Shows that used to be The Business: Saved By The Bell

Time for a new segment on the Blog called Shows that Used to be the Business.

These are shows that I enjoyed back in the day. Here’s are the requirements:

1) It has to not air new episodes anymore (there will be an exception or two with remakes or updates of the show currently on air now. Yes, I’m referring to 90210. That’s not tonight but it may come up in the future.)

2) Been off the air for at least five years.

That’s all.

First show: Saved by the Bell



First memory: Interesting thing about Saved by the Bell for me. I actually didn’t really start watching it until the end of its run in 1993. For the first few years on Saturdays, I was doing stuff like Cub Scouts (Bobcats, Wolves, Bears and Webelows represent!) so I was never home to see it. However, by the time I reached around 11 or 12, I was done with that and saw the show.

I always thought that it was odd that they had every color represented at first. Even then, I didn’t like shows that tried too hard to be culturally perfect. However, after a few episodes, I was hooked and watching repeats over and over again till this day.

I remember the prime-time graduation episode on my birthday on May 22, 1993. I was twelve and was actually sad when the show signed off.

Favorite character (main): Hard not to go with Zach Morris on this one or Mark-Paul Gosselaar. That dude was the man who every dude wanted to be. He was the first one with a cell phone, got girls, avoided detention, got to tap that ass that was Kelly Kapowski (trust me, they were having sex which I will get to later), was a track and basketball star for some reason, even though one tore his knee up and the other made him disrespect his Native American heritage, was able to go to Dodger games during the day because he was Jewish, got 1502 on his SATs, got accepted to Yale and told them to stick it and stayed loyal to going to school in California, had a hot mom, surfed and many other characteristics that I can go on and on about.

But I’m going to go with Albert Clifford. Slater gets my vote because he was the athletic one. I dug the wrestling angles because even then, I was a fan of combat sports. He would have been an awesome mixed martial artist. He hooked up with Jesse who you knew was an undercover freak on the down low. The really feminist, intelligent women can get down if you catch my drift. OK, another topic for another day.

Favorite character (secondary): Tough call between three entities. Here they are in descending order:

3) Violet Anne Bickerstaff. I still think this was the best acting that Tori Spelling ever did, seriously. I liked her because it showed that Screech was actually a dude who could get another chick. I don’t understand why the producers didn’t include her in more episodes, if for anything to add some diversity to the plots. She was Screech’s girlfriend for a moment and then went away. Common theme for this show.

2) Tie between The Nerds and Ox: The Nerds always brought something to the table and were very funny. Ox was just a lug head that I would literally crack up anytime that he spoke. I was simple to please as a young kid.

1) The teachers and I’m not including Ms. Bliss: I’ll hit on Good Morning, Ms. Bliss later. However, for now, props to the writers for having entertaining teachers that each of us could relate to. This is the only time I’m going to cheat and look up some of these teachers names online.

Mr. Dewey was awesome, especially when he supervises detention and talks about how he’s going to try out for American Gladiators and karate chops the pencil in half, awesome. Mrs. Simpson was the British English teacher who couldn’t hear well. I’m still mad at that witch for making Zach and Kelly read Romeo and Juliet after they broke up, how dare she! Mr. Testaverde was the fast talking teacher which was cool.

Least favorite character (main): Lots of people are going to pick on Jesse in this spot which I can get. The whole environmentalist and I know more than you attitude was a turn-off. But I can’t vote for her because she gave me one of the most funny unintentional funny moments in TV viewing history with her addiction to caffeine pills and singing “I’m so excited” over and over again. Good stuff.

Screech was annoying as well but he was supposed to be. He did get pushed around too much like a pussy…cat for my liking but he was tolerable in doses.

This vote is going to the girl that I wanted to “get to know better” as a young boy, Lisa Turtle. The gossip and the fashion stuff just didn’t rub me the right way. Also, she could have at least let Screech get to second base with her. Seriously, the dude was obsessed with her and really cared for him. It’s the least she could have done. Actually, that’s a shame on Screech moment.

Samuel Powers is my least favorite main character, Lisa doesn’t deserve the vote.

Least favorite character (secondary):

1a) Motherfu*cking Jeff: He deserves a mention. Here are the guy rules that this jackass breaks when dating Kelly:

a) Steals Kelly from Zach. You don’t take another man’s girl
b) Dates a co-worker. I know that a restaurant isn’t exactly a corporate setting but you shouldn’t date someone you supervise as a boss.
c) Dates a high schooler. Look, we all wanted to kick it with Kelly. She was hot but dude, she’s in high school and you are that good looking and going to UCLA. You can get laid with girls your own age. How was he not sent to jail.

Eye Candy factor: Every guy that I knew was in love with Kelly or Tiffany-Amber in real life. She had all the qualities that you would want physically. Plus, her character was so darn nice. But they’re were two factors that made me a huge fan of hers.

First, she was a cheerleader. Second, and I realized this more later, she was a volleyball player. I think that guys like cheerleaders and all but we also like athletes as well or even more.

Lisa was excellent as well. I even had a moment when I was feeling Jesse.

The girls were able to see Zach and Slater. BTW, could they find any tighter outfits for Slater. My goodness, it looked like dude could barely breathe in those jeans and tank tops. For the ladies, I guess, but for the dudes watching, that was just uncomfortable.

Theme song out of five stars: It gets four solid stars. I knew all the words by heart and could probably think of it now if prompted. It loses some points with the “if a teacher pops a test, I know I’m in a mess.” First, it doesn’t rhyme. Second, how does a teacher pop said test? The video was cool and it got to the point where I could see every cut shot of a character at the beginning and know which episode it was from.

Favorite moments: Where do I begin. So, so many. Some secondary ones.

-Kasey Kasem showing up for a dance contest at the Max.

-The sleepover episode, you know what I’m talking about.

-Zach dressing up as a woman to make Screech feel better. The woman’s name was frickin Bambi. Man, I had a lot of free time back in the day.

-Zach gambling with the Valley wrestler that Slater could beat him. Teaching young children the values of gambling, nice.

-Sing it with me, “Friends forever, friends until the end!”

-The episode where the gang is put into married couples, showing me that I don’t want to get married for a long, long time.

-Slater saving the Max during the radio telethon

-Screech’s house party, teaching me to never have a house party, especially if I have expensive statues of dead musical icons lying around.

-The Miss Bayside episode. Classic

-The swimsuit calendar.

-Slater being afraid of needles.

-Play-by-play broadcasting of chess matches.

-Lisa as the hottest candy stripper ever.

-Female wrestlers.

-The Zack Attack

-The Senior Video Yearbook

-The Snow White play where Zack has to kiss Jessie

Two episode archs stick out:

1) When Jesse’s stepbrother comes into town from New York. I think these were maybe the two best episodes ever of the show from an arch prospective. I dug how Eric liked Lisa and stepped to her with that swagger. I remember when I saw Lisa driving Mr. Belding’s red convertible and crashing it. How did she crash it? Zack was trying to take a picture of Eric driving the car and the flash made her do it. Then, Eric has a group of students take the car apart, which should have been the game-winning move. However, he puts the car together by himself, according to the show, and that was the end of it. Oh yeah, there was Zach lying about being Jewish to go to the Dodgers vs. Mets playoff game and Screech videotaping it and watching it with Eric and pointing out Zack on the screen which had to be the worst best friend move ever.

2) Zack and Kelly break up: That whole story line made me sad. The two saddest moments for me were when Kelly told Zach at the costume ball that she was spending time with Jeff and didn’t want to date him anymore. I even remember Jesse and Slater singing a song and Zack and Kelly sitting on benches outside the gym and having one last dance. I actually shed a tear at that moment.

The second one was when Zack and Kelly had to read Romeo and Juliet in class after they broke up. That was rough.

Least favorite moments: There were three.

1) The whole Ms. Bliss episodes. Never liked them.

2) The summer on the beach house. Look, I’m as big of a fan of Leah Remini as anyone else, but I wasn’t feeling the beach house episodes.

3) Date Auction episode. Didn’t like it.

Not realistic moments/ WTF moments: It has to begin with Tori Scott. Where did she come from and where did she go after she left. Did she transfer out of school? Did she die? I have no clue and I don’t like these episodes anyway because Zach started dressing like a sailor. Seriously, look that crap up.

On a more general scale, the whole battle for Kelly by Zack and Slater was unrealistic for several reasons. First, both dudes were studs at that school. Why would they fight over one girl. Second, she probably had sex with one of them and then at that moment, the other one would fall back not pursue her anymore. What, they didn’t have sex on that show? Please. Third, and in the end, its about bros before an un-cool female term that rhymes with bros. I think that Zack and Slater would realize this.

Level of personal obsession: On a scale of 1-10, I was a solid 9 for years. I knew all the characters names, every episode within literally 10 seconds of seeing the first moments, the whole deal. If I’m ever in the gym or flipping channels and the show comes on, I stop and watch and still find enjoyment in it.

Cultural impact: There are so many people in my age group that at least like this show. Some love it like me but even the ones who didn’t really watch it know about it. Characters like Zack Morris, Screech, A.C. Slater, Kelly and even Mr. Belding have become clichés and if you say their names, everyone knows what you’re talking about.

Would this show work in 2009: I think that it would have to update itself some but the episodes now aren’t as dated as you think. If anything, I think more high schools are turning into Bayside High and less like the Gossip Girl and The O.C. type places. All races and types of people live everywhere now.

I think SBTB was unique back in the day but now it’s not far from the normal.

I’ve referred to it several times here but I think that they would have to address the fact that teenagers are more sexually active now and that may take away from the innocence of the show. You can’t get tied into the concept of “going steady” or kissing when you know that Zack and Kelly would have probably gotten down to some degree in 10th grade and then broken up and then Zack would have moved on to Jesse while Slater and Kelly have a run around. Lisa would probably have a guy or two on the low.

However, one thing wouldn’t change. Screech would be alone. 200 years from now, Screech would be alone.

Sunday Reflections

What’s going on. Its time for some Sunday Reflections:

Music Song of Choice: Electric Feel by MGMT




This is the infield music song for my baseball team. The boys introduced me to this song and I like it. Chill vibe, love it.

-I usually make it a point to not watch award shows, especially the Academy Awards. The culture of celebrities patting each other on the back doesn’t really resonate with me.

However, this year, I’ve actually been flipping back and forth to the show and saw that Natalie Portman can get it anytime from me. My goodness, I’m a fan. She needs to get on the bench in my top-five immediately.

Taraji Henson is gorgeous.



She’s been named a Crush of the Day on the blog and everything but incredible. I will always remember her from Baby Boy, one of my favorite good bad movies. Plus, remember, her son's name is Marcel. You can't make that stuff up.

-I would have bet the farm, house, my savings, my future child support payments and alimony and everything else that Heath Ledger would win Best Supporting Actor. Well deserved.

-College baseball season started on Friday and I was a nervous wreck leading up to the contests. I was worried about staffing the games, the conditions of the press box and the stands, fans being safe attending honestly a stadium in the middle of renovations and other things.

I know that I was probably not in the best mood the whole weekend but that’s how I operate for the first few games. Funny thing is that I will feel much better this week and it will all work out.

Funny thing about this weekend was that I serve as the main statistician for the games and there was a pop up foul ball that was caught by the first baseman I believe and I forgot how to put that in the scorebook.

To put that in prospective, on the scale of 1-10 on difficult things to do on StatCrew, its about a 2. I had to look up how to do it.

-Finally saw two movies that I’ve been wanting to see for a while.

I saw American Gangster. It was ok.

I saw The Wackness and loved it. It was based on events in the summer of 1994 in the NYC and it brought back so many fun memories for me. It was probably my favorite time ever living in New York. I was 13, taking the subway, going to ball games, rap music, really music in general became a big part of my life.

The music of the movie was tremendous. Between the tracks from Biggie, Tribe Called Quest, Wu Tang Clan, it was amazing.

Good storyline, believable characters, plus, you get to see Sir Ben Kingsley smoke a bong. Who doesn’t want to see that.

-Watching The Wackness made me miss the NYC. I like living here in Nashville and everything but I will always be a New Yorker at heart. That’s my city, especially Brooklyn and Williamsburgh. Thinking about it now makes me a little emotional.

-The Wackness also made me think about my prospectives in life. I try to be an optimistic realist and look at the negatives more than the positive. It relates to the title of the movie. I look at the wackness of things instead of the dopeness. It makes sense if you see the movie.

-The Tapout is back in effect. I tried but I’m better in Tapout mode. Plus, it helps me work on my swagger.

-The posting schedule should be decent this week. I’m going to introduce a new subject called “This Show Used to be The Business”

I will write about shows from the past that I used to enjoy. They’re will be some obvious ones, like the first one which made me want to seriously want to move to California for high school. If you wake up early enough, you can see it on repeat on TBS. That’s the clue.

A lot of the shows will be pretty much something you can see on Nick at Nite or on TBS during the day.

I think I’ll clean out some links, haven’t done that in a while. Other than that, who knows.

Until then, good fight and good night.

NBA Review

Sorry for the delay in the NBA Review, busy week on the home front.

I finally saw the movie, The Wackness, this weekend and I’ll get to it in my Reflections, but this throwback song was in the movie. Total and Biggie, tremendous stuff:



First some random, non-team specific thoughts.

-My favorite annual NBA-related column is The Sports Guy’s Trade Value write-up. I would attempt to do the same type of thing but that would be blatantly stealing. Here’s the link to it: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/090212

It’s a good read for even the non-NBA fans. Of course I disagree with some of the picks but the premise is solid.

I talk crap about Simmons at times but this is always enjoyable.

-While its good to see Charles Barkley back on TNT, he needs to step his game back up. I like Charles and his off the court stuff is whatever. However, as far as an analyst, he has slipped. Chris Webber and even Gary Payton have been providing more analysis and comedic relief in the past three months then Charles has done in the past year. Watch NBA Fan Night on NBATV, it has good analysis and humor.

Charles needs to get back to doing his research and providing honest perspectives of the game without using lazy clichés. Hopefully this “vacation” for him will get him focuses.

-All-Star weekend was OK. Shaq’s pregame dance was tremendous. Dunk contest was OK. Enjoyed HORSE tremendously and it has potential to get better. That’s really it on that front.

OK, this week, I’m going to look at the most valuable player and the player that needs to step it up on each team in my reviews.

1) Los Angeles Lakers: Most valuable player is obviously Kobe. I think that the Bynum injury can be a positive and negative for him and the team. He will now feel the will to become selfish and not become the solid team player he has shown the first part of the year. See the fact that he scored 61 in the game against the Knicks and had only one assist. Tremendous individual effort, bad teammate effort. I would say that the player who needs to step up and has been doing it is Lamar Odom. He can average 15 and 10 every game easily, he’s that talented. If he can stay focused, the Lakers win the title.

2) Boston Celtics: Garnett’s injury for the next three weeks or so will be an excellent opportunity for all to see the most valuable player on that team, Paul Pierce. Garnett is tremendous and Ray Allen is solid but for this team to repeat as champions, Rondo has to step his game up because the rest of the team is weaker this year than last year, especially on the bench. Him getting 32 and 10 against Phoenix was a good look.

3) Cleveland Cavs: The MVP of this team is the one for the league this season. Ben Wallace…just kidding, its Lebron. The scary thing about this guy is that when and if and honestly, as a fan of the NBA I hope it’s when, he develops a reliable jump shot, it’s a wrap. He will win multiple NBA titles. He is unstoppable in the open court, guys bounce off of him. The thing he has improved most this year is defense. He’s not a great individual defender but he doesn’t have to be. As long as he puts effort on that end of the court, his physical attributes make him an elite defender. He’s also passing the ball more. Almost the perfect player right now, almost. Oh, he’s doing all of this as a 6’9, 270+ pound player and he’s only 24. Incredible.

The player that needs to step up for them is Daniel Gibson.

4) San Antonio: One great point that Simmons makes in his post and I will steal the stats for their MVP, obviously Duncan, is the consistency. Here’s this guy’s splits for his career:

Duncan (first three years): 22-12-3, 52 percent FG, missed eight games.
Duncan (next three years): 23-13-4, 51 percent FG, missed eight games.
Duncan (next three years): 21-12-3, 50 percent FG, missed 31 games.
Duncan (last three years): 20-11-3, 52 percent FG, missed five games.
Throw in the fact that he has also played 155 playoff games and averaged a 23-13-4 with 50 percent shooting, and plays defense at an All-NBA level. That’s ridiculous for a big man. Greatest power forward ever, sorry Malone and Barkley.

The player that needs to step up for them or really get healthy for them in this case is Ginobili.

5) Orlando Magic: Dwight Howard is similar to Lebron James in the fact that he is very good right now and has room to improve. If this guy learns some legit post up moves or some hooks, he’s averaging 28 and 15 for a season, those are Moses Malone and Abdul-Jabbar numbers, all-timers. Still needs to improve the free-throw shooting.

I like the Rafer Alston move to get some point guard play in there, it was needed but Rashard Lewis needs to start earning his max contract salary. I know that he made the All-Star team in the first half of the year but for Orlando to truly make a move towards reaching the finals, he needs to be that man.

6) Denver Nuggets: Tough choice between Carmelo and Billups but I will go with Anthony. Taking less shots this season but being more efficient, which can definitely be attributed to Chauncey. Anthony is also player harder on the defensive end this season which is an improvement. J.R. Smith is the true X-factor for this team.

7) New Orleans Hornets: I still have hope for my pick to win the NBA title to get their act together but I think that its over for these guys. Their most valuable player is Chris Paul, best point guard in the game. I said it from when this guy entered the league that he would be Isiah Thomas, but better and its coming up true. David West needs to return to his form from last year but the guy that really, really needs to step it up is Tyson Chandler, even though coming back to a team that literally traded you a few days ago must be awkward.

8) Dallas Mavs: Dirk is the man on this team and Josh Howard needs to find himself right now.

9) Portland Trail Blazers: Brandon Roy is the man on this team but I’m still unsure if he’s going to be the MAN on a title team. I see it with Lebron, Kobe, Paul, Dwight Howard, Duncan, Wade, Durant and even Derrick Rose. That’s my list. I hate doing it to the guy but Greg Oden has to be consistently on the floor to have an impact. I’m worried about the durability of this guy.

10) Houston Rockets: MVP has been Yao who has stayed surprisingly healthy. The guy who needs to step it up is Mr. New York Times magazine subject, Shane Battier. Its nice that the guy plays defense and all but he’s a complimentary part at best. You’re not going to win a championship because of him. However, the article was a good read, check it out:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/15/magazine/15Battier-t.html

11) Phoenix Suns: I still stand by my statement to not ever trade Amare Stoudemire. I guess he’s my MVP of this team even though Shaq has been good this year. This one hurts to say but the step-up guy is Steve Nash. I know, that’s bad but his defensive liabilities are really hurting this team. You know what, screw it, I’m switching it up. MVP is Nash and Stoudemire needs to take some ownership and step his game up, even though he’s hurt right now.

12) Utah Jazz: MVP is Deron Williams. Player who needs to step up is AK-47. Sometimes its that easy…

13) Philadelphia 76ers: …and sometimes it’s not. I got nothing for these guys. I guess the MVP is Iguodala and the player to step up is Louis Williams.

14) Detroit Pistons: For being the true professional on that team, the MVP is Rip Hamilton. I was strongly on the Rodney Stuckey train last season and earlier this season but he needs to step his game up.

15) Miami Heat: MVP is of course Wade. I told you this guy was going to come back with a vengeance this year. Marion was the easy pick to step it up until he got traded. I would have to say that I expected a little more from Michael Beasley at this stage but hope is not lost, he is still only a rookie.

16) Atlanta Hawks: Joe Johnson has been good for them this year. That’s the MVP for the team. I like Al Horford as well. Josh Smith constantly disappoints me and now that he earned his big contract, I’m more than a little worried about that dude.

17) New Jersey Nets: Devin Harris has been the MVP and Vince Carter has been surprisingly competent. The dude who needs to step up his game up is our boy from China, Yi Jianlian. You traded Richard Jefferson for this?

18) Chicago Bulls: MVP is Derrick Rose, who is going to look even better when he gets some good players around him. I disagreed with Simmons’ accessment of him not potentially having the look of a leader because of his quiet nature. Rose will be an All-Star and can lead a team to a title.

I didn’t get my analysis of the Bulls from Jonathan, my resident Bulls fan, but I hear him get mad most at Tyrus Thomas, Ben Gordon and Deng, in that order. So we will say that the player that needs to improve is Thomas.

19) New York Knicks: The MVP probably goes to David Lee, which I didn’t see when he got drafted out of Florida. He will be overpaid in two years, exciting stuff.

The problem with trying to see the overall talent of an individual on a Mike D’Antoni team is that the system makes everyone look better than they are. I mean, I like Nate Robinson and all, but there’s no way that dude should be scoring in the high 20’s in some games. Chris Duhon is the same way for me.

I guess I have to go with Eddy Curry as someone who needs to step up. I could go with Marbury, I could go with Al Harrington, I can go with Richardson, the choices are endless.

20) Milwaukee Bucks: Sad times for fans of this team. Everyone is hurt. I guess we can go with Richard Jefferson as the MVP. I would honestly like to see some more from Charlie Villanueva.

21) Indiana Pacers: Granger is MVP, Jamall Tinsley needs to be out of the league.

22) Minnesota Timberwolves: I’m giving the MVP to Al Jefferson even though he’s out for the rest of the year. I’ve been enjoying his development this year and he should have been a starter for the West in the All-Star game, let alone have to be an injury substitute to just make the team. Randy Foye has played well and I’ve been hard on him, so good for him. Don’t really have anyone who needs to step it up, no suggestions?

23) Charlotte Bobcats: I have nothing on these guys, I forget about their existence everyday I follow the league. Have to keep it honest.

24) The former Seattle Sonics: Watch out for these guys in two years if they find a way to keep Durant. He scores in multiple ways, rebounds and will develop the rest of his all-around game and defense in the next year or so. He should be a junior in college right now. He’s 20, scary stuff. I have no other player to step up.

25) Golden State Warriors: I like Andris Biedrins. That is all.

26) Toronto Raptors: MVP is Bosh, who you need to watch out for next year in his contract year. No way he stays in Toronto. Can we just outfit him for a Mavericks jersey right now or is it too soon.

27) LA Clippers: What a mess of a team. MVP I guess would be Al Thornton but that’s not really saying much. Obvious player that needs to step it up is Baron Davis. Need more production for that salary.

28) Memphis Grizzlies: MVP has actually been OJ Mayo, who should be at shooting guard but doing a solid job at point. Mike Conley needs to take charge of the pint position.

29) Washington Wizards: MVP is a game Caron Butler. We need Arenas to come back strong.

30) Sacramento Kings: Kevin Martin is MVP, nothing else.

That’s all until next week.

One Big Reflection

Some music that was actually done in the past six months! I always feel that my music choices are a little different but I heard this song on TV and features Keri Hilson, who I’m becoming a fan of. It also have our main man, Lil Wayne. I have no beef with the guy, I just am not a fan of all of his stuff. Good song though:



I was going to do my NBA Review tonight but its late and I would do an improper job of it. You will have to wait till the weekend for that post. I was also going to do some Random Observations and a Crush of the Day but those can wait.

The past week or so has been draining between work, non-work and school.

Work has been work. We hosted basketball contests on four consecutive days and that was more draining than I thought. I enjoy the activities, but during the final one on Monday night, all I was thinking about was going home and getting some sleep. Furthermore, I’m preparing for our baseball season and that means that this week has been long and the games haven’t even started yet.

Non-work has been busy too. I attended the Vandy vs. Kentucky contest yesterday night and actually worked it, check that, volunteered to assist with the operations. I don’t mind doing it, its my alma mater, I enjoy the games and the staff is great. I seriously considered not working last night because I was so drained from the last week or so. However, I didn’t because first, I made a commitment to be there and I have to honor that. Second, it was Vandy v. Kentucky, can’t miss that and third, Ashley, who I saw yesterday and she was once again spectacular.

BTW, if you don’t know who Ashley is, shame.

And then finally, I have school. I had class tonight and we had a quiz that I failed miserably. To keep it completely honest here on the Blog, I was so busy with other things that I didn’t even study for it. Furthermore, we were supposed to read a chapter from our text book and I didn’t even know we were supposed to do that because I didn’t look at the assignment. In my other class, I had to turn in an assignment tonight for it and have a quiz tomorrow that I probably won’t be prepared for because of preparing for baseball.

I also have meetings that I have to attend.

Even at last night’s game, I was talking with someone on Vandy’s staff and he asked me how I keep up this insane schedule. We talked and he was questioning our careers in media relations and I completely agreed with him. That made me think about this lifestyle that I’m living.

I don’t like it and I don’t love it but it’s fine. I will never dare say that I lead a tough life compared to others we can all think of in our own paths of life. Shoot, my two older brothers served in the military, Army represent, so I saw first-hand the commitment of a dedicated life. Worrying about media guides, studying for marketing quizzes or preparing walk-up music for baseball players is nothing compared to that stuff.

I enjoy some things that I do, but the grind of it all is mentally draining especially when they’re aren’t many other things going on. I usually wake up, work out, do my job, read some articles, blog here and go to bed.

I tell myself that all of these efforts are going towards something bigger but when I graduate from school in May and all of this stuff that I’m doing stops, what will the payoff be?

I really hope, honestly, I need for it to be a job in sports management that I can build on. No more internships, graduate assistantships, volunteer positions. I’ve done those for literally years and I’m over that. But that’s for another time.

Personally, I do all of this stuff and it does get lonely.

I see my friends and co-workers dating, going out, being social, getting married, buying homes, having children, doing things that I would like to do. I’ll tell you when the People’s Champion tells me he goes home and gets to play and hang out with my adopted nephew, it sounds like the best time and honestly, I’m jealous of that.

I see the pictures on Facebook. I hear other people’s stories. They are taking vacations in fun locations, enjoying life.

Heck, I was taking out the garbage tonight and ran into a next door neighbor I’ve never met before. She was tall, nice face, olive skin, tall, dark hair, gorgeous.

Of course, when I see her in the light, she’s pregnant and we’re talking and she talks about her husband and everything. Very nice personality and everything.

Frickin marriage and babies, I have to cross paths with that and I haven’t had a girlfriend, let alone a third date in years. I’m 27, I do think about this stuff, its only natural to wonder if I will ever have that in my life. Probably not. I know that I talk about your path, your journey, meaning that you shouldn't compare your life to anyone else's because you're different.

However, when there are so many people in your circle that are doing things that you would like to eventually have but you can't envision it happening, its not a good feeling at times. The loner/lone wolf lifestyle has its benefits but drawbacks as well.

OK, back to the subject at hand.

I like sports and want to keep it as a profession, but if it takes away from me being happy personally, then its not worth it. If I live like this in five years, I will probably be miserable.

I like being honest with myself and questioning things in my life. If you don’t question the job that you have, you’re doing a disservice to yourself. If you don’t think about your personal life like I’ve done above, you’re going to cheat yourself. Most importantly, if you’re not honest with your life, then you will not live a fulfilled one.

The solution to this may be for me to hit the bars or clubs, tear up the city and allow outside influences or substances help solve my problems. Done that in the past and I find that this masks my true feelings and not interested.

Maybe I should find a date and enjoy relations. Sure, that would be a fun time but that doesn’t happen in an instant. That has to take place over time.

The answer has developed over writing this post. The past few nights I haven’t had time to write and even tonight is not the best but I was going to be darned if I didn’t express myself.

In the end, I lead this lifestyle for several reasons:

1) This is something that I’ve wanted since 2005. When I was working at my old PR firm and handling accounts in the financial industry, I told myself that I was going to work in sports and bust my ass until I reached my goals.

2) Its fun. Its still sports. I have my ups and downs and moments when I want to get away from it but in the end, I’ve wanted to be a part of this industry since I was a little kid. It’s the only thing that has really held my interest. I know a lot about many things but sports motivates me.

3) Commitment. I’ve made commitments to my graduate school, current employers, coaches and honestly most importantly student-athletes to do my job to the best of my ability. One of my supervisors once told my grad school class in the fall of 2007 in a presentation that her ultimate job was to serve the student-athletes. This person has been at the forefront of college athletics nationally for many years and has tenure and clout to have any attitude that she wants. If she can still have that attitude after all of these years, I should have the same.

4) Mental toughness. Going through all of these things right now has made me mentally tougher.

This reminds me of what Bas Rutten, one of the best MMA fighters ever, says about the sport. He says that it’s 100% mental. What he means by that is that anyone can learn how to become a fighter physically and learn techniques, however, it takes someone mentally tough to prepare himself everyday and make the commitment to become a great fighter.

It’s the same for my job and really in life. Someone can learn how to do my job in two weeks, max. Its really not that hard physically to do. Skill is required but it’s the mental aspect that makes you a good sports professional.

Its working those four straight nights and not complaining about it. Its doing work early in the morning and late into the night and accepting the positive and negative aspects of it. Its studying for tests and quizzes on subjects that you may not hold interest in but you do it so that you can learn.

You notice that I haven’t written about Amber or Joan or a lot of other minor things that occupied my life in the past. I still think about them at times but it doesn’t help me mentally seek my peace so I move on.

5) I’m good at it. The key is now finding the thing that best shows my skills. Also, its not about the money. I work in sports and I’m not going to make a lot of it, especially in this economy. I gave up becoming a millionaire in this industry a long time ago so the finances aren’t a motivation for me. If the money comes, that would be great.

OK, that was a lot to write and for you to read. Thanks for letting me get some stuff out there. I’ve been trying to do stuff on more general topics and not get personal but I had to get this out there.

Have a good fight and restful night.

Sunday Reflections (on a Monday)

Its time for those Sunday Reflections (on a Monday):

Some Minus the Bear, excellent song:



Crush of the Day: Padma Lakshmi



All of you Top Chef fans out there know what I’m talking about.

-I intentionally didn’t do Reflections yesterday because I wanted everyone to have a chance to read my post on Valentine’s Day.

The reactions to it are what I expected. However, I did make an error in one thing.

I shouldn’t have lumped Valentine’s Day and weddings.

I can comprehend someone wanting to have their wedding be special. Hopefully,you’re your only one and it should be a nice day. Most people just seem to go overboard with trying to make their weddings perfect, spend a lot of money and lose focus on the true meaning of the event. Honestly, the cost of your dress, floral arrangement, decorations, food, etc. shouldn’t be an indicator of how much you really want to marry someone.

I still stand by my statement however that if a woman tells me that her ultimate dream is to be married and have a lavish wedding, I would run away.

However, in the end, if you want to spend money that you can put towards buying a house, starting a college fund for your future children or anything economically feasible to start your marriage so that you can spend six figures to make sure that you have the right music or right type of china for the guests who will not care in six months, go right ahead.

Nothing says love and marriage like starting off your union in thousands and thousands of dollars in debt. Good luck with that.

Oh, and if you have a wedding with either of these things:

1) Cash bar
2) No alcohol

You shouldn’t be allowed to have a holy union.

Anyway, had to say that about weddings. I really don’t care how some of you want to have that special day. It really doesn’t mean much to me, I probably won’t get married or maybe I will, whatever, lets move on.

-I still stand by my thoughts on Valentine’s Day though. Its one day out of hundreds. If you need a made up “holiday” to do something nice for your significant other, you suck as a boyfriend/girlfriend/mistress/husband/wife/jump off/friend with benefits and you should be ashamed of yourself.

-To prove several things:

1) I have a shocking amount of free time in my life
2) I love reading about all sports
3) My need to know something about everything.

Here’s an article I read about Kim Bain, the first woman to participate in the 2009 Bassmasters Classic: http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/tournaments/classic/news/story?id=3909321

The fact that I could name Kevin VanDam and Michael Iaconelli as former champions without looking it up is kinda cool and kinda sad.

-I’m catching up on my General Hospital right now and liking it. This drama with the poison and blowing up the hospital has given the show new life.

-Looking forward to Vandy vs. Kentucky tomorrow. Hopefully I can see you know who…

Have a good night and get some sleep out there.

My thoughts on Valentine's Day

First, I was going to do my Crush of the Day on an athlete, but since it’s Valentine’s Day weekend, I have to go with my Ultimate Crush, Ashley Judd.



She will always be #1 on whatever list I have. That’s why I had to retire her from my top-five and make her a general manager to give some other women a chance. Hopefully, I will see her Tuesday night when Kentucky plays Vandy in men’s basketball.

OK, now that’s done, its time for my thoughts on Valentine’s Day.

For those of you who have read my Blog in the past, you would probably think that I would have a negative opinion of the “holiday,” and you would be right, sorta.

Tonight, there is a mixed martial arts event taking place in Nashville. I won’t be at it because I have to work, but a radio show that I listen to has been giving away free tickets to callers. However, since the event takes place on Valentine’s Day, some of the guys have said they can’t go and sound like pussy…cats when saying they can’t go. These events don’t happen everyday, they only happen every four or five months.

First, I’ve never had a girlfriend/wife/mistress/jump off/cuddle buddy/friend with benefits on Valentine’s Day. I’ve never had to deal with the issues of spending time with a significant other or buying them a gift, which I guess can be a good thing.

I remember back in high school when I was single and had to go to school on a Valentine’s Day. It felt like the longest day of the year for me. On the train ride back home, I felt so sad and when I finally got home, I started to cry because no one wanted to date me.

Since that time, I’ve moved on but those emotions don’t go away completely.

Now, I realize that this day is really more of a corporate development to make money. It truly is a “fake” holiday. Flower companies, card companies, candy makers and a few more places profit directly. Oh, restaurants do good as well.

However, I’ve always felt, as a man, that if you were dating someone and you only show your affection and appreciation for them on Valentine’s Day, you are not doing your job.

You should show your love for the significant other in your life everyday. Whether its telling them that you love them, give them a hug, hold hands, listen when they are expressing their feelings to you, make love with them, spending time with them in general.

If you base your relationship on only doing good things for your partner on the landmark days like birthdays, anniversaries, Valentine’s Day, etc. Your relationship is either not going to last or is not sturdy to last through the tough times.

From the other prospective, if you’re a woman or really anyone in a relationship for that matter, you should demand more from your significant other then some gifts and a night out on the town only one day a year.

I would actually kinda be insulted if my girlfriend only showed affection towards me on Valentine’s Day with some candy and a card. Actually, I love candy, especially chocolate. If you don’t think that I’ve purchased heart-shaped candy only to eat it myself, well, grasshopper, you don’t even know.

OK, back to the main point. If I met a woman who was really into Valentine’s Day or even her wedding for that matter, then we probably won’t work out in the long run.

I was telling a friend yesterday that the worst thing that I can hear a woman say is that she is most looking forward to her wedding or Valentine’s Day, two materialistic moments in your life that mean nothing. Ladies, don’t do that.

I’ve relatively low-maintenance with this type of stuff in my life. I think that just listening to my girlfriend or telling her that I care about her is a lot more affectionate then getting her some jewelery or flowers. I do like to give gifts as well, actually more than receiving them, but those material things don’t express my feelings towards my girlfriend.

So while I used to be bitter about Valentine’s Day, to the point that I called it “V-Day,” and I know I’m not the only one who tried that method, I’ve come around on it because it does promote love, granted in a commercial, capitalist angle. People are expressing love to each other, which is good.

And that brings me to my final point on this post in relation to the MMA fight. If you’re a guy and handling your business on a daily basis with your significant other, you can tell her that tonight isn’t going to work because of the fights but we can do something tomorrow or even another time. She would understand and you can enjoy the MMA event. Shoot, she may even be down with attending the event with you and if that’s the case, you need to either marry her or get engaged.

However, if you can’t go to the event because you have to do Valentine’s Day stuff, that’s a shame on you moment.

I leave you with something from Love Jones, a very good movie that I haven’t seen in a long time. Fellas, poetry and music written by you about a lady is a great way to get in there. This is a prime example:

That is all.

MMA Review

Hey everyone, this week’s edition of MMA Review will be pretty much me hitting on some topics in ramblings. Lets do it.

-The big story of the week was the purchase of EliteXC by Strikeforce. This is great news for the entire industry of MMA.

For us fans, we get to see more fights. I like the UFC just as much as everyone, but I want to see as many fights as possible because I love the sport. Furthermore, Strikeforce is a well-run organization that knows how to manage their product.

For the fighters, this is great because they now have more opportunities to fight and improve their craft. Plus, more paychecks, which I’m sure they’re happy about that.

For the industry itself, the exposure is going to be good, especially on CBS. Strikeforce will make MMA look good on TV from a production standpoint, and that’s nice.

-With the new deal, we get to see fighters like Robbie Lawler, Scott Smith, Kimbo Slice, Gina Carano and others.

Now we will see Frank Shamrock vs. Nick Diaz, Gilbert Melendez, and even KJ Noons vs. Josh Thompson on a card in April.

Finally, the two biggest names of EliteXC were Kimbo Slice and Gina Carano.

I’m mixed on Kimbo. As a more than moderate fan of the sport, I see the lack of skills that Kimbo has and see him as an attraction more than as a fighter. However, I want more people to see the sport and Kimbo does attract an audience so he’s good for that part.

Gina is fine too and I’m not just talking about her looks. She’s a good fighter and I want to see her face Cyborg. It needs to happen.

-Finally caught some highlights of UFC Fight Night 17, which took place last Saturday.

Joe Lauzon looked good in his submission in the main event. I liked what I saw once again from Cain Velasquez. He wasn’t overly impressive but you can see his growth. He’s going to contend for a heavyweight title in two years. Josh Neer got a solid win over Mac Danzig. Finally, Anthony Johnson looked solid in his win over Luigi Fioravanti with a first round TKO.

-Look out for the UFC 97 card in Montreal possibly not happening because of some new fighting rules by the Quebec Boxing Commission. More on this in another post

-I guess the whole Vasoline controversy from the GSP vs. BJ Penn fight has brought out something positive in relation to the sturdier regulations on contact with a fighter between rounds. Anything to make the sport more competent and legitimate is fine by me.

That’s it. As always, have a good fight and a good day.

Random Observations: A snow globe, really?

This is going to be quick because its bedtime and I need my sleep.

I felt like listening to some Primus tonight after a long day and preparing for an even longer stretch, but its fun stuff.



1) I was speaking with the Peoples’ Champion about a week ago and we talked about how much we enjoyed the old VH1 show, Pop Up Video.

For you youngins out there, this show would show a music video, yes, VH1 showing music videos, shocking. Anyway, while the video was playing, you would get info about the artist, the actual shoot, people in the video, etc.

An example is below and sorry in advance that its’ Rick Astley. It was the only version I could find on YouTube. Just play it for a minute on mute and you would get an idea of what I’m talking about.



Well, I would actually look forward to this program and I guess its on VH1 Classic now, but that doesn’t do it for me.

2) I’ve been hesitant to comment on this whole Chris Brown and Rihanna situation, but as a man, there isn’t an excuse to lay hands on a woman. You just can’t do it.

A friend of mine was making an argument today that if I was with someone and she kept hitting me everyday and was pushing me in the face constantly, that one day I would snap and respond physically. She then proceeded to tell me that she once threw a snow globe at a boyfriend’s head because he was giving her trouble.

First, a snow globe? That’s old-school, some Citizen Kane-type stuff. Second, if I was with someone that was physically confronting me everyday like that, it would be over very, very soon so that I wouldn’t put myself in the position to potentially harm.

We know nothing of the situation, so I’m going to reserve my final judgements for another time.

That’s it. Told you it would be short. MMA Review tomorrow with a Crush of the Day who relates to athletics. Later.

NBA Review Debuts!!

Finally, the NBA Review has been launched!

Some music from Waldeck, here’s Floater:



I’ve been beating myself about how to approach this but I think that I’ll do a Power Ranking and through that, I should hit on all of my points.

These posts will be for the novice follower of the NBA and the diehards like me. However, I know the readership leans more towards the former, so if I make simple points like LeBron James will be a free agent in two years or Derrick Rose is really good, its for the less educated of the NBA.

First, some Random Thoughts:

-The All-Star game is fine the way it is. Its entertainment. Keep the contests, the rookie game, all of it. If anything, condense Friday and Saturday to one day. Have the rookie game in the early afternoon and the contest that night, preferably on Saturday. Other than that, keep it.

-I thoroughly enjoyed the Kenny Smith vs. Gary Payton argument regarding All-Star selections. I get that you should reward players on winning teams but if someone is playing at an All-Star level on a losing team, they deserve it as well.

In this case, Al Jefferson should have been on the All-Star team before Pau Gasol or David West. However, if you wanted to argue Mo Williams over Devin Harris, I can understand it. Personally, I would have taken Mo over Jameer Nelson and kept Harris on the East squad.

-The unofficial/official courting of LeBron James to the Knicks is bad and I’m a Knicks fan.

When you have Nike’s t-shirt company producing blue and orange colored shirts talking about Lebron in 2010 and selling them, that’s bad. I’ve always thought that the rumors of Nike offering LeBron $50 million to sign with New York was not true but you see stuff like that and it makes you wonder…

1) Los Angeles Lakers: They’re the best team in the NBA right now. That doesn’t mean that they’re going to win a title. Bynum is such a major component to their team, especially on defense. Its nice for Kobe to score all of those points but its been the defense of the Lakers in the past that has messed them up in the playoffs. Now we get to see the Kobe show and him taking a bunch of shots and not passing to his teammates. However, Gasol and especially Odom have been playing out of their minds lately, so this helps as well. If Odom played like he did against Cleveland on Sunday on a consistent basis, then its over for the rest of the league.

2) Boston Celtics: They’re still the champions and the best team in the East. The two main differences from last season to this season for this team is both a good and bad thing. The good difference has been the play of Rondo at the point. He’s turned into an All-Star level player and this will help them. The bad difference is a weaker bench. Losing Posey to New Orleans and PJ Brown to assumed retirement hurts them. The bench, consisting of Eddie House, Leon Powe and Glen Davis is doing OK now but watch them in the playoffs. Also, Doc Rivers needs to watch the minutes of the Big Three, those are old legs.

3) Cleveland Cavs: I really like this team, especially with Mo Williams. Too bad Michael Redd tore his knee up because I seriously think that he would have gone to the Cavs and Cleveland would have celebrated their first team title in a long time. However, they will work with what they have, which isn’t bad. Lebron James is your mid-season MVP, they play defense and are finally starting to score. I didn’t like seeing the inside scoring against them on Sunday when they have Ben Wallace and some other decent inside defenders.

4) San Antonio: Just when you think that they’re out, they make their way back in. They are dangerous now more than ever because they finally have some other guys that are making contributions besides their own Big Three. Roger Mason, Jr. and George Hill are giving them something. The only problem with them is that Bruce Bowen is done and their bench is a little thin for my liking to compete for a title. I think that the Lakers wear them down in a playoff series.

5) Orlando Magic: Even before Nelson went down with the season-ender I was unsure about these guys. Dwight Howard is nice but I don’t like a team that shoots too many perimeter shots. They hit most of them but that shooting can get cold in a hurry in a playoff series. While its good to see College of Charleston legend Anthony Johnson playing more minutes at point, that’s not good for making a title run.

6) Denver Nuggets: The Chauncey Billups trade was tremendous for them. They finally had a leader at the point who would get the ball in the right places and at least attempt to play some defense. Carmelo Anthony continued his growth into an elite player pre-broken hand and should round into form at the right time. Two, actually make that three things worry me about them. First, you don’t know which J.R. Smith will show up. Second, George Karl seems too unsteady for me and third, most importantly, I don’t know if they play enough defense to sustain an elite level of play.

7) New Orleans Hornets: My preseason NBA Champions have had a decent season but more has been expected. Chris Paul is still playing at an elite level, but there has been a slight drop off from the rest of the team, especially Tyson Chandler. Also, the injury bug has caught these guys. They are still going to be heard from.

8) Dallas Mavs: Still disliked the Kidd for Devin Harris trade, even when it happened. Rick Carlisle has done a decent job and it was good to read that he has stopped micromanaging the games and let Kidd run the offense. The dude is a future Hall of Famer, he can handle it. Jason Terry breaking his hand is bad news for these guys.

A slight side note. I’m shocked that more guys don’t injure themselves, especially in the hand area.

9) Portland Trail Blazers: Wow, aren’t we on a run of West teams. My friend Jonathan, one of the only guys I knows that follows the NBA more than I do, said that this is his sleeper team to cause damage in the postseason. I like that call. I just don’t think that they are ready to make that leap to a conference finals. Roy has become the alpha dog on that team, which is good because Portland seemed like it could turn into one of those teams where they have a lot of good role guys but you need that one superstar to get to the next level. Greg Oden is trying and I see moments of potential but this is looking like a potentially bad pick and I feel bad saying that half a year into his career and especially after he lost his entire first season. I’m going to give him more time.

10) Houston Rockets: They just can’t stay on the court because of injuries and are still in the playoffs. Adelman deserves some Coach of the Year votes. You would think that Yao Ming would be the one missing a lot of time but he’s been there the whole season. Tracy McGrady, the injuries have just slowed him down and he’s playing a lot older than he is.

11) Phoenix Suns: Don’t trade Amare Stoudemire. I know that he can be a pain and doesn’t play defense like he should but you don’t trade away a 26-year old stud like him. Shaq, Grant Hill and Steve Nash are going to be gone from the team in two seasons, so don’t try to blow things up for a moment now when it will screw you over later.

12) Utah Jazz: Deron Williams is back and doing his thing. Will it be enough to make the playoffs, I don’t know. If I had to choose now, I would say yes and the Mavs would be out at the end of the season. They have an interesting decision to make over Boozer vs. Paul Millsap this offseason. I say go with youth and let Boozer opt out and take his injury-prone skills to another place.

13) Philadelphia 76ers: Finally, an Eastern conference team. The Elton Brand injury is tough but it does allow the team to truly start running and gunning, which won’t get you much accept maybe the fourth seed in the playoffs, not so bad. Plus, whenever I get to see the Dalembeast in action, good times!

14) Detroit Pistons: Wow, I have 13 teams above Detroit. That’s strange to see but those are the breaks. I get the Iverson trade but Stuckey has let them down some this season at guard. Rip coming off the bench is the nice team thing to do but really, Iverson is the one who needs to do it.

15) Miami Heat: It was between them and Atlanta for this spot but I’m going with the team with the best player. Wade has been playing at an MVP level but the rest leaves some desiring. Chalmers has been a nice emergence at point guard. Beasley is a rookie and playing like one. The enigma that is Shawn Marion is doing what he does and all signs point to a departure at the end of the season.

16) Atlanta Hawks: Such a hard team to figure out. Marvin Williams is playing better but still doesn’t make up for not picking Chris Paul. That moment made me stop following the Hawks every day. Then when they took Mr. Candice Parker with the fifth pick over Brandon Roy and Randy Foye, I stopped being a fan. That type of ineptitude was not going to be cosigned by me.

17) New Jersey Nets: Devin Harris has been excellent and Vince Carter seems to care again, good for you Vinnie, but the rest is eh. They would be a fun team in the playoffs.

18) Chicago Bulls: I’m going to try to get the biggest Bulls fan that I know, Jonathan, to give his thoughts on the team in this forum every week, but not this one. Derrick Rose is legit and Tyrus Thomas is slowly playing to his potential. The rest of the team is a mismatch of parts.

19) New York Knicks: This past week was embarrassing for a team that I’m a fan of. Letting Kobe get 61 was awful. At least foul the guy, send a message. Lebron going for 51 and his almost triple-double was bad but I wasn’t completely peeved over it because it seemed like the team was trying some. I like Mike D’Antoni and his system. Its going to be a long process.

20) Milwaukee Bucks: Redd’s injury is devastating. Losing Bogut and Ridnour for an extended period is just torturous for that team.

21) Indiana Pacers: Danny Granger is nice, Dunleavy is solid when healthy, the rest is the rest.

22) Minnesota Timberwolves: Would be much higher if Jefferson didn’t tear his knee up. Hearing that news hurt because it was good seeing him develop into a true low-post beast this season. At least they will see what they have in Kevin Love.

23) Charlotte Bobcats: Just moved Morrison and apparently Felton is on the trading block as well to give Augustein some PT.

24) The former Seattle Sonics: Yes, I’m going there. Durant is putting up some impressive numbers but getting Westbrook and Green going is of importance as well or losing some more games to be in the Blake Griffin Sweepstakes, whichever suits them I guess.

25) Golden State Warriors: Good to see Monta Ellis playing again after Moded-gate. The lesson as always, beware of all forms of transportation.

26) Toronto Raptors: Complete mess and now Bosh hurt his knee.

27) LA Clippers: If Toronto is a mess then the Clippers are an f’n debacle. Bad contracts, hurt veterans, bad ownership, not ready for primetime youngsters, worst coaching job in the NBA this season, irritated to the point of revolt fan base, wow, not fun.

28) Memphis Grizzlies: They deserve their own post for the ineptitude they’ve shown the past two years. Mayo has been good at point but he shouldn’t even have to play there if Conley was playing like he’s supposed to. The whole future of that franchise is on Conley.

29) Washington Wizards: Injuries have just dismantled this team. Arenas’ knee will never be right.

30) Sacramento Kings: Trade everyone not named Kevin Martin.

That’s all, I don’t know if this format will stay, but it’s a start. What do you guys think?

Random Observations: My Boys Won A Grammy! and a Crush of the Day

Time for some Random Observations and a Crush of the Day…

1) MY BOYS WON A GRAMMY!! My boys The Mars Volta actually won a Grammy yesterday for Best Hard Rock Performance.

The video of the winning song, Wax Simulacra, would be embedded here but its copyrighted. Here’s a link to the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZwFycBgUpI

But, you need some Volta in your life so here’s the first concert that I saw them perform and made me a lifetime fan.



Actually, I go back to the late 1990’s with these guys when Omar and Cedric, the two members of the Mars Volta were in At the Drive In, their old band. I got into that group while in college and just followed the progression.

I was talking to Kenisha about this band and I told her that they’re probably one of the most talented musical acts out there today and probably that I’ve ever heard but they don’t want to be famous.

They’re music is definitely out there and it really takes even me, a devout fan, several listens to their songs and albums to truly appreciate the work.

To me, they’re the culmination of the modern music fan. They’re Latin, so they have those roots within their music. They’re the type of guys who were listening to the Yes and Genesis albums one day and the Black Flag and Fugazi albums the next.

Its so hard to describe their music and I feared that they would never be understood.

So for me to see them win a Grammy is pretty spectacular, but I know that it won’t really change the makeup of the group and I like that.

Part of me doesn’t want them to become famous like a Coldplay, and no disrespect to those guys but that was the only comparable example I could come up with right now.

Actually, I can do better. Its like old Metallica fans.

Metallica was probably the best American band of the 1980’s but didn’t get the mainstream recognition. Kill Them All, Master of Puppets, Ride the Lightening, all classics released in that decade. It wasn’t until …And Justice for All and particularly the One video when they were even getting airplay on MTV.

However, they hit the big-time with the Black Album and that pushed them into the mainstream. They increased their audience greatly and solds lots of records and gained new fans like me.

For a while, I only knew of the Black Album because at that time, I was a teenager. It wasn’t until later that I got the older stuff and actually liked that more. I also understood how the older fans felt like their baby had “sold out” and had grown up to move away from them and to the masses.

As a Volta fan, I’m at my …And Justice for All stage and kinda take it personal when people are going on message boards and on YouTube now and talking crap about them for winning a Grammy over Motley Crue, Rob Zombie and others.

I feel that unless you take the time to try to like them, don’t say anything about them.

But I think Omar and Cedric work on their own time and won’t ever become a household name. Heck, Wax isn’t even on a top-five for their best songs ever and the album the song came off of, The Bedlam of Goliath, isn’t their best album.

OK, best albums in order are:

1) De-Loused in the Comatorium
2) Frances the Mute
3) Bedlam
4) Amputechture

I’ll hit the songs on another day, but thanks for reading that rant and congrats to them.

2) Crush of the Day: Olivia Wilde.



Darn President Obama had to get his business done on prime-time and that cost us an episode of House with the lovely Olivia Wilde.

We all remember her on the O.C. playing Alex Kelly. She was fun on that show and has pulled off the brunette look currently with ease.

Shocked to learn that she’s only 24 and been married for five years to, according to Wiki, an Italian-American, documentary filmmaker, photographer and flamenco guitar player. Does the dude fight bulls, fix cars, skydive, paint, write or is a personal trainer also. That’s tough to compete with. He can take your picture and play a song for you all in the same night.

Looks like I need to learn guitar to keep up.

3) General Hospital has been strong. I know that none of you watch General Hospital but I was able to catch up on the last two weeks this weekend and my goodness, the drama is back.

The whole chemical toxins in the hospital has added an element of excitement to the show that has been missing. Patrick Drake has been stepping his acting game up big-time and has been brilliant. I like how everyone on the show, even the Quartermaines, are being involved prominently in the show.

BTW, GH writers, don’t forget about the Quartermaines, please include them in more scenes.

4) 25 Random Things in Facebook. If you have Facebook, you have been tagged by one of your friends in this 25 Random Things thread.

I find it annoying in a way because I really don’t want to know much about other people but darn it if I don’t see the list that people put up. I actually get to see the psyche of an individual.

Some mention stuff that is too much like where they’ve had sex. Some talk way too much about their boyfriends/girlfriends.

IF YOU’RE A SINGLE PERSON LIKE ME, YOU DON’T CARE ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S RELATIONSHIPS.

The most insulting one that I saw was one where an old college friend did her’s with her husband, how disgusting.

I guess since I have a Blog, I find no usage for the 25 Random Things but if you need a voice to express yourself, then good for you I guess.

That’s all, good fight and good night.

That Sports Broadcaster was ranked where?!?

You know that music is coming. Some Thievery Corporation:



The American Sportscaster’s Association released their group of the 50 Greatest Announcers of all-time in early January. I’ve been meaning to get to this list for a while but now have time to check it out.

OK, here’s the entire list with my thoughts afterwards:

1. Vin Scully

2. Mel Allen

3. Red Barber

4. Curt Gowdy

5. Howard Cosell

6. Bob Costas

7. Jim McKay

8. Keith Jackson

9. Al Michaels

10. Dick Enberg

11. Jack Buck

12. Ted Husing

13. Jack Brickhouse

14. Don Dunphy

15. Graham McNamee

16. Ernie Harwell

17. Marv Albert

18. Harry Caray

19. Jon Miller

20. Bill Stern

21. Chick Hearn

22. Marty Glickman

23. Jack Whitaker

24. Jim Nantz

25. Chris Schenkel

26. Lindsey Nelson

27. Russ Hodges

28. Ray Scott

29. John Madden

30. Bob Prince

31. Joe Buck

32. Milo Hamilton

33. Bob Wolff

34. Chuck Thompson

35. Chris Berman

36. Phil Rizzuto

37. Marty Brennaman

38. Clem McCarthy

39. Bill Walton

40. Foster Hewitt

41. Harry Kalas

42. Johnny Most

43. Bob Elson

44. Brent Musberger

45. Pat Summerall

46. Merle Harmon

47. Dick Vitale

48. Dick Stockton

49. Tony Kubek

50. Bud Collins

Runners up: Terry Bradshaw, James Brown, Andres Cantor, Skip Caray, Gary Cohen, Don Criqui, Jimmy Dudley, Joe Garagiola, Frank Gifford, Greg Gumbel, Tom Hammond, Sonny Hill, Ned Jarrett, Jaime Jarrin (pictured right), Charlie Jones, Bill King, Jim Lampley, Cawood Ledford, Verne Lundquist, Tim McCarver, Joe Morgan, Bob Murphy, Van Patrick, Herb Score, Jim Simpson, Bob Uecker and Ken Venturi.
Let’s get to it:

-If I had to include some of the runner-ups into the top-50, it would be Gary Cohen, Ned Jarrett (seriously), Jim Lampley, Verne Lundquist (an absolute travesty he’s not in the top-50) and Bob Murphy (Mets represent!).

Also, Joe Morgan (just kidding Meggie)

One guy who isn’t even mentioned, Jim Ross, should be included. For that matter, even Gordon Solie, no joke. I know that professional wrestling is “staged” (btw, its real and not fake), but I look at it as a sport and those announcers are significant and both of those guys were/still are great.

-No beefs with the top-10. Vin Scully is like Ric Flair for professional wrestling. If anyone argues that he isn’t the GOAT of his industry, that person might be hanging out with Michael Phelps in dorm rooms.

I personally think that Howard Cosell was overrated and tried to make himself the star of the show when we are there to see the athletes compete. I call this “Chirs Berman-itis” (trust me, I’ll get to Mr. back…back…back…back…)

I was around two or three when Cosell died so I really didn’t see him in his prime but I just don’t get the appeal that he had. I will say this, I respect the versatility of his craft which brings me to my next point…

-I would move Costas, McKay, Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, Dick Enberg and Jack Buck ahead of Cosell

I’m not the biggest Costas fan but I respect his craft.

Jim McKay is the GOAT when it comes to studio hosts. His work in the Olympics and Wide World of Sports is tremendous. Auto racing, covered the Indy 500. Horse racing, covered the Kentucky Derby. The man did it all in our industry. Watch his HBO special about his career, seriously. If you’re not emotional by the end of it, you must be a cold-blooded soul.

If you want more of a feeling on my opinions of Mr. McKay, read my post after his death: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/06/jim-mckay.html

Keith Jackson, that dude worked basketball contests, Olympics, I’ve heard the man do frickin speed skating play-by-play. Ridiculous. And of course, the true voice of college football. Still miss him in the booth since he retired.

Dick Enberg, you want to talk about versatility. Basketball, check. Football, check. Baseball, check. If I’m watching Wimbledon and I don’t hear his voice, it just isn’t right, so tennis, check. I’ve even heard the man do golf.

Jack Buck deserves to crack the top-10 because he had the consistency of excellence in one craft, similar to Scully. Buck is St. Louis Cardinals baseball and voiced over generations of fans in the Midwest. He also worked football games as well, respect for that.

-Overall, the top-10 has a Northeastern feel, especially with Mel Allen, Red Barber and Curt Gowdy, who each spent prominent parts of their careers in New York and Boston respectively.

-I’m showing my young age and ashamed of my lack of knowledge when I must tell you that I’ve never heard of Ted Husing, Don Dunphy and Graham McNamee until this list. Being honest with you.

-The rest of the top-20 is solid as well. I would place Marv Albert above Ernie Harwell, but that’s really picking straws. I know Harwell more for his work with the Detroit Tigers and Marv was a bigger part of my sports life, growing up in the NYC and seeing him do Knicks and New York Rangers games.

Plus, “yes, and it counts” is a fun thing to say in your best Marv voice.

I was surprised to see Jon Miller listed as highly and that was a pleasant read. Bill Stern, I’m a little less familiar with him.

Finally, we get to Harry Caray, truly the most OVERRATED SPORTS BROADCASTER IN THE HISTORY OF SPORTS!!!!!!

This guy was horrible and got by on image. I know you northsiders in Cubs land are mad (Meggie, don’t hurt me) but I would watch games on WGN and not get this guy at all. He would mispronounce names, screw up plays, talk in an irritating voice, awful to listen to.

I’m sure back in the day he was a good broadcaster but because you sing a song badly in the middle of the seventh inning, wear goofy glasses and sound like a buffoon doesn’t make you iconic. It makes you sound like a bad announcer.

-On to the next 10, Chick Hearn was hit or miss for me, respect the longevity. Marty Glickman is definitely regional. If you’re from New York, this man is a legend but if you’re not from there, you are probably like me with Husing, Donphy and McNamee.

I thought that Jim Nantz and John Madden would be a little higher.

Nantz gets credit for his versatility and he actually gets me interested in golf. Madden really gave the color man a personality, which was unique for his time.

-JOE BUCK SHOULDN’T EVEN BE ON THIS LIST!!!!!!

He is the worst current mainstream broadcaster on TV today. I actually put the game on mute when I hear that he is doing the contest.

His depressing commentaries make me not like sports. I’m not saying you have to have fake excitement like Dick Vitale but Jesus Christmas, sound like you’re happy to do the game.

Does he own some scandalous photos of Fox Sports executives because everytime I turn on that station, I have to hear his crappy butt. Super Bowl, Joe Buck. World Series, Joe Buck.

Its to the point that when I heard that he will have a show on HBO to replace Costas Now, I was visibly mad and it irritated me for an hour or so.

He always has to act like he’s better than everyone else and treats Troy Aikman like he’s just some other guy and not his broadcast. His whole “I’m Joe Buck and that’s Troy Aikman” line is insulting.

He always has to put his opinion in on a situation and act like he’s insulted half the time. His reaction to Randy Moss scoring a touchdown against the Packers and fake pulling his pants down represents all that I dislike about Buck.

He is the worst case of nepotism I’ve ever seen in sports. I really, really, really can’t stand that guy. Let’s just move on.

-If I’m going to rip into Joe Buck, Chris Berman deserves the same.

I’m not going to lie, I used to be a fan of Berman when I was younger. I enjoyed the energy, the catch phrases, the nicknames, all of them. I especially enjoyed NFL Live with him and Tom Jackson.

However, when you use the same routine for darn near close to 30-plus years, its gets annoying.

The main difference between him and Buck is that I think that Berman gets that he’s an act, so I’m not going to be as hard on him but in the end, I wouldn’t have included Berman on the list, especially his place within it.

-Phil Rizzuto was like Harry Caray-light for followers of the Yankees. He was OK in small doses.

-Bill Walton, you have got to be kidding me.

-Its darn near criminal that Walton and Berman are above the following people:

Brent Musberger. “You’re looking live…” Brent is a legend who has done all of the sports.

Pat Summerall. Another legend who has worked many different sports but I can kinda understand how his understated style may not be for everyone.

Dick Stockton. Professional announcer.

Tony Kubek and Bud Collins. Kubek was an excellent baseball announcer on NBC for many years, no idea why he stopped doing games. Well, just did a search on Wiki and he just got tired of where the game was heading. I get that.

Bud Collins is the man I associate most with tennis coverage.

-It would be like beating up on a dead horse, but I’m not going to go into how I’m not a fan of Dick Vitale. It gets annoying.

I will say that I can see him making the list because love him or hate him, he has had an impact on college basketball broadcasting and he is a draw.

Those are my opinions. I know that the list says “Greatest” but I think it leaned towards “Significant” or “Impactful.” The inclusion of Vitale, Berman and even Madden showed this.

I want to hear your opinions of this in the comments section. I know that you have an opinion on this subject, even if you disagree with me, that’s even better. Lets get some dialogue going.

Sunday Reflections- Sports Edition

Time for those Sunday Reflections, sports edition:

The music for tonight will be of Alison Krauss with Union Station. I like her with Robert Plant but when I think of Alison, I always think of her with Union Station. Love her.




-Once again, sorry that I haven’t hit you with two long, overdue posts. Life happens, what can you do.

On Monday, I will hit you with my thoughts on a list of the greatest sportscasters.

On Tuesday, the normal slot for the NBA Review will take place.

OK, those housekeeping issues are done.

-So Michael Phelps wants to smoke the weed. First reaction was me calling him a dumb ass because he got caught doing that. Dude, you’re a celebrity and going to get caught, especially in these times of camera phones, gossip attention, etc.

If you’re one of his handlers, you have to warn him about that.

I have no problem with him smoking marijuana. I’ve done it in the past. It would be incredibly naïve and hypocritical of me to critique the guy for doing it. Personally, the drug should be legalized but that argument doesn’t apply to this case. We have to work with the current rules.

I understand if a sponsor like Kellog drops him because that’s the company’s priority. If I ran a company and someone that I paid to be a sponsor was arrested or was acting in something I felt was detrimental to my company, I would drop them.

Standards for each company may be different. For some, curing at a kid or having an affair would be bad. For others, marijuana may actually be a minor offence and even applauded by executives for bringing attention to the company. Each company operates under its own standards and whatever it decides to do shouldn’t be criticized.

I also understand why US Swimming is suspended him for three or four months, which is funny because I don’t even think Phelps was planning to swim competitively in the next few months anyway.

Phelps already did his public apology and we will forget about this in about a month or two.

I’ve actually been surprised by how many people have actually supported him. This type of situation is always a prime time for the soapbox people to talk about how he’s a bad role model, this is bad for society, think of the children, all of that crap.

BTW, the “think of the children” people may annoy me more than anyone else ever.

-Good job Alex Rodriguez, that was awesome.

If you thought you were disliked in the past, you are probably not going to go to the Hall of Fame right now.

Its getting to the point where you have to just say that pretty much every ballplayer from that era must be put into question.

We’re already seeing the effect of the “steroid era” in Hall of Fame voting. Jim Rice doesn’t get in without the issues of Palmiero, Sammy Sosa, Mark McGuire, etc.

Rice’s numbers now look even better.

Anyway, back to Alex. If I’m him, I would be pissed at the Players’ Union. How do you let those drug testing results get out to the public? You have, have, have to destroy the results of those tests the moment it was taken.

Not that Alex should play the victim card, but that’s a bad job by his union.

Oh, it gets better. Apparently, players were getting tipped off when the testing was taking place. Nice.

They’re going to just have to do this Olympics-sports style or combat sports and have a third-party conduct the test because MLB can’t handle it.

More analysis of this will come over time from me.

-Went to a Predators contest on Thursday and enjoyed myself. Hockey live is a fun event and I should do it more often.

-I’ve read the first few chapters of my book for the Sports Book Club and I like it.

-That’s all. Finally, good fight and good night and some more Alison Krauss and Union Station!