Dave's Thoughts of the Day: November 9th

Before going on, I want to offer my gratitude to all who serve.  Veterans everywhere, including my Grandfather, and including the former neighbor of mine who once served in the Marines, they all matter to me.   It's scary out there, but our service men and women keep us safe.  I can't fathom how that's bad for any of us.  My best to all veterans, may they be celebrated for now and always.

I'm simulatneously excited and nervous about the latest news from ESPN's Marc Stein.   Mike Brown is said to be on the chopping block pending the Lakers home stand this coming week.   Now that's news!   I think every Lakers fan deep down inside 1) hopes the news is true and 2) would not mind the Lakers tanking the series so that Brown can be escorted kindly to another franchise.

Dreams, they can happen but whether they come true is another matter.

You know, a friend of mine relayed the story of an encounter with a neighbor of his.  You know what the rest of us call our female neighbors?  Missed oportunities!  This is why the man in question needs free drinks for the whole weekend.  That was $.

I'm very excited for tonight's activity.  A lady friend and I are heading to C&O's over in Venice/Marina Del Rey (it's on the border) pending other unforseen circumstances, cancellations, etc.  Once every hour, the speaker system plays "That's Amore" and everyone sings along.  Perhaps people may not like that too much, but for most patrons it's mad fun.  The pasta at C&O's... is tremendous, and there's plenty of it.  I look forward to it, and hope this all goes down.

My favorite Italian Restaurant back in Santa Barbara, by the way, was Palazzio on State Street.  There were a bunch of good Italian restaurants out there but I liked that one for sentimental reasons: fun with friends, good caesar salad, and those bread rolls.  Oh baby, it was all about the bread rolls, and you could get some balsamic sauce and the olive oil to dip it in and the rolls just kept on coming.  I really can't stand restaurants that are stingy with little things like bread and condiments, so it was a treat to have a place with generous portions like Palazzio.  I hope it's still around.

Tomorrow, as I'd hinted before, I'm going to make a run at meeting Olympic Swimmer Rebecca Soni.  For all I know the plan fails miserably (just as every attempt to go see the Stanley Cup has).  We'll see.  If all goes well I'll try for a photo with her.   It's like a mission.  It'd be rad if Ricky Berens (aka her boyfriend) was there too, he's a cool dude.

Interestingly, there's a USA Grand Prix swim meet in Minnesota this weekend.  And guess who's there!  You got it, Chloe Sutton.  She's ready to approach her return to the Olympics with a venegance.  She's in a ton of events this weekend, something like 6-8 events.  Insane.  Many other big swimmers will swim at Minnesota including the wunderkind Missy Franklin and Ryan Lochte.  Good times ahead for swimming fans.

I'm telling you, one of the four teams in the BCS Top 4 is going to lose this weekend.  I can feel it!  I just can't decide which one it will be.

Anyone ever go to Yardhouse for sports?  I hear it's good for sports and food, and there's one at L.A. Live.  Tweet me if you've been... I'm @diningwithdave .

I believe, THAT is all for now.  Enjoy the long Veterans Day Weekend.