was surprising to see Swagger win MITb considering he qualified in 10 seconds in his match and no one mentioned his name, WWE and IWC alike as a possible winner. Even the Bill Simmons article stated that the crowd seemed confused when Swagger came down from the briefcase.

WWE made a smart move in my opinion having Swagger try and cash it in early. It was a good attempt on Raw when he tried it on Cena but canceled it at the last second and it was a successful good attempt when he caught Jericho off guard tonight and became World Heavyweight Champion. Swagger held the briefcase for 5 days, the shortest amount of time for any MITB winner.

So we have World Champion Jack Swagger, which is kind of cool. He instantly went from being the big smooth talking kinda goofy guy with a lisp to an all business mercenary type of wrestler who walks around and has a camera follow him. It does look like WWE might of learned from the Sheamus debacle and actually focused Smackdown around the champ instead of cutting a 2 minute cameo and calling it a night. Swagger didn't get a mega push, doesn't have as powerful friends up top, and in one night has out done all of what Sheamus did in two months as champ.

Edge will meet Jericho in a #1 contender's match for Swagger's title next week on Smackdown for a match at Extreme Rules.

Let's hope this isn't Swagger's one time as World Champ

Justice For Erin Andrews... sort of.

2010-03-15T18:13:00.000-07:00

Somewhere in this country today, the guy who shot nude photos of Erin Andrews was sent to 2.5 years in prison. He absolutely deserved it and his remorse was besides the point.

Usually, I don't feel bad for celebrities or the super attractive but this is the exception to the rule for me.

I always felt bad for Erin Andrews in this case because she's never really done anything to get this kind of grief or bad attention, unless you count being super attractive and working for ESPN as calling for attention, but I don't so whatever. She does her job and does it well and has never gone crazy like Britney Spears and doesn't call to TMZ like Paris Hilton yet she gets old guys filming her nude, photographers hiding in her bushes, and college kids in Iowa stealing 2nd base on her while taking a photo. All for what? Doing her job? I just don't think that is fair, regardless if someone is very attractive.

All the scumbags (Tiger Woods) this lady has dealt with makes me think if I was ever forced to meet her in person I would have to hand cuff my hands to my feet to show that I am harmless. Whenever she dates someone does she have to run a background check on them? This coming from a proverbial nice guy who finishes last. Maybe that is why some people get ahead with women, because they don't respect them. I see it as cheating, and if you win by cheating is it really winning?

I wonder how tough of a skin all of this she has given? The ESPN article said that she was visibly nervous and perhaps emotional. I hope for her sake she doesn't deal with another peeping tom AND a news site willing to publish those photos.

See ya in Arlington Erin for Sunday Night Baseball.

Basketball Craziness

2010-03-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

Going to hit all three levels today on this topic starting with...

High School

So I probably follow AK High School basketball more than I should. I check out a message board that relates to AK preps. It's mainly southeast homers and 3A fans wanting respect. Fans (If there any) from 4A Anchorage schools are represented poorly but I don't want to talk about that.

There are four classifications of high schools in Alaska, 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A with 4A being the biggest schools. For years 3A and 4A State Tournament would be played in the biggest venue Alaska has, Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. Meanwhile the 1A and 2A schools would play their tournament in some of the bigger high school gymnasiums. Seem to work out fine. Then a couple years ago it was decided to have all four state tournaments would be played in the same week, with 1A and 2A playing early in the week finishing up with 3A and 4A. Also seemed to go ok. Then comes this year, and ASAA the governing body of high school sports in AK has decided it would be a good idea to have the 1A and 2A schools play their championships on Saturday night on the biggest stage and make the big boys and girls play early in the week in some of the most back asswards logic I have seen in a while.

To those who are not familiar with the Alaskan classifications 1A and 2A schools are usually those schools in the village far away from civilization and the only way to get there is by Puddle Jumper or snowmobile. There are only around 250-500 people in the whole TOWN, not the school, the entire village, and that might be a generous estimate. A 4A school has at least 1800 (I believe, back in my day some of the biggest schools were around 2500). Knowing this now, which would generate more income? Having the big schools play last or the little schools most students in Anchorage have never heard of? These little schools are saying they can generate just as much income as the big guys... sure. My Dad told me it looks like this will be a one time thing and I tend to agree, especially if the big schools still outdraw the small schools.

It would be like if ESPN made the Big East and the SEC play their championships on Monday and Tuesday of Championship Week and let the Northeast and Patriot leagues play the Saturday before Selection Sunday. Doesn't make sense.

College

Guess who won the Sun Belt Conference this year? That's right, the alma mater Mean Green of the University of North Texas. A surprise yes, but they were the 2nd seed in the Sun Belt this year. Great to see this happen up there in Denton and the school's second trip in 4 years. Maybe UNT should forget trying to pump up that football time and time again and stick with basketball, we are actually good and respectable in that sport.

For the record, my final four are Kentucky, Kansas, Syracuse, West Virginia with Kansas winning it all.

Pros

So the Mavs have won a bunch of games and people are starting to take them seriously as maybe the 2nd best team in the West and the gap between them and the Lakers are thinning. However, John Hollinger of ESPN says they are the 13th best team in the league. Do what? I'm not going to slam Hollinger and say he knows nothing but I have to respectfully disagree. This trade has infused the Mavs with talent and toughness this team hasn't had in a while and no way do I think that teams like the Bucks, Thunder, Spurs, and Blazers in their current condition could take out the Mavs in a 7 game series. Hollinger has a formula that he uses that ranks these teams, the formula uses strength of schedule and win margin to determine who is where on this list.

I'll admit the Mavs recent run has come against a bunch of cupcakes and they haven't looked very good against some of them (Like being down 18 at home to the Nets). But I don't think the Mavs are a team that can blow teams out easily like Denver can yet they do find the way to win. And if they are playing cupcakes now that means the played their toughest games earlier and did well enough to be within striking distance of LA. Listening to Hollinger on GAC this past Thursday I also think he believes certain guys are better than they actually are. For example he left the impression that Portland's Marcus Camby, Nicholas Batum and Sergio Rodriguez are better than the Mavs trio of Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson. Really Mr. Hollinger? I, along with GAC, respectfully disagree.

I think the Mavs are still the 3rd best team in the West behind LA and Denver. You wanna talk about weird explain why Denver is barely over .500 against the weaklings of the NBA. If Dallas played in the East, they would be second behind Cleveland.

NBA Playoffs should be entertaining.

NXT Reaction part 2

2010-03-10T18:35:00.000-08:00

It's been 3 weeks since NXT debuted and so far so good. I'm liking the rookies, but there are a few things bothering me. For one, why is there so much disconnect between the rookies and their pros? R-Truth and Otunga, The Miz and Bryan, Sheffield and Regal, and Young and CM Punk. I get that there should be a little tension in the pairs and that everything shouldn't go so smoothly. But how are any of these guys suppose to succeed if they are constantly at odds with their mentors? How is Daniel Bryan suppose to learn how to succeed in the WWE if Miz is always screaming at him? The rookies I have enjoyed most are the ones who are really trying to soak everything their pro is trying to teach them. The other thing is this reality concept. Really, only 1 guy is going to make it? I would think what is more likely is some of these guys will go to Raw, some to SmackDown! and others back to FCW (the developmental league).

Justin Gabriel- The first South African to be in the WWE and the first rookie to pin a pro (Regal) in last week's episode. A great smile and the best finisher of any rookie so far (a 450 splash from the turnbuckle). He had this weird white vampire sleeve less thing that he traded in for a Matt Hardy TV shirt. I like the dynamic those two have with Matt Hardy being the, "sensei" and Gabriel looks to be the most exciting rookie of the bunch.

Darren Young- I would really like to see a picture of Darren Young and John Cena in the same room. Young looks like Cena drenched in spray tan. Young models himself after a character on Jersey Shore but that hasn't meshed well with CM Punk. Of any pro, CM Punk should probably not be on this show. He's such a hot commodity right now anything he does overshadows everyone else on NXT. His 15 second promo on the pilot overshadowed everything else anyone did. And because he is our 'Straight Edge Savior' the only this partnership works is if he 'saves' Darren Young. It just looks like WWE is setting Young up for failure which I think is unfair, regardless of how good or bad he is.

Wade Barrett- This guy was on the debut episode, but he wears this bulky jacket over his shoulders so I thought he was a skinny runt. He competed the following week and boy was I wrong. He's pretty ripped. He claims to be a bare knuckle fighting champion from England and his massive size makes him quite intimidating. He's been in 2 matches that I thought were good and is really taking to his pro, Chris Jericho, like Gabriel takes to Matt Hardy. Thats good because it gets Jericho more air time and him screaming at the announce table. Winner.

Skip Sheffield- The self proclaimed 'Cornfed Meathead'. Skip is in a position very similar to Darren Young being paired with a polar opposite pro in William Regal. The difference between Regal and Punk is Regal seems to have accepted the challenge. Sheffield's first match last week with Regal didn't go so well and felt like WWE was setting this guy up for failure. Then I saw the promo these two cut on Raw with Criss Angel and it was pretty good. Sheffield calls Regal 'coach' and Regal said Sheffield was easily impressed by the faucets in the airport. Angel did a magic trick and Sheffield walked away saying Regal owed him a Travis Tritt CD.

Here's how I rank the 8 in terms of interest. Just because someone is low on this list doesn't mean I don't like them...

Tarver

Barrett

Gabriel

Young

Otunga

Bryan

Slater

Sheffield

The Blind Side

2010-03-08T19:26:00.001-08:00

The 2010 tour began this past weekend in Memphis. I'm really grateful for having the opportunity to take these kind of trips, even if I spent only approx 32 hours in Memphis and 14 hours on the road. It was worth it. Even if I flew directly to Memphis on Friday, probably wouldn't have done anything that night anyways.

Saturday checked out Shelby Farms, the largest municipal park in the US, apparently. It was a pretty nice day to check it out. It's a lot of open land, marshes, and lakes. Saw some people fishing, but I was never really raised to be a lake fisherman. There were ALOT of people there. I know that sounds like an exaggeration, but it's not. It was a really nice day so it was good to see a good crowd out.

Stopped by the U of M and saw their renovated baseball stadium, FedEx Park. Memphis' Baseball team reminds me of UAA's hockey team. They should be good. They play in a good conference with some really good baseball teams. They should be able to find decent players who fall through the cracks and don't end up in the SEC. After all there are a lot more baseball players compared to football or hockey players out there. Yet, according to multiple sources, they stink. UAA could always blame their lack of facilities (how UAF manages to out recruit them is still beyond me) but now Memphis doesn't have that argument. Maybe they will get better. But after this summer my connection to this city will be severed.

Next we went into an Office Depot and got one of those things that holds up your paper so you don't have to strain your neck or something... I know... riveting.

Had dinner at Corky's. Memphis is well known for its BBQ and Corky's has been my favorite. The Dry Rub Ribs is one of the best meals I've ever had. Actually, I refuse to have dry rub from some place not in Memphis because I don't want it to come off as some cheap rip off, maybe I'm wrong.

The highlight of the night was Spurs vs. Grizzlies. Interestingly enough I have now seen more Memphis Grizzlies NBA games than Dallas Mavericks games (Mavs games are not easy to get into for cheap). The Spurs won by 10, Tony Parker got injured and looks like will be out for 6 weeks. Funny I don't really remember the play but it makes the game stick out I guess. Seats were good though.

Finished the night on Beale Street at bar called Silky O'Sullivan's. My sister told me a good story about one time being at Beale Street the same night of a big high school game between two big all black schools. Beale Street was very crowded but all the white folk were in Silky's. A good hangout regardless. Went back to sis's apartment and called it a trip, essentially.

Memphis was good for the short weekend. Next stop, Omaha.

The Most Watched Hockey Game of All-Time

2010-02-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

This was the best hockey game I have ever seen on TV, and I have seen some good games. I want to leave the story telling to the experts so instead of writing about it I'm just going to copy and paste a story from CBC.ca. I'll be interested to know the ever important TV ratings for this game. It was funny, yesterday I was watching an interview between Al Michaels and Brian Burke and Burke pwned NBC. Michaels asked why Burke thinks the NHL hasn't come to an agreement that would allow NHL players to play in Russia in 2014 with the quality of play in the 2010 games. Burke basically said that the quality has always been there but the reason why the question of why wouldn't the NHL allow their players to play in the Olympics is coming up this year is because 'you guys (NBC) got the game you wanted.' Yes, no one in the US would be interested in Finland playing Sweden in Italy for the Gold. NBC got its wish and then some. Does the NHL capitalize off this? Will more Americans be interested in the NHL and/ or hockey in general? How does NBC capitalize off this? All good questions.

It was fitting that Sid the Kid scored the winning the goal. I was thinking during the game 'where is Crosby?' I didn't hear his name a whole during the game. It was suggested when he came into the league that he would join the pantheon of Canadian Hockey Legends the likes of Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, and Mario Lemieux and now it looks like the prophecy has been fulfilled. Unnoticed in all of this is the guy who got the puck Crosby, Jarome Iginla. Iginla is perhaps the best overshadowed player in the NHL and the pass he made signifies the 'unsung hero' role.

But now here is the article I am cutting and pasting.

One shot for gold.

That is what an absolutely compelling and thrilling Olympic gold-medal game came down to on Sunday afternoon.

One shot for gold.

"We talked as a coaching staff about do we want

to be careful or do we want to play?" said Team Canada coach Mike Babcock. "We agreed we had to have our best players out there as much as we could."

That is why, on a day when he was having by his lofty standards an average game, Sidney Crosby was on the ice in the eighth minute of 4-on-4 overtime. It is also a measure of his greatness that on a day when he wasn't dominant, he was still a difference maker of the tallest order. And if he wasn't a hero in this country before Sunday, then Sidney Crosby definitely is now.

What Paul Henderson was to Canada in 1972, and Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux were in 1987, Crosby now is for 2010.

The pride of Cole Harbour, N.S., became the most popular person in Canada on Sunday afternoon, scoring the winning goal in overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States and its second gold medal in

eight years.

"It's a dream come true to win a gold medal," said Crosby, who just eight months ago won his first Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. "To score in overtime, here in Canada, what's better than that? I've dreamed of that moment a thousand times."

And that moment, quite literally, was a shot that was heard across the country. It was a goal that was only heard by Crosby, too.

"I didn't see it go in," he said. "I just heard everyone scream."

The roar that went up in Canada Hockey Place was deafening, as you would expect. The release of emotion in the stands, but especially on the ice, was incredible. But afterward, despite allowing a two-goal lead to slip away, forcing themselves to win in a so-typically Canadian way, the hard way, the players insisted there was more joy than relief.

This was a game that won't soon be forgotten, either. It was a classic, one that will be remembered for a long while, though the Americans will undoubtedly like to forget it

soon.

It was on the eve of the tournament that Team Canada coach Mike Babcock said if everyone lived up to their potential we might witness one of the great hockey events of all time. He was right.

The pace of this game, the speed and skill, was incredible. Add this one to several days in which Canada has stood still, absolutely consumed by our hockey.

"It was a classic game," said American coach Ron Wilson. "That's the way the game should be played." Give the Americans credit in this game. They went undefeated through the tournament until Sunday and battled back from a two-goal deficit to force the overtime.

Had they won it would not have been a miracle, but rather Miller's time.

Because their team had gotten cautious again, like they had two nights earlier against the Slovaks, and tried to protect the lead, the Canadian coaches decided to play the best players and give themselves the best chance at winning.

And in pressure situations like that, it is when big-game players step up. Like we said, Crosby hadn't had an exceptional game, but he seized the moment when Iginla gave him the puck at the side of the American goal.

"Before the overtime, we told ourselves one guy in this room is going to be hero," said centre Jonathan Toews, who, along with Rick Nash were Canada's best forwards in this game. "We didn't care who it was going to be, but we were confident we were going to get it done."

On the winning goal, the puck got caught up along the boards in an official's skate, Crosby then pushed it past defenceman Brian Rafalski to Iginla down low. Now to Iginla for the play by play.

"He chipped it down to me, then he was yelling for it. He was going to the net, so I just tried to lay it in. He was really screaming "Iggy, here." I knew he knew he had a step. I fell down and didn't see him finish it, but I heard the cheers.

"It was awesome to see him get it. Guys are trying to stop him all the time and he had missed a chance..."

That was a breakaway with about three minutes left in regulation time, the Canadians still clinging to their 2-1 lead. Crosby used his great speed to break in alone, but the bouncing puck got stripped away by Patrick Kane.

"When they tied it up, sitting on the bench, that breakaway was obviously going through my mind," said Crosby, whose winning goal he simply tried to put on net but managed to squeeze it through the pads of Ryan Miller.

Roberto Luongo can now call declare himself a winner, though some will still no doubt question if he is a big-game player as well. The big goaltender looked like he was fighting it for much of the game, but he made a good save early in the game to avoid a deficit and he made game-saving save just seconds before Crosby scored for the winner.

He refused to declare any big-game status, either, leaving that to the media wretches.

"I've got a gold medal around my neck and no one can take it away," said Luongo, who entered the tournament after the Americans had hung a 5-3 loss on Canada a week earlier. "I have a gold medal around my neck and I really don't care what people think.

"I just want to spend some time with the guys now. We're going to have a bond for the rest of our lives."

Just like the late Fred Shero said: Win today and walk together forever.

Luongo was the first to receive gold, as the players lined up numerically to be presented with their medals, before locking arms for an absolutely chilling rendition of 0'Canada with a choir that was more than 16,000 strong.

This, of course, was a game Canada had to win. Home ice. All-star roster. Our game. Well, it isn't our game any longer, though Canada can proudly assert it is number one in the world for the next four years. But as we all know and this tournament drove home that point with how close the competition was, especially the Americans, that the game is being shared.

"We proved it's not just Canada's game," said American centre Ryan Kesler, one of the best players on the ice Sunday, who also scored their first goal, tipping a Kane pass by Luongo. "It took overtime to beat us and we beat them once."

Canada opened the scoring in the first period and that was significant for a number of reasons. First, it was the first time in the tournament the Americans had trailed. Second, unlike their previous meeting in which the Americans scored first, this kept the raucous crowd in the game.

And they beat Ryan Miller, who was voted the tournament's most valuable player, period.

The goal came after the Americans iced the puck. After the faceoff, defenceman Erik Johnson made a misguided short pass to partner Brian Rafalski alongside the goal, but Mike Richards stripped it away and fired at Miller. As usual, he made the save but Jonathan Toews, voted top forward in the tourney, deposited the rebound.

And then it got even more deafening in Canada Hockey Place.

Good first period for Canada

Canada was able to expand its lead early in the second period when a near Keith turnover at the Canadian blue-line turned into a goal at the other end. Ryan Getzlaf, who was amongst the best Canadian forwards (imagine if that ankle injury hadn't allowed him to play), scooped up the puck and carried it into the American zone, drifting a pass in front.

Fittingly, when Miller was presented with his silver medal a huge roar went up in the rink. He deserved it. He was that good again.

Anyway, the Americans refused to quit and actually brought the heat as a couple of Canadian penalties turned the momentum their way. Finally, midway through the second period Kesler scored and all across the country and throughout the rink palms became sweaty.

The fates were starting to conspire against the Canadians late in the second and early in the third when Eric Staal shot wide on a breakaway, then Shea Weber and Chris Pronger both hit posts half a minute apart. Then there was the Crosby breakaway.

Canada played a good, disciplined third period but sat back just a little too much and there was a sense the Americans would somehow muster the tying goal. You could be forgiven, too, if you even wanted them to score just to kept the brilliant spectacle going a little longer.

With an extra attacker on the ice, Zach Parise tapped a rebound past a fallen Luongo with just 24.4 seconds remaining to force the overtime and make the Canadians dig a little deeper to find gold.

But that's the way it was throughout this tournament for them. They took the long road to get to the medal round, but that earlier loss to the Americans and the qualifier with Germany are when they discovered their game and the lines that worked for them on Sunday afternoon, ultimately officially making these Winter Games an overall success.

"We didn't take the easy way," said Crosby. "We worked real hard to get this. It's a dream come true."

Crosby has scored for Canada...memorable words for another generation.

NXT Reaction

2010-02-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

WWE debuted its new show last night, NXT. The show started with a strong viewer rating of 1.7. It's a fresh mix of new faces, reality TV, established talent, and acknowledgment of the IWC. For this post I'll give my first impression of 4 featured rookies, the other 4 next week.

Daniel Bryan- Or Brian Danielson for those IWC nerds out there. A lot has been made due to the fact Bryan has been wrestling a lot longer than his 'pro' The Miz. Basically the majority of the show was built around this conflict, and for his first NXT match in the WWE Bryan got to grapple with World Heavyweight Champion Chris Jericho in a short, but impressive, match that demonstrated the hype behind his in ring skill is legit. The only problem I have with Bryan is he seriously does not have the look. He does look like an accountant, he does look like he has been in the independent leagues his whole life. I think that can be worked on, as well as his mic skills. But WWE has done a good job highlighting the difference between The Miz and Bryan and will be a story line to keep an eye on.

Also, you have to think WWE really sees something in Bryan to pair him with The Miz, arguably the hot commodity on WWE and in his first match face new World Heavyweight Champion Y2J.

Michael Tarver- Tarver has a boxing pedigree background. His father was a sparring partner of Mike Tyson. I really like this guy's look. His gimmick is that he can knock out any man in 1.9 seconds and has a 1.9 logo on his trunks. I believe he also said he is the son of a preacher, and you can tell because of the fact he is really well spoken. I look forward to his mic work. Did not get to see a lot of his wrestling ability, but for someone who looks to be a striker he did a good job showing he has other abilities. I think the 1.9 gimmick can really work and he can have a good career in WWE.

Heath Slater- You might confuse this guy for a stereotypical hick from West Virginia. He's paired with my main man Christian and from a personality stand point the two are opposites. Christian exudes a quiet confidence about himself as he acknowledges the Peeps. Slater is a little too wild and crazy, almost to the point of looking forced and also did not acknowledge the crowd as Christian told him. His wrestling style is like backyard wreslting. Not afraid to throw his body around but I would like to see him under a controlled frenzy kinda like Kofi Kingston, but I doubt Heath Slater has his hops.

*Coincidence or not, Christian's original in ring name is Christian Cage. The Cage part coming from Nicholas Cage and Christian coming from... Christian Slater. Coincidence?

David Otunga- Another guy with a lot of potential. If WWE doesn't work out for this guy I don't think he'll have a problem finding another line of work. Three years in Harvard Law School, engaged to former Oscar Nominee (or winner, I don't know) Jennifer Hudson, and probably the only WWE Superstar to visit the White House... twice. From a business stand point WWE should be all over this guy. He seems like someone any company would want on their team. Now from a Wrestling stand point, he apparently has only been in the ring for about a year. Describes himself as a blend of Randy Orton, Triple H, and John Cena, and has the body looks of Batista. Did not get to see a lot of skill from him in his match that lasted maybe a minute. Looking forward to seeing his work in the future.

Next entry will look at the four remaining rookies.

Elimination Chamber

2010-02-21T19:50:00.000-08:00

I found a couple web sites that streamed tonight's PPV event, Elimination Chamber, to make up for Ker's Winghouse just shutting down out of no where. While the quality was just ok, the amount of lag was below tolerable. Still, you have no room to complain when you get to watch something that cost around $50 for free.

Elimination Chamber opened up with the WWE Title Chamber match. Ever since Sheamus won the WWE Title by fluke the powers that be have seemed to rush his segments out on Raw just to get him done with and move on to something people will actually want to see. Same case here. Has there ever been a ppv that opened up with the WWE Title match?

The match opens with Sheamus and Kofi. Then my live feed got twitchy and when I got it back up Randy Orton, Ted DiBiase, and Triple H were in the match. DiBiase and Orton put aside their recent differences and were working together wearing out the other combatants. Cena finally got into the match and all six superstars were in at once. The feed got erratic again when Cody Rhodes ran down to the chamber what appeared to be a lead pipe and handed it to DiBiase. I believe the pipe was intended to be used by Orton, but DiBiase ended up using it on RKO and getting his elimination, much to Rhodes' dismay. DiBiase then turned around and received the World's most devastating pump kick courtesy of Sheamus and was eliminated. Sheamus then got Kofi in the Razor's Edge and got his second pinfall of the night leaving him, Cena, and Triple H. The feed got weak again around here, but it was looking like Sheamus was going to hit Cena with the Razor's Edge when Triple H came in and hit Sheamus with the Pedigree, ending this nightmare of WWE Champion Sheamus... Thank God!!!

Cena would then get Triple H locked in the STF. Triple H fought hard to try and get out of the hold, but ultimately would be forced to tap out, leaving Cena as the new WWE Champ.

Hold the phone on that. As Cena was about to hold his newly acquired Championship, Vince came out and told Cena he could go to Wrestlemania as champion if he could beat.... this guy! (Batista) The Altered Beast made quick work of Cena and won the WWE Title. This was obviously the 'compensation' Vince told Cena about after the Bret Hart attack and the reason Batista walked out on CM Punk in his EC Qualifying match. He knew something the WWE Universe didn't.

The feed was lost again and picked up in the middle of Drew McIntrye vs Kane for the Intercontinental Championship. Hard to see much of this match but Drew McIntyre kept his title and undefeated streak going.

Equally hard to see was Gail Kim vs. Maryse. For some reason, the evil Vickie Guerrero decided to make it a tag match between the two Raw Divas and simply flawless (and gorgeous!) pair of Michelle McCool and Layla. The Smackdown! Divas would win.

An impromptu US Title match between The Miz and MVP would also occur. The Miz has been getting a lot of heat recently after being paired with NXT 'rookie' Daniel Bryan. An internet phenom, the heat comes from the fact that Daniel here has been wrestling all over the world for 10 years, longer than The Miz. People claim its Bryan who should be teaching The Miz instead of the other way around. Apparently word about this got back to The Miz who put the 'IWC' in its place with an entry to his WWE Universe Blog.

He made a good point in that succeeding in the WWE takes more than in ring ability. You have to be able to win over the crowd. That is why he is being paired with Bryan, not to teach him the Skull Crushing Finale. Anyways, on the message board it was funny to read people's reactions, "He wrestles in front of 1,000 people, not 100!"

Oh he won his match by the way. Thanks to a Knockout punch by Big Show.

I'll skip the Divas match and go on to the WHC Elimination Chamber. CM Punk and R-Truth started the match. Before hand Punk gave us another epic sermon and after making quick work of Truth gave another speech during the interlude before pods opening. The great thing about Punk is that he is able to tweek what he says so its not the same thing over and over which is brillant! Rey Mysterio came in next and after a hard fought 5 minutes eliminate our Straightedge Savior, just in time for Jericho to run in and attack. Jericho would slap on a Boston Crab (I refuse to call that crap the Walls) to Rey before Morrison entered the fray. Things were steady until Morrison hit Starship Pain on Rey leaving him, Jericho, and Undertaker who came in charging like a bull.

This is where the match really picked up. A good balance between all three wrestlers with Morrison trying to stand toe to toe with Undertaker with Jericho hiding in one of the pods. Morrison fought valiantly, and after this event you have to believe he is the favorite going into MITB. 'Taker hit Jomo with a chokeslam on the steel living him and Jericho as finalists. A long battle ensued. Jericho and 'Taker would escape each other's submission holds, but 'Taker was able to kick out of the Codebreaker and come back by hitting the Last Ride. Then 'out of nowhere' and 'all of a sudden' Shawn Michaels would appear from within the chamber and superkick Undertaker! Jericho cleaned up the scraps and won his sixth World Title.

Elimination Chamber was easy to predict and went according to plan. Edge v Jericho was the WHC everyone wanted to see since Edge's return at Royal Rumble. Ever since Batista showed up to beat up Bret Hart it was clear him and Cena were setting up for a Wrestlemania match, and I doubt that hack Sheamus would of been given the big spotlight. Therefore Cena/ Batista would be for the WWE Title. Batista showing up and fighting Cena like it was a MITB cash in was unexpected.

What's Next For Christian

2010-02-21T12:26:00.000-08:00

ECW was finally euthanized this past Tuesday and much to the chagrin of 'Peeps' everywhere, Captain Charisma himself did not leave as the final ECW Champion. I can understand the decision. Christian is already over with the fans and Ezekiel Jackson has been gradually 'getting over' with his matches against him. Winning the ECW Title was the final step necessary for Jackson to make it over and establish himself on a new show. Going to Smackdown! as the final ECW Champion will make it easier for Jackson to be considered as contender and not just another big guy who screams a lot.

Where does this leave Christian? It was interesting to listen to the last promo he cut before his match on Tuesday. He said that many viewed his coming to ECW as a demotion , which he tried to refute. While I can understand fans' frustration with him being in ECW, I think people should look toward the bright light at the end of the tunnel. Whatever show he goes to, hopefully Smackdown!, he is going to have a lot of momentum. He is a 2 time ECW champion, the longest reigning ECW champion in history, the 6th longest title reign in WWF/E history, and 65 title defenses. Him being on ECW keeps his potential feuds fresh with Raw/ Smackdown! foes such as Batista, CM Punk, Jericho, and hopefully Edge as an Edge & Christian reunion of sorts is something everyone would want to see. Remember we got that tease from Backlash 2009.

Seeing as Christian doesn't have a feud this close to Wrestlemania and his high aptitude for ladder matches, it is a safe bet to assume he will be in the Money in the Bank Ladder Match. As optimistic as I am my gut tells me he won't win. A couple of months ago I'd say Kofi Kingston would win, now i'm not sure but he is still a contender. Drew McIntyre and John Morrison are the other contenders. McIntyre is currently undefeated and Intercontinental Champion scheduled to face Kane tonight at Elimination Chamber. I don't see him losing and since Vince McMahon is so high on him I don't think he will need the MITB briefcase to be WHC or WWE Champ. Morrison, for as dynamic as he is, I believe is another year from a WHC/ WWE Title reign. It's interesting because on the forum I visit the consensus is that he is a charismatic-less hack. I don't necessarily agree with that but that is not to say he can't work on things. I do feel like he is more of a WHC lock than Christian is.

Christian needs MITB. It is the only way I see him as a World Champion. He has the momentum, he's over with the fans, and he's capable of main event level of mic work. As I said before, my gut tells me he won't be a world title holder in WWE, but what gets me is if Vince did not see the potential in him, and that being the main reason Christian went to TNA, why would Christian come back? What does it REALLY mean to be the longest reigning ECW Champion? How will he be used now that he doesn't have the weight of an entire show on his shoulders? Do people in WWE Brass feel the same way as the 'IWC' does? Do they see Christian being over? And do they care?

These questions and others will be answered in the months to come.

All-Star List

2010-02-15T16:54:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to draw this out. I was lucky enough to be put next to the VIP entrance at the All-Star Game last night. Here is a list of NBA Legends/ Players/ Celebs I saw up close, in no particular order.

Bill Russell

Magic Johnson

Bill Walton

Dominique Wilkins

Charles Barkley

Chris Mullin

Avery Johnson

Reggie Miller

Robert Horry

Kenny Smith

Chris Webber

B.J. Armstrong

Kevin Garnett

Steve Nash

Paul Pierce

Dirk

Chris Bosh

Chris Kaman

D-Wade

Marc Gasol

James Harden

Mark Cuban

Diddy

Chris Tucker

Common

Emmitt Smith

Deion Sanders

Nancy Lieberman

Rev. Jesse Jackson

Spike Lee

Jerry Stackhouse

I win.

JHo...Gone!

2010-02-14T11:38:00.000-08:00

And good riddance!

As I am writing this I have to be at Cowboys Stadium in little over an hour for the NBA All-Star Game which will be a once in a lifetime experience, despite the fact I am working. I will try to watch some action while on break like I did with the Cowboys playoff game a month ago. Besides not too many people can say they were in the same building as Kobe, Lebron, DWade and Dwight Howard and Charles Barkley at the same time.

The big news though is the Mavs finally got rid of Josh Howard and in turn got an infusion of talent Dallas has desperately needed since 2007. JHo, Drew Gooden, and two others for Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood, and DeShawn Stevenson.

It does suck that Dallas had to give up Drew Gooden. Not only was he proving to be a good signing but this is his 8th team in 8 years which is kinda ridiculous. I thought I hated moving.

But anyone with sense would of made this deal if you're the Mavs. Caron Butler is one of the most underrated players in the NBA. I've often thought how the Lakers might have been different had they kept him in purple and gold. Now that he is on an above .500 team people will get to see how good this guy is. Brendan Haywood now makes Damp expendable if another deal comes up. I know he has that ever desirable expiring contract... or maybe thats next season. Regardless Haywood gives Dallas an inside defensive presence Damp can give if he ever would be 100%. I don't want to knock Damp too hard because I shook the guy's hand at a Cowboys game this year.

And lastly, if Deshawn Stevenson sticks around he will give the Mavs a level of toughness this team hasn't seen in a while. The knock on the Mavs is they are too soft of a team, well Deshawn Stevenson is as crazy as they come so just by his being on the roster the Mavs toughness just went up. Like I said lets see if stays around or does DAL just ship him out somewhere else before the trade deadline.

I don't really understand this trade if you are WAS though. Josh Howard, while a former All-Star is merely a shell of himself from 2006. He has glass ankles that sideline him consistently and if he is healthy he is in too much of a mental funk to get anything out of. Avery couldn't get anything out of him in 07-08 and Carlisle couldn't get anything out of him in 08-09 and 09-10. I wish him the best, maybe all he needs is a change of scenery.

I guess it comes down to getting those short expiring contracts if you are WAS. Everybody is getting their pocketbooks ready for Summer 10 free agency and teams like the Wizards, Nets, and Knicks believe they can lure big names like LeBron and DWade to come play for their crappy teams... okay. I just can never understand why a guy like LeBron would leave Cleveland, a team that is bending over backwards to get the talent around him for multiple championships for a team like the Knicks or Nets, who the only thing they got going for them is the fact they are in the Northeast. Just doesn't make sense to me.

2010 Tour

2010-02-08T16:46:00.000-08:00

Now that the Super Bowl is over that means baseball is around the corner. Now that I have a regular M-F job that means weekend trips are realistic and I do not need the approval of the Abercrombie Gods. I've thought a lot about it and here is a tentative schedule subject for change...

3/7- Memphis

3/14 or 3/21- Omaha

TBD- Baton Rouge

5/12- Kansas City

5/22- St. Louis

6/19, 6/20- Houston

TBA- Los Angeles

TBA- 2nd trip to Omaha

Also not included is a 2nd trip to Memphis and possibly out to West Virginia, which for that I would have to get work approval. Also a 2nd trip to Houston, like a day trip, is possible as well.

My sister will be moving back to Anchorage when she finishes grad school this summer, so I won't have a real reason to visit either. Shame really, as Memphis has always been a fun town to visit.

I had a really good time up in Omaha back in August. I'm pretty set on going back up next month but I think that will effect if I can go back for the College World Series. We'll see.

I've always thought it would be good idea to visit my uncle in New Orleans who works over @ LSU. A baseball guy himself, I figure me and him could see an LSU game.

Watching a game in Kansas City is what sparked my idea of getting out of the retail game. I had such a good time I'd like to head back. Too bad, no AL West team plays over the weekend as I'll have to settle with another AL Central team. I'll try to do so I don't have to rush from OKC to KC in under six hours to make first pitch.

St. Louis is the next stadium I will cross of my list, and I found a weekend where the LA Angels come to town so I can rep the AL West. The only bad thing here is if I do St. Louis that means I will probably have to spend a night in Tulsa. I've never been to Tulsa, but Tulsa reminds of someone who for the moment has left me bitter.

With a full weekend I can catch two TEX vs HOU games but seeing as I am already investing a lot of $ into these trips, we could be looking at an overnight trip again like last year. Still be cool for the Rangers to come in and kick Astro tail.

I have a friend who is moving out to LA soon and he mentioned the idea of coming out for a visit. This could be a great way to cross Dodger Stadium off my list... and visit a good friend at the same time.

It's going to be an awesome year.

Royal Rumble

2010-01-31T13:40:00.000-08:00

is this evening and I was going to write about it afterwards. Buuuut as I pull into Ker's Winghouse in Irving I notice a dark building with no lights on inside.

The place has been shut down. I wasn't the only one surprised by this, as a number of cars were passing me coming out of the parking lot.

I'll need to find a new place to catch ppv from now on.

26 Years in the Making

2010-01-16T17:15:00.000-08:00

I want it noted that Brendan Morrow, Kate Moss, and Jim Caldwell have the same birthday I do.

The day of mentioning is January 16th and with this being 2010 it makes me 26. NOW I am getting old. But last night was a night to remember, most of which I do. I want to thank my friends who came out and helped make it memorable. Particularly Capt. Awesome and Robert.

I'll get to the good stuff right now. So me and Capt. Awesome leave his apartment around 10 PM and head to Flying Saucer where I get a couple different exotic type beers. Robert and two friends of his meet us there and shoot the breeze a little before heading to Library. At this point I am feeling fine.

The only reason I wanted to go to Library is for the eye candy. It's just an overcrowded bar for TCU Students. I get a few shots of tequila and a couple bud lights and hence the saying "Beer before liquor never sicker." One thing I don't get, regardless of whether I am drunk or sober, is why girls are surprised when guys keep approaching them when they are dressed to gain attention and doing something like grinding on each other. That is like shooting a flair gun hoping someone is going to find you.

So next we head to Rick O'Shea's, and now I'm starting to lose it. After another shot of tequila and a Bud Select and amidst watching my friends playing pool, I head to the bathroom to hurl for the first time that evening. Come back out, keep watching folks playing pool with everyone knowing what I just did. Before leaving for another bar, I try telling this girl who I think was married she had really sexy black boots on. Why would I say something like that is beyond me, but alcohol has always helped me loosen up a little bit. I ended up saying this to the gal's husband (supposedly) who seemed pretty cool with it and didn't take it as me trying to hit on her.

Now things start getting weird. We are at a 4th bar, which I have no idea where or what it is. I don't know if I had another shot here or not but before I know it I am talking to a girl with a softball player type body which I have become more and more attracted to over the years for some reason. We start talking about it being my BDay, I think Capt. Awesome told her, and she calls bullshit. I pull out my ID and show her and coincidentally her BDay is 1/15 and she also turned 26, showed me her ID as well. She asked me if I wanted to take a shot and play pool, and then I said probably the greatest and most bold thing I've ever said to a woman, and to be honest I don't know if I'll ever say again which I'm going to write in black because I don't want it just out in the open...

What is the worst that could happen? We end up having sex?

I don't know exactly how she took it but she didn't hit me so it couldn't of been that bad. At this point it is close to 2:00 AM and everyone is starting to leave. Despite what I said this girl's phone number ends up in my dinosaur of a phone. Me and Capt. Awesome say bye to Robert and his friends and go look for a piece of pizza. So now we are this place called Sammy's and I start talking to a couple guys from New York who enjoyed the remarks I would make about the pretty girls who would walk bye, and upon finding out it is (was at this point) my BDay get a cute girl from behind me to kiss me on the cheek. Had some laughs, get my piece of pepperoni and make our way back to Captain Awesome's.

On the way back I hurl once, twice, three times. I think once was on the sidewalk, one in the bushes, and one in the trash can. Somewhere in there Capt. Awesome says you might want to not do it on the sidewalk because there is a cop right behind me. Then all of a sudden there is a cop standing next to me, thankfully for me this guy was understanding and didn't give me a ticket. Thinking about I don't know if it was mainly because of how cool he was or the fact despite me throwing up I wasn't walking around like there was an earthquake around me. I did, without even the cop asking, throw my keys to Capt. Awesome to show that I was not going to be driving home. I then made another pretty funny comment but I won't post that one.

Finally get back to his apartment and I grab a bottle of water before planting on his couch. He went to bed soon after and I was dozing in front of Jurassic Park. Before I can go to sleep I feel another vomit coming on and head to the bathroom to unload for the final time. Did make a bit of a mess but tried to clean it up as much as I could, including the bits I got on his Hustler magazine. I bring the Hustler out to look at, then I pass out.

Woke up around 7 AM feeling well enough to drive and headed back to Arlington and that was my 26th Birthday.

So a lot better than me writing about how 26 was better than 25. My parents did send me G.I. Joe, the only summer movie I have not seen, and I actually think it was better than Transformers. The scene where Cobra Commander is unveiled might be the best scene from all the movies I got from XMas/ BDay and my new quote...

"You will call me, Commander!"

A Triple Whammy

2010-01-12T04:52:00.000-08:00

I have a lot to talk about today and will cram it in one long post.

Steroids: So What's Changed?

Mark McGwire coming out and telling us he used steroids tells us nothing and what many suspected and many others had already found him guilty of. In the Bob Costas interview from yesterday everybody could see the burden of shame he has been carrying for most of his professional career.

As mentioned it is nothing new but yet its the big thing everyone wants to talk about. Never would you hear Mike and Mike in the morning, who talk NFL ALL THE TIME even in the middle of June, talk baseball in the middle of the NFL Playoffs.

Personally I am sick of steroids and have become numb to this kind of news. The only ways baseball seems to make the limelight these days is through steroids or how the Yankees or Red Sox will win the World Series.

The only thing Steroid Era has done for me is devalue the home run. 500 home runs is not the great achievement it was 10 years as more and more hitters achieve this 'milestone'. If anything the steroids era makes me appreciate players like Cal Ripken, Tony Gwynn, and Ichiro even more. Also on a personal level, i've always been more impressed with batting averages than home runs.

So when it comes McGwire all people want to do is talk about his HOF chances. For me, I don't think he is Hall of Fame caliber regardless of steroid use. He was a huge strikeout liability when he played. For his career he had 1626 hits and 1596 strikeouts. His career average is only .263. Of his 1626 hits, 583 of those were home runs, thats over a third. He was a long ball threat for sure, but that is it, and when I think of players in the hall of fame I think of multi-dimensional players. McGwire is definitely not that.

So that's how I feel about Mark McGwire. However, the steroid era is so polarizing to the baseball world and Hall of Fame it brought up a new opinion I have never heard before, coming from ESPN baseball writer Buster Olney. He said that baseball writers should no longer be the ones to determine who makes the Hall of Fame. He used the analogy of this being similar to having reporters on Capital Hill being the ones who vote on health care. Basically saying steroids are bringing in personal beliefs and therefore the writers are becoming the news rather than the ones reporting it.

I think this is a good idea. I have heard about too many reporters who have already passed judgment onto players like McGwire, Barry Bonds, and Alex Rodriguez and would not vote them in.

So, great. Because of this are we just going to ignore the Steroid Era? We'll have like a 20 year void where seemingly no one gets in to the Hall of Fame because the writers and media have determined that in this era it is guilty till proven innocent.

Why can't writers just take into consideration that the rules in the beginning of the Steroid Era were lax and accept it. Their scorn should be directed towards MLB for letting it get this out of hand and not the players who at the time were not breaking the rules.

My moral dilemma is this; If you are doing something at the time is not considered cheating but the rule is later changed in the future, are you considered a cheater? I don't think it is. Now if you get caught like Rafael Palmeiro did that is obviously different.

I think writers and media are going to have to accept that steroids were rampant and will have to acknowledge the greats of its time like Roger Clemens, Bonds, and Rodriguez. Regardless if they want to be belligerent about their use or come out of the proverbial closet like McGwire just did. Again though, now that its a rule and there is testing, getting caught is well deserved for scorn and ridicule. But again I am not going to ignore the era I was born in and grew up watching and think so lowly of these greats.

The one thing I will concede is that there is no problem in considering Roger Maris and Hank Aaron as true home run record holders.

Ridiculousness in College Football

The Pete Carroll heading to Seattle story line has got me thinking about a couple things actually. At first, I thought why would you leave the top of the mountain in USC for the NFL?

It is a proven fact that college coaches who jump to the pros in todays sport world don't have the same success. This is true for football and basketball. In fact, if you look at the NBA it has been a while since a major college coach has tried to make the jump to the association. Mike Montgomery I believe was the last one to try. Other flameouts include John Calipari, Rick Pitino, Leonard Hamilton, and Lon Kruger just to name a few. Billy Donovan almost became the coach for Orlando a couple years ago before he got cold feet, then the Magic hired Stan Van Gundy. That decision worked out for all parties.

The same law works in the NFL with the big exception in my mind being Jimmy Johnson of Cows lore. Butch Davis, Mike Riley, Dennis Erickson, Nick Saban, Lane Kiffin (although I'm willing to give him a pass), all washouts in the NFL but proven college coaches. Pete Carroll actually has prior experience in the NFL with a greater than .500 record which compared to these other coaches is pretty good.

I just kept thinking why would you want to leave the security and sure thing at USC for the unsure and unproven in Seattle. It just didn't make any sense. Then I heard something on the radio and it hit me.

Do you know how ridiculous some of these alumni at some of these predominant football schools are when it comes to its expectations on football? Every year you hear about another power school that is unhappy with its coach that has brought success for the past five years. For example, Ohio State being unhappy w/ Jim Tressel. All the guy does is win Big 10 titles and gets his team into the BCS, not to mention total ownage of Michigan, and people want to get rid of him because of a lackluster BCS bowl record. Ohio State was irrelevant before Jim Tressel, now we talk about them in the big picture every year. Same thing with Oklahoma and Bob Stoops. Oklahoma irrelevant before Stoops' arrival. Now there are rumblings at Georgia who has enjoyed much success since Mark Richt arrived, and we all saw how Florida State kept trying to push living legend Bobby Bowden out the door before he announced his retirement.

I can appreciate those die hard fans. However the National Championship can not be divided 17 ways amongst all the teams that feel they are entitled to being in the conversation year in and year out. Chances are your team did not win it all this year or will next year. That doesn't mean you can have a great season.

So that said, maybe Pete Carroll felt the same could befall him if he had another season like this at USC. A decent year but by no means great by USC standards. Perhaps he did not want to deal with the alumni breathing down his neck and wanted to get out while it was still good.

Then again maybe the NCAA and Yahoo! Sports are closing in and Carroll is distancing himself in order to get some of this heat off his back. Who knows. I do believe he will be back in the NCAA in 5 years.

This I Got to Say

Sometimes when I drive to work and have to endure long commercials on 103.3 ESPN i'll turn the dial to 106.1

KISS. Their morning show is a very hip, Hollywood A-List, entertainment heavy morning show. They do local news and they talked about this story of a kid in Mesquite who can't go to school right now because he has long hair.

It got me thinking if I were to ever have a boy how would I feel. If I had a boy who wanted long hair, I would begrudgingly accept it. Mainly because this is a free country and if boys want to have long hair than that is their right. Also I think by not constantly getting on them about it they are more likely to grow out of this phase. Then again if you read the story, this boy is only 4 so I don't think he has hit that rebellious stage. Either he really doesn't like getting haircuts or his parents are just weird. Still, they should let him go to school.

So while they were reporting this story, the anchor lady mentioned another story about another boy in middle school suspended for wearing skinny jeans and one of the supposed men of the show said not quoting 'what is wrong with that? The Jonas Brothers wear them.' The lady said something along the lines about not wanting to see those on a boy because girls could see the outlines on his balls. It made me want to put my hand in the radio and stop the show.

Here is the bottom line: If you are a man, and you think wearing skinny jeans are cool, then your man card has expired and you need to renew in some way. Back when I worked for Abercrombie, skinny jeans were girl jeans, and it would bewilder me whenever a guy would ask me what size he would be in skinny jeans. I could not answer that.

What are so appealing about these things? One, they hug your balls to the point they can't breath, and my boys have to breath in order to be comfortable. Two, they look so tight how does one move comfortably in this things. They remind me of the Seinfeld episode where Kramer puts on the jeans so tight he can't take them off and walks around like Frankenstein, and scaring a little kid. Do they rip when you sit down? Two A, where is the flood (highwater pants)?

I can imagine if the men of the squared table were still around and had to discuss these pants would give them a huge thumbs down, even if the Jonas Brothers wear them (I'll give you the fact that the Jonas Bros are cultural icons currently). So while I had some employees who wore skinny jeans at Hco. (I would also like to note that while I did not discriminate against them my employer did) I don't think you need to revoke their man card, they just need to do something to make you prove they deserve it (like in 106.1's case watch 'My New Haircut' and know about it).

That was a lot for one day.

Cows, DOMINANT!

2010-01-10T09:09:00.000-08:00

Never would I have guessed that the first post-season/ playoffs play I would see live would be the Dallas Cowboys. Yes, it was in a working capacity, but instead of usually sitting down for my break I went out to watch the game. When I first walked in, there was a different atmosphere as opposed to an average Cows game. It was more focused, confident as opposed to tense. You can't take home playoffs game for granted and it was really cool to see it live.

The stretch I saw included the reversal of the Eagles' interception in the 2nd and Tashard Choice's 1 yd touchdown run. Now when I see it on NFL Films I'll remember I saw it in person. Someone else I saw was Lions' Quarterback Matthew Stafford. I was tipped off because he was wearing a Detroit Tigers hat, and had a cast around his foot. I wasn't entirely sure because his baby face had some stubble on it, but it was later confirmed.

As for the game, how can you not like the Cowboys chances to keep rolling in this year's playoffs? For the second week in the road they dominated the Eagles... dominated. Dominated the same Eagles team that won six straight before showing up in Arlington last week. They outscored Philly 78-30 in three games this season. I believe if you told any realistic Cows fan that Dallas would outscore the Eagles by that margin and be 3-0 against them this season, you would of been meant with serious doubt. Hell, I thought they were no better than 3rd in the NFC East and if Washington could ever get their shit together they could be fourth.

Now they are serious contenders. No one can dispute that.

So why the metamorphosis? I think it is Cows players maturing and just collectively hitting their stride at the right time like teams like the Colts did a couple years ago, the Steelers before that, and almost what Arizona did last year.

We all know Demarcus Ware is a beast. Now add Anthony Spencer and Jay Ratliff and that gives Cows opponents a nightmare on the D Line. Then in the secondary there is Mike Jenkins who is quickly becoming a top 5 corner in the NFL. Add that to Terrance Newman and the solid play of the linebackers and you get a rock solid d who appears to have no weakness at the moment.

For the offense, I think a big reason for their success is the fact that all their running backs are healthy. A thunder (Barber) and lightning (Felix Jones) attack with a third back to do a little bit of both (Choice) and an O Line playing well. Tony Romo is also playing some of his best football which for him is just managing the game and not trying to play gunslinger. He has weapons in his receivers, deep threat and possession, two tight ends (three after yesterday), running backs and even a fullback if necessary.

Probably the only thing that makes me a little nervous is the kicker. Releasing Nick Folk wasn't a bad call, but replacing him with the reject kicker from Washington... lets hope nothing comes down to a field goal.

In talking to other Cowboys fans in the stadium there is only one other team in the NFC that makes them uneasy right now. Green Bay. I think they will roll over Arizona and New Orleans and be in the NFC Championship. Aaron Rodgers has quietly had a great season and if it wasn't for that patchwork O Line he might have gotten MVP consideration and maybe the Vikings would not be NFC North champs.

The hope, and realistic possibility, is Green Bay vs. Dallas for the NFC Championship, Jan. 24, 2010 6:40 PM EST @ Cowboys Stadium on FOX.

BCS Reaction

2010-01-07T19:53:00.000-08:00

The Miz has a new theme....and its awesome!!

I'm writing this as the National Championship is in the 3rd Quarter. Alabama just punted.

Before this game started I felt Texas was destined to win this game for a lot of reasons; Colt McCoy's (The winningest qb in FBS history) last game, Pasadena, the Heisman Curse, the fact #1 teams are like 1-7 in this game in the last 8 years, Texas' remarkable record in close games, the underdog role Texas had.

How in the world could Alabama be favored? Let alone expected to win?

The one thing that needed to happen for Alabama did. Colt McCoy got injured. When I first saw the hit I didn't think much of it. It wasn't one of those knee jerk reactions like Willis McGahee in 2002. But then you see himself call for a sub, and then the trainers are looking at him, then he's going to the locker room... and not coming out. I'm thinking wow he must really be hurting.

And then the news, officially he was out for the half, unofficially he's done for the game.

In comes a true freshman, decorated with all sorts of player of the year honors in high school and holder of various Texas high school records. Regardless I don't think you could expect this kid to come in and be Colt McCoy right now.

Despite the new qb, Texas hangs tough, and it looks like they will go into the half trailing only 17-6. Then Texas tries....I don't know, but a shovel pass with 30 seconds left backfires and Alabama scores a touchdown making it 24-6.

Texas has some fight left though, their defense continues to battle and win field position and the young freshman connects with Shipley to cut the lead to 13-24.

Texas continues to fight. Alabama looks like they are playing not to lose. The freshman Gilbert connects with Shipley again, who I believe has a long NFL career ahead of him as a possession receiver. Two point conversion now its a 21-24 game. This could be a comeback for the ages! Alabama is on the ropes and punting again! Then, BAM! Alabama knocks the ball loose and picks it up on the Texas 3. Alabama punches it in to secure the title.

Gilbert throws a pick to Arenas (had to throw that in there).

"well, good game bama. I can't possibly concede that you're the better team but I'll concede that you win tonight. At the risk of sounding like a poor sport, I'd count your lucky stars that our boy COLT MCCOY did not play this game." - Nick Thomas (well said)

The irony in this comment is back in October the same thing happened to Texas tonight happened to Oklahoma and Sam Bradford. OU continued to fight and gave UT a good run for their money. You could take that statement and switch out COLT MCCOY for SAM BRADFORD.

I think this shows that any team that has a lot of fight in them can play against tough competition and hold their own like OU did in October, and Texas did tonight. I just hope we don't hear that from the 'whiny orange' as Randy Galloway says.

What the Hell is up with ECW?

2010-01-06T04:45:00.000-08:00

First, Bret Hart's triumphant return. As guest host he really didn't do much, not like I was expecting him to. But it was nice to see him 'bury the hatchet' as he said with Shawn Michaels and Vince McMahon, even if Vince did go 'Mr. McMahon' on Bret and kick him in the groin. I do hope we will get a chance to see Bret Hart again in the future.

Now on to ECW, which is slowly dying in a painful, agonizing death. If you look back on ECW in 2009, I would think it to be a good year for the third brand. ECW had a lot of superstars jump from ECW to Smackdown or RAW and make an impact. Take a look at the main event from Bragging Rights (which ECW had no part of officially) and you'll know what I am talking about.

Former ECW stars in 09 that competed on Bragging Rights; The Miz, John Morrison, Jack Swagger, Matt Hardy, Mark Henry, The Hart Dynasty

So it is not like ECW isn't contributing anything to the WWE. But it looks like WWE is shutting off the valve in ECW. The new superstars to arrive haven't really made an impact like the last crop before them (obvious exception being Sheamus, not as obvious Yoshi Tatsu). This is making ECW hard to watch. Vance Archer and the team of Berreta and Croft are boring. I'm still trying to figure out if Abraham Washington is even a wrestler. This rivalry of Ezekiel Jackson and Vladimir Kozlov also needs to die. That match from last night was so uninteresting it made me turn the channel. Zack Ryder also needs a rival to tell him what a tool he is, but Tommy Dreamer to decided to ask for his release.

The only interesting personalities left are Goldust, Shelton Benjamin, and of course Christian. Goldust is cool just because he is really quirky and his short promos are always funny. Shelton Benjamin is an accomplished superstar who can compete with anyone in the WWE. Then there is Christian, who desperately needs to get off ECW, but he has been a great ECW Champion holding the title for over 6 months. However it has come to a point where not even he can hold up ECW anymore. And this is shown through the show's lackluster ratings.

So WWE's response is the ECW Homecoming Tournament in which the winner gets a chance to face Christian for the ECW Title at Royal Rumble. The tournament gets us good matches between current RAW and Smackdown superstars, and an occasional ECW wrestler, but there is a high mathematical probability that the ECW Title could end up not on ECW. One thing it does give us are promos from different match ups we would otherwise not see, like Christian and CM Punk. Christian and CM Punk has potential to be a great rivalry (they've cut a couple good promos and had a nice skirmish at Survivor Series) and would deserve to be on Smackdown. Maybe then ECW could get a little recognition.

Regardless, it is taking superstars from other brands to make ECW interesting, in the mean time ECW has run out of interesting story lines and compelling characters to get anyone to care. It makes me wonder what the hell am I watching on Tuesday nights.

Rumor is that WWE has a major facelift planned for ECW. A new name perhaps, and maybe being exclusively for young stars. If that is the case here s what I predict; Vance Archer will win the battle royal next Tuesday and go on to defeat Christian at Royal Rumble. Sometime after that ECW will transform into whatever the WWE has in store. Christian, Shelton, Goldust, and The Hurricane will disband to another brand and the ECW title will become a new title.

I think Christian needs to lose the ECW title soon so he can transition to one of the two brands and try to be a main eventer there. He's over with the crowds and has the ability in the ring and on the mic to be a World Heavyweight/ WWE Champion. I always thought he was told he could reach that this time around in WWE or why would he have left TNA?

NFL Playoffs

2010-01-04T18:06:00.001-08:00

As I am writing this Bret Hart is in a WWE Ring. Blog to follow in later days.

But this weekend begins an exciting time in the NFL. The NFL Playoffs. To me, the NFL is like a bad casserole with really good chicken bits in it. You have to dig around to find them and they taste pretty good. The NFL these days is a myriad of bad teams and finding the good ones can be difficult. The playoffs, for the most part, rids us of the Rams, Lions, and Browns of the league and leaves us the Colts, Patriots, and Vikings. It's what makes the NFL the NFL (NOT fantasy football).

These playoffs are particularly interesting because the higher seeds come in tumbling while the lower seeds come in rolling. New Orleans and Indy are both 0-3 in their last three games. I believe the Saints were exposed when they lost to the Cows a few Saturdays ago. Their defense is paper thin and unless their offense is firing on all cylinders they will be in trouble when they play a better team.

The Colts, on the other hand, decided to rest starters and avoid catching perfection therefore went 0-3. I really got to question this. Mainly because when the Colts do this they don't get very far in the playoffs. Remember a couple years ago when they started 14-0? Then they rested their starters and end up getting beat by the Steelers, who were playing their best football at the time. This year currently they are playing their worst football at the wrong time.

So who's hot in the AFC? Definitely the Chargers who have quietly had a great year. Philip Rivers is the man, he's the one qb in the league I'd love to play for. But I don't know if I can take the Chargers seriously as a team in the Super Bowl, esp. if they have to play New England.

Speaking of New England, they are back in the playoffs. I can never pick against this team. Tom Brady might be a like a really hot girl with no personality, but he's a winner, a proven winner. New England has San Diego's # and if they can beat the Ravens they'll get the Chargers on the road. The crushing blow to the Pats might be losing Wes Welker, Brady's favorite weapon and the best possession receiver in the league. Still, New England will be a tough out.

The other teams in the AFC are the Bengals, who are the fluke division winners in 2009. The Jets, who its hard to believe they are in the playoffs with a rookie qb (ala Ravens last year) and a great defense, but they have momentum and they crushed Cincy yesterday. Will have to do it again next week, this time on the road. The Ravens are also in the playoffs and if anyone has a template to beat New England its them, doubt they will do it though.

The NFC might have the hottest team at the moment...the Cows. I can't believe I am writing 'Cowboys', 'momentum', and 'Super Bowl' in the same sentence, esp. after living here where the media will dissect everything to the breakfast they eat, but the Cowboys have all the momentum and have to be looked at as serious Super Bowl contenders. The defense is peaking at the right moment, Tony Romo is managing games, Jay Ratliff should be the Defensive MVP, and Miles Austin has become the deep threat that makes Cows fans forget about T.O. and Roy Williams. They get the Eagles first coming off a domination.

Let's hope they get a win and FINALLY put the local media talk playoff draught to bed... for good.

The other hot team in the NFC that no one wants to talk about is the Packers. Aaron Rodgers is the best qb no one wants to give credit to. They are a young group thats played together for a while, and I think poised to make a run this year. They get the Cardinals on the road first, but like the Jets and Cows they dominated their opponent for this week, last week.

Speaking of the Cardinals, this is the point last season where they got hot and made the Super Bowl, and like last year I am going to ride them off now. This year's Packers are better than last year's Falcons. I love Kurt Warner but their season ends Sunday.

So here is how I think it will play out...

NFC

Cowboys over Eagles

Packers over Cardinals

Cowboys over Vikings

Packers over Saints

Packers over Cowboys

AFC

Patriots over Ravens

Jets over Bengals

Patriots over Chargers

Jets over Colts

Patriots over Jets

Super Bowl

Packers over Patriots

I would not be surprised if I was very wrong.

NHL Winter Classic in DFW?

2010-01-03T08:03:00.000-08:00

I was originally going to write about Davis Payne but this topic has got me more interested for the moment.

The NHL Winter Classic was a success again. For the second year in a row the NHL hits a home run in a MLB park. Not only is the NHL out playing college bowl games on New Year's Day, but it has got major U.S. TV Networks ready to fight each other for the rights to broadcast the game for a long-term deal.

But if the NHL is planning on doing this every year for a long time they are going to come to the realization there are only a handful of U.S. cities they can have this event in, and they have just finished their third Winter Classic. If you throw in the facts that NHL Owners would not like to see repeats of certain teams and U.S. Networks don't want the game to be played in Canada, the list of cities gets smaller.

Enter Jerry Jones who, according to CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), has come out and said that he would like the NHL Winter Classic to be played in Arlington. Northern/ Canadian hockey fans scoff at this idea and assume Jerry just wants this game for his ego and to add another mark to his stadium. Jerry might rub the people the wrong way and his track record as an NFL GM is questionable, but you can't question his skills as an owner/ businessman. If he wanted to put on a hockey game in his stadium he could do it and do a great job.

The problem with having the game in Arlington is things that are not under Jerry's control. Like when he said he wanted to bring the Olympics to his stadium. It's not that he couldn't do it, but Dallas is just not built for the Olympics as a city. For example, when you think of hockey cities or hotbeds you think of places like Boston, Chicago, Buffalo, places that either have a long hockey tradition and/ or produce a lot of NHL talent. Dallas just doesn't cut it there.

The next problem is the weather. Dallas weather is so volatile it would be too risky to try and have a game. Case in point, I was talking to a fan of Ole Miss football at the Cotton Bowl yesterday. They said at the Cotton Bowl last year, held at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the temp was in the 70's on New Year's Day. Never have I seen a place that can go from 79 degrees one day to 39 degrees the next and vice versa. Having the Winter Classic in warm weather would be a disaster.

For the game itself, who would you have play? If it's in DFW naturally one team is the Stars, who over the course of the past decade have got good rivalries going with other teams in their division like San Jose and Anaheim. But if you used one of them, or any other team in the Stars' division, you would be trying to sell the Winter Classic with warm weather cities to the rest of the country. Having a team like Colorado or Minnesota would be a good fit, but I think those cities would be in line to get a Winter Classic before Dallas.

In summary, New Cowboys stadium could host a hockey game but it would be risky for the NHL to market 'Winter Classic' in Dallas, TX. If this is a long term plan other cities to consider include Minneapolis, Denver, and Milwaukee. Detroit, Pittsburgh, and Philadelphia could also work but if there owner's like Washington's Ted Leonsis who wants his team to be in the there before any repeat teams it might be a little while before we the Winter Classic go there. I also think you could make the Winter Classic work in Toronto and/ or Montreal since they are original six franchises. They would be sure to have to play another American team, not a Canadian team or each other.

But for next season, January 1, 2011 New Yankees Stadium, Capitals vs Rangers.

NHL must capitalize on Winter Classic

Temporarily Lifting My RAW Ban

2010-01-01T14:52:00.000-08:00

First, Alaskans are getting obese at an alarming rate.

I saw on wwe.com where John Cena finally defeated that fraud of a champion Sheamus in his WWE Title rematch... but, it was via disqualification, therefore the title did not change hands. It was a pretty weak dq too. Cena had Sheamus ready for the Attitude Adjustment, but Sheamus had a grip on the top rope. Cena pulled him off the ropes to move him to the center of the ring and while doing so, Sheamus swiped the ref knocking him off balance and causing him to call for the bell. Considering how many times I've seen Superstars pop refs and have nothing to them, this was pretty lame. WWE should get away from this growing trend of DQ's in title matches not on pay-per-views.

So with my disgust w/ RAW, what gives with the title of this post? You might of seen commercials recently w/ Hulk Hogan in them. Those commercials are for WWE's chief rival at the moment, TNA. I don't watch TNA, but I don't slam their product. They have legitimate talent, like Kurt Angle and for a couple years Christian 'Cage', but from what I read their story lines need work. The ad was for Hulk Hogan to appear on show scheduled for Monday, the same day RAW has owned for years, and wrestled away from WCW back in the 'Monday Night Wars' of the 90's.

How would WWE respond? Hulk Hogan is more than a former disgruntled WWE employ, he is a WWE Hall of Famer. What card does Vince play?

WWE's response. Bring back Bret Hart. The same Bret Hart who was the face of then WWF during the mid-early 90's, also a WWE Hall of Famer. Most people remember how he left the WWF in 1997 due to the infamous Montreal Screwjob.

In short, the Screwjob was the real life double cross from Vince McMahon to Bret Hart, which would be his last match on WWF. Bret returned to WWE in 2006 when he was inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame, and rumors of his return to host RAW had been circulating for a while now. I don't think its a coincidence that WWE would bring Bret Hart to RAW the same night TNA debuts Hulk Hogan.

All of this makes me very curious and will probably watch RAW January 4th despite this debauchery of having some new guy called Sheamus being the WWE Champion. What will happen when Bret Hart and Vince cross paths? How will the Hart Dynasty figure into this? And what does this mean for Shawn Michaels? Who had a big part in the original Screwjob.

This is must see tv, despite Sheamus.

Past, Present, Future

2009-12-15T15:53:00.000-08:00

I edited the Slammys post. Just to note, I am boycotting Raw until Sheamus loses the WWE Title. Him winning the title, not to mention that fact he won it on a counter, is bullshit.

I don't usually care much for New Years. It's an overrated holiday for one, and two, is just a continuation of things already established, for me at least. So I should contradict myself as I am excited about 2010 upcoming. 2009 was by no means a bad year for me, but 2010 will be better. Why? One word...

Control

For the first time since college, I feel I have more control over my life. Mainly because of the new job. Working for Honda has the potential of being the best thing that ever happened to me. Not because I always wanted to work for a car company, but because its a full time job that allows me to control my life. Being a Store Manager for Hco. @ Hell's Gate was a job that controlled me. Anything I wanted to do pretty much had to go through them, and when your days off, if you get them, are split up it just limits you even more.

I guess when it came to Hco, a lot of things you were graded on were not under your control. For example, you relied on teenagers showing up, the amount of hours to use was already predetermined, secret shoppers could show up at any time (But usually the most inopportune ones, and if there were any politics or ulterior motives by those above you.

It's only been a couple weeks, but the differences w/ Honda are clear. The only person I have to worry about showing up is me. It's actually a huge factor in evaluation, so I'm told. And due to the fact that I am probably the most punctual on the job person I know, I'm off to a tremendous start. I'm working with other professionals closer to my age (A LOT of which looks like they got they're shit more together than I do) and everyone I have talked to appears to really like their job, opposite of a lot of managers I have worked with at Abercrombie & Fitch/ Hollister.

The job isn't the only reason to like what is ahead in 2010. I am planning a few weekend excursions once spring/ summer rolls around. 2009 saw visits to Anchorage, Houston, Kansas City, and Omaha. 2010 will likely include another visit to Omaha and Houston, and hopefully St. Louis, and if I am lucky, Denver.

As for WWE, the only thing I want to see in 2010 is Christian become World Heavyweight/ WWE Champion.

2009 was a good movie year. My job hiatus saw a self imposed moratorium on buying DVD's, but XMas saw the arrival of some DVD's I had waited so patiently for including Star Trek (Movie of the year!), X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I'm not exactly sure what's on tap for 2010... other than IRON MAN 2!

Sports...kinda mixed in 2009. For 2010 here are the teams I don't want to see win; Patriots, Bruins, Red Sox, Celtics, North Carolina (bb), Kansas (bb), Steelers.

As for athletic achievements in 2010 I want to run a 5k race. I have one picked out for April, so I'll have to be sure I train by then. Also I need to 'hit' the batting cages for slow pitch softball, which I want to continue playing.

So there definitely is a lot to look forward to in 2010, including the tranquility in knowing I call the shots for a change... for the most part. I mean you can't control crazy neighbors who collect trash and set their apartment on fire... among other things. But I accept that. I think its more knowing about who you are and what you are about. It comes as you get older.

A Scary Alaskan

2009-12-09T18:52:00.000-08:00

Imagine the kind of work TMZ could get done if they used their investigative and inside skills for something useful.

There is something I've been following in the Anchorage Daily News I want to write about, mainly to show that the crazys in AK can hang with crazys anywhere, and I'm not talking Sarah Palin or Levi Johnston crazy, the kind of crazy that would scare you like the guys who kidnapped the poor Dallas college girl recently off the street.

This is initial story. I'll give you the cliff-notes version. So around lunch period up at Service High School in South Anchorage, a guy takes a girl behind the school for some reason. He then proceeds to STAB the girl over 20 times with a pocket knife. Fortunately a skier on a nearby trail witnessed the attack and called 911.

The High School and a nearby Elementary School soon went on lockdown alert and a full fledge man hunt with K9 units and a helicopter was launched. At one point the cops got a hold of the suspect and was apparently ready to surrender, but tried to guide the helicopter and cops away from his position. The trick didn't work as a K9 unit caught the kid hiding in a ravine in the opposite direction of where he was leading cops.

The search was made easier because of a trail of blood that led away from the crime scene.

Big deal, its unfortunate, and something like that happens way too often, in way too many places. This story is where it gets interesting.

This is the next story's short hand version. The suspect led the victim to stand under some tree and close her eyes as he had a 'gift' for her, supposedly a ring. She closed her eyes and instead of getting a ring she got stabbed in the neck. Other witnesses said she was stabbed so many times and covered in so much blood that it was hard to see where the blood was coming from. The skier from before tried to kick the suspect away but backed off when the suspect pointed the knife at him. He then turned around and went back at the victim.

It's pretty gruesome, even by national standards. There are other aspects that make this story even more sad. The suspect's mother has no job, no money, no anything. He's 16 but has been moved from juvi to the Anchorage Jail waiting to be tried as an adult. According to the suspect's grandmother, he wanted to marry this poor girl, and apparently had been dating for 9 months. They broke up and within a week she was dating someone else.

So in summary, this looks like a kid's first love that he couldn't let her go, so I don't know if he REALLY loved her. His situation at home probably wasn't ideal either. The second article goes on to say that the boy claims to not remember the attack. I'm no law student, but this looks to be a setup for an insanity type of plea. I've watched enough Law and Order to also see he clearly (I think) had a motive with this set-up of a ring as a gift. Also, the fact that after the skier tried to stop him he went back after her tells me he had some sort of control on his actions. Still though its not my department, but I don't see how this kid is not going away for a long time.

The underlying theme I see here, and can tie to other incidents like this is the fact that some people suspected the assailants to be capable of their acts but could do nothing. A counselor at the previous high school suggested he transfer schools and seek counseling. I remember when the whole VT Massacre went down, there were students and staff that suggested that assailant could snap the way he did before he took down a bunch of people. Even in my recent apartment fire, had the old lady been told to not dig through the trash maybe she wouldn't of turned her apartment into such a powder keg for a fire that displaced over two dozen people, including myself.

So where do you draw the line? I'm all for privacy, but if there is a chance what someone does in the apartment below me, or a person's mental state can affect me, I would want to know about it.

I went to public school in Anchorage and I came out fine, and I realize schools have changed a great deal since 2002. I guess my bottom line is the days of giving the benefit of the doubt is over. If there is a crazy out there, and there is legitimate concern that something could happen, then something should be done. Put out the fire before it starts.

2009 Slammy's

2009-12-04T18:01:00.000-08:00

I wonder what people would think of TMZ if they used their methods of intel gathering on something useful?

The Slammy's are coming up and I want to make my predictions. I don't think these will be as good as the AL Winners but here goes.

Superstar of the Year: My Winner- Randy Orton, Actual Winner- John Cena

It's hard to find someone who had a better year than Randy Orton. He won the Royal Rumble and the WWE Ttitle three times. He carried and developed Legacy for the entire calendar year. CM Punk would be second because he finally cemented himself as a main eventer, winning the WHC twice. He also won MITB but that was before his transformation from likable face to preachy heel (I like this heel Punk btw). Chris Jericho transcended all brands, and Christian had a great year but won't get noticed because he's on ECW.

I don't know if the people who do the Slammys felt sorry for Cena or not. He has been taking a lot of abuse from fans over the years and embarrassingly lost his title... on a counter... to a guy whose only accomplishment before was retiring a guy named Jamie Noble. I don't hate Cena like a lot of people do. He's a likable guy, and to me that makes me okay with him holding the title as many times as he has. I know the reasons people don't like him blah blah blah. However having him fight for 2009 Superstar of the Year when Randy Orton's body of work is better seems like a consolation prize.

Breakout Star of the Year: My Winner- The Miz, Actual Winner- Sheamus

When WWE broke up The Miz & John Morrison I thought this would spell the end of The Miz. Morrison, at the time, was clearly more talented and had better potential, and tagging with The Miz was probably holding him back. Miz tried to go after John Cena and it looked Cena was able to get him kicked off Raw. Via the Calgary Kid, Miz came back with a new look and was able to win the US Championship and may have just gone past John Morrison in terms of potential with wins against his old partner at Bragging Rights and Survivor Series.

I pick The Miz, but more people might lean to Kofi Kingston, but for the love of god please do not pick Sheamus....On 12.14.09 they picked Sheamus ARGH!!! When you look at the nominees for this award, they were all guys who debuted this year. So when you consider that, and the fact Sheamus is the WWE Champion (I can't even believe I'm writing this) the award should go to him... begrudgingly.

Tag Team of the Year: My Winner- Jeri-Show, Actual Winner- Jeri-Show

WWE looks to be doing away with the days of traditional tag teams by unifying the tag titles and giving them to established singles stars. No more classic Edge & Christian, Hardy Boyz, or Dudley Boys. Therefore, by default, Chris Jericho and Big Show win this category.

Match of the Year: My Winner- HBK vs. Undertaker @ Wrestlemania 25, Actual Winner- HBK vs. Undertaker @ Wrestlemania 25

This needs no explanation. If you this match you know what I am talking about.

Diva of the Year: My Winner- Beth Phoenix, Actual Winner- Maria

For a girl wrestler, Beth Phoenix is awesome. She is as powerful as Chyna but WAAAYYYY hotter. Natalya would be 2nd as her background is also impressive. 12.15.09 What Maria did to win this award is a mystery and looking at that picture of her, I don't think she knows what she did either.

The "Oh My" Moment of the Year: Actual Winner- Michael Cole Vomits on Chris Jericho at the Smackdown X Anniversary

While I thought this moment was funny, I would of given this award to Chris Masters and his special "dancing pecs" routine he performed for the Osbornes. That was... something you had to see to believe.

Extreme Moment of the Year: Actual Winner- Jeff Hardy Jumps From Ladder onto CM Punk @ SummerSlam

This is nice, but when you look at the other nominees, this would be fourth on my list. The others being; Kofi's Boom Drop on Randy Orton @ MSG, Big Show chokeslaming John Cena through spot light @ Backlash, and Triple H's invasion of Randy Orton's home on Raw.

Raw Guest Host of the Year: Actual Winner- Bob Barker

I also would of gone with Bob Barker. He was funny, witty, entertaining, and actually did stuff unlike a lot of guest hosts. The other nominees were Shaq, Seth Green, and Ozzy Osborne, all of whom did a good job IMO.

Shocker of the Year: Actual WInner- CM Punk Forces Jeff Hardy to Retire After Steel Cage Match Victory

This moment is not really shocking if you were perusing the message boards at the time of SummerSlam. I knew Jeff Hardy's contract was expiring and he was not going to re-sign, so him leaving was expected. Actually, all the nominees were things to me, that are not entirely unexpected. If I had to give this award to one of the nominees, I would of picked Batista turning on Rey Mysterio, because of their history and bond they developed after the death of Eddie Guerrero.

Arlington Apt. Fire 11/29/09

2009-12-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

Past couple of days have been hellacious. If you did not see me tell this story on CBS 11, KTXA 21, or listen to me on KRLD 1080 (neither did I), I'll recall events again. CBS 11 did say they would send me a dvd copy which I'll try to post somehow.

So it was Sunday night. Football Night in America was on NBC, and Dan Patrick was talking to Tony Dungy when the fire alarm went off. Baffled, I first checked my apartment for any flames and when I couldn't find any I walked out of the apartment where a couple other tenants and I looked at each other wondering "WTF?" I looked down and saw someone who lives on the first floor running around. I went to one of the balconies in the stairwell and looked down to see big time flames coming out of one of the apartments on the first floor. An old woman lived in that apartment and I saw her outside so there was no reason to worry about her immediately. I ran back up stairs grabbed my phone and ran out (Probably should of grabbed a coat and keys as well).

I was the only one with a phone that spoke good English so I called 911. As I am speaking with the dispatcher the flames seem to be rising at an exponential rate... second floor... third floor. At this point I am really freaking out. My apartment is deathly close to one that's being destroyed before my eyes. I start to fear that the life I've built in these past five years is about to be destroyed before my eyes.

It wasn't too long before 20 some fire trucks came rolling into the complex accompanied by a few police cruisers. Some fire fighters start fighting the flames at the source while other get ready to go up the building into adjacent apartments, including mine, with hoses and pickaxes. Again I was scared about what they would have to do and if the fire was getting through the wall of the apartment next to me into my bedroom.

The next couple of hours was filled with a lot of waiting, talking with the Red Cross, and management. I contacted a bunch of friends, told them I was alright, and then speculated with some other refugees about what was going to happen next. I had heard different things from different firefighters about the state of certain apartments. Finally at about 11:30 PM the fire trucks rolled out and I was able to get into my apartment and get my keys and a change of clothes to head to shelter for the night.

A lot of stuff had to be dealt with Monday. The complex was able to find my another apartment and give me a discounted rate. The catch being I had to be out of my old apartment by Tuesday. Going back to the building in the daylight I was able to see more of the damage. The building itself will most likely be leveled. Mountains of dust were all over my apartment, but the firemen at least took a little care and covered my computers and TV.

However, what I discovered next was most disturbing. Someone had been able to sneak into my apartment and steal my XBox, some other gaming systems, some DVDs, and loose change I kept in a bottle. I swore up and down that I locked the door, but the hole in the wall from the firemen was big enough some crack head could sneak in from the other side. It sucks, and I'm still mad about it, but at least it was nothing that is irreplaceable. I filed a police report for the XBox so if someone tries to pawn it off it will come up as stolen. But still.

As for what started the fire no one knows yet. It was funny watching FOX 4 the next morning and knowing more about the incident than the guy reporting it. The old lady who the apartment where the fire started was a pack rat who was on year 19 of living there. Me and a bunch neighbors have seen her rummaging through the dumpsters on occasion, and I guess she was looking at the stuff people had thrown away over the years. She had all sorts of crap on her balcony, which meant more fuel for the fire. Combine that with the fact she is a chain smoker, which might account for why she has only about 9 teeth in total, and a fire becomes that much more likely.

Moving these past couple of days has been a total bitch. It sucks anytime you have to move, but to be told to drop everything and move now sucks big time. I didn't have a UHaul either so that meant multiple trips which also takes a toll on you.

So while the move is now complete the work is not. I still have the mother of all laundry days ahead. Everything in the apartment at the time of the fire smells like smoke and has to be washed. Clothes dirty and clean, towels, sheets, you name it. The fridge will also need to be restocked. The fact I also will have to move again in March does not make me really want to unpack anything either.

Thanks to everyone for their support through this. An event like this truly makes you realize the value of good friends. While this whole ordeal has sucked ass for me, it's been a lot worse for other people. Thankfully no one died in this incident. This is a strong for the advantage of having a house, and if I ever have to move close to an old person with lots of crap and now teeth I might put my foot down and say no. It's whatever.

The Return to Hell's Gate

2009-11-25T18:36:00.000-08:00

Today was a pretty good day.

My days of being unemployed are coming to a close. On Monday I had an interview with Honda Finance Company. I was able to get this interview thanks to a staffing agency here in DFW. The staffing company contacted me about this opportunity a couple months ago. They seemed pretty excited about finding me, and I was willing to do this interview with Honda... then a couple months go by with no contact at all. Then last week they called me up and say Honda was ready for me to come in this past Monday. So Monday morning I was in Irving ready for this interview. I thought I did okay. I don't have a lot of specific examples when it comes to dealing with customers, just a lot of situations I'm use to. The interviewer did not take too many notes, which I thought was a bad thing. She did note that most people she interviews do not have the level of experience I did. I asked her what the next step in the process is, and she told me they would have a decision in about 2 weeks.

Imagine the surprise I got when I got a message from the staffing company this morning saying Honda has made their decision and was going to offer me a job. Nice... very nice. It's a good offer with decent money, and the kind of environment I am looking for, which was my #1 priority after leaving Hco.

Speaking of Hollister, I was feeling pretty smug about myself and felt the need to check in on Hell's Gate (Grapevine Mills). This Friday is Black Friday which is probably the most hectic day in retail. I knew what the old crew would be doing, running around trying to get the store ready for Friday. It's a time where I put in a lot of extra, unpaid hours to try to get my store prepared for incoming onslaught. I saw the guy who replaced me as SM and said what's up. He seemed glad to see me, but they say a picture tells a thousand words and in that first moment I could see exactly what he was going through which was everything I went through. He said its all about what have you done for me lately, which has always been the case. I could tell he was frustrated and I wonder if it is not too long before he follows the path I did and looks for a new line of work.

Something else he said that makes me thankful for not being at Hco was this year, with sales down, the powers that be have decided to open with the rest of the mall at midnight on Friday. This means the SM must be at Hell's Gate Thanksgiving night around 11 PM. If I was still working there, knowing myself I might of just had dinner in the f*cking store, but since I am not working there, I will enjoy my holiday.

Also saw Carlos, the guy I brought into the fold as Lead Stock. One thing I am proud of from my tenure was being able to reward Carlos, Tim, and Asher with full-time positions for their hard work. I was glad to see Carlos still around because I knew working there was just as trying on him, fortunately he doesn't have to deal with the exact same stuff I did. Left him my number and told him I would be willing to go to bat for him in the future.

So in summary; Got a job, a good job, and can still shoot the bird @Hell's Gate and feel good about it.

Now for more WWE: One Day after getting hit with the possibility some pasty white Irish dude who only beats up on jobbers could be WWE Champ, I got hit with this...

ECW Champion Christian challenging new #1 contender Shelton Benjamin in a LADDER MATCH for the ECW Title.

WOW!!!

In short, these are two masters of their craft competing in the specialty match that has made them famous in their own way. Christian is one of the original pioneers of the TLC match. Shelton Benjamin has competed in 4 MITB Ladder Matches and has done something breathtaking in each of them. Christian wants to steal the show at TLC and Shelton is willing to be his partner in crime.

NOW I am bummed about having to work Cows/ Chargers.

The Shootout

2009-11-24T13:11:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the Shootout, I have to get this out because it has been on my mind all day...

Raw last night had Jesse aka "The Body" aka "The Mind" and now "The Governor" Ventura guest host for this three-hour spectacular that was to feature Superstars from all three brands. Sadly ECW was no where to be found. Jesse came out with a bang announcing the first through Breakthrough Battle Royal open to only those wrestlers who have never held either the WWE/ World Heavyweight Championship. Three hours later our winner and new #1 Contender is....Sheamus?

Yes, Sheamus. The same guy who's beaten only Goldust, Shelton Benjamin, Jamie Noble, a ring announcer, Jerry Lawler, and a boat load of jobbers.

I'm going to limit my response. While I really liked Jesse Ventura's style which was all shoot from the hip and speaking the truth (Like we see the same guys getting world title opportunities and John Cena is a 'company' champion) WWE got this wrong... BIG TIME. I want to see a guy, face or heel, who has paid his dues. Compared to every superstar on the WWE, Sheamus has paid NOTHING and thus does not deserve a title shot at this point in his career.

The Shootout from Wikipedia: The Great Alaska Shootout (originally known as the Sea Wolf Classic) is an annual college basketball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska that features colleges from all over the United States. The University of Alaska Anchorage hosts the tournament every Thanksgiving. Tournament games are played at Sullivan Arena in Anchorage. Prior to the Sullivan Arena opening in 1983, games were played at Buckner Fieldhouse. The men's tournament, held annually since 1978, includes eight teams while the women's tournament, held annually since 1980, has four participants.

Under NCAA rules teams are normally limited to 28 regular season games, however games in "exempted events", traditionally played early in the season, are not counted against that limit. The most recent policy from the NCAA in this regard allows all teams to play in one exempted event per season. Those teams who choose to take advantage of that opportunity may play up to thirty-one games per season, including games played in those exempted events but excluding postseason tournament games. A previous incarnation of this rule allowed for all games played outside the United States mainland to be exempt from the (then) twenty-seven game limit. This version of the rule was partially responsible for the genesis of tournaments such as the Great Alaska Shootout.

The men's tournament field has included at least one team which would qualify for the NCAA Division I tournament later in the season during each of its 31 editions. The 1985 field included an event record six teams that would go on to be invited to the NCAA Tournament. Five times the tournament field has included the defending NCAA Champion, most recently in 1996 when the University of Kentucky took part in the tournament.

The 2009 men's tournament (scheduled for November 24 through November 28) will feature a six-team field for the first time ever when Houston, Nicholls State, Oklahoma, San Diego and Washington State join host school Alaska Anchorage. Cincinnati, Coastal Carolina, Coastal Carolina and 3-time defending champion Alaska Anchorage comprise the 2009 women's field, with games set for Nov 24 and 25.

The Shootout for me was always a great time of year. It seemed to be the only time where something from the outside sports world would come to a place I could see them. I went to at least one Great Alaska Shootout game from 1984-2003 with either my Mom, Dad, or a friend. Sadly I had to give that up when I decided to head to Texas. I have and still believe that I would one day get to see another game at the Shootout, but now doubt has begun to settle in.

In the old days, the Shootout was only one of a few tournaments that fell under this exempt rule. I remember the big Thanksgiving week tournaments were the Shootout, the Maui Invitational and the pre-season NIT. I think Puerto Rico had a tournament of their own. Its been hard to keep away with all these NCAA rules and such, but in a nutshell there are more tournaments located closer to teams with a better payout. Last year's tournament was the weakest field ever consisting of no team from a BCS conference. Fortunately they were able to keep their streak of at least one team reaching the NCAA Tournament when Portland State won their conference and got a 16-seed. They were able to get two BCS schools this year (Oklahoma and Washington State) but the field was cut from 8 teams to 6, and if you read this Anchorage Daily News article, they were lucky to get that and not cancel the tournament completely. This 2009 article follows this 2008 article, so you can track its struggles.

The UAA athletic director blames ESPN and the NCAA for the downfall of The Shootout. I'm paraphrasing but ESPN and NCAA have begun creating their own tournaments in a sense that are located in places like Anaheim and Orlando and have bigger payouts like I mentioned. I don't think he can use these excuses as scapegoats if indeed the Shootout folds. Fairbanks had a tournament like the Shootout that folded a couple years ago for the same reasons. Big difference between the two tourneys is that The Shootout has a long standing history, which includes current and former NBA All-Stars (I got to see Dwayne Wade before anyone had heard of D-Wade). I believe that has to be a selling point to SOMEONE whether that be a TV network, a sponsor, or whatever. Another selling point has to be how first class The Shootout is run, and I am not just saying that. Gonzaga Coach Mark Few, for example, has come out publicly on multiple occasions to say how great it was to come to Anchorage and how great the tournament was ran.

So what would I do? First, get a big time national sponsor that has recognition. The Great Alaska Shootout is perhaps the last tournament, or anything for that matter, that does have something corporate attached to its name... well that and Cowboys Stadium. It's current local sponsor, Safeway, apparently wants nothing to do with The Shootout but acquired sponsorship when it bought the previous sponsor, Carrs (Alaska's Kroger) a few years ago. Secondly, be bullish and force your way back into the National Spotlight, whether its through ESPN, Fox, or Versus.

I'm just an average joe though.

The Shootout has too much tradition to just rot and decay until there is nothing left. People in Anchorage have always supported it, and they deserve better than this. The current Athletic Director could very well end up being known as the guy who killed The Shooout.

Survivor Series

2009-11-22T20:15:00.000-08:00

I had a pretty good time watching Bragging Rights at Ker's Winghouse in Dallas I decided to head back for Survivor Series. Note to self, next time get their EARLY. A lot of people like to pay only 3 bucks to see a pay-per-view.

6 matches for Survivor Series 2009. Team Morrison vs. Team Miz was up first. I was pretty dissapointed with this match. Miz, Sheamus, and Drew McIntyre were the survivors with Sheamus and McIntyre doing most of the work. I was really hoping someone would knock their ass' out, or at least Miz turning on one of them after the match. Sadly, no.

Rey Mysterio vs Batista was second. This was one-sided by WWE standards. Batista came through on his 'Hold Harmless' contract. Mysterio hit the 619 early, but got greedy when he went for a Frog Splash ala Eddie Guerrero. Batista got his knees up then connected on a spear, and three Batista Bombs. The ref stopped the match after the third bomb. Batista then grabbed a steel chair and performed a signature spinebuster on the luchador. Rey was then taken off on a stretcher. Afterwards, I think Batista said in an interview (the audio where I was sitting was bad) that he was embarrassed FOR Rey Mysterio. Beatdowns like this are rare in the WWE where everything is scripted.

Third we had the Team Kofi vs Team Orton matchup. I was really hoping that I'd see a good showing from Christian. Three guys who didn't show up were MVP, Mark Henry, and R-Truth. As for Christian, I think he did pretty well for being from ECW. He was able to eliminate both members of Legacy and deliver the Killswitch to Randy Orton before being interrupted by CM Punk ass, and was then eliminated by an RKO. The reaction from the crowd in the restaurant was HUGE when Christian connected on that Killswitch. Kofi Kingston also had a good showing as he was able to bring his team the victory by taking out CM Punk and Orton when it was 2 on 1.

So what is next for Christian? Back to holding up ECW and taking on the likes of Goldust and Zack Ryder in the Netherrealm? I would like to him start up something with Legacy, or he could tag with Kofi, I thought those two worked well together. And what about Kofi? Will this keep him at main event level status? If so, maybe he can stay up there long enough he won't need Money in the Bank at Wrestlemania 26.

The Smackdown main event went according to plan. Jericho and Big Show putting aside their business relationship to try and capture the World Heavyweight Championship. They did work together throughout the match, definitely taking its toll on the Undertaker. The downfall of both Unified Tag champions was mocking 'Taker and then trying to do something signature of his. Jericho did the signature slitting of the throat and then tried to do the Tombstone before being put out by Big Show. Show took down the straps on his unitard, like 'Taker does sometimes, and tried for a chokeslam before being lured into Hell's Gate, and thus tapping out for the Undertaker win.

The Raw main event proved more unpredictable in some sense. Immediately after the opening bell Shawn Michaels hit HHH with a Superkick. It was a classic moment. Triple H's head went back like he was just in a car accident. I could of watched the replay all night long. This was the theme throughout the match, one member of DX would take out the other, and that member would fight Cena. Triple H probably got the Superkick 4 times, Cena at least once, maybe twice. the match ended when Triple H got a Superkick trying to hit Cena with a Pedigree. Cena then got HBK and finished him with an Attitude Adjustment on top of Triple H.

As a whole, I was disappointed with Survivor Series. It definitely was not as good as Bragging Rights. My questions for the TLC ppv are; Is Rey Mysterio on the shelf now, or does the feud with Batista continue? What could Christian possibly do on ECW? Because he's beaten just about everyone worthy of an ECW Title Shot. What does the Big Show and DX do now?

It's unfortunate, but I won't be able to see TLC come December 13th. The Chargers come to Arlington for potential division leading clash with the Cows. The game is a 3:15 start so I'll probably get out between 10:30-11:00 PM. Sucks!

On This Day...

2009-11-19T17:15:00.000-08:00

No Johnny, I'm not permanently stealing minage-a-trois (?).

I just want to acknowledge this day in NBA History. It's the 5 year anniversary of the Malice in the Palace. A day where the everyday working man took on the multi-million dollar NBA player and lost badly... hence the picture.

What have we learned? What have the players learned? I'm not really sure, I'd have to ask them. Unfortunately I don't have the resources for a one on one interview with Ron Artest. I think it's interesting to look at everyone involved and see where they are. No one's career was derailed because of this incident, not even Ron Artest, who's got a fat little contract with him in LA.

Ben Wallace has been flushed around by a few teams, and ironically is now back in Detroit. Not many people want to say this but if he didn't overreact like he did to a hard foul none of this would of happened. Hard fouls happen all the time in the NBA, especially in blow outs. He got off way too easy with a mere 9 game suspension.

Stephen Jackson has had a colorful 5 years since then. A couple years after the incident in Detroit he punched someone and got hit by a car outside an Indy strip club. He then went to Golden State was a significant part of the Warriors historic upset of the Mavs. So I guess it balances out, his Pacers team got knocked off, but he ruined Dallas' 07 season.

In the 09-10 season, he becomes G-State's captain, gets stripped of his title, more drama, and shipped to NBA Netherrealm aka Charlotte.

Jermaine O'Neal, who's best days are behind him, played a couple more years in Indiana, started a season in Toronto and is now in Miami.

Anthony Johnson has played for Dallas, Atlanta, Sacramento, and Orlando since then. He did help Orlando reach the finals last year.

Chauncey Billups would play a couple more years in Detroit before being traded in one of the worst trades this decade. Billups to Denver for AI. Denver goes on to the WCF, Detroit fades away.

Reggie Miller, Derrick Coleman, and Elden Campbell have all since retired. David Harrison now plays in China. Coaches Larry Brown and Rick Carlisle now work in Charlotte and Dallas respectively.

I always felt Detroit got off way too easy here. Because of Detroit's fans Indiana's season which was filled with realistic championship expectations was derailed. I'm not defending Pacers running into the stands, but I don't think any of this would of happened had Ben Wallace kept his temper and one idiot fan had not been drinking so much. It showed a double standard the media had. The standard should be, if we are going to hold high standards for professional athletes, we should do the same to fans. The fans who ventured onto the court got what they deserved, for the most part the players got what they deserved. The only thing I would of done differently was to make the Pistons play an NBA game with no fans. This is done in soccer games across the pond when the hooligans go overboard.

Does it say anything about Detroit that we've had Malice At The Palace 2 since then? That may be more coincidence than anything.

American League Awards

2009-11-11T07:35:00.000-08:00

AL Gold Glove winners came out yesterday. No real surprises all things considering. The way Major League Baseball does these awards is the alternate leagues each day. Today I am going to give my predictions for the American League only. Ever since arriving in Texas, most of the baseball I see is in the American League. No offense NL, but maybe if you ever win an All-Star game I'll start paying more attention to you.

AL Rookie of the Year: Elvis Andrus (TEX). Call it a homer pick, but I think it will be a close race and Elvis will come out on top. Before the year began there was some controversy because Rangers management wanted Michael Young to move positions again to make room for Elvis Andrus. Young got on board, and that move solidified the left half of the infield. His hitting numbers are decent. .267 average which is 5th among AL rookies but 1st in hits and total bases. The best stat is that he played in 145 games, by far the most by a rookie. I think when you take that and his defense into consideration (remember, one of the reasons for the Rangers improvement this year was defense) he should win ROY. Rick Porcello (DET), Brett Anderson (OAK), and Andrew Bailey (OAK), all pitchers, will make this race close.

AL Manager of the Year: Mike Scioscia (LAA). I've never been on a team that had to go through anything close like the Angels did this year (Losing a player in a car accident). I don't know what that does to team's expectations either, so I figured their season might be a wash. Fortunately, it was still early in the season for LAA, and they were able to rally, catch the Rangers, and finish with the 2nd best record in the AL.

The thing that amazes me about the Angels, and frustrates me as a Rangers fan, is their ability to stick any schmuck on the mound and get 5 solid innings out of them. They hit, run, field, and their bullpen is always solid. Losing K-Rod will hurt for a while though, in my humble opinion.

Ron Gardenhire (MIN) will probably finish second for help leading the Twins all the way back to catch Detroit and win the AL Central. A bigger reason why Minnesota came back will be

mentioned later.

Joe Girardi (NYY) should be third. He's a great manager and perhaps a better person, but I don't think a Yankees' manager will ever win Manager of the Year as long as they have that $200 mil payroll. The much talked about 3 man rotation worked pretty well in the end though, didn't it?

I do wonder how many votes Ron Washington (TEX) will get. The Rangers were the most improved team in baseball this year and were in the playoff hunt into September. However, as I have said before, their ability to succumb to weaker teams, like the Twins, was pretty frustrating, and mainly why I don't give him strong consideration for this award.

AL Cy Young: Zach Grienke (KC). This is a tough one to call. You think about Zach Grienke, and when the fact he plays for Kansas City comes up you don't think anyone can win any award playing in Kansas City. People could point to him winning 1/4 of all the Royals' wins and say you can't give it to him because of that. On the contrary I think that is a big reason to consider him. If you take a better look at the stats, you'll see he has better numbers in a lot of places

compared to Felix Hernandez (SEA).

I don't know how well you can see the graphic but Zach Grienke has better numbers when it comes to complete games, ERA, shutouts, hits, earned runs, home runs, walks, and strikeouts. Personally, I'd take King Felix over Grienke, but it's hard to argue the numbers when it's going to be time to decide the Cy Young. I got a Zach Grienke shirt too when I was in Kansas City... but I also got a King Felix bobblehead in my living room. Two great pitchers that I hope don't pitch for the Red Sox anytime soon.

I would also like to see Scott Feldman (TEX) get at least a vote.

AL MVP: This is the easiest decision. It's Joe Mauer (MIN). HE is the reason Minnesota was able to come back and win the AL Central. I think the East Coast Media elitists would like to see Derek Jeter win. I actually would have no problem with Jeter winning the award (This coming from a Yankee hater) as something like a Lifetime Achievement Award. However, Jeter plays for an All-Star team. Joe Mauer plays with a bunch of scrubs. I could go off on a tangent about how I don't like the Twins. They never beat anyone better than them when it counts, example being the predictable way the Yankees swept them this year, and every year they play each other. The only time the Twins advance is when they play Oakland, who has the exact same problem. They play in a weak division, and if the Rangers played in the AL Central (where they SHOULD be!) this comeback would have never happened because the Rangers would of had it wrapped up.

That said, you can't deny what Joe Mauer did. Not only did I see him single handedly get the Twins back into games where they trailed the Rangers this year, but he led the AL in average @ .365, 28 home runs, 96 RBI's, 191 hits... for a catcher. He meant more to his team the Derek Jeter did to the Yankees in the REGULAR SEASON, If the Yankees didn't have Derek Jeter in the playoffs that would be huge. But this award is for the Regular Season and this year it is Joe Mauer.

So those are the awards. I am interested to see what happens in this off-season. The Rangers already have a new hitting coach, Griffey will be back in Seattle, but can the Rangers re-sign Marlon Byrd? Can the Rangers get a few more pitchers? Are the Rangers a one year wonder, like Seattle turned out to be a couple years ago? See ya in 2010.

About 11/7

2009-11-09T17:26:00.000-08:00

About the last post...

I try and not come off as a creeper. Sometimes though it can turn into one of those self-fulfilling prophecies, you try and avoid something to such an extent you unknowingly steer yourself right towards it.

But I think I have a lot in common with most people in the world my age. Unsure about the future. Insecure about some aspects of my personality. A constant battle with self-esteem. Facing doubt everyday. Small victories (Any victory has been hard to come by these days) that help with my self confidence are important to me. It helps build confidence that I can get the most out of life and achieve my goals, rather than wasting away and settling for less than my potential.

If that 'creeper' feel came out of that last post, that was not my intention. Anyone who knows me, knows I'm harmless. Try to understand where I come from when I write things like this. The road is long and strenuous. If I can't smile about the times I successfully push my limit, do something I'm told I can't, laugh at a youtube clip, or something positive, I just make things harder on me in the long run.

Take it with a grain of salt.

November 7th

2009-11-07T23:02:00.000-08:00

So today was an interesting day.

It started with going to my new and now old job. I've been looking for some part-time work to help stop the flow of money going out. I found this job I thought was really going to help with that. A part-time job mainly in the evenings where I could work up to 30 hours a week. Pay would start at $9.00 per hour and move up to $10.50 a couple weeks after that. So this is sounding pretty good, right?

The catch, this is a telemarketer job. Now the people who hired me would probably differ, saying that there is no cold calling (Talking to random strangers and trying to get them to buy your crap), which technically is true. However, they get as close to the line as you can get without crossing it and this not being cold calling telemarketing.

After my first day, I have decided to quit. Why? Is it because my co-workers (NOT the supervisors) are either uneducated, depressing, or in need of this job to feed their 7 kids? Or maybe because this job is beneath someone with a Bachelor's Degree from UNT? No. I don't want to bite the hand that fed, and I can understand how someone might have to take a job like this under certain circumstances.

The reason I quit was because for the first time ever, I was asked to do a job I felt was morally wrong. If I were enjoying my Saturday, I really wouldn't like getting a phone call asking about a magazine renewal. I wouldn't like getting a phone call if I had people over either. Another thing was most of the people I called were senior citizens. I have a problem trying to solicit money from these people, when they need it all to take care of themselves. It doesn't feel right. It feels like I am swindling these old people, like I am a Used Car Salesman. Even worse, three of the people I tried calling had passed away! What do you say to that? How big of a jackass do you have to be to try and ask money from someone who is grieving from the loss of a loved one? It's crossing a line to me.

As I was driving away. I started thinking about that TV Show, Dirty Jobs. It's the show where a guy performs all the less than glorious jobs most of wouldn't even consider. Having a job like this would make you appreciate other jobs like that. But, here's the thing. If you got rid of all the people who cleaned port-a-pods, they would become so dirty that no one would use them, and that would be nothing more than big stinky boxes. The people who clean them are actually DOING something for society. If you got rid of this job I had, society would not be influenced, in fact, it might benefit from it.

So I left the call center knowing I will not work there again. Off to fun things, like tailgating. Went up to Denton, saw some good friends, had some food, and UNT lost badly again, just like old times. But as I was leaving one friend was suppose to go to this bar in Arlington and see this country singer... Chris Cagel I think was his name (Guy put on a good show), but didn't want to. I stepped up to take the ticket since the bar was close to my apartment.

I met up with these friends at Hooters. There was this one girl a friend brought who was gorgeous. Now before I keep going, she was engaged, and I am not going verbally drool about her. The reason I write about it was because she was generally interested in conversation noticing how quiet I am, she even had been to Anchorage. It was a chance for me to talk to a girl who I would normally stay far away from. It felt pretty good for a guy who doesn't get to talk to a lot of girls.

That whole night at the bar just made me think about not settling. About the possibility that maybe I can get what I really want out of life. Granted, I got a lot of crap I got take care of first, job, bills, and another person I THINK is important to me, at least I thought she was.

Settling in life just can't be the way.

In the years I've been teaching men how to date, I've found a fairly consistent trait among guys who have struggled to find the success they desire with women: they hate taking risks.

While many of these men are relatively successful in some area of their life, they have usually gotten there by doing what comes easiest for them. Maybe they are good at writing code, solving problems, doing math, or even hitting a baseball. When it comes to stepping out of their comfort zone, or tackling something new or foreign to them, these relationally- challenged men typically retreat back to the safety of what they already know and do well.

DeJuan Blair vs Rodrigue Beaubois

2009-10-30T08:38:00.000-07:00

So this past summer when the NBA Draft happened was a perplexing day for Mavericks fans. I keep hearing that management thinks they have a two year window to win a championship with Dirk. So they go out and get Shawn (?) Marion, get some role players for their bench and, on paper, improved themselves. Surely not as good as the Lakers, but maybe a Kobe Bryant injury away.

This is where my frustration kicks in. If you are saying that there is a two year window, why then do you draft a player that may help you in 3 years? Wouldn't you want a player that could fit around dirk and help you win right now? Like maybe somebody who played college ball for a solid program in the US? Someone like, DaJuan Blair? Blair falls to them in the first round but yet the Mavs take another foreign player (Rodrigue Beaubois).

I hear the advantages of taking a foreign player. You can park them in Europe, let them grow, and bring them to the NBA when they are ready, ie Manu Ginobili. So how many foreigners have the Mavs brought into the league these past few years? Yeah... I thought so.

DaJuan Blair falls to the Spurs, who also had a good off season, and now they are contenders for the West title. As a matter of fact, I was watching ESPN and Blair was Tim Legler's rookie to watch now that Blake Griffin is hurt. This is kind of the reason the Spurs are always good. They draft SMART, going with proven commodities and the right foreign players.

Example from another team this past draft, Sacramento drafting Tyreke Evans instead of Spanish sensation Ricky Rubio.

The picture above is meant to compare the two's stats throughout the year.

I feel like the Mavs management thinks too much when it comes to the draft. They hit a home run drafting Dirk, therefore they keep looking to swing for the fences instead of maybe settling for a single or a double. True, they will need a franchise player in the future, but if the plan is to win now, you need guys who can help you NOW!

Bragging Rights

2009-10-25T20:39:00.000-07:00

When it comes to WWE Pay-Per-Views, I am usually content with reading the results on WWE.com. I felt differently about this PPV because of its promotion of inter-branded matches for self proclaimed 'Bragging Rights.' So I found a restaurant that was showing the event and paid $3 to watch rather than buy the PPV for myself.

The PPV as a whole was okay. First off, it sucks that there were only 5 matches for the entire PPV. Remember back in 2000 when then WWF would get ALL their superstars into a PPV? Yeah, now just a pipe dream. The Miz v John Morrison match IMO did not live up to its billing, with Miz winning after he knocked Morrison off balance while trying to do Starship Pain. Does this rivalry get put on hold for now? Will we see more editions of the Dirt Sheet? If WWE keeps with this rivalry, they'll need to up the ante beyond a regular singles match.

The World Heavyweight Championship match in itself was good. A lot of face paced action with every wrestler hitting their finishers and signature moves on someone else with the Undertaker retaining. Afterwards, Batista, livid with Rey Meysterio for pulling him off 'Taker after hitting a Batista Bomb, snapped and got medieval on Rey. I didn't like that because it's not very believable. I think when you have been through the things those two have, with the death of Eddie Guerrero for example, it doesn't make sense for them to start hating each other, but yet its WWE's way to have friends, even brothers turn on each other. Get these guys back to their senses soon.

Next was the 7-on-7 tag match for bragging rights and the main reason I wanted to watch this. The Raw team was set, and WWE came to its sense by revamping the SmackDown team into a team of winners and people you've actually heard of. The match started out slow, but really picked up when 'all Hell broke loose.' Finlay would receive a Superkick from HBK, who then got a Hart Attack by the Hart Dynasty, who then received consecutive spinebusters by Triple H... you get the idea. All that came to crashing end when Big Show turned his back on Team Raw. It looked like he was going to give Kofi Kingston a boost off the turnbuckle, but suddenly grabbed him by the neck and gave him a chokeslam instead. A bewildered Triple H tried to get into the ring to figure out what happened, but instead got hit by a Knockout Punch. Y2J would get the cover and win, giving SmackDown 'bragging rights.'

The final match was the Ironman match for the WWE Championship. I thought about leaving after the 7-on-7 but decided to stay, which I'm glad I did. Believe it or not, but this Cena vs. Orton match was only the 6th Ironman match in the history of WWE. Cena got on the board first with an STF that Orton quickly tapped out of. Orton would tie and go ahead thanks to Legacy. Cena would tie the score again, but then Orton scored another after throwing Cena through part Bragging Rights deco's attached to the Titantron. Orton then tried to blow up Cena with some pyrotechnics, which would of been cool. Cena was eventually able to tie the score, and got Orton to again tap out with an STF as time expired taking back the WWE Championship and keeping him on Raw for now.

The match itself was excellent. Maybe 2nd best match of 2009 behind HBK vs. Undertaker at WM25. My question is what happens to Randy Orton now? He can't fight Cena again, so where does that leave him. I was hoping Ted DiBiase would come out and attack Orton, but that didn't happen on this night. The other question is, who does Cena now fight for Survivor Series? DX will probably still clash with Jericho and Big Show, so that leaves no big time main eventers left on Raw. Will they push Miz even more, or will they take someone like MVP or Mark Henry and turn them heel?

Start the NBA Season off right!

2009-10-23T11:15:00.000-07:00

I know the NBA doesn't start till Tuesday, and I know if you want an NBA preview there are dozens of sites out there filled with predictions and answers to all basketball queries. The best part about the start of an NBA season is the return of one the best shows on TV, Inside the NBA. Here's just enough to wet the appetite...

For those of you who don't have NBA TV, Chris Webber and Gary Payton are another pair of analysts on the rise. TNT will have them on as guests throughout the season, but together on NBA TV they are pretty funny.

And just for laughs...

Gettin' Ugly

2009-10-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

I heard this story on the radio and was intrigued enough to search for it on the Internet.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, and it's what's on theinside that counts, right? We couldn't agree more. Brains, muscles, teeth, fat and lungs -- they're all on the inside of the men in these cities. We studied everything from education stats and contraceptive and erotica sales (no sex generally equals less hot guys), to the number of gyms and the population's health, exercise habits, obesity and smoking rates in every city in the U.S. to find out where the fugly dudes are. Find out if the men in your city are … not very pretty.

Houstonians ranked no. 8 in worst teeth, and more than 15 percent of men 25 and up have less than a 9th grade education. This booming metropolis also has a problem with body odor, according to our research. About one-quarter of the population is considered sedentary, and Houston has a higher than average obesity rate. Is it something in the water?

The City of Brotherly Love doesn't love its brothers so much -- "Travel + Leisure" magazine's survey of tourists and locals for America's Favorite Cities put it dead-last in the "Attractive People" category. Men's Health ranked it no. 2 in worst teeth. The relatively high number of obese citizens doesn't help matters either.

"Rock City" definitely does not refer to the abs in this Midwestern city -- Detroit has one of the highest obesity rates in the country. A low percentage of men with bachelor's degrees and a low high school graduation rate put these guys high on the dull scale, too.

The men of Mobile, AL and Huntington, WV have it all -- terrible teeth, according to this worst-teeth cities list, a high rate of unhealthy, inactive and obese men and a paltry number of gyms.

There's not a whole lotta lovin' going on in Greensboro, NC, according to QualityHealth.com's survey of sexually active cities. Bad teeth and a one of the highest rates of obesity in the country might have something to do with it.

You're thinking, ‘Seriously? Miami?’ And we're saying: yup. If for no other reason than a whopping 21 percent of men 25 and up didn't make it past 9th grade, the highest rate in the cities we studied. Oh, and did we mention gnarly teeth? And believe it or not, more than 27 percent of Miamians don't exercise regularly. Sure, they're not the fattest or unhealthiest in the country, but given the year-round gorgeous weather and huge number of gyms, you'd think these guys would be a little less … lazy.

Hagerstown, MD: Less than 10 percent of the men in Hub City hold a bachelor's degree. They're not spending their spare time in gyms, either -- nearly 30 percent don't exercise regularly, 30 percent are obese, and an off-the-charts number of Hagerstownians smoke, compared to the rest of the country.

El Paso, TX: We're not looking for Stephen Hawking level brain-age -- just a good, solid education. But nearly 15 percent of the dudes in this Lone Star city have less than a 9th grade education. The city also suffers from a notably high rate of obesity, 32 percent are in below average health and 30 percent do not exercise regularly, which is probably why there are so few gyms in town. There is such a thing as too much Tex-Mex.

At least none of the cities I've lived in (Anchorage, Fairbanks, Dallas) or my other favorite towns (Memphis, Omaha) made the list.

You Girls Are Hypocrites!!

2009-10-20T12:20:00.000-07:00

This going to be a rant of mine. I signed up for another dating service that looked promising, but my high hopes have once again been met with disappointing results. I'll admit, I don't get it. I try to follow rules and etiquette but seem to be treated like an outcast. I've read articles and books about online dating and writing emails. I read the girl's profile and ask them questions regarding the profile, and stay clear from sex and innuendo, yet 99.5% of the time I get no response.

Here's an excerpt from an article about writing emails:

Email Tip #1

You must state at the beginning of your email that her profile stands out. E.g. ‘Hi Angel64, I’m Mick and I’m writing as you sound interesting to me and your profile stands out from the others.’ Then mention a few sentences of what you liked…without gushing or sucking up of course. This will obviously please the lady and create her own interest in you. She will feel special and rightly so as you have chosen to contact her. She is the lucky one to get your attention.

Email Tip #2

Be sure to mention and lightheartedly poke fun of something in her profile. E.g. ‘Do you really like Neil Diamond and ABBA?’ :-] [Just kidding] Always put a smiley or [just kidding] in brackets so as not to offend. This says you are playful and not a soft guy that’s afraid to have some fun. She’ll appreciate your effort.

Email Tip #3

Mention something specific in her profile that you found interesting. E.g. ‘So you worked in London for 12 months, I was there for two years…when were you there?’ This proves to her you have read her profile in detail and have something in common. This creates repore and her interest immediately.

All of this sounds like good advice, and I have taken it very seriously and have incorporated this into my emails. For the record, here are some email don'ts.

Photo No-Nos: Don’t post a photo of yourself holding a beer. Do you think we want to know what brand of beer you drink? This is not Sigma Pi, and we care not. Don’t post photos of yourself in whichwe can’t see you. If you’re standing 100 yards from the camera, your face is in shadow, or if you’re wearing a hat, you’re messing with our dudedar. If we can’t get a good look at you to figure out what kind of guy you might be, we probably won’t get within 100 yards of you. Don’t post photos of yourself looking ridiculous: dressed as a clown, covered in cake frosting, wearing Mardi Gras beads. We’re looking for a mate, not a party animal. Do post recent photos of yourself in which you look happy and handsome. Now we’re talking.

Be an Original On an online dating site, you’re one dude in a crowded virtual room. If you want to get one-on-one time with the ladies, you’re going to have to stand out from the rest of the pack. If your profile describes you as “nice,” “outgoing,” “friendly,” “sincere,” “funny,” “kind,” “adventurous,” or “hard working,” we probably fell asleep before we finished reading it. Next! Do you know how many other guys use thoseexact same words? All of them. Get creative with your bio, bust out a thesaurus, and go out on a limb. Tell us what makes you unique and different, and we’ll recognize your specialness through the virtual haze. Don’t tell us you’re funny; be funny. Remember, you’re selling yourself, and your buyer is a woman. We don’t want to read a generic, boring, cliché-addled personal resume. We’re emotional buyers, and the real you closes the deal.

Get It Right: Women read anything into everything. But you knew that already, right? Checking out your profile, we’re looking over your stats, we’re eying your pictures, we’re scanning your prose. We’re trying to get a sense of who you are through every detail. Because this is a buyers’ market (ours!), we’re looking for a reason to exclude you. Take the time to polish your profile. A spell-checked, grammatically correct, well-written profile shows us you’re on the ball personally and professionally, not some ne’er-do-well living in his mother’s basement. While you’re at it, don’t fudge the facts. The truth about your age, height, and income are bound to come out down the line if we date. Women are like hunting dogs when it comes to sniffing out BS. Honesty is sexy.

Making a Move: We know it’s not easy hitting on a chick. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make us any more merciful. Start off with a lame line, and we’re bound to shoot you down or, worse yet, ignore you. “How was your weekend?” “You seem like an interesting person.” “How are you today?” Bo-ring. “Do you have any pictures of yourself in a bikini?” Pervert alert! “If you go out with me, I’ll be eternally grateful.” Yeah, um, no. You know what scores with women? Specificity. Take the time to get to know her virtually and respond specifically to something in her profile. Whether it’s going to Coachella, eating cottage cheese with ketchup, or trekking to Machu Picchu, point out the bonds that exist between us. Before you know it, we’ll be responding “yes” to your date request.

Real-Time Dating: Don’t email us forever. Get on with it already! We’re going to know within the first five minutes of meeting you if you’re the guy for us or not. When we’ve gone back and forth via email for long enough to get comfortable, ask us out on a no-pressure date. Drinks or dinner. No movies or beach trip. Follow the golden rule: K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid.) If you ask her out, and she hesitates significantly, turns you down, or blows you off, move on to the next one. If we don’t jump at the bait, we’re probably not really that interested. Once you’re in the room together, well, that’s on you, buddy. Just keep one thing in mind: Making a girl laugh is one of the surest ways to win her heart.

I know what you are thinking, "Andrew, stop being a vagina." And I do feel like my manhood could be in question here. I'm just tired of stressing, trying to make a good email, hoping for a response, only to get nothing. You don't want a creeper, I get that, you don't want someone who is going to ask you out immediately or ask about body shots or sound like a stalker. I get that too. No pervs, creeps, or stalkers. So what do you want? A normal guy? a Long Island tool? or the Perfect Man? My guess is that you are no perfect woman yourself. You have your insecurities just like I do, not responding to a genuine email doesn't make yourself holier than thou. I mean where is respect and manners? I respect women but over the past couple years I started to ask myself what have they done to earn my respect? It makes me question what I believe and have been taught and that most parts of my life have been a lie.

I would rather get an email, responding to my questions and having an attached 'thanks but no thanks.' It would make me feel better about myself. But just like most things asked of girls, its asking too much.

Cows

2009-10-04T17:54:00.000-07:00

The Cowboys lost of tough one today. As the fire Wade/ Romo crusade heats up again, Cowboy fans should really take a step back and take a look at their team. This is not a Super Bowl club and people should be realistic.

1) Tony Romo is an average quarterback at best. He'll have his good days and he'll have his bad ones, but at the end of the day, you won't see him carry a team to a Super Bowl ala Brady or Eli. If this was Kansas City that'd be okay, but this is Dallas. This is Roger and Troy. Average won't cut it.

2) This receiving corp sucks. There is no #1. Roy Williams is a #2, Patrick Crayton a #3, and I don't know what to make of Austin and Hurd. It's frustrating to look at these two and then look at Smith and Manningham for NYG and DeSean Jackson for PHI who are developing quickly. Hell, Manningham developed before 105,000 people in Dallas. A lot of people in Dallas may not want to admit it, but they miss T.O.

3) You can fire Wade, but is that really going to help? Mike Shanahan, Bill Cower, Mike Holmgren, Brian Billick. All Super Bowl winning coach's currently not coaching. Cowboy fans and media pundits alike will want one of these next season. That's fine and all, but a) Can you really lure when of these guys to Dallas when Jerry is the GM? B) Bill Parcels, another Super Bowl winner was brought here and HE couldn't win a Super Bowl. Looking back, he probably got all he could out of the bunch he had. So is a new coach really going to do the trick?

4) They play in the nicest stadium in the NFL.

The good thing about not being a native Texan is that you don't live and die with football. People here want a Super Bowl, but want to believe all it takes is one coach or QB to work like a magic pill. Good NFL teams have a foundation, a stable coaching staff and front office, and draft well. The Cowboys have a great OWNER, (emphasis on owner), but they've cycled through coaches since the days of the Jimster. And personally, I am skeptical on their draft choices, ie Bobby Carpenter, Anthony Spencer, and no 1st rd. pick this past year. Dallas is a mediocre team. Unfortunately they play in one of the toughest divisions in the NFL, and would probably benefit for some realignment (How great would it be if they were in the NFC West?).

This is as good as it gets.

Baseball Playoffs

2009-10-04T15:22:00.000-07:00

If you're like me, and hate the Yankees, and REALLY hate the Red Sox, then this year's playoffs may not be for you.

The AL is looking to be Boston v. Anaheim and NY Yankees vs whoever wins the AL Central. Anaheim has no chance, no chance what so ever to beat Boston. Boston is kryptonite to the Angels, and despite what people in LA say the Red Sox are in the Angels' heads. Last year Anaheim was a much better team in the regular season but it was all for not. This year's Angels aren't as good as last year's and the Red Sox are built for a short series. Boston 3-0.

The Yankees will play the winner of the Central. Hope to god it is not the Twins. My problem with the Twins is they NEVER beat anyone good. They can beat all the bad teams, which is something the Rangers couldn't do this year, but the only time they've ever won anything in the playoffs is when they play Oakland, who has the same problem when it comes to beating anyone good. If its MIN, NYY wins 3-0. If its DET, NYY wins 3-1.

Setting up a nightmare for me, dream series for FOX, Boston v. NYY.

I'll admit, I don't know much about the National League this year. The Phillies, Cards, Dodgers, and Rockies kinda broke away from everyone else in the NL, so there wasn't much drama. I'll take LAD. Them and NYY in the World Series would be interesting.

Unemployment. Part 4

2009-09-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I wrote anything, partially because there have been some developments in life. Not the kind I was hoping for though. Two jobs I had done multiple interviews with decided to pass over me for other candidates. That is unfortunate. So for now its back to the drawing board. There hopefully will be an interview with Honda coming up, but for now, nothing doing.

On a brighter note, yesterday the local ESPN radio station came to an Arlington restaurant (The Cows were hosting MNF in the Bosshog Bowl) and I got to meet the crew of Galloway and Company. It was cool because I got to tell Galloway he should smack a local tv anchor for something he said about the Rangers a couple months ago, and Galloway said he is an elitist of the worst kind (I think a lot of people who work on TV are). The guy who I really enjoyed Matt Mosley. He was very genuine and appreciative of a fan. He introduced me to a couple other radio personalities, and all in all was one of the nicest guys you could ever meet. I always liked Mr. Mosley because he seemed very much a regular guy, despite working for ESPN, who followed all DFW sports and not just the Cows. So my opinion of him now is much higher. Added to the sites to waste time list is his NFC East Blog.

Verdict: Texas Rangers 2009 Season

2009-09-16T17:27:00.000-07:00

Today, September 16, 2009, I am watching the Rangers trail Oakland 1-0 in the top of the 2nd. This by itself is not a big deal, but couple this with two consecutive drubbings to the hapless A's, and with the disturbing theme of this year leads me to this verdict...

The Texas Rangers have a lot of good things going for them, and for the first time in 5 years have given some competition to the Cowboys for most interesting DFW sports team, unless you only watch the news broadcasts, who's bias is so outrageous it makes me want to hit Steve Dennis every time I see him. But to be taken seriously by the rest of country, they have to stop losing to bad teams like Oakland, and Seattle, and Toronto, and Minnesota.

Good teams beat bad teams. Great teams beat good teams. I honestly think in a one game playoff, the Rangers could hang with anyone, exception being the Yankees. But to this point they have a winning record against Anaheim, and they beat the sh*t out of Boston this year. However you would not see either of these teams lose 2 out of 3 at home to the likes of Baltimore, or San Diego.

I do think a lot of these teams would want what the Rangers have. Elvis Andrus is the real deal at shortstop. He should get very strong consideration for AL Rookie of the Year. Michael Young is the type of player every team wants. They have a solid group of outfielders, and when you look at what they did as a team this year and that Kinsler and Hamilton had bad years by their standards, it could be scary if they had this year's success paired with the two's 2008 stats. The farm system has lived up to its billing by Baseball America. Of the 3 teams left to reach a World Series, I think the Rangers are closest, if that means anything.

I think its funny how two of the these three teams are Mariners and Rangers. I grow up with the M's, who in my junior year won 116 games (RIDICULOUS!), yet couldn't make the World Series. It still bewilders me. Every time I see Mark McLemore sitting in the booth or at the studio, I think 2001 M's. He was the unsung hero of that team! I think he played 7 of the 9 positions that year? And I don't remember him flaking out in the playoffs either, unlike most of the team, *cough Bret Boone cough* (He HAD to be on steroids that year!!).

I was talking to friend about how maybe the Rangers jinxed themselves when they announced they were starting to sell playoff tickets, and something she said maid me think maybe it's just MY team's. Examples: 2001 M's, 2008 Memphis Tigers, Rangers, all Western Canadian NHL teams, UAA Hockey. The balance here being part of 2 High School State Champion Baseball teams, and witnessing two State Titles in football.

So what do the Rangers do? Fire Ron Washington? Maybe. I hesitate because he had to have something to do with this year's success. But if you look at really good managers like Mike Socisa(?), Terry Francona, and Joe Torre, their teams don't lose to bad teams. But these managers are hard to come by. Mike S, has been the Angel's manager for almost a decade. Joe Torre's unemployment lasted like a minute, and you could argue that Francona's team, like the Yankees, is almost failsafe. My point is don't fire Wash unless you have a damn good replacement in sight.

Verdict: plentyoffish.com

2009-09-15T16:39:00.000-07:00

Today I finally got rid of my plentyoffish.com account. Something I should of done a long time ago, and now I want to write my review and give my two cents.

On the surface, it seems like a good concept, a free online dating service. Unfortunately, like a lot of things in life, you get what you paid for.

Plentyoffish is a lot like Craigslist. There might be a diamond in the rough, but you are going to have to sift through a lot of garbage to find it. I didn't have much luck finding people I would be interested in, and even when I did, I couldn't really get a response. There could be a lot of reasons for that, it could of been a phony profile, the user might never have checked their profile forever, she could of been a total bitch, or maybe, as hard or not hard as it is to believe, she may not have been into me. On the other side, the only people that contacted me were these unattractive, uneducated, kinda creepy girls. Half of which were single moms. Their emails could of easily been spam they usually just said "How are you?" or "Hi." For the record, I have nothing against kids, I actually like kids, and maybe someday I'll have one or two of my own... maybe, only time will tell. I just can not put myself in position of having a relationship and raise SOMEONE ELSE's kid simultaneously. I just can't do it.

I think I signed up some time in March. By May, I had just relegated myself to the people watching part. I did find it interesting reading other people's profile, I even asked a girl occasional question about a picture or something in her profile, but no more.

I'm not sold on online dating, especially for people in their 20's. Guys are at disadvantage because the decent and good catches can not stand out amongst the sea of stalkers, losers, and other predators. Girls are at a disadvantage because they are pounced upon by the aforementioned like a piece of fresh meat in a zoo, especially for the attractive and educated.

If you google plenty of fish reviews, you'll find a lot, some good, but mostly bad. Example...

Plenty of Fish.com is good as long as you remember that:

1) It's free...and it's worth everything that you pay for it

2) Most of the women on there are skanks that are either VERY easy (one date or less to screw) or are never going to give it up.

3) The majority of said skanks are actually serial daters from many,many other websites.

4) That if you are not successful and don't have a six-pack (and are showing it) your responses will be very low.

5) That they provide absolutely NO screening, so I'd estimate between 15-20% of women's profile are either duplicates or spams.

IMHO, this site is good for hooking up w/ a woman that will give you ready sex (if that's what you are seeking).
Or good for introducing you to scandalous ho that is looking for somebody to pay her bills or provide her w/ free meals and entertainment.

Not-so-hidden secret: You can go to oodle.com and look at the POF profiles w/o having to join.
You have to JOIN to contact them....but you can sort out the skankiest ones w/o being seen...LOL

Bottom line...POF is a POS.

Summer 2009

2009-09-11T13:08:00.000-07:00

Since I have some extra time on my hands, I decided to reflect on the highlights of this summer. It has been a pretty fun summer with some good memories.

Trip to Alaska

Vacations are hard to come by, especially when working for a retail business. I was able to get a couple extra days that made this trip worth it. I came at the right time. The snow was all but

melted, the days were getting longer, and the weather was a good change to the blast furnace heat waves I've grown use to. I was able to ski for the first time in a couple years, and fish. I saw some old friends I hadn't seen in forever. Got to hang out a bonfire, some bbq food, and see Dimond baseball whoop ass for a change. People might think I'm crazy for deciding to leave, but I still think I am making the right decision, although it does suck I can't visit more often. Hopefully with my next job I'll get some guaranteed vacation time and won't be under the same restraints as before.

Trip to Houston

I read a book a while back that talked about doing stuff I wanted to do for myself. So, one of the things I wanted to do was go to Houston and watch the Rangers play the Astros, so I went. I spent a night in Huntsville, drove that morning into downtown Houston and made it back to Arlington by 8. While Minute Maid Park looks like it was crammed into downtown, it offered a lot of amenities Rangers Ballpark can't. It was good to talk with some Astros fans, including the family that was sitting next to me, and the Rangers laid a beat down on the hapless Astros. While the trip was pretty good, I wasn't left with a feeling like I had to come back to this place like I will another stadium.

Trip to Austin

It took five years, but I finally got to spend some time in Austin, thanks to a friend. Actually I spent a night there with another friend in 2006, but hardly got to see anything. Even in this trip I didn't see a lot but I got to go see UT's baseball team play TCU in the super regional. It was unlike any professional game I have been to, but thats not a bad thing. UT lost the game, but ended up winning the series and made it all the way to the final game of the College World Series. I only got to see a glimpse of the city, and as others might say, didn't get to see what makes Austin, Austin. It's a big reason to go back but who knows when that will be.

Trip to Kansas City

The trip to Houston inspired me to venture out to other MLB Stadiums. Actually my new goal is to visit ALL MLB stadiums. With 2 days off in a row, I saw an opportunity, and that Kansas City was playing at home (Good thing I drove there and not Denver). So after work Friday 7/03 I drove to Norman, OK and got a hotel at 2AM, only to get up at 6AM. I pushed across OK and KS (both of which surprisingly pretty) and made it to Kansas City for the noon start time. Kauffman Stadium was pretty awesome. It's a great atmosphere for any baseball fan. Definitely a better stadium than Rangers and Minute Maid. A place I have to get back to next summer, in which I make a trip to St. Louis along the way... hopefully. The kicker of the trip was meeting up with my Mom, in Kansas City of all places, and getting a meal and gas paid for. It was on the way back that I started thinking about leaving Hollister.

End of Hollister

see entry

Trip to Nebraska

see entry

Now I am in need of a job. Quitting Hollister is risky, but I feel this is a move I had to make if I wanted to be happy person, and lead the life I want to lead. Even though I'm starting to have some anxiety. We'll see how that story ends. It was good to see old friends though and reconnect with some that were lost. Summer of 09 was great but I hope that 2010 can be just as good.

New Cowboys Stadium

2009-09-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

Today I got a chance to take in the New Stadium here in Arlington after two years of watching it under construction. After spending about 5 hours in the Bosshog Bowl I have come to the conclusion that it is worth every penny, and this could be the greatest stadium in the U.S. right now.

The event today was the Kirk Herbstreit Varsity Football Series. 8 teams, including one from Utah and one from California, playing the first high school football games in the new stadium. Saturday was the first college game, it saw BYU upset Oklahoma. I went outside to check up on the pregame festivities and honestly, I think half the state was here for this one. Which made more of a sight to see after the game when OU lost. Literally the quietest 80000 people you will ever see, leaving the stadium like they were trying to sneak across from Mexico. I had to stand outside my apartment and just take it in.

I usually don't care much for high school games, unless it is Dimond, or Anchorage Dimond as it would be called here (Who lost 51-0 at home this past week). However, one team playing was Irving MacArthur. Back at Hell's Gate (GVM) I had a hand full of kids who went to school there, in fact two of my kids at Hco were on this football team. I even saw one of their names on the video board. This video board btw is ungodly. Look at the picture above. I took it to show the relation between the screen and the field. The screen literally goes from 20 to 20. I can't tell too much on how tall it is, but I would guess maybe 4 stories?

Before I go into the rest of the stadium, I want to say while yes I have no connections to any of the schools here, High School football in Texas is still impressive. Between the sheer number of players, school bands, color guard, and dance teams, its quite the spectacle. Again, it makes me think how things would of been different had I not grown up in Alaska. I didn't play high school football but when I think about it, I think of a crowd like the one in the second picture, and an empty field with a few little kids as halftime entertainment

Food there is expensive, as it is in any stadium, but has good variety. I like how the Cowboys are associated with Pepsi, so no Coke products. Four levels of seats all the way around with a lot of standing

room. The roof and the ends, where people go in, open up, and a lot of places I couldn't go, which had security, but they looked like museum security or secret service. A lot of the stadium actually looks like a museum, and also has that new car scent and brand new feel.

A lot of big things are going to happen here. One big thing has already happen. I was thinking of all the things this stadium could hold. Football games, concerts (although I heard the acoustics for concerts sucks right now), Wrestlemania's, Final Four's, Frozen Four's you name it.

It's a shame I can't live here forever.

The Return of College Football

2009-09-05T12:09:00.000-07:00

I know college football returns every fall, and the number of notes about the return of college football is in the thousands. It's a little different with me. I've been pretty much out of the college football scene the past two years, thanks to Abercrombie. Hopefully, if I can get a M-F job, I can follow the season and actually have some input. Here are my preseason predictions most likely to be incorrect.

1) The season is Texas' to lose. Provided they can beat OU, and no Colt McCoy injury, they should be a lock to play in the National Championship.

2) The Heisman is Colt McCoy's to lose. Mainly because both Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow already have one. No disrespect to both of those guys, but the standard to win 2 Heisman's is so incredibly high that only 1 person has ever done it. Tebow could theoretically win it, because his credentials are pretty close to that level, I just think voters will side with McCoy.

3) The disappointment of the year will be Ok. St. I don't know if I've ever seen them beat a good team.

4) USC will once again arguably be the most talented team in the country. Sadly though, they will get picked off by some crappy Pac-10 team and be out of the Natl Championship picture. But they'll get another Rose Bowl win when it's said and done.

5) The Big East will have fallen out with many FBS pundits. Right now, the Mountain West is a better football conference, and will remain so at the end of the year.

On that note, I know everyone screams for a playoff and every year the powers that be say it will never happen. How about this for a compromise? Get rid of the automatic bids. Get the best possible match ups into these games. We don't need another Cincinnati- Virginia Tech Orange Bowl bore fest.

6) Greg Paulus will be national story throughout the season. If you ask me, he should of stuck with football. He could of been a very good college football player.

7) UNT will win at least 5 games.

8) Notre Dame is still a bunch of cupcake eaters. Chances are they will be in a BCS game, and get manhandled by someone better than them.

It's good to be back.

Unemployment. Part 3

2009-09-01T16:17:00.000-07:00

Kind of exciting news today... Hopefully. I interviewed with the hotel company that the recruiting agency told me about. I think it went really well. Job interviews are an area I feel confident in. It's kinda like in Sonic the Hedgehog, when you got all the Chaos Emeralds and 100 rings Sonic became Super Sonic. He turned glowing yellow, he looked really cool. Point is, its a state where you feel you can take on anything. However like in the video game, getting to this state was kinda hard. It's like that for me in real life. I don't feel this way very often, and unfortunately there is not Game Genie cheat code to install and get it to work all the time. Anyways, really good interview, might be a week before they make a decision, but I am feeling the vibe on this one.

To Be Continued

Unemployment. Part 2

2009-08-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

If you tuned in yesterday, I alluded to news on the job front. During the drive up to Nebraska, I got two phone calls from prospective employers. However one was for another retailer, the second was for a telemarketing position, so no excitement there. Friday, I got a message from a gal who works for a recruiting agency who recruits for big name companies. For the record, I always tend to keep my phone on silent. Weird? Yes, but its what I do. Called her back and talked to me about an opening with Remington Hotels, a big agency located in Dallas. It's not like working the front desk of a hotel, more like a corporate position. Wanted me to come in that day, but kinda hard being in NE and all. I went in this morning and met with the agency. Very productive meeting. Got some interviewing tips, learned about the position, and looks like I'll get a second interview with a good recommendation... Hopefully. I just never like to assume the best possible scenario because then the disappointment is harder to swallow.

Still, cross your fingers.

The Nebraska Experience

2009-08-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

Got back from Nebraska this afternoon, it's a long drive but well worth it. Great way to end Summer 09, arguably the best summer of my life (Summer 06 could still make a strong case.).

I decided to go on short notice after Brad made a strong case for it. He was right in that the weather would probably start going downhill, and I figured now might be the best time before I get heavy in the job searching, another entry for tomorrow. I leave Thursday morning

and get into West Omaha by about 6:30. My GPS sent me through the back ways of Kansas instead of traditional interstates so that made the drive a little longer if you ask me. Brad and Audrey showed me around Omaha that night. It has a surprisingly fresh feel, meaning it looks like everything in Elkhorn as its called has been built in the last 10

years or so. Very modern, has everything Texas has or some sort of equivalent. His apartment was very nice as well. I think he said him Audrey are paying about $300 each for a roomy 1 bedroom apartment. From what I could tell its a better deal than my apartment, plus there are a lot of young people living around him. I've always had either sketch or old people living around me. Met some friends of his, had burgers, watched a movie, called it a night.

Friday- Get up, have breakfast and head to historic Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha. Anyone who's played a high level of baseball knows the history and significance of Rosenblatt Stadium. Kind of a goal of mine to finally be able to see it, but I gotta come back next year when the CWS is actually happening. BTW, next year is the final year the CWS will be played in Rosenblatt. To keep the CWS, Omaha is building a new stadium in downtown, which I saw under construction. This is in order to keep the CWS in Omaha through 2035.

While looking at the new stadium, Brad showed me Qwest Center Omaha, the city's big arena, which answered a question for me. How does Nebraska-Omaha get better hockey teams than

UAA and UAF? This Qwest Center has to be a big reason. It's pretty high tech and modern. If you showed a prospect Sullivan Arena, The Carlson Center, and Qwest Center Omaha and asked where would you like to play your home games? I think the kid would pick Omaha 9 times out of 10. Brad said UNO has a nice campus, so I bet there other facilities are better than UAA's and UAF's.

Then we went out to Brad's Family's lake in a place called Fremont. Took his boat out, rode around, had some beers, took some pretty good pics, ate some awesome steaks, and had a bonfire and chilled. I think its natural for any big meal in Nebraska to have corn, but here is something Nebraskans do that I didn't know. They take something like a vase, and fill it with part water and part butter and use it like a dip for their corn on the cob. Pretty inventive to me. The lake was a pretty good scene. Brad explained to me how major wakeboard competitions will use lakes like his because the surface looks smooth as glass. You don't want to use lakes like Lake Lewisville that look like the Pacific Ocean.

Another side note. When we got back to the apartment, we heard news that two people all three of us know just got engaged. I know people get engaged all the time, but there were a lot of crazy things about this couple. 1) They've only known each other for a year, not dated, just known. Maybe I can see getting engaged like that if you are in your late 30's or early 40's, but these people are 19 and 21. 2) Neither of them have their shit together, meaning they are still way early in the undergrad process, and I think Brad said one of them lives with their parents. I can understand finding your soul mate at that age and knowing that is the person you're going to marry, but I think typically people would do things like finish school, maybe start a career and establish yourself as an independent member of society before tying the knot. Then again I am no expert on relationships or marriage so I could be wrong. 3) Both of these people are the center of each other's universe to the point their lives outside of the relationship is non-existent. I read a book once that talked about how healthy men will never 'enmesh' their partners. Their needs and wants will come first and in turn they will look more attractive to their partners because they see they have a life with friends, needs, and independence as opposed to someone who's every action is toward their partner. I think this also drives friends away from you. They see that you are now pretty far down on the totem pole and figure to hell with you. 4) Their PDA is somewhat excessive as well. There are two kinds of PDA's, the one that makes you look good/ cute, and the one you want to barf at. You know that PDA when you see it. It was a long conversation that made me think then want to stick my finger down my throat.

Saturday- This day we spent mostly in Lincoln and at UNL. Got to tour the campus a little bit and buy a shirt from the bookstore. UNL is big but its not the point of intimidating, I think. It is a lot like UNT in that regard. Also got to see Memorial Stadium where the Huskers play football. Brad says that on Husker Gameday, Memorial Stadium becomes the 3rd largest city in Nebraska. Yeah, its a big deal there. This year they are aiming for 300 consecutive sellouts, a

national record. Tickets aren't cheap either. Wrapped up Lincoln by going inside Brad's Frat House. People there seemed pretty cool, and the house looked like something you'd see in the movies. It's funny, when I went to UAF the one Frat there was looked down upon, at UNT it was even, and Brad says that Frats at UNL are where it is at. Makes me wonder what life for me would of been like had I started at a school like UNL. Maybe I'd have a girlfriend... then again probably not. Finished the day eating at a On The Border style restaurant (Is it excessive to carry a hand gun into a place like that?) followed by Law and Order: SVU, then to bed.

Sunday- Woke up around 5AM, couldn't fall back to sleep right away so said f*ck it and got on the road. Took the right way back to Arlington and with no cops made it back in 10.5 hours (minus breaks). All in all a great trip with great people. I never really had an impression of Nebraska before this weekend, but now, my impression is one of nice people with a really laid back way of life, not like California where its like stoner laid back though. If you get a chance to go, do it. I'll be back next year.

Unemployment. Part 1

2009-08-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Wednesday, August 26th. 2 Days removed from Hco.

The reality of leaving my job is now setting in. Monday and Tuesday just felt like days off, Wednesday now the break is getting longer. Working on trying to get a part time job right now and I think I got a lead for a server position at restaurant here in Arlington. Went in yesterday to fill out an application and talk with a manager and it went well. I may not have any server experience but I went from never working in retail to running my own store in six months, which impressed the manager.

I explained to him where I wanted to go with my career and told him that it could take a while and I might need a part time job to help myself. I guess a concern for them is that I am overqualified for this position, and if I get my job of choice, I am gone. But I have something they need (morning to mid-afternoon availability) and they have something I need (a part time job). It would be insane not to hire me.

Not relating to the job search though, I am heading to Nebraska to visit a couple friends tomorrow. Sounds like its going to be a lot of fun. Food, lodging, entertainment provided for. Will get to see the famous Rosenblatt Stadium in Omaha and where the Huskers play football. Also lake and bbq. Can't go wrong with this one!

The End of Hco.

2009-08-23T18:30:00.000-07:00

Today, one gate came down on what actually turned out to be a long run for a job out of college. I turned in my store key and manager swipe card, and am no longer the Store Manager for Hollister 107 in Grapevine Mills.

For those of you asking, what now? I do not know. I felt that leaving now was a good decision because the time was right. I'd been with the company 2 years and was a store manager for 1.5 of those in 2 different stores. My Hco, this past weekend, Armageddon Apocalyptic Bonanza aka Tax Free Weekend. Was the biggest money maker of our 3 stores in the mall. Store Manager was as high as I could go. I have no aspirations to be a district manager. I got 2 great references, and am leaving the company in good standing. I don't want to turn this into me bashing A&F, but here are some reasons I'm glad to be leaving...

- Grapevine Mills is a f*cking nuthouse. I'm convinced it is the busiest mall in DFW, not the nicest, the busiest.

- Half the people who come to GVM can't speak English. Half of those people want to buy half the store to take it back to their Central/ South American country and sell it for one and a half times the price. If you confront one of them about this, the story is the same. "I am taking this back to ______ and giving it to my family." Riiight, your family need 25 pairs of flip flops and five of the EXACT same t-shirt. Please.

- The people who haggle with you over a shirt that cost $9.90 which was found on a $6.90 random table. 1, the shirt was once $33 so either way, $7 or $10, you are getting it for a good deal. 2, if its that big of a deal spending $ extra dollars, maybe you shouldn't be spending your money @ Hollister. 3, if people could return what they don't want to where they found it, or at least give us the stuff they don't want. Maybe this wouldn't happen so much.

- The people who can't figure out which fitting rooms are closed and open. Line extensions that block closed places off, other customers waiting by open fitting rooms standing next to someone twirling a key apparently is not enough.

- Little kids who ride their heelies through the store. I always wanted to hip check one and then yell at them for getting in my way.

- Anybody who has left dirty diapers, tampons, or tried to breast feed one of their 7 children in the fitting room.

- Girls who try on 20 things and only buy 1.

- People who try to do their shopping via phone through me. No, I don't know if we have LAST YEAR's uniform pants. I don't even know what this year's uniform pants are.

I could go on and on. If there is anything I will miss it is the people. I had some great kids over the past couple years. They were on time, worked diligently, funny, and easy to talk to. They bought me a cake for my last day, and I took pictures with some of them. Definitely going to miss that. Also miss how I won't be 'the man' anymore as now I will probably have to start from the bottom... hopefully at a university... but that is for another day.

Look at Me I'm on TV!

2009-08-16T17:44:00.000-07:00

Coming from a city such as Anchorage in a state such as Alaska, you really never get exposure to the national or even regional spotlight. The only thing close to that growing up was the Great Alaska Shootout. Well, its been 5 years in TX. Gone is the Shootout and in are big time professional sports, foremost for me, the Rangers. Example, last night, Rangers vs. Roid Sox. After a gut wrenching loss Friday, Ballpark in Arlington packed 40,000+ to see the Rangers redeem themselves for a 7-2 win. There was a Jason Bay home run, which leads to the picture I am displaying now.... okay so I wouldn't upload, I'm forced to use the link.

Bay's blast cuts Rangers lead to 1.

If you can find me, I'll buy ya a beer.

The point of this post is I will always get a kick of seeing myself, or the back of my head, on TV. Even if its just a shot in the crowd.

What a Weekend

2009-08-09T15:58:00.000-07:00

So first, I have a major announcement. Rumors have been circulating about me leaving HCO, and I am here to confirm those rumors. August 23rd will be my last day as a Hollister Store Manager. I am making this decision based on sole personal reasons, I don't want to turn this into a company bashing note. Maybe someday I will elaborate, but for now I'm leaving and doing other things.

Grapevine Mills is the Insane Asylum. I'm too the point where I just don't want to clean the place anymore, because even if I could snap my fingers and get the store looking perfect, it would be a matter of hours before it fell apart again. The thing about GVM that people don't realize is the number of people who come through there are in the thousands daily, perhaps tens of thousands. And of all those people, half are foreigners whose English is pretty lackluster, and maybe not familiar with American etiquette . Take for example Friday night. Two European guys, I think they were here for the Nations basketball camp in Dallas, show up looking for jeans. My front room model, Tanar, is assisting them and helps one of the guys find a pair. This dude wants to try it on, but instead of taking Tanar's directions to the fitting room, homeboy takes off his pants for everyone to see. I have this huge WTF look on my face and even the other guy could realize that maybe his friend shouldn't take off his pants in public. I could understand if thats they way in other places, even Europe, but please. I do not want to see any guy in his tightie whities.

That's just an example of what the past 2 years have been like.

This Saturday, I went out with some people for my friend Captain Awesomes BDay Binge in Fort Worth. Never been out in Ft. Worth in this manner. Great night. Saw some good people I haven't seen in a while, drank a lot, and there was plenty of entertainment. The highlight came when we were trying to get Capt. Awesome back to his apartment. With his shirt half off and literally falling over the street he was able to cause a wreck when he yelled at some girls, who yelled back at him and then proceeded to hit the Lexus in front of them. Even though the bumper was now effed up, both drivers just kinda shrugged and drove off. We finally got Capt. Awesome back to his apartment where I went through some Tostitos 'like a racoon,' and 'like an armadillo' according to my man Tim.

Other highlights include friends getting kicked out for reasons I don't know, relieving myself somewhere in public, lots of pretty girls, and maybe a potential job opportunity.

As a rule, I do not get girls' phone numbers when I'm drunk.

A Call Back

2009-08-06T05:39:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had an interview for this Entry Level Marketing position, and I got a call back. So it looks like I made a good impression and they want me back for a second interview.

When I got the call on Tuesday it was kind of exciting, that is until I went home and realized this was the most recent job I had applied for. In the job world, whenever you get a call back from an employer this quickly, it usually means something is up. There is something to this job that you don't know about. At least that is what my Spider Sense tells me.

It is flattering, and I am grateful, but no thanks.

Pennsylvania Shootings

2009-08-05T15:42:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard about these shootings outside of Pittsburgh let me give you a link.

Police: Gym Shooter 'had a lot of hatred' for women, society - CNN.com

Dude's personal blog

The blog the guy kept is kind of interesting. In a way I think I can relate to him. I haven't been rejected by 30 million women, I think my running total is 10 million, but I know it sucks. I know it sucks when you look around and see so many people holding hands and loving life and no decent woman will touch you with a 10 ft pole. It sucks when you are around a group of guys and they all talk about the last broad they banged and you can't contribute anything to the conversation or relate to what they are talking about. It sucks when you want to figure out why no one wants to date you and you can't come up with anything.

But killing women is not the answer. No matter how much they can suck sometimes.

I really don't think I'll become this guy if I don't get married, but I take comfort in this. I am proud of the person I am, and all the accomplishments I have achieved. If this is not good enough to win some girl's heart, then so be it. I won't stoop to a lower level, drop my standards or become something I'm not to win a girl's favor. If that is what it takes, then maybe marriage is not what its cracked up to be.

Cops, Crashes, Jobs, The Miz

2009-08-05T13:18:00.000-07:00

It's been an interesting past couple days. Grapevine Mills is still the Insane Asylum as more and more people come in and trash my store. Another store manager has said she has never seen a mall with so much traffic and customers that destroy everything in their path. Naturally, the help to deal with these animals is not available so it basically looks like I work in a shit hole.

Also got pulled over by a cop in Lewisville on Monday. Why? Apparently he said my brake lights were out which is not true, my brake lights work just fine. It's not illogical to believe they would be tough to see when you got the hot Texas sun shining right on them in the middle of a clear afternoon. I didn't have my latest proof of insurance which worried me, but after seeing my impeccable driving record the cop let me on his way. Must not be meeting their quotas on tickets this year.

Then on Tuesday, I'm driving down HW 26 in front of the Insane Asylum when some redneck hits my Kia from behind. This is no love tap, this is a good smack with a twist of whiplash. Very ticked, I get out of my car and immediately check my bumper, and fortunately not even the paint is scratched. Seeing that, I tell the bozo that he is lucky and get back in my car and off the road.

Bringing us to today. I got a call back yesterday from one of the applications I submitted online. This was for a Sports Marketing and Entertainment Jr. Position. I saw the sports part on their and figured to give it a shot. A little surprising a call back this soon as I had just applied for this position on Sunday. So I went in today for a meet and greet, and while I think I did really well, and don't think this a good fit for both of us. For them, I'm someone who doesn't have any marketing background experience, and for me, it sounds like this is a commission based job, and that's kinda the last thing I want. But it was a good refresher to be the interviewee for a change.

And for my wrestling input. It appears that WWE and The Miz are parting ways. I can't find anything saying that The Miz has been released yet, but his superstar page has been taken down, and have found links with rumors of him returning to MTV. While I think The Miz is entertaining, I am not devastated with his leaving. Calling out John Cena every week got old quick, The thing with Maryse was good until she got hurt, and there simply isn't enough room on Raw for him to make an impact I think. ECW could be an option, as they are lacking a big time heel, and even going to Smackdown! would of been good because they could of started something with John Morrison. But Morrison is going on to bigger things and he doesn't need The Miz to slow him down... again.

New Account

2009-08-02T15:15:00.001-07:00

I use to do this a couple years ago on myspace. I found it kind of soothing in a way... mentally. Right now with all the crap going on, anyway I can find to relax, I need it. Work is making me a nervous wreck. Hard to sleep, hard to eat, spending waaay too much extra time at there (and not getting paid for it!) so I need to do SOMETHING relaxing. Ranger games are also a good way to go, and with the M's in town, I think I am obligated to attend.

I'll soon figure out how this site operates and set it up. I figure here I can write about things such as job hunting, baseball, wrestling, whatever.