Cheek's Blog

A Maddening March

2010-03-23T12:44:00.000-07:00

So, it was the perfect storm.

St. Patrick's Day followed by the craziest four days in all of sports (the first and second rounds of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament).

And, despite picking Cornell in the opening round - per the "Cheek loves the Ivy League" Rule - my bracket has never taken a worse beating in the first weekend. The funny, and what I really mean is "sad," thing is that I have actually documented this. I looked at my picks over the last five years and I have never been so utterly and completely clueless. Not even a pint of green beer could cheer me up at this point (not that I could actually find one a week after St. Patty's Day).

Well, in order to cheer me up and further my celebration of the patron saint of Ireland, I offer you a little music from a band that I have been listening to quite a bit lately. They're from, as David Letterman, my boy, puts it, "From Ireland, ladies and gentleman. From Ireland!"

Bell X1 and a nice rendition of their little ditty "The Great Defector" from the album Blue Lights On the Runway. It's fun, it's up-beat, it's a little poppy...what's not to like?!

Enjoy! And I'll catch you guys later!

Fictional Sports

2010-01-26T08:46:00.000-08:00

So, as we come off the Golden Globes and inch ever closer to Oscar-Time, I find myself thinking of, not sports movies, but, sports IN movies…which brings me to my thoughts on the top five fictional sporting events that I wish I could have attended.

***Note: It was tough putting these in any kind of order and I’m not 100% sure that I am settling on this as my final answer. But it’s a good place to start.***

Starting with the guys that didn’t make it...

Just missing the cut: The game -- The Sandlot; Roy McAvoy playing in the U.S. Open -- Tin Cup; Rockford Peaches vs. Racine Belles in the AAGPBL World Series -- A League of Their Own; plus, I would have loved to see Henry Rowengartner pitch – Rookie of the Year.

I think that a very special honorable mention needs to go to any time Coach Norman Dale took his basketball team from Hickory High onto the court. He also gives some of the best pre-game speeches ever.

Onward! To the finalists!

5. New York Yankees vs. Cleveland Indians (aka, the one-game playoff for the American League’s Eastern Division Championship) -- Major League.
Thanks to stellar defense, “the crafty veteran” Eddie Harris tosses eight and two-thirds innings of two-run ball before giving way to the bullpen. I bet the ol’ Municipal Stadium was absolutely electric when Cerrano hit that two-run bomb in the bottom half of the seventh! But it wouldn’t be an Indians victory without an appearance of The Wild Child himself…cue Ricky Vaughn and X’s version of Wild Thing!

4. Ducks vs. Hawks (aka, the finals of the Minnesota State Pee Wee Championships) -- The Mighty Ducks.
Banks taking on his old team, Bombay going up against the coach that may have ultimately ruined his life – you can cut the tension in the room with a knife! Plus, growing up in the south I never had an understanding of hockey so this was very new and exciting to me. I mean, this is youth hockey and they have radio announcers?!

3. The All-Valley Karate Championships -- The Karate Kid. I cannot begin to tell you what it would have been like to be at this event.

2. Beavers vs. Cadets (aka the game where Scott Howard first turns into a werewolf in public) -- Teen Wolf. The crowd is temporarily shocked -- which is a little odd -- but then rejoices as the wolf completes what seems like a quadruple-double to win the game and the admiration of the whole school.

1. Rocky Balboa vs. Ivan Drago -- Rocky IV. Still one of my all-time favorite movie moments. When flipping through the channels, if you stumble upon this flick you simply have to stop. The film contains some of the best/most ridiculous quotes ever. I want Duke yelling at me while I run or work out. "No pain! No pain!!!" I can’t confirm this but I’m also pretty sure that this movie single-handed ended the cold war.

That’s it. That’s the list.

Quick Thoughts: What I Learned On Break

2010-01-15T10:25:00.000-08:00

So, while I recovered from work and school during late December and the first half of January, I learned three important things...

1) College football’s bowl system is completely out of whack.
2) Tyler Hansbrough is a jerk.
3) Tennessee’s football program is in trouble.

I should have realized the first one a long time ago but I was too busy shaking the pom-poms for the sport. But I’m not here to bash the BCS. On the contrary, I think that the BCS got it right…AGAIN! It’s what took place before the BCS, and frankly – before January 1st, that bothered me.

There were approximately ZERO intriguing bowl games before New Years Day. As bad as that statistic is, what is even worse was that there were twenty – that’s right, 20!!! – bowl games BEFORE New Years Day. That is absolutely ridiculous! I mean, come on, Southern Methodist and Nevada played on Christmas Eve in Hawaii. Was this even televised? I can neither confirm nor deny that a game was actually played. I like to think that the two opposing coaches and all the players were sitting on the beach in lounge chairs, sipping daiquiris while some S.I.D. sat behind them asking things like: “Guys, what do you want me to say happened in the third quarter?”

Moving on, I know that you all have seen this commercial:

What a freakin’ jerk! I know what you’re thinking? No, Cheek. Hansbrough found that little girl’s dog and delivered it safe and sound back to her home. He’s a saint! Well, in the immortal words of that drunk, Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend!” Hansbrough didn’t do anything! The shaggy-haired, frat boy – complete with his backwards hat, flip flops and I-found-these-clothes-on-the-floor-and-they-didn’t-smell-TOO-disgusting wardrobe – notices the sweet girl putting fliers and immediately sends a text to his friends (which includes Hansbrough). Hansbrough then forwards it on to his HUGE arsenal of groupies. Three extremely average looking girls find the dog and send a message back to Hansbrough letting him know (and hoping that they can hang out with him and thereby be noticed by someone for once).

The commercial then shows Hansbrough handing the dog off to an overjoyed little girl. All that guy did was show up, grab the dog, return it and take the glory. Seriously, what a jerk!

As for Tennessee and the whole Lane Kiffin/David Cutcliffe/Why can’t we find a head coach?!-saga:
About 14 months ago, you (the University of Tennessee) bought yourself a sweet little 2009 Porsche (Kiffin). It was HOT! It was new, good looking, made others turn their head when you entered the room. Sure, it made some crazy noises every once and a while but that was part of the fun – you know, freaking other people out. Then about a week ago the thing completely clunks on you. It’s out.

Now you’re thinking, “Okay, I’m not going to be burned like that again. I need something safe and reliable this time.” Enter the 2004 Honda Accord of college football – David Cutcliffe. The only problem is that some weird guy in North Carolina just bought the last one. You could have bought it but you were determined that you didn’t want one in periwinkle blue. You weren’t in a position to be picky and you got burned again!

What the heck are you going to do now?!

Note: As I post this, ESPN is breaking the story that Derek Dooley, the head coach at Louisiana Tech, is the leading candidate for the head coaching position at Tennessee.

Well, apparently there’s a guy in Louisiana who is selling a mo-ped, on the cheap, that he’s just been using on his five mile commute. Good luck with that, Tennessee.

A Couple Quick Thoughts

2009-12-01T14:05:00.000-08:00

So, as I sit her thinking about how many Thanksgiving calories I can burn by simply thinking about burning Thanksgiving calories my mind finds itself deviating to a couple other things...

First, and I'll keep this one brief, I realized for the first time in my life what Thanksgiving really is. It's a tailgate party for women. When someone told me this, I calmly chuckled and said, "Ha ha. Good one. That's funny." Then I started to think about it. That's when I decided to take a hard look at the women in my family during Thanksgiving and found that there is actually some validity to this whole thing.

Just like men at a tailgate party the women showed up each carrying a different dish - something to share with the group. Then they set up camp for the day. They went on to joke around with one another and shared stories of year's gone by. Most importantly though, this all took place right before the "biggest game of the year"...BLACK FRIDAY! The Super Bowl of Shopping Day's for women. I swear I heard my cousin Ellen and Lady Cheek harkening back to the glory days of Black Fridays of the past.

"Oh, that will never top the great sale of '94!"

"You girls don't know the half of it! Back in '74 we won the Macy's National Championship! Those were the good ol' days."

Second, Jack Swarbrick. You don't know who he is, do you? Well, he is - of course - the illustrious Athletic Director of the University of College Football in America...better known as "Notre Dame."

Ol' Jack had an interesting quote today as he was signing Charlie Weis's $18-million dollar walking papers.

"I am excited to embark full bore on the process of finding the right next successor to the legacy of Rockne and Leahy and Parseghian and Holtz."

ARE YOU FREAKIN' KIDDING ME?!

Listen, everyone who really loves Notre Dame...and I mean, REALLY loves Notre Dame...is like 60 years old. They walk around calling people "whipper snapper" and complaining about kids' long hair and loud music. Bottom line is getting those 17 and 18-year old blue-chip athletes on your campus is what wins games, not tradition. Those players don't care about Knute Rockne, they don't care about the "Four Horsemen" and they sure as heck don't care about this so-called legacy and tradition. Those things are for fans.

Athletes of that age and potential care about four things when considering college: sunshine, hot chicks, academic standards that aren't too rigid and getting to the NFL. Look at the biggest powerhouse football programs out there right now - Southern California, Florida, LSU, Texas, etc. Notre Dame isn't offering the same thing as them.

Seriously. Come on, Jack. I don't even know if Knute Rockne ever really existed. I don't know anything about this "Lee High" fellow and the only reason I know Ari Parseghian is because of the movie "Rudy." And don't get me started on Lou Holtz - he's not a legend. He was a decent coach who strung together a couple good years and now spends his days spitting at the cameras on the set of ESPN shows.

Get over yourself, Notre Dame. You're not what you think you are.

Ladies and Gentlemen...

2009-11-25T10:55:00.000-08:00

Mr. Jimmy Fallon...as Mr. Neil Young.

Nothing screams delicious pop culture quite like a washed up Not Ready for Prime-Time Player, dressed up and imitating a washed up rocker, singing the theme song to a washed up family sitcom from the early 90's.

Until next time, have a Happy Thanksgiving!

New Look

2009-11-05T08:44:00.000-08:00

So, in an effort to jazz this place up...

I've come up with a little graphic for the top of the blog. It was fun to make and I think it turned out well. I'm continually trying to make this blog look a little sharper and thus enhance, frankly, my entertainment in using it.

It's not as dramatic a change as the first time that we saw Andre Agassi show up without those gorgeous locks of his but it's still a change.

So, you're probably asking yourelf, "Self, what is this fancy picture that Cheek has come up?" Well, it's my imaginary room - full of a bunch of crap that I simply must have to live my life. It's pretty simply living mind you but that's just sort how it goes for me. It's "imaginary" for two reasons: A) my room doesn't really look anything like this and 2) Lady Cheek would never let me leave all of my pop culture relics lying around the place.

Lady Cheek also thinks that the picture is kind of like an old issue of Highlights...you know, that classic magazine that we used to read as kids while sitting in the waiting room at the dentist (I never saw that magazine anywhere else). You basically look through the picture and find all the random references to my life. I've included references to favorite movies, books, TV shows, music and sports.

One of the nice things about this picture is that I can constantly change it. I can add things and delete things. It rather fun to do so.

Take a gander and tell me what you see. Let me know your thoughts and if you see something that I need to add, subtract...or mulitply and divide.

See you next time!

Rush Party!

2009-10-15T10:35:00.000-07:00

So, as I sit here contemplating my future as the owner of an NFL Franchise...

I wonder why Rush Limbaugh was blackballed by the NFL's Office of the Commissioner. I understand that Rush is a politically driven, ultra right-wing radio commentator but should that really keep him from being a part of an ownership group looking to buy an NFL team?

I say, "No." I know why people dislike Rush. He makes some stupid, and sometimes border-line racist, comments during his time on the airwaves but the man has the money to buy a team (at least, he is a part of an ownership group that has that money), right? So why shouldn't he be able to spend his money on what he wants?

When asked about Limbaugh's comments concerning Donovan McNabb in 2003, NFL Commissioner Roger Goddell said that the comments were "polarizing" and that they don't "reflect accurately on the NFL or our players." Goodell went on to say, "I obviously do not believe those comments are positive and they are divisive. That's a negative thing for us, obviously."

Of course the comments were polarizing! That's what Rush does. Do you think that the guy became the most listened to man in America because he toes the company line and gives otherwise bland commentrary on the world? Don't be naive. Rush knew exactly what he was doing when he said that. I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't even mean it. By saying something like that, he could ensure ratings. That's what's important. Not image. Not beliefs. Ratings.

There's a different problem that I have here with Goodell though. I ask, don't we have to give Rush Limbaugh's ownership group the opportunity to purchase an NFL team? Regardless of sex, creed, religion, political views, capacity of idiocy?

I don't believe that the NFL is taking the right approach on this. A league that prides itself on "second chances" and being an equal opportunist should at least let this group go through the motions. That being said, I also don't believe that the NFL will be harmed in the slightest by this move. "The Shield" is probably one of the most powerful organizations in the world and is almost above the law.

My other issue: There are multiple players in the NFL who are convicted felons. Let me say that again...CONVICTED FELONS!!! Where are the people that have been defending their right to play in the NFL? Those "activists" aren't exactly knocking down the door on Limbaugh's behalf.

And as for the players who said that they wouldn't play in the NFL if Rush was allowed to own a team...liars. Filthy, dirty, unbelievable LIARS! I don't care what an owner said - if they were handing out $10-million dollar checks the players would be lining up. I think that Stephen A. Smith (who, for the record, I am NOT a fan of) said it best:

Now, for a little gamblin', g-g-g-gamblin':
Last Week (4-2)...but it didn't count...boo!!!; Season (6-12-1)
-What are the odds that I blow this week after having a decent record that didn't count last week because I didn't "post it"? Probable.

#8 Cincinatti (-2.5) at #21 South Florida
-90% of the time, college football that is played on a day other than Saturday is pointless. This Big East game is NOT an exception. Still, I'll take the boys from Tampa.

#20 Oklahoma vs. #3 Texas (-3.5) -- in Dallas, Texas
-Ah, the ol' Red River Shootout...one of the best names for a game in college football. I really feel like Texas gets things going early and wins by a touchdown. Colt McCoy will always remember his last Shootout.

#6 Southern Cal (-10) at #25 Notre Dame
-This is a really tough one for me. I pretty much hate both teams. I dislike pretty much everything that has ever been produced by the Clausen Family. But, I'm going to throw, my boy, O.C. a bone here and take the points and the Irish.

#4 Virginia Tech (-3) at #19 Georgia Tech
-Is there anything that anyone has seen that would tell you that Virginia Tech is going to lose this game? Is there anything that could tell you that this isn't going ot be a blow out? Is there anything that could tell you that Georgia Tech isn't full of a bunch of nerds who do nothing but lie and cheat? No, no, and no.

#22 South Carolina @ #2 Alabama (-17)
-This game is just full of evil. And that's a lot of points to lay. But the Tide...they're just too good. They are going to run, pass, jump and whatever else you can do OVER South Carolina...over South Carolina.

Pop Culture at Its Best

2009-10-13T07:17:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't post last week because I was a little busy with other things. Therefore, I went 4-1 in my college football picks. You gotta love that.

Anyhow, as Mother Nature continually tries to punt me from my house via copious amounts of precipitation and flooding, I find solace once again in the world of Pop Culture.

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is yet another example of why we invented the internet. Enjoy!

Folk and Future

2009-10-01T13:57:00.000-07:00

So, I’ve sort of let sports over run my thoughts lately…

That’s not necessarily a bad thing when you work in sports and are currently going to graduate school to further study sports. At that point, you’re sort of supposed to let the topic spin through your head. Well, I’ve been flooded by consumed with sports to near suffocation lately.

Therefore, it seems like it’s time for some music/TV/movie talk. Variety is, as they say, the spice of life.

New music that I am currently diggin’:
Angus & Julia Stone
From Australia they released their debut album, A Book Like This, back in 2007 but it didn’t reach the American shores until just over 6 months ago. I’ll be honest with you from the get go – if you’re looking to really sink your teeth into some wild tunes and expand your mind to another dimension, this isn’t really for you. The point is not to blow you away. It’s supposed to be enjoyed. And you really don’t have to work to hard to make it through this album.

The brother-sister duo is as folksy and sweet sounding as they come. Angus is borderline hypnotic on songs like, “Paper Aeroplane” and “Mango Tree.” Julia’s quirky, but genuinely nice, voice softly swings through “Wasted” and “Hollywood.” Then there’s this little number that is just dripping with sticky pop:

Other stuff I’ve been listening to lately: She& Him, Brett Dennen and the soundtrack for Where the Wild Things Are with the music coming from Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.

New TV that I am currently diggin’:
FlashForward
Sure, I’m still sticking with the ol’ standbys of 30 Rock and The Office but you have to sprinkle in some new stuff every now and again. FlashForward fits the bill…despite the fact that they spell it as one word with a capital “F” stuck right in the middle. It’s an interesting concept – at the same moment, everyone in the world blacks out for 137 seconds. Beyond the mass chaos that ensues, everybody has glimpsed a surreal but grimly convincing vision of the future exactly six months ahead. It’s just intriguing enough to keep me coming back for one more episode (sort of the way Fringe did last year).

The only issues that I have with the show so far is I have no Earthly idea how you carry it past season one…but that’s for the writers to figure out. The other issue: Harold as an FBI agent?! Can I really buy into that? Well, I bought into Kumar being a doctor for a couple years so maybe this won’t be too difficult.

Other new stuff I’ve been watching lately: Glee (it’s almost surprisingly decent…and Jane Lynch is great in it) and Modern Family.

New movies that I am currently diggin’:
N/A
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to venture out to the local cinema lately. It just takes such an effort when you live in Atlanta. Traffic and parking in the city is just dreadful and then you have to expect to pay $25 per ticket and $12.50 for a medium Coke. Plus, it’s the fall…the time right in the middle of the summer blockbusters and holiday-season hits. That being said, I’ve heard good things about The Informant!, which stars, my boy, Matt Damon. I’m looking to take suggestions, though, if you’re willing to tell me what you’ve seen lately. Good or bad, let me hear it.

Now, back to more pressing matters...The Betting Man:
Last Week (2-2-1); Season (6-12-1)
-Stupid Houston keeping me from a winning record for the first time this season. You’re not even a real school! And stupid Ole Miss not being able to handle their own business against the Ol’ Ball Coach and the Gamecocks. AND…stupid California being favored by a touchdown and then getting absolutely shellacked by nearly 40 points. Unbelievable!

Wisconsin at Minnesota (-2.5)
-Gophers, while a nuisance to Carl Spackler at Bushwood Country Club, are still cooler than Badgers. Plus, they’re “Golden.” That has to count for something, right? Plus, it’s a Big 10 football game so nobody really cares anyway.

Texas A&M (-1) vs. Arkansas -- in Arlington, Texas
-This game isn’t exactly a home game for Arkansas (Arlington is about 400 miles away from Fayetteville). But I’m looking for Hog-QB Ryan Mallett to throw the ball all over the yard.

Auburn at Tennessee (-1.5)
-Old man Monty is going to have the Vols ready to roll. Auburn, who hasn’t played anyone worthwhile to this point is about to have someone show them what defense is. The Tigers/Plainsmen/War Eagle/whatever-they-are-calling-themselves-this-week’s winning streak is over.

#7 USC (-5) at #24 California
-For the record, under normal circumstances, I would stay the heck away from this game. Cal is coming off an embarrassment and USC is trying to get back into the swing of things. Cal isn’t a bad pick here but I’ll take those crazy Trojans and their rendition of Lean On Me.

#8 Oklahoma (-7) @ #17 Miami
-No Bradford? No problem. I am just not going to buy into the hype of Miami. They are a nice team but I just don’t think they are there yet.

Poll Vaulting

2009-09-23T10:03:00.001-07:00

So, I haven't been able to write much this week becasue - in case you didn't know - it's been raining in Atlanta. And, boy, did we get some rain! Creeks rose, rivers overflowed and my neighborhood flooded to my doorstep...

But I'm dry now and assessing the world of sports, though, I'll be trying to keep this brief.

Today, let's talk AP Poll. It's an interesting little monster that, I think, drives the popularity of college football. Have you ever wondered how it works though? It's actually pretty interesting when you consider some of the whack-jobs that get to decide on it. If you're interested in taking a second or two to look throgh some of the AP's voters' ballots, HERE is the list. I would encourage people to take a quick gander at the ballots of Mr. Jon Wilner of the San Jose Mercury News and Mr. Doug Lesmerises of the Cleveland Plain Dealer. These are the very "whack-jobs" that I was telling you about. Or are they?

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From ESPN Senior Writer Pat Forde
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"What people think in August [when filling out preseason Top 25s] is at least partly based on what Phil Steele and Athlon thought in April [when their preview magazines are written]," Lesmerises said. "A multi-gazillion-dollar industry based on people putting 15 minutes into a poll that is based on a magazine that did its rankings in April is not a good system."

It should be noted that, unlike some human voters, both writers put a lot more than 15 minutes into their ballots on a weekly basis. Wilner said he works for hours on his Top 25. Lesmerises said he usually does three or four drafts before sending in the final version.

This week both Lesmerises and Wilner rank Alabama No. 1 and Miami No. 2.

Lesmerises has Houston No. 3 and Cincinnati No. 4, while Wilner goes with Texas third and LSU fourth.

You and Urban Meyer might both be wondering where a certain orange-helmeted team fits in. Both have the Gators a heretical fifth.

Lesmerises has Texas lower than any other AP voter at seventh. Among his other against-the-grain rankings: Penn State 15th, Ohio State 22nd, Mississippi 24th and USC 25th.

"I cover Ohio State," Lesmerises said. "I can't pretend to be an expert on every team in the country. Because of my ignorance of the college scene as a whole, I fall back on results."

"I'm trying to treat every team as Team X, where it doesn't matter where you were ranked in the preseason and it doesn't matter what conference you're in and it doesn't matter what your record was last year. What matters are results, results, results. But I'm not a computer, so 10 to 20 percent of my voting tends to take in my perception of how good a team is."

Wilner has Virginia Tech sixth. Houston is seventh. Oklahoma State is 11th. And Penn State is 21st.

"Every August, the AP sends out a list of voting guidelines," Wilner said. "The No. 1 guideline is to base your ballots on results. They also say, 'Don't be afraid to make radical changes week to week.' They want you to shake it up. I try to mix results and common sense."

To Wilner, Lesmerises and three other AP voters, Florida does not deserve its current ironclad place atop the rankings.

"Not when other teams have good results," said Wilner, who stresses that his rankings are not predictive but reactive. "Florida beat Tennessee, but I don't think Tennessee is that good -- unless UCLA is really good, and I don't think that's the case, either."

And both writers are amazed to find Houston ranked lower than Oklahoma State. Despite a double-digit victory in Stillwater, the 2-0 Cougars are one spot below the 2-1 Cowboys in the AP poll and seven spots lower in the coaches' poll.

Because of their willingness to vote outside the mainstream, both writers have become accustomed to scrutiny. And they welcome it. Said Lesmerises: "I have to be able to defend every single spot on my ballot."

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All very intersting stuff. We'll see how things will "shake up" after this weekend.

Now for this week's edition of The Betting Man:
Last Week (2-3); Season (4-10)
-Better week but that's not really saying much. Things better turn around quick or I'm going to have to switch from ALPO to the "store brand" dog food for dinner...and NOBODY wants that! Too bad the games aren't getting any easier to pick.

#4 Ole Miss (-3) at South Carolina
-My first impression is to take South Carolina and their defense to keep things close at home. But my "first impressions" are 4-10 this season...

#9 Miami (-2.5) at #11 Virginia Tech
-Miami has been on a hot streak and normally I'd ride that hot streak into the ground. But if I'd "normally" pick Miami then I'd probably "normally" be wrong...

#15 TCU at Clemson (-2.5)
-I love almost everything that there is about TCU. It's in the south, it's a good ol' private Christian-based school in Texas and they took an otherwise useless mascot (the frog) and put some "awesome" in it...the HORNED FROGS!!! It's just too good!

#6 California (-6) at Oregon
-Stupid Oregon and it's multiple personality disorder! There is absolutely no telling WHICH team is going to show up against Cal. And there is absolutely no telling whether they will be wearing crazy uniforms or not.

Texas Tech @ #17 Houston (-1)
-The line says that this is basically a "pick the winner" game. I just can't, in my right mind, pick Houston here. Tech is going to be gunning after the loss to the Longhorns and Houston can't possible out-gun the Red Raiders...right?

Breakin' Up With the Bravos

2009-09-16T12:48:00.000-07:00

So, now that football has officially stolen the nation’s consciousness away from everything else, I have a simple message for my Atlanta Braves…

We’re through. Listen, we had a good run. Every spring you suck me in. You’re like the college girl that comes back from Holiday Break but hasn’t put on all the extra L-B’s. You saunter through the first party (around Valentine’s Day) and I get entranced every time. You always seem to look great and seem to have a very bright future.

This year was no different. I was legitimately excited. You got some hot new clothes (aka starting rotation) and you still had that foxy little number that you always wore downtown (aka Chipper coming off a batting title). Things were looking great and we were having fun...even when I think we were sort of delaying the inevitable.

But you started to get a little lazy in May and June. You were looking a little slow and things just weren’t clicking between us. Plus, you always seem to let that crazy chick from Florida (aka The Marlins) push you around when we are out trying to have a good time with our friends.

We had a fantastic July though. We went on a couple road trips, crashed some parties and it started to feel like old times – I really felt like I had fallen in love all over again. And don’t even get me started on Tommy Hanson…that entire move rocked my world! Even August was decent – you hung around with me and kept my attention.

Then September came. And with every September comes a new set of challenges. Recently, you’ve put on a show. Five straight wins, huh? No…I’m not going to let you do this to me again. No…I have to move on. I have to get this figured out. I’m sorry. It’s not you, it’s me.

Don’t get me wrong, we can still be friends but let’s be honest here – we both know that this relationship isn’t working out. So, I think it would be a good idea to just make a clean break. No, no…I just don’t think that you are ready for a serious relationship. I mean, what do you think I’m in this for? I’m getting to a point in my life where I need more than “just a good time.” I’m sorry. It’s over.

Until next season at least…

Speaking of picking up the pieces of my broken heart, let’s move on to this week’s The Betting Man:
Last Week (1-4); Season (2-7)
-Ugh!!! This has been as bad a start as I have ever had. I think this is why Dad always told me that “we don’t bet on college football.” An emotional week – but what do you expect from a bunch of teenagers? But like my intern said, “When you’re down with the bookie, just start doubling your bets.” Good advice from the young man [rolling my eyes].

#14 Georgia Tech at #20 Miami (-5.5)
-Last week, Tech screwed me. I should have been ashamed of myself for picking Tech in the first place. I won’t let that happen again!...Even if Miami isn’t exactly the Miami that we all remember.

Tennessee at #1 Florida (-29.5)
-Twenty-nine and a half?! That’s crazy talk! But Urban Meyer is mad. Gator Nation is mad. Tim Tebow is…well, Tebow really doesn’t get mad. That all being said, I’ve seen what happens when “Corch Urban Meyers” gets mad – he takes it out on the scoreboard.

Florida State at #7 Brigham Young (-7.5)
-I hate to say it but I don’t think that Florida State is a very good football team right now. On the other hand, BYU might be a pretty decent football team right now. They’ll take on a late field goal to cover the ‘Noles.

#19 Nebraska at #13 Virginia Tech (-4.5)
- I remember when Nebraska was great. Not good – great! Unfortunately, Tommy Frazier ain’t walking through that door. Tom Osborne ain’t walking through that door. But…

#18 Utah at Oregon (-4)
- I’m worried that this might be the “Year of the Little Guy.” I want to pick Oregon. They’re quack-tastic! But they aren’t as good at football as Utah is.

The Problem With You (and Maybe Me)

2009-09-09T13:44:00.000-07:00

So, I’m still shaking out the cobwebs from college football’s triumphant return and I would normally use this time to talk about the upcoming week but…

You’re crazy. You are completely insane. I’m not pointing my finger at “you,” my blessed reader. It’s more of a collective “you.” I fall into that group as well, from time to time.

Let me explain why YOU are nuts though. It’s because you have fallen into the trap. The trap created by technology, by the media and, frankly, by ourselves. That trap is called INSTANT GRATIFICATION. And you need it in EVERY aspect of your life. You, my friend, have Veruca Salt Syndrome.

When you have a question, you don’t find a book on the topic, conduct research and come to a conclusion, do you? Are you kidding me?! No, you go to your good friend Google. When you hear a song on the radio that is half-way decent, you rush to your computer to download it on iTunes so that you can put it on your iPod (which you keep in your pocket at all times) so that you can listen to the aforementioned song at any particular time that the need beckons. Even worse than all that, however – when it comes to sports, you want to win and you want to win now. Not later, now! And you don’t give a damn about what happened last year, or even last week for that matter. That coach/player just better figure it out for you NOW!

I sat in a room watching the Georgia-Oklahoma State football game this past weekend and was amazed by how quickly everyone’s tune changed just before the first half came to an end. I wish that I had hired a videographer for that event to prove it to people. It was simply astonishing.

Before the game, people were in good spirits (probably because the “spirits” weren’t flowing to heavily yet). The Bulldog Nation was riding high as a kite after the opening drives as well.

“Joe Cox looked very good on that drive – a polished senior.”
“The running game looked fantastic. Richard Samuel was really pounding the ball out there.”
“The defense looks sharp. They are really hitting hard and making good tackles.”

But, wow – how things change! By the middle of the third quarter I found myself sitting in a room where people were, literally (and this is not an exaggeration), questioning whether Joe Cox could actually throw a football 20 yards. I heard more than one person condescendingly mention that Coach Bobo had “never won an SEC title as the offensive coordinator.” Worst of all, and I still can’t believe that someone would actually say this – I actually heard someone mention that if Coach Richt can’t get things squared away soon that he might be looking for a new job.

You can’t possibly be serious, folks! Did ANYONE actually watch the game that just took place?!

First off, anyone who questions whether Mark Richt is the right coach for the job is a moron…that’s right, and you probably shouldn’t be allowed to speak either because the incoherent drivel that comes spewing from your mouth will make everyone in the room dumber!

Second off, can Joe throw a football more than 20 yards…I’m not going to dignify that with a response. Does he have the same type of arm as Matthew Stafford? No, he doesn’t. But we can’t just throw the guy under the bus for that.

I understand why we think this way though. It’s the whole idea that I need deserve the biggest and the best and I deserve it now! I shouldn’t have to work for things or, God forbid, wait for things! I should graduate college, fall ass-backwards into a cushy $90k per year job, have a big house and two BMW’s and maybe a Mercedes for the weekends. This topic goes way past the way that we think about sports. It’s about how we live our lives. It’s about maturity. Maturity is the ability to delay pleasure now in order to ensure a better tomorrow.

Off the soapbox and onto The Betting Man:
Last week (1-3); Season (1-3)
-Well, I didn’t know that Oklahoma was going to lose their Heisman Trophy-winning QB and I didn’t know that LSU was going to be jet-lagged before they even got to Washington. Otherwise, those numbers might have been flipped. Either way, we move on to Week 2.

Clemson @ #15 Georgia Tech (-5.5)
-The patented ACC Thursday nighter. And an ACC opener for the Tigers and Jackets. A-Backs, B-Backs, whatever. I think that Georgia Tech handles Clemson at home and readies itself to make a statement in the conference.

#3 Southern Cal (-6.5) @ #8 Ohio State
-Huge game for Ohio State. If the Buckeyes can’t keep this close and make a game of it then a lot of people are going to lose a lot of respect for not only “The” Ohio State but also “The” Big Ten. Side note: the over/under for this game is 46.5 points…if I were a betting man, I might take the over on this.

#18 Notre Dame (-3) @ Michigan
-If people would just leave Rich Rodriguez alone he could have himself a contender in a year or two. But since I like the Irish this year, I’ll give Michigan the three points and ride the Charlie Weis Gravy Train! Hoo hoo!

Vanderbilt @ #11 Louisiana State (-14.5)
-Why is it that every time I write out “Louisiana State” I get confused as to which school I am talking about? Regardless, it’s hard to recover from a flight across the country and then prepare for a pesky opponent. Vandy looks good here.

UCLA @ Tennessee (-8.5)
-I gotta to hand it to Lane and Monte. Those guys are bat @#$% crazy! I think you’re going to hear some serious singing on ol’ Rocky Top this weekend.

Boise @#$% State

2009-09-04T10:05:00.000-07:00

So, I would normally make this particular type of post on Wednesday (that way I have the rest of the week to agonize over it) but I was out of town early in the week and have been busy catching up on the 78 emails that my friends have been firing back and forth about this upcoming weekend's college football games...

College football. It's back! And not a moment too soon. Like I have always said, "There are really only two season in the south - College Football Season and Gettin' Ready for College Football Season." The latter was getting a little played.

Therefore, I found myself in fron tof the tube last night watching the Ol' Ball Coach and the South Carolina Gamecocks take on North Carolina State. For those of you that didn't watch...what a freakin' train wreck that was. Just miserable. I sure am glad that we have good games on the docket for the weekend. Games of importance.

The interesting thing about last night, though, was that there actually was an important game last night. Now, when I mention which game it was, I don’t want anyone complaining or leaving saying, “That’s garbage! That game wasn’t that big.” Just hear me out.

#16 Oregon at #14 Boise State

On the surface, I wouldn’t watch this game if it was being played in my back yard. It’s just not all that intriguing – except to see what uniforms Oregon is going to show up in (which ended up being White on White…that’s weak, Oregon).

But as I thought about it, I realized something. Do you have any idea what is going to happen if Boise State wins this game? There is going to be some weird junk happen. I mean, Boise is already a little weird. They play on blue astroturf for crying out loud! They have weird players and weird cheerleaders...they're just plan weird!

Well, they did win the game, 19-8 (which is a weird score). The meaning of that win: it pretty much means that Boise will make a trip to a BCS game barring a complete and utter meltdown. That meltdown would definitely be weird seeing that their remaining schedule looks like this:
-Miami (OH)
-@Fresno State
-@Bowling Green
-UC Davis
-@Tulsa
-@Hawaii
-San Jose State
-@Louisiana Tech
-Idaho
-@Utah State
-Nevada
-New Mexico State

That’s it. If they lose one of those games, it’s “season over!” If they win all of them, which they should, they will go to a BCS game.

What I think everyone needs to prepare themselves for is to watch them climb their way up the AP poll over the next couple months. They are going to be a Top-5 team by mid-October. Teams from the Big 12 and SEC are going to sit there and pick each other off and Boise is going to sit back and watch it all happen while playing one of the worst schedules in college football. Just be prepared for another “Should Boise State be playing for the National Title” argument with that random guy in accounting. It is DEFINITELY coming.

Now for the start of the 2009 Betting Man Games! Play with me, play against me, whatever. You can leave your picks in the comments section if you like or keep score at home. It’s up to you. Enjoy!

Week 1 Games (Theme: “Prove it!”):
#20 BYU vs. #3 Oklahoma (-22)
-The teams suit up in Arlington, Texas for this one. I’ll lay the 22 because I think that Sam Bradford and the Sooners are going to try to put on a show and prove that their recent title appearance was no fluke.

Nevada at #23 Notre Dame (-14.5)
-Again, another opportunity to watch a team try to prove something. Only this time, Charlie Weis and the Irish better prove it or he could be looking for a new gig.

#11 LSU (-17.5) at Washington
-LSU is going to be trying to prove something...that they can fly across the country win a game too (like Georgia did a year ago in beating Arizona State). Washington is going to be overmatched on a lot of levels here.

#5 Alabama vs. #7 Virginia Tech (+6.5)
-The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta! Great match-up! I think that Virginia Tech could pull this thing off and that could prove to some that big things are in store for the Hokies down the road.

#13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State (-5.5)
-We don’t bet on Georgia games on this site. That being said, expect a nice little game of keep away from the Dogs this weekend -- even if Joe Cox fights off his bout with the flu. The Cowboys’ offense can’t score if they are on the sidelines.

Remembering: Teen Wolf

2009-08-26T13:58:00.000-07:00

So, because Webster's Dictionary has become as close to irrelevant as you can get in the age of Google, I’ll say… Wikipedia’s definition for a Coming of Age Film: "a category for films that portray coming of age themes."

Since that got us nowhere, I had to dig a little deeper.

Wikipedia’s definition for Coming of Age: “a young person's transition from adolescence to adulthood.” Okay, we’re getting somewhere. I feel comfortable saying that Wikipedia defines a Coming of Age Film as, “a category for films that portray a young person's transition from adolescence to adulthood.” There it is. That’s our definition, right?

Cheek's definition for a Coming of Age Film: "a film that portrays a person who wants so desperately to be popular in some way -- becasue he or she wants to hook up with the hot girl or guy that they would never get down with under normal circumstances -- that they will do anything, only they end up pissing off their REAL friends in doing so and then come to the ultimate conclusion that life wasn’t nearly as bad as it seemed before so they go back to their REAL friends, apologize in some weird way without actually apologizing and everything ends up hunky-dorry.”

Which brings us to one of the best “Coming of Age” stories ever told – Teen Wolf. Why do I feel it necessary to talk about this? Well, two reasons:
A) The movie was released 24 years ago this week, and
2) “they”…most of the people in Hollywood don’t deserve to be addressed by their actual names due to some of the incoherent drivel that flows from that place…anyhow, THEY might be remaking this masterpiece. That’s right, re-making it. How dare THEY?! You don’t see me walking into the Louvre and saying, “I don’t know, I think that Monet over there could use some updating. It just isn’t connecting with the young hipsters anymore.”

The movie is fine the way it is and stands alone perfectly. Sure, there was ALLEGEDLY a second film made ("Teen Wolf Too," featuring Jason Bateman as the basketball-wielding, hairy hoopster), but as far as I'm concerned, that movie never happened. You understand? Much like Rocky V, Caddyshack 2, Fletch 2 or the second season of Heroes, That Movie never happened. I see no reason to discuss it further.

Back to the triumphant epic of Scott Howard:First things first, it has a great story: High-schooler Scott Howard is 17 years old (despite being portrayed by 25-year old Michael J. Fox).

His dad owns Howard’s Hardware, a local mom-and-pop supply store. Scott is a basketball player and token-hottie, Pamela Wells , is dating that jerk, Mick, from the local rival, the Dragons. Scott has two best friends, Boof and “Styles.” Boof is, of course, an extremely average looking girl who likes Scott more than Scott likes her. Styles is, of course, “a complete cheeseball” and remind me of a near perfect cross between my friends Fitz and Joe – a party animal who is full of hair-brained schemes.

But the question remains -- what are we going to do to make this film stand out from the crowd? I imagine that it all went down like this:
Writer No. 1: We have to make this one good.
Writer No. 2: We could have him turn into an animal…
Writer No. 1: THAT’S AN AWESOME IDEA!!!
Writer No. 2: How about a were-wolf?
Writer No. 1: YES!!!
Writer No. 2: And he could lead his team to the championship as the wolf but then decide to play the last game as himself…but they play as a team and win anyway.
Writer No. 1: HOLY @#$%!!! THIS IS PERFECT!!!

The rest, as they say, is history. But like most things in this world, I feel the need to analyze and, thus, have formulated three simple questions for us to ponder:

-Was there anyone who could have been a better friend in high school than Styles? Anywhere? In the world?
Class-clown, entrepreneur, great dancer, could drive convertibles and delivery trucks with ease…you could make the argument that Ferris Bueller would be better to hang with but not every day is a day off. I often wonder what Ferris was like on an average Wednesday…but that’s another post entirely.

-How could Scott Howard have possibly made the high school's varsity basketball team if he had to jump to get the ball to the rim on a free throw?
He was as terrible as anyone I have ever seen, myself included. That being said, because of one of the key feature of a 1980’s teen movie – the wonderful, action-packed music montage, we get to see just how awesome Scott Howard and the Beavers can be:

Amazing.

It should also be pointed out that the Beavers had 10 points in the first 2 and half quarters…which all came after Chubby drained his bomb after being called a “fat boy” by Mick. I went through and tried to figure it out and I estimate that Scottie led his team in scoring with 20 points in the championship. I’m guessing that he had at least 5 steals and 8 assists. Pretty stellar for a guy who can’t really shoot.

-Are there any rules that are more important to live by than Coach Bobby Finstock's?
1. Always get at least 12 hours sleep.
2. Never play cards with a guy who has the same first name as a city.
3. Never go near a lady that has a tattoo of a dagger on her body.

No. Truer words have never been spoken.

The Fall of the Ol' Ball Coach

2009-08-03T18:44:00.000-07:00

So, I'm about to say something that is not only unlike anything that I have ever said before but that will probably also frighten and, at least, anger most of you...

I feel sorry for Steve Spurrier.

The Evil Genius, who brought us the Fun N' Gun Offense, Gator Pride and the abomination that we call "Rex Grossman," has taken a nose dive. And, yes, I actually feel bad about this. Hear me out, okay?

We all saw the video footage of Spurrier explaining what happened during Tebow-Gate (the now infamous vote that left Tim Tebow NOT being the unanimous choice for Preseason All-SEC Quarterback). The ballot from the University of South Carolina did not vote for Tebow. BLASPHEMY!!!

But this isn't why Spurrier has fallen...it was his reaction -- he appologized?! This isn't the Steve Spurrier that I have come to know and hate. The Steve Spurrier that I know would have sauntered up to the stage at the SEC meetings, looked down at the members of the media, made a few condescending remarks to them, taken a shot at the University of Georgia, made yet another jab at Peyton Manning and then thrown an assistant or two under the bus on the way out the door.

He's just not controversial anymore. He's lost that swagger that made him a jerk. I'm just not scared of him anymore. Do I worry that South Carolina might beat my team in any given year? Sure. But I don't have that same hatred of Spurrier that we all shared back in the late 90's. It just isn't the same.

I can't even say "I hate him" anymore. I can only embark on the upcoming season with a mild, but healthy, dislike.

So that's what has become of Steve Spurrier. He's reduced himself to becoming almost exactly like my laundry. Sure, I don't want to talk about it but if I ignore it then it's really going to be a burden next week.

Now cracks a noble heart. Good-night, sweet ball coach.

Burning Questions

2009-07-23T13:23:00.000-07:00

So, I haven't been writing much due to traveling for work, grad school projects and playing at the pool...

But I find myself plagued by three questions lately:

Question 1 - Where has Terrell Owens made a bigger contribution to society: the reality show, "The T.O. Show" or the cereal, "T-O's"?

--This one was hard one to answer on the surface. The T.O. Show is bad. I mean REALLY bad. I would have loved to be a fly on the wall when those VH1 executives were sitting in the room coming up with new show ideas...

VH1 Executive 1: Okay. We need something new. We need something that the kids can get behind.

Exec 2: we could start playing music again-

VH1 Executive 1: Damn it, Billy! We've discussed this! Music is dead!

Exec 3: We could try doing a reality show.

VH1 Executive 1: I'm listening...

Exec 3: Okay. So we grab a star from the NFL. Someone that isn't really that great anymore, since we can't pay much, but someone who loves themselves so much that just the very thought of being on television makes them need to change his pants...

VH1 Executive 1: Jimmy...you just described Terrell Owens! This could actually work! The kids will LOVE it!

The problem is that the show ended up being like an episode of Cops - it's so bad that people can't actually look away. It's worse than a train wreck. It's so bad that it come back around, full circle, to being not nearly as bad as it should be.

That being said, you just can't beat cereal. Guys love cereal. I think it has something to do with being able to eat and drink, simultaneously, with one hand while not looking.

Winner: The Cereal

Question 2 - Who is the better replacement: Martin Prado or Bar Refaeli?

--This one seems easy on the surface. The only thing that guys like more than cereal is super models. And it takes one hell of a super model to replace Gisele Bundchen. Enter Bar Refaeli, who recently replaced Gisele as the face of Rampage. What's Rampage, you ask?...Who cares?! All I know is that in order to replace Gisele you better be pretty hot.

Martin Prado, however, has been hotter. In the month of July the guy has hit safely in 15 of 17 games. He's batting .361, with ten extra-base hits, an on-base percentage of .424 and eight RBI. In other words, "Sorry, Bar..." We weren't doing that bad with Gisele but the Braves were not doing so hot with Kelly Johnson at second base.

Winner: Martin Prado

Question 3 - Which LeBron news item is more disturbing: the "dunk" tape or smoking pot in high school?

--This one isn't easy to answer at all...mainly, because both news items are completely lame. My reaction to both pieces of news was "Meh." I mean, who cares? Lots of people smoked marijuana back in the day and a few of those people went on to become our nation's President so what's the big deal if another one has gone on to become the greatest hoopster in the land (Sorry Kobe fans). If you had told me that he was getting in fights in high school, I would have been a little more alarmed but still probably wouldn't care. If you told me that he had been drinking and driving and received a couple DUI's...then I'd be concerned. But smokin' a doobie?...Meh.

The dunk tape controversy is weird though...mainly because it makes Nike, but mostly LeBron, look petty. So, you "got dunked on" by a kid from Xavier. You still make millions of dollars and are considered by most to be the best basketball player on the planet. Why couldn't you just laugh that off? Why couldn't you just say, "Hey man, you got me." Then, come back down the court and just embarass the kid. Don't tell me that you couldn't do that.

Winner: The "Dunk" Tape

More "burning questions" to come in the future.

2009-07-08T20:47:00.000-07:00

So, I didn't do any sort of tribute to Michael Jackson...

I just didn't think it was necessary. I mean, I enjoy his music. I'd even go as far as saying that I think "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" is one of my favorite party songs and it was released almost a full year PRIOR to me being born.

It's a great tune. The "Thriller" album was really, really good. I listened to songs like "Bad" and "Black or White" like crazy when I was a pre-teen. So why didn't I fill up a blog post, a Facebook status or hit up Twitter with a fitting tribute to Michael The Artist... well, because he just never profoundly impacted my life, I guess. But I'll tell you who did: Ken Griffey Jr.

Warning: If you don't like Ken Griffey Jr. (and I can't honestly think of why you wouldn't) then I suggest that you go read something else. "The Kid" is my childhood hero. Consider yourself warned.

I watched, what seemed like, every at bat this guy took from about 1990 up through 1998. I distinctly remember begging my mother to let me stay up late on random Wednesday nights to catch ESPN's "Wednesday Night Baseball" game - which always seemed to be random west coast gaes that often featured the Seattle Mariners.

I didn't play basketball but I threw some hard-earned lawnmower money at Nike to pick up some Nike Swingman baseball spikes when I was a kid. Man! Those shoes were sweet.

I know that I had at least a couple posters of the guy plastered to my bedroom wall. I collected his baseball cards (which are stored away somewhere in Mom and Dad's attic I suppose). I was legitimately angry in 1994 when the players' strike happened. Not because players seemed greedy or the owners seemed like jerks but because Junior had hit 40 bombs in 111 games - he had a shot at Maris' long-standing homerun record!

That all aside, I was interested to find out that my idol had decided to grace the patrons of Seattle Mariner baseball with a small, yet fitting, tribute to the King of Pop. He strolled to the plate for his first at-bat Tuesday night with the sound system at Safeco Field groovin' to M.J.'s "Billie Jean." Plus, a closer inspection gave way to the slugger's grip on the bat, which showed a bare left hand and a white batting glove worn on his right. Griffey usually wears dark blue gloves on both hands.

Kind of cool.

He didn't walk up the plate and do a quick Jackson-esque kick in the air or moonwalk his way down to first after his walk. He was subtle yet effective. Classic Junior.

Another One Bites the Dust

2009-07-07T08:16:00.001-07:00

So, with all of Hollywood dropping like flies lately...

I stumbled upon this headline that scared the bejeezus out of me at first, until I realized that Casey Kasem wasn’t dead. Whoo! Almost lost another one.

As it turns out, Casey has officially stepped down from his weekly radio countdown show to focus on “other projects.” This brings up two questions for me:
1.) What the hell “other projects” is Casy Kasem working on?
--Surely, he isn’t a part of the Wal-Mart Welcoming committee now. I doubt MTV is calling, considering that they don’t play music anymore. Plus, they only hire people that want to be famous for ten minutes and then live the rest of their lives saying, “But I was on The Gauntlet VIII!!! PART EIGHT I TELL YOU!!!”

2.) Has Ryan Seacrest taken one more step toward taking over the world?
--It appears so. First Dunkleman and now Kasem. I hope that we are all ready to see this guy for the next 50 to 60 years. He will be our generation’s Dick Clark. Hell, it won’t be too much longer and Seacrest will have Clark wiped off the face of the Earth.

Anyhow, I hate to see Kasem go. I always enjoyed him on the radio. He provided just enough insight and just enough cheese to keep me entertained. And how can you not respect a man that made a cameo on Saved by the Bell?! TWICE!

So, here’s a special long-distance dedication for you, Casey. Best of luck in the future. Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars!

Cheek, out!

Television and Sports

2009-06-29T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, I was stuck somewhere in between a Braves rain delay and the NBA Finals...

While I do enjoy the occasional hoops matchup, I just didn't find Magic-Lakers to be all that intriguing. Despite all the talk about how this was a huge series for Phil and Kobe, I just couldn't get into it. I just couldn't get excited. That all being said, because it was basketball's world championship...I'll took the Lakers in five...they ended up nailling things down in six.

Because of the my lack of interest in Naismith's Game, and Mother Nature's denial of baseball, I was left sifting through the DV-R (which I once described on this very blog as one of the best inventions of my lifetime). This great machine captures all my favorite shows - and a lot of the crap that I really shouln't waste my time with - but it got me thinking. What kinds of shows am I watching? What kinds of shows are you watching? And, frankly, how can I make some sort of sports comparison?

That's when I started jotting down a list of some of the shows that you can find on TV right now and tried to figure out who their athletic counterpart would be. Let me know what you think about this:

30 Rock = Manny Ramirez
They might both be the best out there. People under the age of about 35 LOVE them...people over the age of 35 don't really get them. The "oldies" find them both obnoxious and hard to relate to. You can't argue with the production though. They consistantly give you what you came to get - a couple of awkward moments and bunch of laughs. And sure, an occiasional steriods/female-fertility drug scandal.

The Office = Phil Mikkelson
What's interesting about these two pudgers is that they each have some of the best and worst moments on television. Plus, they need to just do what they do best...rely on the short game. Hour-long episodes of The Office that are "story-driven" just don't work as well as the half-hour episodes that have Jim and Dwight picking on each other. Just put it on the tee, knock it out there, then just give me short little pitches from afew of the tertiary characters and you have yourself a winner.

Heroes = Dontrelle Willis
Nothing has ever started out so hot only to take such a turn for the worse. Both are borderline unwatchable at this point but you gotta keep them in the rotation because you never know when they might catch fire again.
Quick side note: I just don't know if I am okay with Hayden Panettiere being 19 years old...it just makes me feel creepy. Can't she go back to being that little 5-year old girl who draws up high school football plays for her father in Remember The Titans?!

Seinfeld = Ken Griffey Jr.
This is a comparison that I just recently came to terms with. Both, in there time, were unquestionably the best in the business. Both had a long career and have been beloved by almost everyone. Both have become a little dated in the last year or so. Hear me out. I'm not saying that Seinfeld (or Junior for that matter) is done. I'm just saying that neither can really stand with the current players. Sure, every once in a while The Kid goes yard and every now and again you get "The Opposite" and you get that old warm, fuzzy feeling.

That's at least a start...

Fortress of Smooth-itude!

2009-06-09T08:29:00.000-07:00

So...

On June 5th, I ventured to Andrews Upstairs to see Yacht Rock Revue. Adorned in a naval captain's hat, I set sail on a voyage the likes of which few get a chance to experience. YRR belted out smooth tunes by, to name a few, the Doobie Brothers, Captain & Tenille and Toto. Which brings me to today's featured tune: Toto's "Africa"

I was simply amazed by how popular this song was amongst the packed house. This song is already good but it becomes exponentially better when you've had a handful of bourbon and cokes.

Hope you enjoy!

Back To The Blogger

2009-06-02T18:32:00.000-07:00

I believe that it was either Mary Todd Lincoln or Marty McFly who once asked, "What the hell is a gigawatt?"

Well, a gigawatt is what Jeff Francoeur just put behind a 2-1, Kevin Gregg-delivered fastball in the bottom half of the 9th inning...just a few seconds ago, mind you... to tie things up with the visting Cubbies. It's been a long time since the hometown boy knocked a bomb like that - a menaingful one too. A no-doubter blast!

But I'm not here to talk about Frenchy, or the possibility of moving him away from the Braves. I'll be saving that for another entry.

What I am here to do is welcome myself back to the blog-o-sphere. Back to the creative writing world. Back to commenting on, critiquing and complaining about all the minutia that makes up life. It's been a lengthy hiatus from my regular blogging, which was only ever "regular" during college football season but I'm going to try to get onto a schedule and report on all those big topics that are hitting our world.

My boy Joe, our beloved Suburban Wino, is really my most recent inspiration. He does a spectacular job telling us all that we ever wanted to know about food, wine, beer and music that we haven't thought about in years. Keep it up, Joey!

I've also started a knew life project - went back to school. That's right - me and Thornton Melon. Better start brushing up on my Vonnegut...

The nice thing about this go 'round is rather than studying something lame like English or History or Molecular Biology, I actually get to study sports. Yep, I said sports. I just spent the last three weeks trekking down to a classroom in Georgia State University's Sports Arena to discuss topics like Augusta Natioal Golf Club's membership, fighting in the NHL and about how Manny is...well...simply "being Manny"...

A la Zach Morris, FREEZE IT!

Lou Piniella elected to pitch to Chipper Jones with a runner on second...with first base open...in a tie game...in extra innings. Brian McCann is on deck. Don't you have to walk Chipper here?! I mean, McCann is good but Chipper is a Hall of Famer, for crying out loud. I'll tell you what, I'm not letting a Hall of Famer beat me. Needless to say, Chipper got a base hit and was subsequently tackled in the infield by Kelly Johnson and Jeff Francoeur. Good win for the Bravos!

...anyhow, to shorten it up, grad school is a trip. I just completed a whirlwind of a May-mester and will be starting another 7-week class discussing revenue generation in sports next week. It's wild stuff but it's actually pretty fun.

So, here's what I'm going to try to accomplish: Two to three posts a week (with audience participation in choosing said topics). I'm going to try to step up "The Goods." I'm also going to be looking to spruce this place up - suggestions are definitely welcome.

For the time being, sift around through the old articles and I'll have something new up soon.

The Two Constants

2008-09-11T08:08:00.000-07:00

There are two constants in college football. Just two simple truths that you can right down in the book at the beginning of every college football season.

1. Clemson is NOT going to be as good as you (or anyone else for that matter) thinks they are going to be.

2. Any school that had a successful, ambitious head coach leave the program only to have a loyal, devoted assistant take the reigns is doomed for failure.

Constant #1 explained:

Clemson came into the opening weekend ranked #9 in the nation. They were set to battle, yes, a ranked opponent, but a youthful #24 Alabama. I wish I could say that it was a good game, a well fought contest, a game that went down to the fourth quarter with the team who just "wanted it more" rising to the top and claiming victory. But that is not what happened.

Clemson was completely and totally man-handled. They were pushed around from the first play and, frankly, embarrassed in Atlanta's Georgia Dome. The 34-10 Alabama beat down proved once again that Clemson is not the team that they think they are.

Now, I'm not saying that Clemson won't win a bunch of their games and eventually capture an ACC title but are they a top-ten team? Hardly. The part that makes ESPN dub this massacre a "shocker" is that no one expected the Tigers to collapse this early. Many probably felt they would win their seven games and then slip up when playing back-to-back games at Boston College and at Florida State. Instead they trip over their own feet early on and leave, of all teams, Georgia Tech looking like the best team in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Constant #2 explained:

One of the top programs in the country over the past few years has been the West Virginia Mountaineers. They have ended the last three years, respectively, ranked 5, 10 and 6. Rich Rodriguez lead them to a point where they were in the National Championship conversation each year and put them on the map with a marquee win over the, then SEC Champ, Georgia Bulldogs in the 2006 Sugar Bowl. He pushed them into the national spotlight and made them a force to be reckoned with - despite playing in the Big East.

Then Michigan came calling. The glitz and glamour of a big-time, storied program lured Rodriguez away from what he had built. That's going to happen though. In college football, where you find success, you'll also often find poachers.

Enter Bill Stewart. Named the interim head coach prior to the 2008 Fiesta Bowl, Stewart had served, loyally, under Rodriguez as Quarterbacks Coach. He had also accumulated a lengthy resume of other schools and positions where he had served. Yet, never as head coach.

After a meaningless win over Villanova in week one, Stewart found himself traveling down to meet with Skip Holtz's East Carolina Pirates at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium...

...How many of you have EVER asked yourself what East Carolina's stadium was called?...

...and the giant-killing Pirates took care of business, 24-3. East Carolina not only kept the Mountaineers from getting into the endzone but also held them to 251 yards of TOTAL offense.

I'm not going to say that Stewart has lost control of the program but they look bad...really bad. Not to mention that when you look at their schedule you begin to realize that UWV might be a 4-5 loss team. The bad thing is that there may not be anythign that Stewart can do about it. People just aren't going to by into what he's selling adn that will be most noticeable in his recruiting over the next year or so.

Florida State, Penn State...heed this warning. It's right around the corner.

The SEC is Better Than the Big 10

2008-08-28T11:44:00.001-07:00

Just a great little ditty by our good pal Ryan Parker. Enjoy...knowing that we are just two short days away from the first Saturday of the college football season.

Three Quick Thoughts

2008-07-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

Should your team (or my team for that matter) even consider bringing Barry Bonds in before the deadline?

The short answer is…yes.

You might be saying to yourself, “Self, why should my team subject itself and its good reputation to the acquisition of a steroid freak who has an ego bigger than Kirstie Allie after an all-nighter at the Ryan’s mega bar?”

Well, the first thing that you have to ask yourself is does Barry Bonds make your team better. You are going to have to be completely objective and look at it almost strictly from a statistical standpoint (plus, we have to assume that your team’s scouts feel that he can put up roughly the same numbers that he was averaging in the 2007 season).

Barry Bonds, if put on your team on July 25 and barring any type of injury, would get somewhere in the neighborhood of 225 plate appearances (not at bats…but actual attempts at the plate). He could probably hit somewhere around 18-20 homers and drive in about 40 runs. But more important than any of that is that he would actually reach base 110 times. 110 times?! There is not a team in baseball that couldn’t benefit from a guy getting on base almost 50% of the time that he walks up to the plate.

From a purely offensive standpoint, I think that he adds almost a run per game to your scoreboard. As for his play in left field…if you’re the Braves, it’s not really a step back.

Should the University of Texas retire the numbers of Vince Young and Kevin Durant?

The short answer is…yes and no.

Vince Young – he played three years of college football for the Longhorns. He was an All-American, he set Big 12 records, he won a National Championship and he brought glory to the boys in burnt orange.

Kevin Durant – he played one year of college basketball for the Longhorns. He was an All-American, he set Big 12 records, he didn’t win a National title but, like Young, he brought glory to the boys in burnt orange.

That all being said, there is one thing that Vince Young did that Kevin Durant has not – Vince Young finished his degree.

If you want your number immortalized, or in Durant’s case, “raised into the rafters” you have to be a model student athlete at the university in which you attend. Now, there is no doubt in my mind that Durant was one of the finest athletic specimens to EVER come through Austin but as far as his scholastic achievements go…he’s no better than that sketchy guy who just hangs out in the corner of the college bar staring at the local co-eds. They probably have the same amount of actual college experience.

Durant, finish your degree then you can have your number raised.

Should anyone be surprised if Heath Ledger is nominated for an Oscar for his performance in The Dark Knight?

The short answer is…no.

I know that Heath Ledger has passed away and that we are still in that stage of grief where no one wants to harshly critique anything that he ever did but his performance in The Dark Knight was phenomenal.

It was so evil and so diabolical and so utterly captivating that it made us forget that Jack Nicholson ever even played the role. It literally took the character to a completely different level and left me walking out of the theatre wanting to know what exactly it was that made The Joker tick.

I know that one day people will make another series of Batman movies. And I know that you cannot possible have Batman without having The Joker. Therefore, I know that one day someone else will probably be cast as The Joker. But all that being said, if Heath Ledger was the last person to ever play The Joker, I’d be okay with that.

A Special Sectional

2008-06-04T08:33:00.000-07:00

So...

Some years ago – it’s not really important how long precisely – I found myself falling in love with sports and, well, history. I became engrossed with records. Things like who had scored the most points in NBA history (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), who had scored the most touchdowns in an NFL career (Jerry Rice – who I was able to watch during the prime of his career) and who had hit the most home runs in Major League Baseball history (Atlanta’s own Hank Aaron – more on this another time).

Then, as my young sports mind grew, I began learning (via teaching aides like media guides and record books) who had won major championships in tennis and golf, how they had won them, who had won batting titles, scoring titles, won MVP Awards, etc.

Eventually, when I saw a “unique” play or circumstance, I found my curiosity wanting to know when the last time someone else had preformed that same feat.

Fast forward to June 2, 2008 where PGA Tour player, Jason Bohn, drops a 62 on the field at the U.S. Open Sectional Qualifier at Ansley Golf Club-Settindown Creek. When was the last time that someone fired a ten-under 62 on this track? Well, never.

It was neat to be there and watch him tap in that last putt (one of his few pars on the round) and walk off the green with Ollie Schniederjans, a fellow competitor who was only 14 years old. Fourteen?! Who else in Sectional Qualifying could be that young? Well, no one.

I had the opportunity to see the youngest player to advance to Sectional Qualifying of the 2008 U.S. Open play golf alongside another player, the eventual co-medalist, who would shoot a course-record 62.

Not a bad day at the office…at least, for a Monday.

The Man, The Myth, The Legend

2008-05-09T11:36:00.001-07:00

"Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son."

-Dean Vernon Wormer
--Animal House

Rockin' Roger

2008-04-29T13:06:00.000-07:00

So...

Just the other day the New York Daily News reported that our favorite boy of baseball, Roger Clemens, had a decade-long relationship with country music "star" Mindy McCready beginning back when he was pitching for the Boston Red Sox and was 28 years old. She, at the time, was 15 years old.

This got me thinking on a lot of different levels and at the end of it all I just have a feeling that this is not going to come off well for The Rocket.

First, forget the fact that Clemens' lawyer, Rusty Hardin (which HAS to be a made-up name), said that Clemens "flatly denies having had any kind of an inappropriate relationship with her." We're not going to even touch that one. I'm not in the business of deciding what is appropriate or inappropriate. All I know is that my boy Goin used to constantly preach that "15 will get you 20." What I am perplexed about, however, is why Clemens had ANY KIND of relationship with a 15-year old.

I am 27 years old, almost the same age as Clemens when this alleged relationship began. I don't know ANY 15-year-old kids. None!...That includes family. So where did Roger even meet this girl?! You can't possibly tell me that Clemens had family friends that said, "Hey, Roger, come over here and meet Mindy. She's going to be huge in country music one day." And even if they did, what could he have possibly had in common with her that would have constituted a "relationship"?

After realizing that I had no friends that fell into the actuall category of what we would refer to as a "teenager," I began to think about how many friends I have that are actually girls. Now, I have many female friends that, in a social setting, I feel perfectly comfortable walking up to, giving a hug to and sharing a drink and converation with. That being said, I think that I might have one, maybe two, that I would actually feel somewhat comfortable hanging out with in a one-on-one situation...and I use "somewhat" for a reason. So, I can only imagine one female friend that I could hang out with that wouldn't yield a tremendously awkward situation and I'm not even putting an age restriction on it.

Now, I've decided that I don't know any teenagers and I have very few female friends that I could hang out with in a one-on-one setting. That makes me wonder what 28-year-old Roger Clemens did with 15-year-old Mindy McCready. Did they go out to dinner? To movies? Listen to music together? Not only that, but when did they do these things? Nights? Weekends?

Here's how I think things would go:
[On the phone]
Roger: Hi, Mindy. What's up?
Mindy: Not much just got home from school.
Roger: Cool. I'm getting ready for the game tonight. I'm pitching.
Mindy: Fun!
Roger: So, you want to go out later tongiht? Like, after the game?
Mindy: Sure, but I have to be in by 10 p.m. I have school tomorrow.
Roger: Oh, well the game probably won't be over before that...maybe we can hang out on Tuesday - we have an off-day.
Mindy: Okay. Want to go see a movie?
Roger: Great! That new movie "Total Recall" just came out and it looks AWESOME!!! Can you pick up the tickets?
Mindy: Well, I can't...it's Rated-R so you'll have to pick them up. But what about "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles"?
Roger: Ehhnnn...I don't know...
Mindy: Pleeeeeeease...
Roger [exasperated]: Fine.

There is one thing that I know will come out of this whole thing though. Roger Clemens will undoubtedly come off as being more of a sleazebag than ever before. I mean, people already didn't like him. Now, you're throwing a possible "scandal" out there? No way that he survives this.

The only other definite that I know about: I'm sure that my next post will be much more happy-go-lucky...unless I decide to write about the Braves pitching staff.

Quick Thoughts...

2008-03-31T12:55:00.000-07:00

--All four No. 1 seeds made it to the Final Four this year (first time since the field was expanded to 64). My attempts at a winning bracket were destroyed after the first weekend of games though. Louisville helped me out near the end and Stanford tried to save me but, alas, Cheek is last in the ol' office pool once again.

--Lady Cheek is going to play bunko with her friends tonight. I don't have one male friend, not a single one, that can explain to me what the object of the game is. I'm not even sure it's a real game. I think that "bunko" could be a cover.

--As many of you know, when a team defeats Georgia in the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament, I go on record as not picking them for a five-year period. Xavier, you're on the clock!

--Because I feel like everyone should know that I'm not completely braindead: Despite my miserable attempt in the ol' office pool, my picks for the final game are still in tact (UCLA over UNC).

--Tom Glavine is making his first start in a Braves uniform in over five years. I'm going to go see him pitch. Maybe "bunko" is girl-talk for "Why don't you go take in a ballgame with one of you buddies?"

Pure Madness

2008-03-24T14:27:00.001-07:00

The most unproductive days of the year are about to begin...

Oscar Night - 2008

2008-02-26T11:38:00.000-08:00

Bah-da-da-da-da-da-da Hollywood! Bah-da-da-da-da-da-da HOLLYWOOD!!!

It's Oscar night! This has always been one of my favorite award shows of the year. Normally I'll do a running diary for the night hitting all the highlights, and low-lights, but tonight has turned out to be a little different.

I just got about an hour into a diary when I realized that nothing has really happened. This has been kind of a boring Oscar night (as far as the Academy Awards go). The best picture nominees are all films that didn’t get seen by a huge number of people…even though everyone seems to claim that they saw Juno. Amongst all the acting nominees, there really isn’t any of those real “blockbuster” names. It’s just sort of a “let’s see who pulls out a couple statues” kind of night.

Jon Stewart has been doing extremely well as the host though. Not only was this guy laying down some great one-liners, he made one of the classier moves I’ve ever seen on the Oscar Stage when he let Marketa Irglova (who won for Best Song in her collaboration with Glen Hansard).

Note: Their song “Falling Slowly” is absolutely great and upon them winning I helped crash iTunes for a quick purchase.

Hansard and Irglova went up to get their statues and just as Marketa was taking to the microphone for her end of the thank you speech the mic lowered into the floor and the orchestra started playing. She left the stage without being able to say a word.

Stewart, however, came back from commercial and immediately re-intorduced Irglova and let her come out and give her thank you’s. Kudos to Jonny “Daily Show” for his classy move and for realizing that this girl deserves to have her moment even if it means that he has to give up a couple of jokes that will probably be forgotten in five minutes anyway.

The overall slowness of the evening, along with the many, MANY montages that the production crew put together for us (obviously fearing that the writers’ strike might still be going on) made me think about some of my favorite moments from the past few year’s - it made me think of some of the funnier, some of the joyful and some of the crazier moments. Here are a couple of good ones:

Roberto Benigni

Cuba Gooding, Jr.

Adrian Brody

Will Ferrell, Jack Black & John C. Reilly

These are a few of my favorite moments but I can’t tell you how awesome it was to watch Ben Affleck and Matt Damon win Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting. It was like two of my buddies, guys my age had cracked through the Hollywood hierarchy and won something BIG. It was a really cool moment. Also, watching Robin Williams win later that night for his role in the same film was really great because we really got to see a different side of him.

But by far, the best part of the Academy Awards show, as long as I have been tuning in, was any time that Billy Crystal took the stage. This guy is the modern day Bob Hope and really should be allowed to host anytime he wants to. I understand that the Academy needs to “attract a more youthful demographic” but Crystal was just plain phenomenal. The guys sings, dances, tells jokes and is just genuinely one of the most entertaining persons in business.

So, all in all, was the Oscars telecast the best? No. was it the worst? No. Was it a great way to waste away a Sunday night after a long weekend? You betcha!

The End of a Season

2008-02-01T08:51:00.000-08:00

We’ve really got some big things on our plate right now. Last week, the nominees for the 80th annual Academy Awards were released. The new season of television shows has begun (which means 24 is back for me...hopefully soon... and American Idol is back for everyone else). That all being said, we only have time for one thing right now – the culmination of the football season – The Super Bowl. Man, I hope I don't get sued for saying "The Super Bowl."

As many of you know, that means the annual pilgrimage to my buddy Bodner’s house to visit with friends, drink more than I probably should and stuff my face with food that I really shouldn’t be eating anyway. I mean, come on, right when we are supposed to be hitting our stride with the New Years’ resolutions…we get to the Supe...err...this big event about a big football game?! It really isn't fair.

The big change this year, with most of us in our mid to late-20’s and early 30’s, is that the festivities are being billed as “kid-friendly.” I find this funny because this in no way will decrease the amount of alcohol or harsh language that will be thrown around at this shin-dig. It basically just means that over in the corner of the downstairs room their will be an area for the kids to play and for mommy to watch them. Oh, how times have changed.

This event always reminds me, though, of just how transcendent this day has become. It truly is a national holiday. I explained this in my “Super Bowl Holiday” posting from a year ago. The amazing thing is how the game really is secondary. Sure, we watch it but there are very few people out there that have a legitimate routing interest. Compare that number with the number of people that will actually be watching and the ratio is staggering.

The commercials are a bigger production than the game as well. At no other point in American television will people gather around the set and at the first break yell, “Shut up, the commercials are starting!” I think that half of the audience out there is watching solely for the commercials. That just amazes me. But can you really blame people for wanting to check out Gisele Bündchen in the new Pepsi commercial?...I didn’t think so.

But what really defines this day? The fact that on a day that is completely synonomous with football, beer and chicken wings, Lady Cheek seems to be all about it.

Anyhow, my thoughts on the game:

What Eli Manning and the New York Football Giants have done over the past few weeks has been really nice. It’s been great to see the “little brother” get a chance to shine for a few moments. The Patriots are going for 19-0, however, and they are just plain better than the Giants. Period. End of discussion.

You don’t go 16-0 in the regular season, then win two playoff games, get to the Super Bowl and then “slip up.” And you certainly don’t if you have the kind of experience that Tom Brady, Bill Belichick (Note: you know, I have been repeatedly writing this guy’s name over the past couple months and continue to misspell it…) and the rest of the New England Patriots have in this particular atmosphere.

This really shouldn’t be a game.

Patriots 38, Giants 20.

Have a great time at the Supe...err...The Big Game!

Four Stories

2008-01-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

The NFC and AFC Championship games will be planned on Sunday. This means that at the end of the day weekend we will have our Super Bowl match up ready to go. The nice thing about this year is that we are pretty much guaranteed to have two great stories fall into our laps for Super Sunday.

1. The New York Giants – It’s the emergence of Manning…but no the Manning that you are thinking of…the OTHER Manning…Eli. Not only has he led his team to the NFC Championship but his last two games have, arguably, been the two best games of his career. If he’s able to make it to the Super Bowl, wouldn’t it be a great photo-op to have Eli Manning settling into the pocket and completing a 22-yard TD pass while his brother Peyton cheers him on from the luxury boxes?

2. The San Diego Chargers – A team that started the season 5-5 before rattling off eight consecutive victories to get to the AFC title game. They have one of the best running backs in the game in Ladainian Tomlinson; a young, yet fiery, quarterback in Philip Rivers; a couple of solid wide receivers. That being said, almost all of those players are hurt…and they’re going up against the NFL’s best team…who just so happens to be 17-0 on the season thus far. The Chargers could be the team that had a rough start, figured things out, went to the AFC Championship and took down the giant.

3. The Green Bay Packers – Brett Favre. Need I say more? We have been sitting back waiting for this guy to retire for the past seven years yet he continues to come back. A couple of seasons ago, particularly during his 2005 campaign, I really thought that Favre had become one of those players that we hate to see – a great player that stuck around just a season too long. Well, Sir Brett of the Tundra has guided the Pack to 13 wins during 2007 and got them back to the NFC title game. Could this be the “last Hurrah!” for Brett? I doubt it…but if he wins the big one, that would be a heck of a way to go out.

4. The New England Patriots – The pursuit of perfection. I remember when I was a little kid and I saw the old ’72 Dolphins clinking their glasses and remembering the good ol’ days of their perfect season. Well, the Pats are looking to better the ‘Phins. Bill Belichick, Tom Brady and the crew are looking to become one of the best teams in NFL history, and certainly put up the best record. That being said, I have never seen a team more focused than New England. They have set their sights high but have not underestimated anyone. They play with a purpose that is unmatched by anyone I have ever seen.

As for my picks? Well, I'm taking the favorites...the Packers and the Patriots.

Manning and the Giants have had a great run but the Packers are just too strong - on both sides of the ball. I think it will be a close game and will probably come down to a big play in the fourth quarter. That's the main reason that I like the Packers though. Favre has been there too many times and has too much experience to let the moment get to him. Eli's time will come one day...it just won't be Sunday.

Tom Brady just has way too many weapons (Randy Moss, Ben Watson, Wes Welker...I really could keep going on). If Rivers, Tomlinson and tight end Antonio Gates cannot play, then it should be a good, old-fashioned Boston Massacre. Even if the Bolts were playing at 100%, I'd have a tough time picking them over the Pats.

Well, just like those smug old men who wear the old Miami Dolphins uniforms, I’ll have my champagne ready to go at the end of the day. Because regardless of the outcome of either one of these championship games, we are going to have two great story lines for Super Bowl Sunday!

Have a good weekend!

Back to the Blog

2008-01-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Well, I’m just now getting back into the swing of things after “my long winter’s nap” of the holiday season. A lot has been going on over the past couple of weeks that we haven’t had the opportunity to talk about. Therefore, over the next week or so we’re going to be tackling some of those issues.

Things to look forward to:
-Tom Glavine putting back on a Braves uniform
-LSU capturing college football’s national title
-Goose Gossage getting into the Hall of Fame
-Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson

And most recently (as in today), the start of the second round of the NFL Playoffs.

So, here’s where we are: Lady Cheek is out with some of her girls tonight, so you know what that means for me – a night of rotting my mind and teeth! I’ve decided to turn this afternoon and evening into a nice little NFL Football Day (which I don’t do very often). But Brett Favre and Tom Brady are playing today. It’s a big day.

So, without further delay, a nice little NFL Day Diary…

8:12 p.m.: The New England Patriots, and their 16-0 record, just kicked off to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

8:19: J-ville is going for it on fourth down on their first drive?!...AND they got it?! Holy crap! Talk about setting a tone.

8:23: Jacksonville just scored a touchdown on a crazy pass play from Garrard to Matt Jones. Are we about to see the Pats fall?!

8:29: Brady’s first five-step drop…SACKED. All Jags, all the time!

8:30: The Pats pick up 33-yards on a short pass to Laurence Maroney.

8:32: Brady says we’re going for it on fourth down too. I’ll show you David Garrrrrard! And…got it.

I’m betting that the punter for the Patriots just used that little phone that they keep on the sidelines to call across the field to the Jaguars’ punter and say, “Seriously dude, we should just go home.”

8:34: Touchdown Ben Watson! Alright…Go Dawgs.

8:40: Okay, I can already tell that this is going to be a short diary. There has been roughly four seconds of actual football over the six minutes. The commercial breaks are going to kill me.

8:43: Garrard fumbles and the Pats recover…here we go. And just to throw it out there, Brady and the Patriots are just grueling to play defense against. They just find ways to get first downs over and over again.

8:46: End of the first quarter. 7-7.

Jimmy Johnson is in one of the new Coors Light commercials. You know, the ones that have the guys in the press conferences asking the stupid questions. I want someone to try to convince me that it wouldn’t be a good idea to just tie Johnson to a chair toss him off a bridge. Seriously, just try.

8:50: The Pats just stuck it into the endzone on the first play of the second quarter…and back to commercials…

And ah yes, our first erectile dysfunction commercial. It just wouldn’t be NFL Football without one. I love it when the guy starts talking about the side effects. Sure you might not be able to walk again, and you’ll probably vomit after each meal while you eventually go deaf and blind…but hey, when your wife is ready to go, you’ll be ready.

8:53: The Pats kickoff, tackle the Jags on their own 5-yard line and then we are back to the commercials…

Big Brother 9?! Are they still actually making this show? Who’s watching this stuff? Speaking of television shows...we’re also going to have to talk a little bit about what has been happening in the television world. That’s another entry for another day but just add that to the list.

9:03: Okay, I just watched the Jaguars drive the length of the field as if to say, “We will NOT go quietly into the night.” Brady and Bill Belichick don’t look amused.

9:09: CBS just showed us the passing stats in the game so far. Garrard – 11-12, 141 yards and two TDs; Brady – 7-7, 81 yards and one TD. This can’t last that long, can it? And with a player down, we’ll go to commercial…

A new movie called 10,000 B.C. is coming out in March. From what I gathered from the trailer, it’s pretty much all mammoths and saber-tooth tigers. Is there anyone of note in this movie? IMDb says, “No.” I mean, when you’re making a movie about that time period you have to know that there isn’t going to be a lot of clothing. The casting director HAS to go to the producers and say, “Listen, we have to get Jessica Alba in this movie, pony up!”

9:18: We’re at the 2-minute warning and there has been one incomplete pass so far…IN THE GAME.

9:25: The Patriots kicker goes wide right on a field goal attempt before the end of the second half. Only time will tell if that comes back to bite the Pats.

9:31: Halftime. 14-14. Pretty good ball game. I’ll have to stick around for the second half.

Well, the CBS crew is putting me to sleep so I am going to wrap this thing up. I’ll be writing more throughout the week. Don’t be a stranger.

My Charlie Brown Christmas

2007-12-17T11:31:00.001-08:00

With so much to talk about in the sports world right now, what with the Mitchell Report being released, college football's most prominent coaches changing schools and the New England Patriots still looking for that perfect season, it's nice to know that I can still take a break from it all and enjoy a little Charlie Brown during the Christmas season. Here's a great version performed by Zach Braff and the rest of the gang from Scrubs.

Merry Christmas!

Rivalry Time

2007-11-21T07:10:00.000-08:00

Michigan hosted hated adversary Ohio State this past weekend for the opportunity to represent the Big Ten conference in the Rose Bowl in January. This rivalry doesn’t need anything to make it a great match-up. It has been for years. It's not the only good rivalry out there though.

We have plenty of rivalry games lined up for our viewing pleasure this weekend as well. That got me to thinking about some of the great rivalries of all-time: Ali-Frazier, Yankees-Red Sox, Donald Trump-Rosie O’Donnell.

Some of my personal favorite rivalries are taking place this week. What do I like about these games? Everything. They have emotion. Fans would sometimes toss out an entire season as long as they could have their team win this one game. They have great names like “The Duel in the Desert,” “The Red River Shootout,” and “The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.” They even have great names for their trophies like Paul Bunyan’s Axe, the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk and the Beehive Boot.

There are so many great games to choose from but here are a couple of my favorites:

Best Name: The Backyard Brawl (West Virginia vs. Pittsburgh). It was tough for me not to pick The World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party for this one but I decided to go with The Brawl. This one isn’t this weekend…it’s next, but it’s still a great name. Frankly, this game just sounds cool – The Backyard Brawl – you pretty much have to be the toughest teams in the area to call your game this. West Virginia and Pittsburgh first locked up for The Brawl in 1895.

Best Trophy: The Floyd of Rosedale (Iowa vs. Minnesota). The Big Ten has a bunch of great trophies but this is my favorite for a couple reasons. First, it’s a trophy with a 21-inch bronze pig on the top of it. I mean, come on! It’s a giant pig-trophy. The other thing that makes this trophy great is that in its first year, in 1935, the governors of the two states actually bet their state’s prize-winning hog on this game. This was in the north, people!

(The more that I think about this topic the more I think this could take over its own blog entry. We may have to devote an entire day to talking about the great trophies of college football.)

Best overall game: The Iron Bowl. It’s the annual grudge match between Auburn and Alabama (okay, I’m a little biased because I’m from the South). The Crimson Tide own a 38-32 advantage in the series with the lone tie coming in 1907. Auburn has won the last five contests though. This is one of my favorites because there is such a passionate hatred between these two teams. In the state of Alabama, you grow up cheering for either Alabama or Auburn. Cheering for both is completely unheard of.

Thanksgiving night there is also a great game – with possible Rose Bowl implications: Southern Cal vs. Arizona State. I’ll be tuning in with the best part of Thanksgiving with me…no, not friends and family…a big sandwich filled with leftover turkey!

Have a great Thanksgiving everyone!

Problems With A Playoff

2007-11-05T09:30:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite debates in sports is the topic of a playoff system in college football. Why? – Because it’s a never-ending struggle. We’ll probably still be arguing about it 30 years from now.

Currently, people are more upset with the BCS system than Donald Trump is with Rosie O’Donnell. Everyone thinks that a playoff system needs to be in place. They claim that there is just too much controversy out there – too many politics. I think that they’re wrong.

Let’s look at what it would take to build a payoff system (we’ll try to keep this as simple as possible and just work with the logistics of the actual setup).

First, we’ll need to decide on how many teams make this playoff system. A 64-team field is almost out of the question seeing as there are only 119 teams in Division I-A football. Half the field can’t make the playoffs. A four-team playoff seems too small and wouldn’t suffice for what the pundits want. Eight seems to be the number that pleases most people. So, we’ll go with eight for the moment.

Now, we have to decide if conference champions get an automatic bid into the playoffs. If so, which conferences? I think we’d have to be looking at the Big 10, Big 12, SEC, ACC, Pac-10 and Big East. That’s only six…which two do you add in after that? The MAC? The WAC? Who knows? You’re going to leave someone out. And what happens when a 7-5 Baylor squeaks into the Big 12 title game and it happens to be their day? Then we have a playoff that includes a team ranked 40th in the country. (Keep in mind that this system would also make non-conference football games completely and totally irrelevant.)

Another fact to keep in mind: Notre Dame is independent. Does that mean that they don’t get the chance to play for a title. I’m actually okay with that. Moving on…

So, let’s say that we just run with the six power-conferences. We have to fill those last two spots. How do we decide on those two teams? I guess we’d have to leave it up to a selection committee. There are more than a dozen one and two-loss teams out there right now that will not win their respective conference and a still-undefeated Hawaii team to contend with. You’re talking about some BIG schools, with BIG boosters, who like to throw around BIG dollars. Now, if you don’t think politics are going to get involved in that process then you’re crazy.

Do we simply extend the field to 16 teams? If we do then we are going to be running into the same problems when we get to the three-loss teams. Possibly even more. The Southeastern Conference has seven teams in the BCS Top 25 – You have to think that more than three of them could make a case for this hypothetical tourney.

We all enjoy our college sports and college football seems to be our first love. When we talk about it we use words like “heritage” and “tradition.” There is a certain amount of tradition that goes into the Bowl System. People love talking about that year the team won the Sugar Bowl or the Cotton Bowl or the EricCheek.blogspot.com Bowl (I’m trying to convince everyone that this bowl needs to take place in 2010).

The system isn’t perfect. We all know this. One of the things that makes collegiate football so great, though, is that we argue about it. We constantly enter into debate with friends, co-workers and the “experts” sitting three seats to our right at the local watering hole. So go tell your buddy he’s a moron…heck, come tell me I’m an idiot. I welcome the conversation.

Off Topic For the Off Week

2007-10-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was discussing this topic with a couple of buddies the other day and was actually surprised to find that we had many of the same answers. So, I pose to you: What are the greatest inventions of your lifetime?

First, we need to set a few parameters:
--This list will have no particular order. I’m not in the business of ranking.
--We won’t be using exact dates. It’s just too hard to find out when things were patented or first appeared on the market to the general public.
--We’re going to essentially look at 1980 as a starting point. That was the year that I was born, plus it’s just a good round number to start at.
--We are going to look at an approximate time when things became overwhelmingly popular. I understand that AT&T was talking with the FCC about cellular phones as early as the 1940’s but we’re going to be calling the birth of cell phones the early 1990’s (when Zach Morris started using his).
--We will also be discussing our “favorite” inventions, not necessarily the “best” inventions. I know that their have been great advances in the fields of technology and medicine over the past 25 years but that doesn’t negate the fact that at least 70% of my television viewing is ESPN.
--The internet as a whole cannot be mentioned because it has changed the world in way that no other invention has. The creation of the internet ranks up there with penicillin and the wheel.

So, let’s get this list started (at least the first seven that I can really think of):

-Digital Camera
The ability to take pictures, look at them, decide that the way that you were standing made you look fat, erase the picture, then take it again...all without using any film at all? Sorority girls across the country went berserk the day that they got their first digital camera.

-Cellular Phone
Don’t get me wrong, I still find this item evasively obtrusive. That being said, I don’t know how I ever found people in a crowd before I owned one. I even remember the moment that I figured out that cell phones were genius…July 4, 1998. I borrowed my dad’s cell to track down my friends at Lenox Mall so we could watch the fireworks. Now, I freak out if my cell leaves my pocket for more than five minutes.

-DV-R / TiVo
I’m not going to lie to you – I got in late on this phenomenon. I hooked up a DV-R in my house for the first time just a little less than a year ago. I was told how great it would be and even knew how great it would be. It turned out that it was even better. I don’t miss my favorite shows anymore. I don’t even miss the crap that I don’t want to see.

-High Definition Television
Going along the same lines, HD-TV. Just unbelievable. Action shows are absurd and sporting events are ridiculous. I remember watching The Masters in HD on CBS with my buddy O.C for the first time. We could have actually caddied for the players from our living rooms. We could read breaks in the green from the couch.

-The iPod (and for that matter…digital music)
I jumped on this bandwagon late too. My buddy Billy and I went to a bar in downtown Athens the other night (before Guster took stage at The Georgia Theatre). We started discussing the concept of digital music and realized that this was just an absurdly great concept. It just changed the way everyone listens to music. No tapes. No CD’s. No wires. No anything. Plus, iPods kind of look like they should have come from another planet, making them infinitely more cool.

-The yellow first down marker
I think that people underestimate this one. This invention single-handedly changed the game of football for women. Tell me, did you ever try to watch a football game with your girlfriend BEFORE the yellow line was developed? Of course you didn’t. Because she couldn’t figure out what was going on and didn’t want to be a part of it. Now she has a point of reference. If nothing else, she can chime in on crucial third downs and give you the ol’, “I don’t know, honey. I don’t think he got the first down.” She’s happy because you’re letting her participate and you’re happy because you think that your girl knows something about football. In the end, everyone’s a winner.

-ESPN
When I was eight years old, my parents made the great purchase of cable television. It took me a while to peruse all the channels but then one faithful day I discovered ESPN. Sports, all the time? It was amazing. The monumental discovery was made one morning when I got up to eat breakfast before school and stumbled upon SportsCenter. Back then it was a 30-minute show that ran on repeat for approximately 5 hours (this is not an exaggeration). SportsCenter immediately became my viewing choice before school. It’s as important to me as Good Morning America is to old people.

So, there they are. The best stuff to come around over the past 25 years. If you agree, great. If you don't, then I just don't know what to say...I've given everything that makes up our daily lives (except for video games which is an entirely seperate conversation all together).

The sports world is about to hit a pretty exciting couple of weeks coming up. We have professional football in full-stride, college football closing in on the "rivalry" weeks, the World Series, and hocke and basketball about to get under way.

Brace yourselves!

Three Of These Things Aren't Like The Others...

2007-10-03T07:39:00.000-07:00

There were some big upsets this weekend. Colorado knocked off #3 Oklahoma, the Tiger-Plainsman-War Eagles of Auburn defeated #4 Florida (on the road and at night no less), Kansas State popped #7 Texas, Maryland took care of the “wood-choppin’” boys from #10 Rutgers and the Ramblin’ Wreck beat the #13 Clemson Tigers.

These were all good things that made for a great week in college football. It also made for an odd looking AP poll come Sunday afternoon. I mean, let’s look at your top five:

1. LSU
2. USC
3. California
4. Ohio State
5. Wisconsin

Okay, I’ll buy into that. That seems like it could be a top five on any given year over the past decade or so. But then…

6. South Florida
7. Boston College
8. Kentucky

These three schools are like those three random freshman girls who show up for their first big fraternity party of the year. They look great on the surface – they’re trendy and no one really knows anything about them so they have that “air of mystery” going for them. The thing is, they’ve just been nursing on beers so far and not really hitting the “hard stuff.”

Boston College, you did beat, a then ranked #15, Georgia Tech in Atlanta a couple weeks ago but we found out that the Jackets, despite beating Clemson, are not nearly as good as we all thought. That’s pretty much it…that’s all you’ve accomplished.

Kentucky, you beat Louisville a few weeks back when we thought that they would be vying for trip to the National Title Game…then the Cardinals fell to Syracuse and we all said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa! These guys can play offense but their defense is just dreadful.” The win the Wildcats had at Arkansas was decent but they still gave up a lot of yards and 29 points.

South Florida…hmmm…you’re like the leader of the trio. You actually have some things going for you. You went into Auburn and beat them and then this past weekend you beat the speedsters that were #5 West Virginia. I’ve got to admit, you’re looking kind of hot right now.

Well, ladies, the bar just ran out of beer so if you want to continue to hang out then you’re going to have to turn it up a notch. It’s nothing but mind erasers and tequila shots from here on.

The first half of Boston College’s schedule isn’t exactly a gauntlet. They have gone through Wake Forest, NC State and Georgia Tech in conference and have tangled with Army and UMass over the past two weeks. They have Bowling Green and Notre Dame (and don’t even get me started on the Irish right now) for the next two. They should have a 7-0 start. Then it’s time to line up the shots – at Virginia Tech, Florida State, at Maryland, at Clemson, and Miami. Yowza!

Kentucky has played some stellar offense and has put up at least a 40-spot in each of their first five games but the Wildcats are about to hit it hard. This week, on Thursday night, the cats travel to #11 South Carolina. They’ll follow that up by hosting top-ranked LSU and #9 Florida. Later on they have to go to Athens to take on the Dogs and then host Tennessee. Yikes!

What I’m saying is that as good as those girls looked entering the party, we all know that they are going to end up doing too many shots, get trampled on the dance floor, break the heel on their left shoe, tear their shirts and end up throwing up all over themselves…they’ll end up back in obscurity.

The only thing that frightens me is that South Florida might end up looking great at the end of the night (like the girl who just calls a cab for her sloppy friends and then heads back up to the bar). The rest of South Florida’s schedule looks like this:

-at Florida Atlantic
-Central Florida
-at #21 Rutgers
-at UConn
-#20 Cincinnati
-at Syracuse
-Louisville
-at Pittsburgh

This isn’t tough. South Florida could do this. Their toughest game is at Rutgers. They have Louisville at home and Cincinnati is ranked despite not having played anyone at all. South Florida may be sitting there at the end of the season with an undefeated record.

Is the nation going to be okay with South Florida playing for a National Title if they run the table? I’m just not okay with it at this point.

The Betting Man Update:
Week 4: 1-4
Overall: 8-12 (I really need to turn this ship around soon.)

Pics of the week:

It was a beautiful day for football in Utah this past weekend.

Mike Flynt, 59, plays linebacker for Sul Ross State...Now that's old man strength.

Hey Coach Stoops, how did your Sooner's look this week?

SEC fans everywhere were cheering for Auburn.

The Thrills of Week Three

2007-09-19T10:50:00.000-07:00

Week Three in college football's march to the New Year did not disappoint.

The SEC, in particular, was exciting with some big wins and tough losses. Kentucky got the proverbial monkey off their back after finally downing Louisville, 40-34 (but can you really have a monkey on your back after four losses to a team?...it seems like it should be longer than that).

Quick note: Hey, Kentucky, we’re going to have to talk about your incessant field-rushing problems. You can’t rush the field every time you win a game. We’ll discuss this further another time…

Alabama came back, after giving it away, to beat #16 Arkansas, 41-38. I actually watched this won…actually the fact that I watched this game says nothing…Lady Cheek watched it though and THAT says something.

Florida made Tennessee (the team that was supposed to give the entire country a fair shake this season) a thorough drubbing. Florida QB, Tim Tebow looked like he was for real, throwing for 299 and a couple scores.

Mississippi State even got on the board this weekend with a win over Auburn. Auburn, you should be ashamed of yourself.

Then there was Nebraska hosting USC and the Trojans proving to everyone in the country that they are a true and utter powerhouse. They destroyed Nebraska in what I had thought was going to be a decent game. The 49-31 score is A LOT closer than the game actually was. Will Ferrell was even on hand to take in the beat down.

And then there was Michigan playing host to Notre Dame – a game that I would haven’t watched if it had been played in my back yard. This game was set up to be a complete and total train wreck…and it was for Notre Dame. We realized this weekend just how terrible The Football University of America really is. Michigan, who we all learned was just plain awful, killed the Fighting Irish. And Jimmy Clausen: You were the nation’s most highly touted QB coming out of high school. How in the world do you average 4.4 yards per completion in a game?! Heck, Georgia’s Knowshon Moreno averaged 7.2 yards per carry last weekend. Jimmy, you’re my new go-to joke (somewhere Reggie Ball just made a sigh of relief).

Now for a little house cleaning:
-Tennessee got pummeled by Florida. I really thought that the untested Florida wouldn’t be able to run away from UT like they did.
-Ohio State took care of business against Washington.
-I didn’t realize that Kentucky would come with the horse-power that they did while hosting gunslingin’ Louisville.
-Southern Cal forced their will on Nebraska in Lincoln.
-Georgia Tech couldn’t hang with Boston College and we all realized that their win over Notre Dame wasn’t nearly as impressive as we all thought.

Last Week: 3-2
Season: 5-5

We’ll stay local with our “Pic of the Week” this time:

It’s good to see that Sean Bailey is back in the mix and has made a full recovery.

Have a good week everyone!

Tough Times In Week Two

2007-09-13T06:56:00.000-07:00

Wow. Tough crowd this past weekend.

The Dogs get punched in the gut by Steve Spurrier and the Gamecocks and I get punched in the stomach by my buddy O.C., who drilled me in the picks.

A quick recap of the picks:

-Virginia Tech got absolutely thromped by LSU. I knew that LSU was strong but I figured that VA-Tech would at least keep it close.

-Texas had a BIG (24-point) 4th Quarter against Texas Christian and was able to cover.

-Penn State took care of business against Notre Dame, 31-10.

-Tyrone Willingham led Washington to victory and snapped Boise State's 14-game winning streak in the process. Ty also kept me from a winning record for the weekend.

-The Crimson Tide of Alabama rolled to 24-10 victory over Vanderbilt. Things get tough fast for Saban this weekend though.

In all, 2-3 for the season.

As for the Dogs:

What a tough game to watch! I've heard people complaining from all different angles. "The offense was stagnant"..."The defense was soft"..."They gave up on the run too soon"..."Stafford threw behind the receivers"...yada yada yada.

Bottom line was everything was mediocre. The Buldogs didn't turn the ball over (outside of a pointless interception thrown late in the 4th Quarter) but they also didn't force any turnovers either. The defense allowed just 16 points to South Carolina. That's not bad but it's really not all that good either. The Bulldog defense should have steamrolled the Gamecocks.

Georgia's Knowshon Moreno strung together another set of runs good for 104 yards. Not a bad effort but keep in mind that one of those rushes was for 50 yards. That would give Moreno 54 yards on 13 carries (4.2 avg.), which isn't all that much better than Thomas Brown's effort.

Matthew Stafford overthrew, under threw, and even threw behind some receivers. That being said, he also hit some guys right in the hands and the ball still found its way to the turf. The receivers were reliving all of their woes from the year before.

The AJC's Terrance Moore says that the Bulldogs don't have a true leader in the locker room. That may not be a bad assessment, considering that the Georgia starting squad is filled with sophomores and freshmen. But let's also keep in mind that Terrance Moore is a complete moron...let's definitely not forget that.

Georgia has an opportunity to get things back on track and work on a few things this weekend as they host Western Carolina. This should be similar to playing Lassiter High School's varsity squad.

A note to Georgia players: Just dress out and show up. Play hard but don't get hurt. Win the game and get your tails out of there. Above all else, don't pretend to be Michigan and flush your entire season down the drain.

It's taken me a little extra time to get over this particular loss so we're a little late on the Pics of the Week. And away we go:

Anytime that Tuberville is upset, Cheek is ecstatic! And the guys who got Coach T so upset...

The University of South Florida Bulls.

This picture might sum up the Georgia game best...it just never seemed like the Dogs could get there.

So, you're telling me that Boise State fans actually get crazy about football?...Really?

And our "You Create the Caption":

Have a good weekend everyone!

Betting Man - Week 2

2007-09-07T13:42:00.000-07:00

(Note: I never bet on Georgia football. Never. Not for money. Not for beer.)

I won't go into a lot of detail this week on my picks but I will tell you what they are:

Virginia Tech (+12) @ #2 Louisiana State
--I just have a feeling that Virginia Tech is going to be able to stop the LSU ground attack and keep this thing fairly close.

#22 Texas Christian (+9) @ #7 Texas
--I really like TCU this season and this will be their one really big test - heading INTO the Longhorns backyard. I think that this will be a great game.

Notre Dame @ #14 Penn State (-17)
--Look for the Nittany Lions to cover here. Notre Dame looked more clueless than Jessica Simpson when she's asked to do math against Gerogia Tech last week. With true-frehman Jimmy Clausen getting the start, I think that the Irish will struggle mightily.

#22 Boise State (-3) @ Washington
--One thing is true, Boise State is going to score points. Even when they are facing a legitimate Pac-10 opponent, they are going to score points. I like Boise State by a touchdown.

Alabama (-3.5) @ Vanderbilt
--It's 2000-and-Saban, people! How could the Tide possibly roll over this weekend?! Vanderbilt is a decent team that everyone would like to see do well but they just aren't going to have the horse-power to hang with the Crimson Tide.

Have a great weekend, folks!

Week One - Bulldogs Host OK State

2007-09-04T09:54:00.001-07:00

I was never really worried. I have to admit that deep down I knew that the Dogs would take care of business against the Cowboys from Oklahoma State. I saw it when Boise State tried to come out to visit. They were just as excited and they just knew that this would be the moment that they would stand up on top of the college football mountain and declare that they had made it...and before B.S.U. knew what hit them (and I use that "B.S." for a reason), D.J. Shockley had thrown for five touchdowns and rushed for another.

I'm not saying that the Cowboys were a push over - far from it actually. They are a very nice football team that could be bowl eligible come late October. They have a decent quarterback and a defense that can compete in the Big 12. Plus, Adarius Bowman, their big wide reciever, may be the best pure talent in the Big 12 conference. He'll probably be making a lot of money playing on Sundays within the next couple years. Bottom line, though, Oklahoma State still has a lot of growing up to do.

That all being said, the Bulldogs came away with the victory. The biggest thing for me though was that the Dogs did not turn the ball over. It was a beautiful thing to watch Stafford scramble a bit, look down field and then say, "Hmm, no one is open. Well, I guess I'll just toss this one to the hot little sorority girl in the third row. Comin' at ya, babe!"

Plus, and I hope you're reading this Hilley, how about Knowshon Moreno?! That kid looked solid. He ran the ball well, he caught the ball, he made guys miss...I mean, what's not to like? He had 20 carries for 73 yards and two catches for 51 yards. He also had a couple of plays called back due to holding penalties.

And I just can't say enough about Mikey Henderson. This kid will without question cause a heart attack in Sanford Stadium. I liken his performance to watching my buddy Blank drink beer - he doesn't look like all that much at first and he doesn't get flashy on a regular basis but when you're watching either of them you just have to say to yourself, "You know, any second now we just might see something special."

So I'm pleased with the effort and the 35-14 win. This should give the Dogs a lot of momentum heading into the SEC-Opener against South Carolina.

Now for the Pics of the Week (A National Look):

I really have to hand it to the kids at Appalachian State. After they defeated Michigan in The Big House, students raided their own field (back in Boone, N.C.), tore down their own goalpost and dragged it to their President's house. Man, I wish I were still in college!

Apparently this football was shot out of a cannon!

USC's Vidal Hazelton makes a one-handed touchdown grab against Idaho over the weekend. That kid would have looked good in Red & Black.

Here's just a couple of things that I like about sports: Sports help us remember and forget. Sports bring people together, whether you are an athlete or a fan. Sports give us something to get excited about and give us something to rally behind. All of this has never been as important as it was this past weekend in Blacksburg, Virginia.

Just for the record...I called this Kelin Johnson interception. I said that he would take it back for a touchdown but I still called it. I just wish we coul see the look on Adarius Bowman's face in this one.

And finally...here's our weekly "You create the caption":

Have a good week everyone!

What A Week!

2007-09-04T09:16:00.000-07:00

Note: I am posting this entry on Tuesday, September 4 -- partly because I needed to complete the weekend with last night's Clemson-FSU game and partly because if I don't work all that hard on normal days, I'm certainly not going to work all that hard on Labor Day.

Ah, the first week of college football for 2007. I felt it pulsing through my veins -- as I drove the family Explorer through Gator-Country and into Orlando for a family reunion. At about 9 a.m., as I was passing through the Turf-Grass Capital of the World, I could almost see Myers Quad laid out in front of me...the lush green grass topped with red-canvas tents, the smell of whatever it is that Joe was preparing for the afternoon feast, the sound of Tom and Fitz - already drunk, mind you - leading the masses in chants. Heaven on Earth, my friends. Heaven on Earth.

The trip went fine and I was able to secure a little TV-time from my Gator-loving family (man, it's hard to call those people "family") so that I could watch the Bulldogs. Having been in the car all afternoon with Lady Cheek and my sister, I had little knowledge of what had happened earlier that day. I went in saying, "Well, USC will win...Florida will win...Georgia Tech will have a great shot at Notre Dame...Michigan will win..." but hold it right there.

Michigan ran into the "power-house" known as...Appalachian State??? I just had to Google the school to find out that their mascot was "The Mountaineer." Going into the game, Michigan's chances of losing this game had to be about the same as the chances that Jack Bauer would end up shooting himself in the foot during Hour 2 and that the next 22 hours would consist of him sitting in a doctor’s waiting room with him crying and yelling things like, “I can’t go after the terrorists! I hurt my foot for crying out loud!”

But it actually happened.

Appalachian State beat Michigan. And I have to say, it was only a matter of time before the stars aligned and a D-IAA team did this to one of the big boys. I bet that every D-I coach is rethinking the idea of scheduling one of these guys in what I always consider a no-win situation.

I can’t imagine what it must be like up in Ann-Arbor this week though. I mean, those kids must be throwing themselves in front of buses up there. We’ll find out what the sports writers feel the punishment should be later this afternoon.

All in all, though, a good first week of action.

Federer - Nadal II

2007-07-08T07:01:00.000-07:00

I don’t watch a lot of tennis but I have to admit, I love Wimbledon (that being said, I love anything that is drenched in tradition).

I am watching the Gentlemen’s Championship Match between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. That’s another thing that I like about Wimbledon – The Gentlemen’s Championship Match. “Men” don’t play at Wimbledon – only “gentlemen” – and those gentlemen don’t play in the “finals,” they play in the “championship match.”

Note: Federer just took a thrilling first set tiebreaker, 8-6.

The gentlemen that has owned London’s All England Club the past four years is Roger Federer. But he’s not what intrigues me today. I don’t think that people understand how important it is that Nadal is playing the type of tennis…

Note: Nadal just forced a double-break point (the first break points of the match) and Federer answered with three consecutive aces and the deuce winner. Unreal.

…that he is playing. We’re starting to see a distinct and very real rivalry here. Men’s tennis has been without a good rivalry for some time now. The last that I can think of was maybe Sampras – Agassi but I don’t think that they ever had a real “rivalry.” They weren’t meeting in the finals of all the grand slams like Nadal and Federer are now.

Another thing that I love about this rivalry is the two different styles of play. Nadal with sheer speed. This guy gets to everything. He moves across the court like nothing I have ever seen. Federer brings complete and utter power to his game. Right now, Federer is leading the Ace Count 14-1. When he hits the ball, you better believe that it is coming. If you blink at the wrong time you could miss everything that happens.

Note: We’re going to a tiebreak for the third set.

It’s important for Federer to have Nadal playing well right now as well. In order to cement yourself in any individual sport you have to have an adversary. Ali had Frazier, Woods, for the past couple years, has had Mickelson. McEnroe, Borg, Connors and Lendl all played together in the early 80’s.

Note: Federer took the tiebreak and the third set. Two sets to one in Federer’s favor.

Earlier this year I picked Federer to win all four of tennis’ grand slams. Obviously I was wrong as Nadal took the French (being the master of clay that he is). I can’t imagine that Federer will lose this match to Nadal though. He should be able to carry this momentum on to the title and tie Borg with five consecutive Wimbledon Championships.

Note: Just as I typed that last sentence, Nadal has broken Federer’s serve, held his own and then broke again. I just watched Federer fall apart at the seams.

But like I said earlier, I don’t watch a lot of tennis. One day their might be an American vying for the title and the number one spot in the world. When that happens, we’ll all be talking about tennis a little more.

I'm Back, Baby!!!

2007-07-02T19:15:00.000-07:00

So...

It's been a while since I properly posted to this blog.

Well, it's time that I stepped it up. So in the upcoming weeks, expect to see this thing updated like it should be (in this new, larger font...exciting, huh?!). There may be some old stuff from the AtlantaMagazine blog thrown up on here (because I didn't do a very good job of staying current then...and because I'm lazy now). There may be some new thoughts on sports, movies, music and television (who knows?). There may even be some new TIDBITS.

For those of you that made your way here from the AtlantaMagazine blog, good to have you here! For those of you that made your way here from other places, welcome! I hope that we'll have a lot to talk about.

How's Your Bracket?

2007-03-29T13:59:00.000-07:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on March 21, 2007.

We have our Sweet 16 locked in place and starting tomorrow we’ll start sifting through the remaining teams to get our Final Four sorted out. The only problem that I have is that I went a little “upset-heavy” this year and nothing panned out. They always say that if you want to win a pool you have to pick upsets. Well, I did this and I’m still losing! Even Jennifer, my beautiful fiancée, has picked a better bracket than me.

The biggest surprise about this year’s tournament has been that there haven’t been any big surprises. Virginia Commonwealth’s defeat of Duke in the first round was an upset victory but everyone knew that Duke was in a down year. They have a team of underclassmen and just got caught. Not only did a lot of people pick this upset but those who didn’t weren’t really hurt by it.

I think the same can be said for Winthrop’s victory over Notre Dame. I don’t think that anyone was putting much stock into Notre Dame. Everyone seemed to know that the winner of that game would play Oregon in the second round and that the Ducks would run over them (which did happen).

I still have six of my Elite Eight teams remaining and three of my Final Four (I had Texas defeating USC and Louisville advancing far), so I can still save face – but it isn’t going to be easy. That’s why I’m starting this support group for all of us to get these frustrations off our chests.

So, what has happened to your brackets? Let’s talk about it. Together, we can get through this.

Hi. My name is Eric. And my brackets are busted.

Oh! The Madness!

2007-03-14T09:58:00.000-07:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on March 14, 2007.

Well, if you looked at the title of this blog entry and said to yourself, “Hmmm…I wonder what this entry will be about,” then I suggest that you turn off your computer right now, walk over to your best friend and have them punch you in the neck. IT’S TOURNEY TIME, PEOPLE!!! March Madness! And what better way to celebrate this grand event than by forking over a five-spot to the guy in accounting and joining the ol’ office pool.

Things get kicked off in grand fashion – with 16 basketball games that will captivate the entire country. I would love to know how much the productivity of this country goes down at noon tomorrow. Back in college, my buddies Fitz and Tony and I invented “No Class Thursday” so that we could just sit at home and watch games all day while eating pretzels and cheese balls. (Note: “No Class Thursday” eventually rolled into us missing class almost every Thursday for the remainder of our college careers…somehow we still graduated. Let that be a lesson to you, kids.)

If you’re still building your brackets, here are a couple of thoughts that I have had along the way:

--We should all just go ahead and pick all the 1-seeds and 2-seeds to win in the first round. If they were to actually lose in the first round we’d be fine because everyone else is going to pick them too.

--I’m picking some upsets. We all have that guy in our office – you know, the guy who talks a big game and thinks he’s the next Dick Vitale but just wanted to go into the world of corporate sales because it “sounded fun.” He’s going to pick all four number one seeds to go to the Final Four because he’s an overly safe moron. The 5-12 and the 6-11 games are always popular places to find my Cinderella.

--I can’t, in good conscience, pick Winthrop, Creighton or Xavier. I’m pretty sure I used to beat up kids with these same names back at Rocky Mount Elementary.

--I am actually bound my law to pick against Southern Illinois. The Salukis handed the, then 3-seed, University of Georgia a grueling beat-down in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Tourney. The five-year grace period has not ended yet. Go Holy Cross!...wow, I actually hurt my mouth just saying that.

--I think I may have a weird “man-crush” on Rick Pitino. I love the guy! I loved him at Kentucky – now, I love him at Louisville. Somehow I just can’t pick against him.

--The University of Florida simply can’t repeat. It’s just too hard to do. You can’t tell me that they will, again this year, rattle off nine straight victories to capture the SEC Championship and the National Championship. Seriously, don’t tell me that they will. We should put all of our individual differences aside and come together as a nation to make sure that this doesn’t happen. If they do figure out a way to win, then it will be official…we’ll all know that Florida officially sold it’s soul to the devil.

Enjoy the first round of the Big Dance and pull for your favorite teams. After all, the four regional champions will meet at the Georgia Dome on March 31 for the Final Four.

Happy brackets, folks!

I've Got A Fever!

2007-03-07T17:25:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on March 5, 2007

This past Tuesday night I realized two things: Bruce Pearl is crazy and Pat Summitt is nuts. The main thing, however, is that I have just gain a new respect for Tennessee’s basketball programs.

If you didn’t know, Pearl made it out to the Lady Vols’ game against No. 1 Duke this past January. He didn’t just come out to sit courtside and cheer for the girls though. He entered the student section, shirtless, with his chest painted orange with a “V” in the middle (he was one amongst a group of students who spelled “V-O-L-S” on their chests. He cheered his heart out, jumped around with the other students and made a complete fool out of himself. Orange Nation loved it.

Summitt, who found Pearl’s enthusiasm contagious, showed up this past Tuesday evening as the Vols took on No. 4 Florida. She entered donning a Volunteer cheerleading outfit. She also stood in the middle of the court and belted out “Rocky Top” at the top of her lungs. Orange Nation loved it…AND the Volunteers destroyed the Gators.

Both Pearl and Summitt are great coaches. Not good coaches – GREAT coaches. Pearl led the Tennessee men to an undefeated record at home and Summitt has over 900 career wins as the leader of the Lady Vols program.

The thing that makes them special, though, is their enthusiasm. Pearl has never had a problem showing his wit and his gift for gab when speaking to the media or fans (he shows up almost regularly on ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption). Summitt, however, has always been known for her serious demeanor and icy stare on the court. This is why it was so entertaining to watch her sing and dance for the crowd at Thompson-Boling Arena.

Their matching enthusiasm has made them look like the premiere school to attend if you want to play for someone who loves their program and more importantly loves their school. Their enthusiasm is terribly contagious and I have to admit that even I have become infected. Come late March, I’ll be pulling for Tennessee.

Oscar Night Diary

2007-03-07T16:21:00.000-08:00

It’s Oscar night! The ultimate night for the film industry and, to be perfectly honest, it is hands down my favorite awards show award.

8:37 – The show starts with the nominees standing and a thunderous applause. Somehow, seeing the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air standing among his fellow nominees makes it all worth while.

8:38 – Ellen enters. People are actually excited to see here.

8:43 – Jack Nicholson sighting and he has a bald head…crazy. He looks like he could kill someone.

8:47 – Ellen’s opening monologue comes to an end. Not too bad. It wasn’t as good as a Billy Crystal-opener but it was better than John Stewart.

8:48 – First category of the night…Art Direction. Good call. Let’s get all the garbage out of the way early (Note: Jennifer loves everything there is about Nicole Kidman, including her crazy red dress.)

8:57 – Will Ferrell, Jack Black, and John C. Reilly do a killer musical number and then present Pan’s Labyrinth with Achievement in Make-up. Reilly could end up becoming one of my favorite comedic actors in the next couple years.

9:04 – Abigail Breslin and Will Smith’s kid present Animated Short. “Kid” blows his lines but covers brilliantly. The Danish Poet wins for Animated Short. Even I feel robbed on this one. West Bank Story wins for Live-Action Short.

9:12 – Jennifer is going for the pajamas. The over/under on amount of time that she will still be awake is set at 32.5 minutes.

9:24 – Finally a real category – Best Supporting Actor…I think that Eddie Murphy will take this one but would love to see Alan Arkin…Arkin squeaks in there! Just for the record, I thought that Little Miss Sunshine was fantastic. Great acting and great characters. I suggest you see it.

9:38 – Melissa Etheridge just sang her Oscar-nominated tune. Jennifer feels it’s important that I comment on this. She feels that my priorities are out of order for not recognizing this powerful song’s message and mentioning Will Smith in some way every ten minutes. Frankly, I think she’s nuts.

9:47 – They always do this weird thing when presenting the Best Animated Features. They put the animated characters in the audience in a way that makes it look like they are part of the audience…it freaks me out and I don’t like it. I find it terribly distracting. However, if those some animators could add a little life to Peter O’Toole’s face, that would be something.

10:07 – And here it is…Tom Cruise. The audience doesn’t know what to do and neither do I.

10:12 – Good moment between Ellen, Clint Eastwood and Steven Spielberg. She asks Spielberg to take a picture of her and Clint…pretty great exchange.

10:16 – It looks like everyone involved in Pan’s Labyrinth is named “Guillermo.” Third golden doll of the night for P.L. as it picks up Achievement in Cinematography.

10:22 – Apparently they let Robert Downey Jr. out of the clinic to present for Visual Effects. Of course, he takes the obvious shot at himself and the crowd laughs uncomfortably. I just can’t take this guy seriously.

10:39 – Jennifer Hudson take the Best Supporting Actress. She “didn’t think she’d win”…That makes two of us, Jennifer.

10:51 – Al Gore gets to take home a statue. Global Warming – it’s a real issue, people. That’s all for my political speech this evening…man, how long have we gone without seeing the Fresh Prince?

11:02 – And ladies and gentlemen, Jennifer is out like a light. If you took the over, then you’re a winner. Quite frankly, I can’t believe that she made it this far.

11:09 – Hugh Jackman comes out to present with Penelope Cruz. Are you kidding me?! Hugh Jackman?! I’m honestly upset that he doesn’t wear his hair like Wolverine all the time.

11:11 – Ellen makes her first appearance on the screen in about a half hour…

11:14 – Kirsten and Tobey make a cameo…Spiderman III must be on its way.

This is going to send me off onto a bit of a rant – I hate how the “Great Ones of the Academy” pepper the performances and cameos in the show with popular actors, who will probably never win anything from them, simply because they are popular with today’s youth. Ferrell and Jack Black performed earlier, the Wilson Brothers (Owen and Luke) presented last year. Isn’t their something that can be said for just being entertaining. My friends and I quote Ferrell, Vaughn and the Wilson’s about every ten seconds. I’m not sure that this rant means anything but I felt it needed to be said.

11:17 – Little Miss Sunshine takes Best Original Screenplay…and with that, the cast of L.M.S. can take the rest of the night off. It’s time for Abigail Breslin to go start her drinking habits.

11:19 – Why does Chris Connelly keep reminding us that there have been so many “surprises” tonight? Do none of the winners deserve to be taking home their Oscars?

11:25 – Powerful performance by Beyonce…she’s just a great performer. Plus, I have to mention that Jennifer Hudson almost fell out of her dress four times.

11:31 – Speaking of Jennifer Hudson…here’s Queen Latifah and John Travolta presenting Best Song. Oscar goes to…Melissa Ethridge? Ghaa…buzz kill.

And some more praise for Al Gore. And Etheridge’s hair has never been so short.

11:38 – Will Smith!!! Finally!

11:46 – A teary-eyed Scorsese watches The Departed win for Film Editing. Scorsese is probably the only guy in the audience who is truly happy to see his friends win over him.

11:53 – Wow. We’re closing in on midnight. I’m starting to fade.

11:54 – Here comes our Best Actress. Penelope is definitely the hottest of the bunch...but she IS up against a bunch of senior citizens and Kate Winslet. That’s like saying that I am the best athlete among a group of four year olds.

Helen Mirren wins the gold. I have to be honest, I’m going to IMdB.com to find out if there is anything that I know her from.

Check that…nope. She did a little Shakespeare early in her career and seems to find herself in the role of “the Queen” in almost every movie she plays in. Maybe that’s why she won…she’s played this part about 40 times prior to this one.

12:00 – Let’s celebrate by letting Chris Connelly speak. I swear, Connelly has fallen a LONG way since his days with ESPN. Every time he starts to talk I want to rip my own arm off just so I have something to throw at him.

12:03 – Reese Witherspoon. She’s not looking good. She’s handing out for Best Actor in a Leading Role. This has to be Forest Whitaker…and it is. Whitaker was on Saturday Night Live the other night. He’s an entertaining cat. The fact that he did SNL peaks volumes about him. He knows he’s not bigger than the game.

12:09 – Coppola-Lucas-Spielberg to present for Best Director…here it comes…wait for it…wait for it…and…Scorsese! The place erupts. It’s like they hand-picked these presenters so that they could have four of the best of all-time on stage at the same time.

Quick Note: Lucas will be directing the fourth installment of the Indiana Jones saga – due out in 2008. This will be a day-it-comes-out viewing for me.

12:16 – Jack Nicholson is on stage for his annual duties presenting Best Picture…that means we’re almost done.

The Departed. Mr. Scorsese, it’s your night. Get out there and get yourself a drink in one hand and a 20-year-old wannabe actress in the other.

12:19 – Good night, everybody!!!

Just for record keeping purposes: I went 5-for-15 in my personal Oscar pick ‘em game. If I’m playing baseball then I hit for a .333 average – not bad. If I was betting, then I just lost a bunch of money.

Oscar Picks

2007-02-24T13:55:00.000-08:00

I often tell people that I am obsessed and amazed by the concept of story-telling. That is one of the reasons that I was a student of literature in college. Story-telling is something that is capable of engrossing our minds in such a way that we forget where we are and what we are doing.

With Oscar Night almost upon us, I’d like to officially announce my picks for the 15 categories that I find most intriguing (keep in mind that this includes most of the awards that will be given on Sunday evening).

Actor in a Leading Role: Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland
--I think that Forest Whitaker is great. The fact that he has a nice body of work behind him makes him the favorite in this category. Everyone else, minus Peter O’Toole, is fairly young as well…they’ll get their chance.

Actor in a Supporting Role: Eddie Murphy, Dreamgirls
--Well, it looks like Axel Foley will finally get his Oscar nod. Plus, Murphy did exactly what a falling star should do – cling on to a decent supporting role and knock it out of the park.

Actress in a Leading Role: Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
--I’ll be honest, I actually DID see this movie. I don’t remember hating a character this much in along time. Plus, at the end she actually makes you rethink hating her. Her performance was so good that I might even dislike Streep in her next role by principle…even if she plays Mother Theresa.

Actress in a Supporting Role: Cate Blanchet, Notes On A Scandal
--I really like Cate. I think that she is a fine actress and I’m pulling for her. The only problem is that Jennifer Hudson of Dreamgirls might take it from her. But how awesome would it be to hear Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) give an acceptance speech

Animated Feature: Cars
--I‘m actually picking a movie that features Larry the Cable Guy to win an Oscar?! I understand it’s only his voice…but seriously! Someone please come punch me in the face when this category is being shown on TV.

Cinematography: Pan’s Labyrinth
--I haven’t seen this movie but everything that I hear is unbelievable. They say that if this movie had been made in the United States, it would be flirting with the Best Picture category.

Costume Design: The Devil Wears Prada
--This movie was based on clothing. The costumes were better than Anne Hathaway’s acting, that’s for sure. How could TDWP not win this category.

Directing: Martin Scorsese, The Departed
--Clint Eastwood is lurking over his shoulder…that being said, someone needs to tell the Academy that Martin Scorsese probably doesn’t have that many great films left in him. If he doesn’t win this year, they may have to chalk him up for that “honorary Oscar.” That would be a real shame.

Foreign Language Film: Pan’s Labyrinth
--Like I said before, this film should have been made in the States with a bigger budget. That does not negate the fact, though, that it is the best foreign language film.

Music (Score): The Queen
Essentially, I don’t like any of these and don’t know enough about this category so I am throwing The Queen a bone.

Music (Song): “Our Town” from Cars, Music and Lyircs by Randy Newman
--If you don’t like Randy Newman then you don’t like America. Plus, I am sick of the Dreamgirls songs.

Best Picture: Babel
--Babel is probably the favorite here and I think that this year may just be a “weaker” year for the Best Picture category. There just isn’t an overwhelming favorite out there. Wouldn’t it be fun to see Little Miss Sunshine win though?

Short (Animated): The Little Match Girl
--I watched all of these animated shorts. I watch the m all every year. After I whipped the tears from my eyes at the end of The Little Match Girl, I remember saying to myself, “well, there’s your winner”…and I hadn’t even seen the other nominees. Watch out for Maestro, however, I thought that this was very clever.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): The Departed
--If Scorsese loses out for the 34th time, I definitely see an Oscar here as a makeup call.

Writing (Original Screenplay): Little Miss Sunshine
--This will be where Little Miss Sunshine gets her do. Just like Matt and Ben got their Oscars here for Good Will Hunting.

Enjoy the night on the Red Carpet, everyone!

Winners and Losers

2007-02-21T07:52:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on February 21, 2007

This weekend’s headlines told us of how NASCAR’s Mark Martin fell short at the Daytona 500 and that Phil Mickelson is back to his old ways after collapsing at the Nissan Open.

I understand that stories of hardship and failure sell newspapers and intrigue readers but how about we give credit where credit is do? What’s wrong with saying that Kevin Harvick came back and ran a great race to take the checkered flag? What’s wrong with saying that Charles Howell III’s final-round 65 was a great round and that he deserved to take the title at the Nissan?

Martin, one of NASCAR’s elder statesman and resident “nice guy,” didn’t deserve to win the Great American Race. When you’re swinging into turn three and it’s you and another guy racing home for the win you don’t get out of the way and let him win. You trade paint and beat him. That’s what made Booby Allison, Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt so great. If it came down to you and one of them at the end of the day, odds are, you would lose.

Harvick did what he had to do to win on Sunday. He wanted it more, he drove harder and to the victor go the spoils. Now don’t get me wrong. Martin is a great driver. He’ll go into the NASCAR Hall of Fame one day. However, at the end of the day, Harvick just flat-out beat him.

The same can be said for Mickelson. He’s a great player just like Martin is a great driver. He’s had wins, big wins and monumental wins. He’s also had some tough losses and some collapses. He didn’t collapse on Sunday though. He was beaten by a surging Charles Howell. Howell shot a final-round 65, caught up to Phil and then capitalized on the third playoff hole. Why should we automatically call it a “Classic Phil-collapse”?

All I’m saying is let’s give credit where credit is do. Howell out played Mickelson and Harvick out drove Martin – plain and simple. I hope that Harvick and Howell enjoy their victories.

Hawks' Blog Night

2007-02-14T11:46:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on February 5, 2007

First of all, big thanks need to go out to my boy Micah over at the Hawks, who hooked us up and made us feel important for a couple hours. I’m actually really looking forward to this. It’s Monday night and I’m missing 24 and Heroes (Thank God I have a DV-R!), so that can tell you how stoked I am for this. I’ve had a tour of the facilities, a bunch of free food and drink and I’m in a private box at the top of Philips Arena (I’m actually closer to the rafters than I am to the floor right now). But Philips is a great place to watch a sporting event so I’m not upset at all.

Pre-game thoughts:
This is my first Kobe Bryant-experience…he’ll probably go for 80 tonight. This is my first Hawks experience. I’m electric right now. The Hawks’ starters were just announced. Is the NBA the only place where a grown man can actually be announced to the public as “J-Smoove” and everyone in the room will take him completely seriously? Apparently so.

First Quarter Begins:
11:24 – Alley-oop dunk! This place really is The Highlight Factory! Thank goodness basketball games have announcers, though, because if I had been relying on the fans “roar” I would have never known that we scored.

6:13 – Another alley-up dunk. The fans liked it this time…and now we have six points! Whoo hoo! We’re scoring a point a minute.

5:31 – First official timeout…a sideline reporter? You know how I feel about them. Unfortunately, the in-arena sideline reporters are even worse than the TV sideline reporters. This is just painful to watch.

But hey, Bow Wow makes a cameo at tonight’s game. Other celebs in attendance include Martin Lawrence, Ludacris and…Tim Allen??? Every blogger in this box just looks terribly confused right now.

3:38 – Laker’s timeout…first A-Town Dancers sighting. If your hair doesn’t touch your lower back then you can’t be on the team. Bonus points go to those girls whose hair is more than one color.

Josh Childress hits his free-throws to post the Hawks’ 7th and 8th points. We’re nine minutes in.

2:27 – Hawks’ tie it at 10 on a ZaZa Pachulia lay-up. If you can’t get excited about routing for a guy named “Zaza” then you might as well go home.

End of 1st Q: Laker 16 – Hawks 14…this is “professional basketball,” right?

Second Quarter Begins:
11:22 – We open up with, what else? An alley-oop dunk. Six of our sixteen have come via alley-oops. HIGHLIGHT FACTORY!!!

7:31 – Sheldon Williams is at the line and he just doesn’t look the same when he’s not wearing the Duke blue. Plus, he’s got to get rid of the armor he’s wearing on his right arm. He looks ridiculous.

Okay, I just spotted Tim Allen down at courtside. Let me just jump out there and let you know how much I enjoyed Home Improvement back in its hay-day. The fact that you can catch reruns of this show during the mid-day TBS schedule speaks volumes.

Hawks’ scratch to within three after Childress hits his free-throws. Childress has spent more time at the line than Tim Allen…what?...too soon? Lakers 28-25.

2:42 – A Hawks’ time-out yields the classic montage of home-made videos of people getting cracked in the groin…it doesn’t get any better than this.

1:24 – The mega-tron suggests the crowd “scream,” “shout,” and “get loud.” The crowd responds with their overwhelming silence.

:43.3 – The 13 year-olds can’t understand how Childress misses a lay-up. They are astonished.

:00 HALFTIME; Lakers 40 – 31. Wow. We’re on pace to score 62. I don’t know what to say.

The Halftime show? None other than “Rubber Boy.” You know, the guy that can stuff himself into the 1-foot by 2-foot glass box...this is disturbing on so many levels. I think I need a break anyway.

Note: I’m taking the second half off from the diary to make some general observations and to just sit back and enjoy the game.

This city simply amazes me sometimes. Joe Johnson and Kobe Bryant just went back-and-forth exchanging three-pointers and the crowd roared each time the ball went through the basket. I have now decided that the average NBA fan simply routes for whoever is playing well at the time. That being said, the only thing that I hate about Atlanta (and I mean it, this is the ONLY thing that I hate) is that it seems like almost everyone is a fan of the “other team.” Maybe everyone is from another city originally or maybe it’s just “fashionable” to cheer for the Lakers. Either way, it disgusts me. We live in Atlanta, people!

Anyhow, the game just came to an end. Lakers take it, 90-83. I’ll tell you what – the people for Atlanta Spirit put on a darn good show. It’s a shame that the fans don’t appreciate it. I’d say at least (and I really don’t think that this is an exaggeration) 50% of the evening’s crowd showed up AFTER the tip. Maybe it’s because the Hawks aren’t finished putting together their product like the Thrashers are. Maybe in a few years the Hawks will be making a playoff run and the fans will show up to support the team. Until then…consider me an NBA fan now. I am going to have to start doing my homework and keeping up with the NBA.

The team may not have been able to handle Kobe and the boys but my Hawks’ Night was a winner.

The Super Bowl Holiday

2007-02-14T11:44:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on February 2, 2007

People have been asking me this for two weeks. All I hear are variations on, “Who ya got?” So, what’s better to talk about on the day that Brett Favre announces that he will return for his 48th season of professional football than just that – professional football. Plus, it’s the Super Bowl. It’s a national holiday for crying out loud.

I don’t care what people say – in America, Super Bowl Sunday is probably one of the most celebrated days of the year. Besides Christmas, Thanksgiving and sometimes New Year’s Eve, there isn’t another day on my calendar that I look at and know exactly what I am doing. I spend my Super Sundays at my buddy Bodner’s house. He has been throwing his annual Super Bowl Party for 14 years (he’s only 30 years old) which just goes to show how serious people, kids included, take this day.

The game starts at 6:25 p.m. this year – which means that I will start stuffing myself with seven-layer dip and chicken wings sometime around five o’clock. I should be on my third cocktail by 6:00, out $20 on the game’s pool by 6:15 and ready for a nap by the end of the first quarter. If this doesn’t scream holiday fun, then I don’t know what does.

As far as the game goes: It might actually be a good one. Both teams are good. The Colts are a little better on offense but the Bears are little better on defense. If you look at the way they have been treated, the Bears really have nothing to lose. They are a seven-point underdog with Brian Urlacher, arguably the best defensive player in the NFL, suiting up for them at linebacker. However, the Colts have Peyton Manning – the prodigal son and golden boy of the NFL, as well as one of the most talented quarterbacks the league has ever seen. It’s like all these factors just cancel each other out.

As far as routing interest: I’m pulling for the Colts. I like Peyton Manning, Marvin Harrison and Tony Dungy. I don’t have a problem with the Bears but I’d like to see the Colts hoist the Lombardi Trophy. I think that they are also a nice story. It’s refreshing to look at two stars in the league (in Manning and Harrison) and see two guys that work hard, stay out of trouble and genuinely respect their fellow competitors like they do.

As far as my pick: Colts 27 - Bears 21. I think that Manning puts together a nice outing. He’ll throw for 278 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Joseph Addai rushes for just under 100 yards but gets a score. Adam Vinatieri, the greatest clutch kicker in NFL history, will drive home a pair of field goals. The Bears will only have one offensive touchdown, the other two will come via a Devin Hester special teams moment and a return off of some sort of turnover (maybe that Peyton interception).

I think that there will be a light drizzle late in the game but that it won’t affect anything. I think that the blockbuster commercial of the day will be produced by Pepsi. I think that my buddy Billy will be able to fit eight pigs-in-blankets in his mouth at once and that half of the people who go to the Super Bowl in person will leave feeling like they just wasted a LOT of money. All in all, it should be a fine day.

Have a Happy Super Bowl everyone!

The Best Around

2007-02-14T11:41:00.002-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on January 30, 2007

I think that my good friend, Joe Esposito, said it best in the classic film The Karate Kid, “You’re the best around…nothing’s ever going to keep you down!”

He may not have been writing the song about them but the sentiments ring true when you watch Tiger Woods and Roger Federer. These two athletes are going to be the players that I tell my kids about. If they ever come up to me and ask me who was the most dominate player of their sport during my lifetime I will have to say Federer and Woods.

Federer is 25 years old and has captured 10 grand slam titles (3 at the Australian Open, 3 U.S. Open titles, and 4 wins at Wimbledon). Pete Sampras, the best player of my childhood, captured 14 grand slams – including seven at Wimbledon. Federer is, without a doubt in my mind, going to shatter this record. He hasn’t won at the French Open but there is no reason to believe that he won’t. He is so much better than everyone else that steps on the court with him that it is ridiculous. I mean, Federer didn’t lose a single set in the Aussie Open. Not a single one. Plus, he dominated the only match that people thought might be half way decent when he destroyed Andy Roddick (6-4, 6-0, 6-2).

Woods dominates his sport the same way. This past weekend, Tiger entered the final round of the Buick Invitational two shots off the lead. My buddy O.C. and I were flipping between college hoops and Tiger’s attempt to win his seventh straight PGA Tour victory when we saw the leader board. When they mentioned who the third round leader was, Australian Andrew Buckle, we actually laughed out loud. This kid didn’t stand a chance. And then when Tiger closed to within a stroke at the turn we were betting on how much Tiger would win by.

That’s what is different about these guys. When they walk out onto the court and course, people don’t say to themselves, “You know? They could win today.” People say things like, “You know? I don’t think anyone else stands a chance today.”

I’m actually going out there and calling this right now so that we can all look back and know that I am the prognosticator of prognosticators. Woods will win TWO majors this year (I’m picking The Masters and the U.S. Open). I don’t think Tiger will win the PGA Championship this year. And he won’t win the British Open – mainly because he won’t be playing in it (his wife is due to give birth to their first child that week and with Tiger having his priorities so ridiculously IN order I can’t pick him to win there).

I am actually going to pick Federer to do the unheard of and sweep the Grand Slam of tennis. He’s already virtually unbeatable at Wimbledon and I think that he breaks through in the French this year. He’ll win the U.S. Open but that could be a good test because there are a lot of good hard court players out there. The only trouble he will run into is if he plays Rafael Nadal in the French. Nadal is a great clay player and has beaten Federer there already. But he’s just too good.

I feel pretty good hitching my wagon to these guys. They ARE the best around.

Clap Your Hands Say TIDBITS

2007-02-14T11:39:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on January 24, 2007

--Well, Michael Vick is innocent. The Miami authorities said that they could not determine that there was marijuana in the “contraption” that was confiscated at the Miami airport. Vick’s stupidity did lead to one of my favorite Saturday Night Live moments of the year though. Really!

--Fox’s 24 is back. I have come to the conclusion that if my house was burning down during an episode of 24, I would probably just stay on the couch until the commercial break. Only then would I try to grab the television (without disconnecting the cable) and pull it outside so I could finish watching.

--The Phoenix Suns, my pick to win the NBA title, have won 14-straight games and show no signs of slowing down at this point. In other NBA news: The Hawks still stink. But hey, they're not the worst team in the League. My buddy Trey works for the Memphis Grizzlies. I just can’t bear to make fun of him any more than that…

--Tuesday night, Tennessee mean’s basketball head coach Bruce Pearl painted his body and went to the women’s hoops game to sit in the student section. My stock in “OrangePaint, Inc.” just plummeted.

--David Beckham recently signed with Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy for a reported $250 million over five years. Where is the Galaxy getting this money? The only way that I would buy a ticket to an MLS game is if I was assured that I would be sitting next to Ms. Beckham.

--Last night, Brit Hume of Fox News said that you couldn’t “swing a cat on Capital Hill without hitting a Presidential Candidate.” He chuckled to himself. I love it when people use ridiculous phrases that make little to no sense…therefore, I decided to watch Senator Jim Webb’s (D, Virginia) reaction to President Bush’s State of the Union address.

--Michelle Wie did not make the cut at her annual “Fall-On-My-Face” Sony Open. She finished tied for 139th. In three attempts she has finished 80th, 128th, and 139th. She and, Master P.R. Man/father, B.J. Wie claim that she may not play next year because it would interfere with her start to the spring semester at college. Is that really it or is she afraid of finishing DEAD LAST?

--The Braves have been building up the bullpen this off-season – picking up Rafael Soriano and Mike Gonzalez. They, along with Closer Bob Wickman, will essentially turn the games into 7-inning affairs. John Smoltz may win 60 games next year.

--The people at NBC have lined up their hit show Heroes against 24 in the Monday 9pm time slot. This is borderline evil. This is, however, just another reason why I truly feel that the DV-R is one of the top five inventions of my lifetime.

--The Academy Awards nominations were announced Tuesday morning. One of my favorite categories is Best Animated Short Film. If you get the chance I recommend these two: No Time For Nuts and, my personal favorite and pick to take home the statue, The Little Matchgirl.

Heroes To The Hall

2007-02-14T11:36:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on January 12, 2007

Cooperstown made room for its two newest members this past Tuesday. Cal Ripken Jr., the consummate professional, and Tony Gwynn, the best pure hitter of last half century, join the great fraternity of Major League Baseball’s Hall of Fame.

Ripken was an underrated hitter who tallied 431 homeruns, 1,695 RBI and batted a career .276. The Iron Man was a 19-time All-Star who played in 2,632 consecutive games and basically revolutionized the position of shortstop. Gwynn, a 15-time All-Star who collected 3,141 career hits, was the greatest wielder of a Louisville Slugger that I have seen in my lifetime. He hit .300 or better in 19 straight seasons including seven seasons where he hit over .350.

I watched Ripken and Gwynn play in their primes. I don’t remember watching a Mid-Summer Classic when I was a kid where they weren’t in the starting lineup. The unfortunate thing for me is that I took these guys for granted as “decent players.” The really unfortunate thing is that the 10-year olds hitting the sandlots today won’t get a chance to see these guys play baseball.

It wasn’t the stats that made them worth watching though. It was how they played the game. Ripken played in 2,632 straight games. Think about that. Consider yourself not missing a day at the office for the next 20 years. Kids, you wouldn’t be allowed to miss a day of school. Period. There are stories of how Gwynn taped and studied his own swing for years. Tweaking it. Improving it. Perfecting it. Both of these guys had work ethics that were unmatched by their peers yet they played the game with a boyish enthusiasm.

One of my favorite parts of their resumes is there off-the-field stories: this part of the resume is relatively empty. Neither one was a drug-user or beat his wife. Neither had run-ins with the media or shouted profanities at fans. Terrell Owens has spent more time on SportsCenter over the past year (for his off-the-field tirades) than either of them did in their entire careers. They are both great family men and have each started successful youth-driven charitable foundations. But that’s not really “news-worthy” to a lot today’s sports media.

In an era plagued with steroid and drug allegations, it’s hard to find players that we can look up to. I hope that today’s youth will stop for a few seconds and study their history books (although it isn’t ancient history) and learn about these two players. If there is anyone out there that they should try to emulate, it’s these two. I know that one day I’ll tell my kids how great these guys were in their playing days. I hope that you will too.

Congratulations, Cal and Tony!

Champs Chomp In Glendale

2007-02-14T11:34:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on January 9, 2007

My buddy O.C. and I watched the Florida Gators absolutely dismantle the Ohio State Buckeyes last night. It was ridiculous. Ohio State scored on the opening kick-off and then Florida took over. It wasn’t even a decent game. Even Pope High School could have blasted Ohio State out of the stadium last night.

I don’t have many friends among Gator-Nation – and the one’s that I do have were NOT in any sort of shape to comment on the game’s outcome this morning – so I have no idea what is going through their minds. Is Florida the best team in the nation? I don’t think one game can say that.

Let’s all remember how the Gators slid into this game. If Southern Cal beats UCLA this year (which they do nine times out of ten), then Florida doesn’t even play in this game. And let us not forget that if Louisville had properly handled their business in November against Rutgers then we would have had two undefeated teams in the Championship Game and the BCS would have been looking pretty good. Then, if the same outcome had taken place, would we have felt comfortable anointing Louisville as the best team in the land? I doubt it.

And no one is going to forget what Boise State did to Oklahoma anytime soon.

So after all that, this year’s bowl games may have only showed us one thing. Among the maybe ten to twelve teams that legitimately deserve a shot at winning the national title, they are all fairly equal. Sure, some teams are faster than others. Some have better passing attacks or running attacks than others. But if you put them all into a playoff system and ran it ten times, you might get ten different winners.

I’m not about to jump onto the Playoff Bandwagon but maybe it’s something that we should all start thinking about. I’m also not going to be calling the Florida Gators the “best team” in the nation but they did earn the right to be called National Champions.

Hoop Dreams

2007-02-14T11:28:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on December 21, 2006

This past Tuesday the college basketball season officially started for me. I understand that each team has played roughly ten games and that there have even been some big games played but it just didn’t officially start for me until Tuesday when I was hanging out with my buddy D.C. and we watched Duke dismantle Kent State.

D.C. went to Duke and is, for obvious reasons, a big Duke basketball fan. I have come to realize that fans of Coach K and the Blue Devils are some of the most enthusiastic fans in all of sports. His enthusiasm was terribly contagious. Thank goodness the Georgia Bulldogs are off to the start that they are because I wouldn’t have been able to join in the conversation otherwise.

Coming off six straight wins, including notable wins at Wake Forest and against Gonzaga last Saturday night at the Gwinnett Arena, the Dogs hosted Jacksonville on Tuesday night. This was one of those games that everyone knew the Bulldogs would win…I mean, Georgia isn’t going to lose to a team whose mascot is a dolphin. Georgia ended up winning the game 93-77. Senior point guard Levi Stukes scored 27 points and was 7-for-9 from three-point range. Sophomore Mike Mercer, a Snellville-native, recorded 21 points and leads the team in minutes and scoring (17.8 ppg).

We saw the score roll along the bottom of the ESPN screen and D.C., without taking his eyes off the Duke game said to me, “So, Coach Felton has the Dogs playing pretty well.” When a Duke-guy tells you that your team is playing well, especially considering Georgia’s history of late, you just say, “Thank you” and move on. It’s like Martin Scorsese coming up to an unknown actor and saying, “I like the way you did that scene.” Don’t try to expound upon it; just say thanks and walk away.

Tomorrow night Georgia (8-1) comes into Atlanta to face-off against Georgia Tech (7-3) at Alexander Memorial Coliseum. The Jackets had lost three of their last four before completely destroying Centenary, 92-52, this past Monday. However, the Jackets are a solid team and the Bulldogs have their work cut out for them.

Tech, much like its Georgia counterpart, throws a lot of young talent out on the court. Paul Hewitt’s squad boasts three true-freshman starters in forwards Thaddeus Young and Zach Peacock and point guard Javaris Crittenton (who by some publications was the top ranked recruit in the nation last year). They are a fast group and can put a lot of points on the board in a hurry. They do, however, lack a true big man to play the post. The three forwards that record the majority of the minutes for Tech each chart 6’8”.

Dennis Felton’s Bulldog-crew does a lot of rotating through the bench. Fresh legs is a key for the quick “run-til-they-can’t-catch-ya” style that Felton has in place. Stukes, one of only two seniors on the team, plays the point and essentially sets the offensive table. He’ll rely on fellow guard Sundiata Gaines to distribute the ball to him and Mercer. The guards make this team. Steve Newman, Terrance Woodbury, Southeastern Illinois College-transfer Takais Brown and 7-footer Rashaad Singleton will rotate through as the role players. They don't pull down a lot of rebounds but with the Dogs shooting 54% from the field, they don't have to.

This rivalry has shaped itself into one that we will be able to watch for a few years without a lot of change to the major players. If Tech can successfully right the ship and make a solid run in the ACC then I see them lacing up their dancing shoes come March. With Georgia’s youth, the pundits were talking about Georgia being just one more year away from turning a few heads. I’m here to say that they may already be there. A win at Georgia tech would push them into the nation’s Top 25 and if they can scratch together anything better than a .500-record in the SEC then I would prepare for Georgia tourney-berth.

Dreaming of a white Christmas is not exactly a reality for us in Atlanta…especially since it is mid-December and I wish I was on the golf course enjoying the 60-degree weather. However, dreaming of a red and black March might not be out of the question.

The Reggie Ball – Shot of the Week: Are you serious? Academically ineligible? Nobody goes ineligible at the end of their senior season! What kind of classes is he taking? Matt Leinart took Ballroom Dancing his last semester. My last semester of college consisted of Basket-Weaving 101 and Beginners Lawn-Mowing. Reggie, you have got to quit giving me so much material, bro. Thank goodness you’re not going to be around next year…my computer might blow up.

Pick me out a winner, TIDBITS.

2007-02-14T11:24:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to AtlantaMagazine.com on December 13, 2006

The Georgia Bulldogs (6-1) and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7-3) have each gotten off to decent starts to open the hoops season. Georgia had a thrilling win at Wake Forest this past week and the Jackets’ only stumbles have come to top-ranked UCLA, a tough Miami squad in their ACC opener, and a better-than-they-seem Vanderbilt. It’s still hard to get too excited about college hoops before January though. With college football on hiatus for the next few weeks, it’s a good thing that we have a couple tidbits to tide us over…

--The Dogs and Jackets meet up on December 22 for the second edition of Clean, Old Fashioned Hate. Both teams are young, fast and playing good basketball. Okay, maybe I’m allowed to get a LITTLE excited about basketball…

--Georgia Tech’s Calvin Johnson won the Biletnikoff Award, which goes to the nation’s top collegiate receiver, linking him forever with Tech QB Reggie Ball. People won’t be saying that Calvin won the trophy WHILE playing with Reggie but DESPITE playing with Reggie.

--We put the Christmas tree up at the Cheek Mansion this past weekend. Nothing says “Christmas” quite like the smell of a freshly cut pinetree in your living room…except maybe the sound of the vacuum cleaner roaring to life every half hour to clean up the thousands upon thousands of needles that keep falling from said pinetree.

--Ohio State’s Troy Smith won the Heisman Trophy. I think that Brady Quinn is still walking around the streets of New York saying, “But I play for Notre Dame…but I play for Notre Dame.”

--The Atlanta Braves made a deal to move pitcher Horacio “Keep It On the D.L.” Ramirez to the Seattle Mariners for set-up man Rafael Soriano. Seattle, be real careful with Horacio. He’s fragile. And for heaven’s sake, do not make fun of him…you could hurt his feelings then he’d be out for another two weeks.

--In other Braves news: Marcus Giles won’t be back next year. The “Baby Braves” from the past couple years may be looking a little more “baby-like” for the next couple. However, when you have a coach like Bobby Cox and a GM like John Schuerholz, the playoffs are never out of reach.

--I usually like to reserve my Monday’s for “intense television” watching – shows filled with murder, suspense and thrilling moments. With Heroes and 24 on hold until January, I opted for the Bears and Rams on Monday Night Football this week. At least I got to see a murder…

--It’s been reported that not only has Britney Spears been partying to much with Paris Hilton but that she has stopped production on her new album…and oh yeah, Britney, you have a one-month old baby at home.

--The thought process of a Falcon’s fan:
Week 1: This is our year! Super Bowl here we come!
Week 3: We lost to New Orleans? Do we stink?
Week 6: A 3-2 record?! We stink!
Week 8: Michael Vick is the greatest quarterback that has ever played football!
Week 10: We stink.
Week 12: I hate Vick! We should cut him! I want to punch myself in the face!
Week 14: The Falcons are amazing and so is Vick! He’s going to the Hall of Fame!

--This past Friday marked the 26th anniversary of John Lennon’s death. There may not be anyone in the musical world that has spanned (and will continue to span) the generations quite like him. I think it’s safe to say that everyone out there has a favorite Beatles’ tune. If you don’t know about The Beatles new album Love, I suggest you take a gander.

Same Ol' Song and Dance

2007-02-14T11:21:00.000-08:00

Originally posted to Atlanta Magazine.com on November 28, 2006

The Dance? The Georgia-Georgia Tech football game. The Song? Georgia’s Hairy Dawg ringing the Chapel Bell on North Campus.

I walked around the Georgia campus this past Saturday afternoon and there was just a feeling in the air. It was a feeling that absorbs the state of Georgia each year – the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

It can only be summed up by the words of a friend of mine: Georgia still has the talent and the athletes and Georgia Tech still has Reggie Ball. Georgia is still the big brother and Georgia Tech is still the little kid. Georgia is still Georgia and Georgia Tech is still Georgia Tech.

The crazy thing is that my friend is not the only person who holds these sentiments. It seems to be a very common conception among Bulldog fans. It even seems to be a thought that almost haunts the minds of Georgia Tech fans.

As I went about my day on Saturday I spoke with people who claimed allegiance on both sides. The Bulldogs walked about with an air of confidence about them. Yellow Jacket fans, while having a good time socializing among the masses, couldn’t help but feel as though their season was about to be pulled out from under them. Georgia fans laughed to one another and spoke about how the season (as well as the play of young QB Matthew Stafford) had taken a turn for the better. Tech fans staggered about wondering if this would be the year that they ended the losing streak. The Georgia faithful knew that this would not be that year.

When the Rambling Wreck drove down the field in the fourth quarter and took a 12-7 lead, Georgia fans didn’t get discouraged. I don’t think that I have ever seen anything like it. I’ve seen teams give up touchdowns late in the game and the wind is completely taken out of the fans’ sails. That didn’t happen to Georgia. Fans looked at each other and started clapping and saying, “Here we go. All we need is a score. Let’s get it right here.”

The same mentality could be seen resonating from the Bulldog sideline. Matthew Stafford was confident. Mark Richt was confident. The receivers were confident. The running backs were confident. The fans were, without question, confident.

In my mind this will be a moment to remember. Georgia fans should look at this drive as the true beginning of a new era in Richt’s reign. This is the moment when Stafford came of age – when Mohamed Massaquoi became the receiver that all of the Bulldog Nation knew he could become – when Georgia stood up and said in one collective voice that they would not go quietly into the night.

Georgia fans, I suggest that we sit back and enjoy the ride.

Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate

2007-02-14T11:11:00.000-08:00

Originally posted at AtlantaMagazine.com on November 22, 2006

I know that we are overdue for some “Tidbits” but there are more important things at hand – namely, the livelihood of the great state of Georgia. We are embarking on one of the most important days of the year in our state. A day when we find out who will lead and who will follow in the wake. A day where we draw a line in the sand and everyone chooses a side.

Georigia vs. Georgia Tech.

Yellow Jacket players, Reggie Ball and Calvin Johnson will be trying to win the first Georgia game of their careers. If they want to live in Georgia after their NFL careers, they have got to win this game. Little Reggie Ball Jr. won't stand a chance when he takes on Little Johnny Georgia-Fan in the playground kickball game. Mentally, he'll know he's going to lose.

I've heard a lot of debate over the past couple days about how this game will turn out. Some people say that the Bulldogs have set themselves up for a let down (coming off a huge win at a then-ranked #5 Auburn). Others say that the Jackets may be focusing too much on their ACC-title berth (which will be played in Jacksonville on December 2nd). I say that you can throw all that stuff out the window at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon. Those players will be playing for pride. Records don’t matter. Polls don’t matter. Only one thing matters: The score at the end of 60 minutes.

But don't think for a second that the fans are going to wait until 3:30 to start their "game." Starting Saturday morning, fans from around the state will flood the Athens area in anticipation of the two teams teeing it up between the hedges. The Bulldogs are 23-13-1 all-time when playing the Yellow Jackets in the Classic City but that won’t stop the Tech-faithful from hurling out their insults. They’ll yell at the “rednecks” at Georgia about their “backwoods ways” and poor academics.

Georgia fans will simply brush off those insults and hurl their taunts back about how “unattractive” the women of Georgia Tech are and then the chant will start…it will start of low and then it will grow… “Nerds…Nerds…Nerds…NERDS…NERDS…NERDS!!!”

My buddy Hilley even told me about how his own family members wouldn't even share tickets to this weekend's game because some were Georgia fans and others were Tech fans.
There’s just no better way to describe it. Clean, old-fashioned hate. That’s what this game is.

So choose your side. But choose wisely. Odds are it will determine how well the next year of your life goes.