Happy Friday everyone.
But is it really happy, just because it's Friday? Is it??
I always thought the song "She Bop" was about a sock hop but THEN I learned... yep you got it.
Guy Fieri (sp?) is getting his butt kicked by all the restaurant critics. I'm not following this: was he ever a guy to be taken seriously with culinary arts? I didn't think so. People are barking up the wrong tree.
I'm happy to report that Time Warner Cable agreed with DIRECTV to offer them TWC Sportsnet. At last! The Lakers (on TWCSN) will now be on my TV Set on Satellite. This is tremendous news, but also, long overdue. In light of that, I don't know how much in the way of kudos I should give to either party.
DIRECTV is no saint either. Nobody loves to pick long drawn out battles with TV channels like DIRECTV. The worst one to date was when they let Viacom channels out to pasture for a good 2-3 weeks just to get their way. I have not a clue whether this has any actual impact on the price of my bill. It's expensive either way, so I don't see the point.
There may come a day when I cancel DIRECTV altogether. If that day comes, it will also be the day I give up on sports completely. I've always thought about it, but never considered it seriously.
This is an especially short entry. Unfortunately nothing else comes to mind. I will say that John in CT and Chris in Syracuse did an amazing job on the College B-Ball Preview podcast last night. I was enthralled and mesmerized the entire evening.
NOW that shall be all. G'nite everybody!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Dave's LOCKS of the Week: NCAA Week 12
Gobble Gobble, it's
Dave's (sizzle)
LOCKS (snap)
of the Week (crinkle)
As promised, we are all college football picks the rest of the season and we're tackling the toughies. Here we go:
First, in Pasadena, I understand how big a game this is for UCLA and I fully expect them to have a chance to win, but I still will take USC in a rare selection of SC ATS for our blog. Nonetheless, I like the Trojans -3.5 on the road. USC -3.5
Next, call me nuts, but I've been big on Louisiana Tech all year, and I like them in this one even at home against a very tough Utah State Aggies. Louisiana Tech +3
On to the two big ones! There are now three undefeated teams in the BCS Top Ranks, and I'm taking two of them.
First, we go to Baylor where I love, LOVE the K-State Wildcats as the favorite. K-State +13
Next, out to Oregon where the point spread seems lofty but to me, I think it's quite attainable. Stanford struggled mightily against spread offenses with Arizona as a recent example. Oregon is the cornerstone spread offense, or, the pinnacle of offense with the multiple receiver formation. It's a lofty point spread, but if anyone can handle it, Oregon can handle -20.5 against Stanford. Oregon -20.5 at home.
To recap: USC -3.5, LA Tech +3, K-State -13, and Oregon -20.5. Enjoy this big showdown weekend everyone!
Dave's (sizzle)
LOCKS (snap)
of the Week (crinkle)
As promised, we are all college football picks the rest of the season and we're tackling the toughies. Here we go:
First, in Pasadena, I understand how big a game this is for UCLA and I fully expect them to have a chance to win, but I still will take USC in a rare selection of SC ATS for our blog. Nonetheless, I like the Trojans -3.5 on the road. USC -3.5
Next, call me nuts, but I've been big on Louisiana Tech all year, and I like them in this one even at home against a very tough Utah State Aggies. Louisiana Tech +3
On to the two big ones! There are now three undefeated teams in the BCS Top Ranks, and I'm taking two of them.
First, we go to Baylor where I love, LOVE the K-State Wildcats as the favorite. K-State +13
Next, out to Oregon where the point spread seems lofty but to me, I think it's quite attainable. Stanford struggled mightily against spread offenses with Arizona as a recent example. Oregon is the cornerstone spread offense, or, the pinnacle of offense with the multiple receiver formation. It's a lofty point spread, but if anyone can handle it, Oregon can handle -20.5 against Stanford. Oregon -20.5 at home.
To recap: USC -3.5, LA Tech +3, K-State -13, and Oregon -20.5. Enjoy this big showdown weekend everyone!
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: November 15th
Busy day ahead, so all I have today are quickies.
How long can sandwich meat keep? People have given me answers ranging from 3 days to two weeks. I think it's closer to 3 days with the Boar's Head meat. I had some amazing brisket that I purchased on Sunday but it is now Thursday and it's starting to go bad. It's really such a shame... that meat is so good. I threw all the remaining meat on the last sandwich which I have in my possession. Do I chance it and eat the sandwich or just let it go? I think I'm going to chance it.
Speaking of "close shaves" I sucked it up and cooked my usual Linguine with Marinara last night before the podcast. It didn't give me much time to eat it, in between setting up the podcast and recording the promo for "Football Pick'em" but I pulled it off. I was proud of that, honestly. I saved about 4-5 bucks by doing that instead of just getting fried chicken.
I let the Linguine cook a little longer this time, so about 12 minutes instead of 9 in the boil and I loved it! It probably was not Al Dente, but it was dentelicious! --if that makes any sense.
Gobble countdown is at 7 days. Amazing! We are this close to my favorite of the Holidays.
This year I seem to care a little less about the NFL games next Thursday. The bottom line is that the games just aren't that good. I like Houston/Detroit all right, but then after that it's Redskins/Cowboys (again? I'd rather watch curling), and Pats/Jets which used to be good but now is a total joke. With that said, I feel like the best strategy is to ignore the Cowboy game and then just hold out for Pats/Jets at night. I'd rather not suffocate the rest of the family with non-stop football on TV.
I used to think "Squeeze Box" was about an accordion but... you know the rest!
I kid! I knew the whole time what the "Squeeze Box" was... Roger Daltrey ftw.
Survivor: not nearly as hectic as last night but I'll tell you what, hopefully without spoiling anything: Abi showed her true colors. NOBODY likes Abi. End of story. The only reason she's gone as far as she has to this point is because she's viewed as a non threat. There is no way she's winning the contest. Zero. Unfortunately her presence is bringing down the show. She sucks. Can I just say that? Abi sucks! I hope one day Penner or even Blair, ahem sorry, Lisa schools Abi and takes her to the cleaners. Enough!
What would CBS be willing to entertain to trade Abi to "The Big Bang Theory" for Sheldon Cooper? At least Sheldon is entertaining.
There is still a lot of debate on the usage of tater tots. Are they a breakfast food or a lunch food? You make the call!
The Beatles' new Vinyl Re-Releases are making a big splash in the music industry. I had an idea, on that note. What I thought of doing was purchasing one of the later albums in stereo so that I can get an idea what the look, feel, and sound, of these new editions are like. My choice will be "The Beatles" aka the White Album. I think that particular album will be close to 30 bucks, however, due to it being a double.
I believe that's all the time I have today. Have a good Thursday!
How long can sandwich meat keep? People have given me answers ranging from 3 days to two weeks. I think it's closer to 3 days with the Boar's Head meat. I had some amazing brisket that I purchased on Sunday but it is now Thursday and it's starting to go bad. It's really such a shame... that meat is so good. I threw all the remaining meat on the last sandwich which I have in my possession. Do I chance it and eat the sandwich or just let it go? I think I'm going to chance it.
Speaking of "close shaves" I sucked it up and cooked my usual Linguine with Marinara last night before the podcast. It didn't give me much time to eat it, in between setting up the podcast and recording the promo for "Football Pick'em" but I pulled it off. I was proud of that, honestly. I saved about 4-5 bucks by doing that instead of just getting fried chicken.
I let the Linguine cook a little longer this time, so about 12 minutes instead of 9 in the boil and I loved it! It probably was not Al Dente, but it was dentelicious! --if that makes any sense.
Gobble countdown is at 7 days. Amazing! We are this close to my favorite of the Holidays.
This year I seem to care a little less about the NFL games next Thursday. The bottom line is that the games just aren't that good. I like Houston/Detroit all right, but then after that it's Redskins/Cowboys (again? I'd rather watch curling), and Pats/Jets which used to be good but now is a total joke. With that said, I feel like the best strategy is to ignore the Cowboy game and then just hold out for Pats/Jets at night. I'd rather not suffocate the rest of the family with non-stop football on TV.
I used to think "Squeeze Box" was about an accordion but... you know the rest!
I kid! I knew the whole time what the "Squeeze Box" was... Roger Daltrey ftw.
Survivor: not nearly as hectic as last night but I'll tell you what, hopefully without spoiling anything: Abi showed her true colors. NOBODY likes Abi. End of story. The only reason she's gone as far as she has to this point is because she's viewed as a non threat. There is no way she's winning the contest. Zero. Unfortunately her presence is bringing down the show. She sucks. Can I just say that? Abi sucks! I hope one day Penner or even Blair, ahem sorry, Lisa schools Abi and takes her to the cleaners. Enough!
What would CBS be willing to entertain to trade Abi to "The Big Bang Theory" for Sheldon Cooper? At least Sheldon is entertaining.
There is still a lot of debate on the usage of tater tots. Are they a breakfast food or a lunch food? You make the call!
The Beatles' new Vinyl Re-Releases are making a big splash in the music industry. I had an idea, on that note. What I thought of doing was purchasing one of the later albums in stereo so that I can get an idea what the look, feel, and sound, of these new editions are like. My choice will be "The Beatles" aka the White Album. I think that particular album will be close to 30 bucks, however, due to it being a double.
I believe that's all the time I have today. Have a good Thursday!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: November 14th
MLB has to do something about Jeffrey Loria. He is ruining the spirit of competition in baseball. To trade away the ENTIRE TEAM... for the third time that I can remember, the first time being around 2004 after the World Series Title, and the second time being about 2007 when they traded Miguel Cabrera and possibly others. I don't need to write out who they traded: they traded *every* available useful player on the roster except Ricky Nolasco! (What a cruel joke, by the way, if they save Nolasco for a trade with the Dodgers. I'm moving to Nebraska if that happens, oi)
Loria is a joke. The Marlins are a joke, and they LITERALLY, **LITERALLY** hosed all of Miami out of millions of taxpayer dollars for that stadium. To coerce its citizens, many of whom don't care about baseball, to pay out for this gaudy edifice, only to not deliver its end of the bargain and dump all it's big players after only a year is literally a crime to me. IT IS A CRIME. I don't want to drag down my podcast tonight talking about this, but I am upset. Not only should MLB step in and take action, but I really think the Securities and Exchange commission should have a hand in it. This is almost worse than insider trading. It's as big a heist as "Ocean's Eleven."
It's honestly very hard to take MLB seriously right now. It allows way too many of these scumbag money grubbing owners to survive and thrive. Maybe baseball should never have expanded to these joke markets in the first place. I barely see anyone go to Diamondbacks games. The Tampa Bay Rays very existence is in question. Miami didn't even hold onto much of its opening night buzz and wound up being a pretty empty stadium by the end of the season. Incidentally, as far as the Blue Jays, who received all these Marlin players in the trade, what is the use of having the Blue Jays in MLB?
The Blue Jays are just good enough to be around .500 but never good enough to do anything else. I am sick of people who keep moaning "if the Blue Jays were in another division they'd go to the playoffs easily." Yeah? How about they actually GO TO THE PLAYOFFS first? The Orioles and Rays had no problem making the playoffs in the all-important AL East. Maybe the Blue Jays just aren't that good, have we considered this hypothesis?
Well... not anymore, but they used to "not be that good." Today, they look like a pretty good baseball team. That really puts the Blue Jays out of excuses: they have no excuse to miss the playoffs in 2013. Not only do they have their regular starters AND Josh Johnson, but I believe they still have Colby Rasmus, Miguel Bautista, AND Jose Reyes. Wow! The Blue Jays have zero excuse to miss the playoffs now. Zero.
Look at this, five paragraphs on baseball. I had no idea this was coming.
Last night, I had spicy pork ramen noodles and paid the price... it was 2am in the morning, and I had some "unfinished business." Those were good noodles though; a shame it had to come to that.
Last night I also had the privilege of watching the new James Bond movie entitled "Skyfall." That's a good movie, I recommend everyone to see it.
Word on the street is that Mike D'antoni is due to coach his first game on Friday. I don't think it's worth squabbling about the hire much longer. The point of all this is: this Lakers team is going to be fun. Win or lose, this will be entertaining, possibly for the right reasons, and possibly for the wrong reasons, the Lakers will be exciting. I'm not even worried about "championships" or "dignity" at this point. I'd say just buckle up and enjoy the ride. It could be a thrill ride!
An unusual circumstance has yielded one of the more fun ideas in theater concessions. Most of the time when you go to the theater and share a popcorn you ask for a box so that you can use it for some of the popcorn. The AMC near me was out of boxes! Instead, they offered this really unusual bag that was designed to hold soft drinks. However, they offered to pour extra popcorn in it for free. Now how cool was that? Then I got it, and it looked so funny. Folks, I introduce to you.... POPCORN PANTS:
Loria is a joke. The Marlins are a joke, and they LITERALLY, **LITERALLY** hosed all of Miami out of millions of taxpayer dollars for that stadium. To coerce its citizens, many of whom don't care about baseball, to pay out for this gaudy edifice, only to not deliver its end of the bargain and dump all it's big players after only a year is literally a crime to me. IT IS A CRIME. I don't want to drag down my podcast tonight talking about this, but I am upset. Not only should MLB step in and take action, but I really think the Securities and Exchange commission should have a hand in it. This is almost worse than insider trading. It's as big a heist as "Ocean's Eleven."
It's honestly very hard to take MLB seriously right now. It allows way too many of these scumbag money grubbing owners to survive and thrive. Maybe baseball should never have expanded to these joke markets in the first place. I barely see anyone go to Diamondbacks games. The Tampa Bay Rays very existence is in question. Miami didn't even hold onto much of its opening night buzz and wound up being a pretty empty stadium by the end of the season. Incidentally, as far as the Blue Jays, who received all these Marlin players in the trade, what is the use of having the Blue Jays in MLB?
The Blue Jays are just good enough to be around .500 but never good enough to do anything else. I am sick of people who keep moaning "if the Blue Jays were in another division they'd go to the playoffs easily." Yeah? How about they actually GO TO THE PLAYOFFS first? The Orioles and Rays had no problem making the playoffs in the all-important AL East. Maybe the Blue Jays just aren't that good, have we considered this hypothesis?
Well... not anymore, but they used to "not be that good." Today, they look like a pretty good baseball team. That really puts the Blue Jays out of excuses: they have no excuse to miss the playoffs in 2013. Not only do they have their regular starters AND Josh Johnson, but I believe they still have Colby Rasmus, Miguel Bautista, AND Jose Reyes. Wow! The Blue Jays have zero excuse to miss the playoffs now. Zero.
Look at this, five paragraphs on baseball. I had no idea this was coming.
Last night, I had spicy pork ramen noodles and paid the price... it was 2am in the morning, and I had some "unfinished business." Those were good noodles though; a shame it had to come to that.
Last night I also had the privilege of watching the new James Bond movie entitled "Skyfall." That's a good movie, I recommend everyone to see it.
Word on the street is that Mike D'antoni is due to coach his first game on Friday. I don't think it's worth squabbling about the hire much longer. The point of all this is: this Lakers team is going to be fun. Win or lose, this will be entertaining, possibly for the right reasons, and possibly for the wrong reasons, the Lakers will be exciting. I'm not even worried about "championships" or "dignity" at this point. I'd say just buckle up and enjoy the ride. It could be a thrill ride!
An unusual circumstance has yielded one of the more fun ideas in theater concessions. Most of the time when you go to the theater and share a popcorn you ask for a box so that you can use it for some of the popcorn. The AMC near me was out of boxes! Instead, they offered this really unusual bag that was designed to hold soft drinks. However, they offered to pour extra popcorn in it for free. Now how cool was that? Then I got it, and it looked so funny. Folks, I introduce to you.... POPCORN PANTS:
Now that is a hoot, isn't it?
One of the top four in College Football went down this weekend. So I wonder, who's next? I'm guessing Oregon is next, but who knows, everyone? Who knows? If Alabama can go down, pretty much anyone else could as well. I do love this layer of suspense and danger in the BCS Top 3. No one is safe! Not even Kansas State.
That's all I have. Time to jet for now. I will catch you all tomorrow.
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: November 13th
We're about a week and two days away from Thanksgiving everyone! Start the gobble countdown...
Geez louise, the NFL has had shoddier play than I've seen in a long time. Last night's MNF game was a chore to watch. When you're team is in a game like that, you just root for the win and stop worrying about the style points. Last night, the Steelers did it, in overtime, thanks to a whole lot of help from the Chiefs.
The bigger issue is Big Ben. He's hurt. I can't say whether his shoulder is a 3rd degree or 2nd degree or even 1st degree separated shoulder, but any of those are bad. The odds are extremely good that he'll miss next week's start against Baltimore. If Leftwich is the starter, I'd be hard pressed to imagine the Steelers making the playoffs.
This is how I felt anyway, but the odds are that much worse without Roethlisberger.
Over the years I learned how to spell Ben "Roethlisberger's" last name. This is a REALLY hard name to spell! R-o-E-t-h-l-I-s-b-E-r-g-e-r. The E, I and other E are all pretty brutal to remember... some people use an "e" in place of the I by mistake. Others do the "u" in place of the second "e". It's a scene.
Anyone know how to reliably wash the wax off a Red Delicious apple? That gunk stays on like glue, it's weird.
Yesterday I saw "Wreck-It Ralph" at the theater. It was wonderful! Great movie, and even better for those of us who played arcade games in our youth. Even people who didn't play arcade games as kids but then played the same games later using emulators, they'd appreciate a lot of the references in the movie.
I'm still so sad about the loss of the Wendy's W Cheeseburger. I'm not surprised though: it was a great small double cheeseburger with excellent ingredients like red onion and that "special sauce." Yet, the whole thing cost only about 2 dollars. Over the year or so that I ate it, I felt like Wendy's could easily have charged a dollar more for the W. Now it's gone. I lost my direction for what to eat at Wendy's: like a ship without an anchor, like slave without a chain, but I will go on shining go shining like brand new; I'll never look behind me, my troubles will be few.
There's no doubt, the Lakers are not run very well today. No tact at all. I'm hearing reports on ESPN that Jackson got blindsided with the news that D'antoni was the choice. EVERYBODY is denying it, but it appears that Jim Buss' arrogance cost the Lakers Phil Jackson. Now I think Jim Buss is a joke, but while that's true I will come to his defense here. Phil Jackson is a loon with his demands, and this goes back to when he was last on the team. Phil is always trying to control the rest of the Lakers as well, and I can at least say his basketball decisions are sound, but the man sounds like he wanted to own the team, and for a longtime entity like the Buss family, that idea doesn't sit well.
Even at that, sometimes you gotta lick your wounds and take one for the team. Let's review... the Lakers whacked Mike Brown a mere five games into the season with NO PLAN? That's not what the Lakers do. It's what the Clippers do, it's what the Dodgers do, it might even be what UCLA does, but the LAKERS used to be above that. Not anymore.
When I was a kid, I thought "Goodbye Stranger" was about friends bidding farewell. As an adult, it's obvious, the song's about a one-night stand.
I want to write a sitcom pilot someday, as Jerry and George did on "Seinfeld." I have the ideas and the characters and the story for it, but I don't have the formatting prowess of screenwriting. Maybe, like the "Seinfeld" guys I can base it on the podcast and message board. Semi-autobiographical, but with my character as just a foil. The podcast is not really about me... it's about sports and it's about all the funky friends who contribute to it. Perhaps a TV show in the same vein would be fun.
That's all for now. Have a good one everyone.
Geez louise, the NFL has had shoddier play than I've seen in a long time. Last night's MNF game was a chore to watch. When you're team is in a game like that, you just root for the win and stop worrying about the style points. Last night, the Steelers did it, in overtime, thanks to a whole lot of help from the Chiefs.
The bigger issue is Big Ben. He's hurt. I can't say whether his shoulder is a 3rd degree or 2nd degree or even 1st degree separated shoulder, but any of those are bad. The odds are extremely good that he'll miss next week's start against Baltimore. If Leftwich is the starter, I'd be hard pressed to imagine the Steelers making the playoffs.
This is how I felt anyway, but the odds are that much worse without Roethlisberger.
Over the years I learned how to spell Ben "Roethlisberger's" last name. This is a REALLY hard name to spell! R-o-E-t-h-l-I-s-b-E-r-g-e-r. The E, I and other E are all pretty brutal to remember... some people use an "e" in place of the I by mistake. Others do the "u" in place of the second "e". It's a scene.
Anyone know how to reliably wash the wax off a Red Delicious apple? That gunk stays on like glue, it's weird.
Yesterday I saw "Wreck-It Ralph" at the theater. It was wonderful! Great movie, and even better for those of us who played arcade games in our youth. Even people who didn't play arcade games as kids but then played the same games later using emulators, they'd appreciate a lot of the references in the movie.
I'm still so sad about the loss of the Wendy's W Cheeseburger. I'm not surprised though: it was a great small double cheeseburger with excellent ingredients like red onion and that "special sauce." Yet, the whole thing cost only about 2 dollars. Over the year or so that I ate it, I felt like Wendy's could easily have charged a dollar more for the W. Now it's gone. I lost my direction for what to eat at Wendy's: like a ship without an anchor, like slave without a chain, but I will go on shining go shining like brand new; I'll never look behind me, my troubles will be few.
There's no doubt, the Lakers are not run very well today. No tact at all. I'm hearing reports on ESPN that Jackson got blindsided with the news that D'antoni was the choice. EVERYBODY is denying it, but it appears that Jim Buss' arrogance cost the Lakers Phil Jackson. Now I think Jim Buss is a joke, but while that's true I will come to his defense here. Phil Jackson is a loon with his demands, and this goes back to when he was last on the team. Phil is always trying to control the rest of the Lakers as well, and I can at least say his basketball decisions are sound, but the man sounds like he wanted to own the team, and for a longtime entity like the Buss family, that idea doesn't sit well.
Even at that, sometimes you gotta lick your wounds and take one for the team. Let's review... the Lakers whacked Mike Brown a mere five games into the season with NO PLAN? That's not what the Lakers do. It's what the Clippers do, it's what the Dodgers do, it might even be what UCLA does, but the LAKERS used to be above that. Not anymore.
When I was a kid, I thought "Goodbye Stranger" was about friends bidding farewell. As an adult, it's obvious, the song's about a one-night stand.
I want to write a sitcom pilot someday, as Jerry and George did on "Seinfeld." I have the ideas and the characters and the story for it, but I don't have the formatting prowess of screenwriting. Maybe, like the "Seinfeld" guys I can base it on the podcast and message board. Semi-autobiographical, but with my character as just a foil. The podcast is not really about me... it's about sports and it's about all the funky friends who contribute to it. Perhaps a TV show in the same vein would be fun.
That's all for now. Have a good one everyone.
Monday, November 12, 2012
Dave's Thoughts of the Day: November 12th
Oh the New York Giants! They are so dependably undependable. I *knew* they would find a way to blow that game at Cincinnati. Once I had them -3.5 I said it was just a matter of time. KNEW it was too good to be true. The good thing here is that LOCKS of the Week still went 2-1-1. One more point for Oregon State and it's a spectacular effort for football picks.
First of all, I am through with choosing NFL games for LOCKS of the Week. Through! The point spreads are so tiny anyway, and to expect any of the 32 teams to deliver on a point spread, whether as a favorite or underdog is a sucker bet this year. For the rest of this season, I will do college games exclusively.
I'll put it this way... in what universe do the Giants have any excuse for tanking the game at Cincinnati? They were a great road team this year, and the Bungles don't have a spectacular offense albeit they do have one impressive wide receiver. The Giants were not coming off a big win, nay, instead they were coming off a bruising loss to Pittsburgh. I don't get it. I just don't get it. Eli Manning was a complete joke. Elite quarterback my rear.
In an interesting sidebar, there is the running meme that teams that play Pittsburgh get so beat up they lose the next week. Of all the teams out there, I did not think it would happen to the Giants. The Giants were presumably the ultimate contrarian. Yet, here we are.
I took a trip to SC this weekend and it was spectacular. Meeting Rebecca Soni and the USC Song Girls in the same hour, I mean it does not get any better... here are some highlights.
I still don't know how I came upon the entire Song Girls squad at once like that. Yet, there they were, taking pictures with people here and there. They weren't planning that, but apparently some people snuck over and just asked and they were kind enough to accept so I figured, on a strangers suggestion, to give it a shot. Thankfully, they all were open to another photo-op. That was a pure fluke. I guess, as they say, Heritage Hall is the place to be!
All right, on to other thoughts...
Ever hear of the bacon wrapped hot dog here in Los Angeles? It's a renegade food, served from carts that roam the streets, possibly without a permit. The best way to find one is to not look for one. Having said that, you're well off if you're at any sporting event in the area, as the carts will usually seek you out. Still, if you go to a restaurant and attempt to order a bacon wrapped hot dog from a menu, it's not the same experience, and I would gauge it's not as good a hot dog.
The ingredients are pretty cheap, the construction unorthodox, but the result is simply awesome:
First of all, I am through with choosing NFL games for LOCKS of the Week. Through! The point spreads are so tiny anyway, and to expect any of the 32 teams to deliver on a point spread, whether as a favorite or underdog is a sucker bet this year. For the rest of this season, I will do college games exclusively.
I'll put it this way... in what universe do the Giants have any excuse for tanking the game at Cincinnati? They were a great road team this year, and the Bungles don't have a spectacular offense albeit they do have one impressive wide receiver. The Giants were not coming off a big win, nay, instead they were coming off a bruising loss to Pittsburgh. I don't get it. I just don't get it. Eli Manning was a complete joke. Elite quarterback my rear.
In an interesting sidebar, there is the running meme that teams that play Pittsburgh get so beat up they lose the next week. Of all the teams out there, I did not think it would happen to the Giants. The Giants were presumably the ultimate contrarian. Yet, here we are.
I took a trip to SC this weekend and it was spectacular. Meeting Rebecca Soni and the USC Song Girls in the same hour, I mean it does not get any better... here are some highlights.
I still don't know how I came upon the entire Song Girls squad at once like that. Yet, there they were, taking pictures with people here and there. They weren't planning that, but apparently some people snuck over and just asked and they were kind enough to accept so I figured, on a strangers suggestion, to give it a shot. Thankfully, they all were open to another photo-op. That was a pure fluke. I guess, as they say, Heritage Hall is the place to be!
All right, on to other thoughts...
Ever hear of the bacon wrapped hot dog here in Los Angeles? It's a renegade food, served from carts that roam the streets, possibly without a permit. The best way to find one is to not look for one. Having said that, you're well off if you're at any sporting event in the area, as the carts will usually seek you out. Still, if you go to a restaurant and attempt to order a bacon wrapped hot dog from a menu, it's not the same experience, and I would gauge it's not as good a hot dog.
The ingredients are pretty cheap, the construction unorthodox, but the result is simply awesome:
People were telling me I can bargain down the price from 5 dollars to 3 or so and I made a stab at this but they were not that willing to do it, were the vendors. Somehow I fenagled down to 4 and I feel like a real douche now for doing this. I mean COME ON, these poor chaps are just trying to make a hot dog and I have the audacity to negotiate the price? Once I took a bite, I realized I was a complete jerk... that hot dog was worth at least 7 bones, maybe 8. It was *amazing!* At many concession stands inside a stadium they'd charge you about that much for a hot dog half as good. The next time I go out to SC for one of these, and if I find the same lady I'm forking over 8 and letting her keep it.
Imagine you were to purchase from an unauthorized food vendor and cops were on the scene and busted up everybody? Does the buyer get arrested too?? Who would get arrested for buying a hot dog?
It's been a whirlwind, and that was just the beginning. After the trip to SC, I took the train to LA Live and saw the score of the A&M/Alabama game. I could not believe it! Of all the teams, ALABAMA is the first to lose? I was shocked. Almost unnerved.
As I saw A&M maintain their lead I went to a nearby sports bar called Yardhouse and ordered two Beligan Ales with 9% alcohol... all I'm gonna say is, after the games, I had to train it back and THEN spend a good 40 minutes inside an Arby's for detox. That beer was no joke, fellas!
Can you believe Wendy's owns 18% of Arby's? I'm still shocked at that.
I have a bad feeling about the Steelers tonight. You can bet the Chiefs will take their first lead in regulation this season, and they'll do it during tonight's game. I'm not feeling confident about the Steelers tonight.
That's all from here. Have a good one, everyone.
D'antoni: Once you pop, you can't stop (on defense)...
We've got some catching up to do!
Since the last blog post, the Lakers went and hired, what I think is a bonehead move, Mike D'antoni. He is not the worst coach in the world, but he is far and away a bad choice, long term and short term. I still can't get over how badly D'antoni was schooled over the years by the likes of Popovich and even Phil Jackson, the Lakers' other choice.
What is the point of this? This was worth canning Mike Brown after five games? I am not following it at all. If it's going to come to this, the Lakers may as well have kept Bernie Bickerstaff. Brown's deficiencies coaching offense were equally big deficiencies for Mike D'antoni's defenses.
I am not at a point where I wonder if Jerry Buss is running the team any more. With each clip of him at the poker table somewhere in Temecula, the answer is clearly no. The duties are going to his son Jim Buss, and frankly the man is a bit of a chore to stomach. This is OBVIOUSLY not a move to better the team. It's a move to make a splash, and it's stupid. This is a move to make the Lakers more media friendly. Well, I don't like it. Just as Mike Brown's contract was, D'antoni will also be a waste of money at the end of the day. Regular season games will be fine, but you wait until the playoffs: Mike D'antoni is going to get his ass kicked in strategy.
The Lakers used to be ahead of the curve with roster transactions, but today and for the last three years, all they've been doing is catching up. I stated a while ago they needed to get younger, faster, deeper, and better on the perimeter. LA did none of those things. Surely they made a splash and got big names, but the fundamental needs were mostly ignored. Dwight Howard does help one badly needed area in their defense, but overall, speed is killing the team and all the Lakers did was get slower aside from Howard. On the other hand, Howard's back trouble could prove to make him just as slow as the other guys!
The Lakers are an absolute mess. Today, they just hired themselves out of the NBA Finals. It's not a coincidence D'antoni went his entire career without an NBA Finals appearance, even with some pretty good talent in Phoenix. Get ready for a circus, friends, and enjoy the show.
Since the last blog post, the Lakers went and hired, what I think is a bonehead move, Mike D'antoni. He is not the worst coach in the world, but he is far and away a bad choice, long term and short term. I still can't get over how badly D'antoni was schooled over the years by the likes of Popovich and even Phil Jackson, the Lakers' other choice.
What is the point of this? This was worth canning Mike Brown after five games? I am not following it at all. If it's going to come to this, the Lakers may as well have kept Bernie Bickerstaff. Brown's deficiencies coaching offense were equally big deficiencies for Mike D'antoni's defenses.
I am not at a point where I wonder if Jerry Buss is running the team any more. With each clip of him at the poker table somewhere in Temecula, the answer is clearly no. The duties are going to his son Jim Buss, and frankly the man is a bit of a chore to stomach. This is OBVIOUSLY not a move to better the team. It's a move to make a splash, and it's stupid. This is a move to make the Lakers more media friendly. Well, I don't like it. Just as Mike Brown's contract was, D'antoni will also be a waste of money at the end of the day. Regular season games will be fine, but you wait until the playoffs: Mike D'antoni is going to get his ass kicked in strategy.
The Lakers used to be ahead of the curve with roster transactions, but today and for the last three years, all they've been doing is catching up. I stated a while ago they needed to get younger, faster, deeper, and better on the perimeter. LA did none of those things. Surely they made a splash and got big names, but the fundamental needs were mostly ignored. Dwight Howard does help one badly needed area in their defense, but overall, speed is killing the team and all the Lakers did was get slower aside from Howard. On the other hand, Howard's back trouble could prove to make him just as slow as the other guys!
The Lakers are an absolute mess. Today, they just hired themselves out of the NBA Finals. It's not a coincidence D'antoni went his entire career without an NBA Finals appearance, even with some pretty good talent in Phoenix. Get ready for a circus, friends, and enjoy the show.
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