Sunday Reflections

Another award winning edition of Sunday Reflections...

-Busy and slow weekend overall. I spend a lot of time writing for the blog. Friday night was an evening out with the boys and a lady that was detailed in a post. I spend yesterday afternoon at Green Hills Mall, which was cool. Then I spent all of last night writing my advice post, which was the most enjoyable thing that I’ve written so far. Today was a lazy day doing laundry and watching the European Championship finals. Speaking of which…

-Viva Espana! I’m so glad that Spain beat Germany today. I have no beefs against any of the European teams, so I’m completely neutral. However, I want to see open action and aggressive soccer play. Teams like Germany and Italy play in that old school, passive defensive style that turns off potential soccer fans. Those two teams have tons of international tournament success, so you can’t knock it too much.

However, I want to see progressive play get rewarded and the Spaniards winning Euro confirmed this. Spain also played solid defense in today’s final, something Espana has been weak at in the past.

When I think of Euro, I will think of how Holland played the best soccer I’ve ever seen from a national team in their first two matches and then wet the bed in the quarterfinals against Russia. I’ll think of Spain finally breaking through. I’ll think of the classic penalty kick shootout between Spain and Italy. I’ll think of the surprising Russians. I’ll think about how Portugal can have such talent and promise, yet forget how to do fundamental thinks like defensive marking against Germany and that will always be their downfall.

The main thing that I will think about however, is the Turks. Their never give up attitude was inspiring to watch. Turkey went through so many injuries and suspensions, yet kept fighting and made an excellent run. Their wins against the Czech Republic and Croatia were thrilling. Even in defeat against Germany, they tied the score late before the Germans scored in the final minute. I’m now a lifetime fan of the Turks!

-At Green Hills Mall, I saw Vanessa Williams and that was a good sight. She’s smaller and shorter then I thought she would be. It was so weird because I was just walking to the Brookstone store next the Apple store and I see her in a white dress, really no makeup, with her small daughter I’m assuming and two other women. I guess she’s in town filming a movie or something like that.

Anyway, I didn’t place her at first and then I said to myself, is that Vanessa Williams? Very attractive and you know the love I have for older women. I’m supposed to say that she could get it or CGI at this point, even though I’ve never turned down a girl. She actually may crack the bench on my top-five, speaking of which…

I recently saw this picture of Ciara and she once again confirmed why she will always be a member of the top-five. Ashley is still the GM/head coach. For old time’s sake…




I will have an updated top-five list soon.

-As sucky as the Mets have been playing lately, they are only four games out of first place. That’s the beauty of baseball, the season is so darn long. The Mets have fired a manager, the clubhouse doesn’t get along, players want to get out and they are still in contention. Good stuff. Also…

-The Rays are coming on strong and are in it for the long haul. I LOVE that the Rays are contending and are actually in first place now. I get so, so tired of hearing about the Yankees and the Red Sox all of the time. I don’t have a big beef against either team, I just get tired of the media coverage of them. Detroit is also only five games out as well. Maybe my AL West champions Seattle can recover and make a run…maybe not.

-I’ll have my updated MLB predictions/review at the All-Star game in a few weeks.

-I must tell you that I’m a sucker for the Olympics, both Winter and Summer. I’m going to elaborate on this more in a future post. For now, I was watching the trials for Track and Field as well as Swimming. I don’t know all of the athletes names right now, but I just love the competition. Tyson Gay and Michael Phelps are freaks, btw. I also checked out the gymnastics one a few weeks ago as well.

-I was driving around town over the weekend and I began to thing about my career and what I would like to do with it. It was a reflective moment and I was glad to have it.

-I recently joined a cool Facebook group called “If you remember the 90’s…” Great group and going over the information on there brought back so many memories. Here’s the link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=2204285338

-I watched 60 Minutes today and there was a story on Will Smith in anticipation of his new movie, Hancock. Such a down to earth guy. I’m a big fan of his and Fresh Prince of Bel Air was essential viewing. In West Philadelphia born and raised, on the playground is where I spend most of my days…Y’all know what I’m talking about.

Here are some potential post topics for the next week (I will try to not write a post about women or dating.)

-Does this offend me, Part 3. Its coming, I promise
-Olympics
-Fourth of July memories
-So Black people don’t like rock music?

I heard this Bush song at a bar on Friday night and it brought back some memories. Actually, it was the cover band at Tin Roof. I was a HUGE fan of Bush back in the day. Have a good week.

Sunday Reflections

This was an interesting week for me because I spent the entire time away from Nashville and in Atlanta and South Carolina seeing the family. I will say that I’m looking forward to heading back to Nashville and getting back into my routine. However, it’s important to see your loved ones when you have a chance in the sports industry because once August comes around, I’ll be back on the grind, which I like.

I want to talk about funerals, but I have to hit on some other thoughts.

-I haven’t followed baseball as much as I usually do because I’ve been away from home dealing with family stuff, but I like the balance of things right now. I get tired of hearing about the Yankees and the Red Sox all the time. I like seeing the Rays, the White Sox, Angels, A’s, Phillies, Cubs, Brewers and Diamondbacks having solid seasons. Hopefully the sports networks will acknowledge this and cover these teams more.

I have a cousin who lives in Tampa and if the Rays make the playoffs, it’s on. War Rays!

-Euro 2008 has been an excellent tournament, but the quarterfinals had some interesting results. Germany took care of business against Portugal because Portugal forgot to play defense. I haven’t seen an elite team mark so bad defensively in my life in a major tournament. Also, why don’t you look around and fake another ankle injury Ronaldo, you Wanker. I actually missed the Turkey game, but I heard it was a classic. The Turks find another way to comeback and get a win. Russia made Holland look like amateurs. What is it about the Netherlands that they look like the best team in the world for two matches and then they play like ass in the next one. Holland has so much talent but they always underachieve. I will never trust them again in a major tournament.

I was so happy that Spain beat Italy today. I have no beef against the Italians, but the way that they played today was pathetic. It was so bad that I fell asleep during the game. That’s how uninspired I was watching the game. Italy has always been a boring squad to watch as a fan, but they win a lot of times obviously. However, if this tournament has taught us anything is that aggressive play is usually awarded. Italy just played passive and in the end, the aggressive and more deserving Spaniards won the game on penalties.

Good riddance to Greece, Italy and boring soccer in general.

-One show that I’ve gotten into this week is America’s Best Dance Crew on MTV. I just like seeing those crews dancing and showing off their skills. Mario Lopez is earning a paycheck, which is always good. A.C. Slater needs the work. BTW, Mario, how do you break up with Karina Smirnoff, she’s a winner. Also, how do you screw up that relationship with Ali Landry? Questions that I will never receive the answer to.

I’m going to place my funeral post separately. I leave you with some Mars Volta. Have a good week.

Sunday Reflections

Some Sunday Reflections while watching the NBA Finals:

-The Euro 2008 Tournament has been excellent so far. I know that some of you may not be soccer fans, but you have to give this tournament a try. The play has been amazing, especially from the Dutch. Holland is looking scary good right now. Their dismantling of France was a thing of beauty. Spain got incredibly lucky yesterday in their game and I saw the best comeback of the year, maybe ever, when Turkey scored three second-half goals against the Czech Republic. You have to look up the highlights of that game. I picked Portugal to win the title, but I can see Spain, Holland or even Turkey pull it out.

-I’m now a golf fan. I usually don’t like watching golf on TV because I find it boring. Yet, I love soccer, strange. Anyway, I decided to give the U.S. Open a chance this weekend and I was riveted. I watched some of the action on Saturday and the last three pairings on Sunday. Amazing stuff. I was pulling for someone else to win besides Tiger Woods, but that man is a beast. I guess Tiger has had knee surgery and is still recovering, but he manned up and gutted out a tie. He did blow the lead, which isn’t good. I would watch someone like Rocco Mediate or Lee Westwood miss a putt on the 12 or 13th hole and say to myself that they lost the tournament. However, they kept their composure and were in it until the end. That putt that Tiger made on 18 to force the playoff, incredible. I was riveted by the drama. I’m mad that I can’t see the 18-hole playoff on Monday because I will be traveling to South Carolina, however, when the next major comes on TV, I will watch the final day. I can’t commit to watching all four days of coverage of a major and I definitely won’t watch all of the no-name tournaments, but this is a start. Also, wondering out loud, why does Phil Mickelson always finish either terrible for his standards in a major or be in contention to win. I’m not a golf expert, but it seems that he should be a better golfer then he is according to all of the experts that I hear. If someone can give me an explanation, I would appreciate it.

-Kennesaw, Ga. is the same as it ever was. I’ve spent the last few days in Kennesaw with the family and everything looks the same as when I was here a few months ago.

-I love watching the Baseball and Softball College World Series. I should have mentioned this a few weeks ago, but I love the College World Series. I always watched the baseball one, ever since I was a kid. It was the early to mid-1990’s when LSU used to win it almost every year. I always had a soft spot for Cal. State Fullerton and Long Beach State for some reason. I never liked Miami because they seemed cocky and didn’t like Stanford because of the uniforms. Yes, that’s a pathetic reason to not go for a team. I’ve grown up and now have evolved thoughts on the teams. I think UNC will win it all, but unfortunately as a Georgia Tech fan, watch out for Georgia.

Softball is a different deal for me because I didn’t grow up around it. I do respect it and would like to head to Oklahoma City to check it out one day. It looks like a good time and I have grown to like softball from CofC and Belmont now.

-People may think I have a beef with Kobe because I’ve never liked him, but it really isn’t personal. The thing about it is that in our society, especially in sports, we are always trying to compare someone to something. If you hear a song on the radio, people say that sounds like Zeppelin or the Stones. If you watch a TV show, people compare it to Cheers or M.A.S.H or Seinfeld or something. In sports, if there’s a good hockey player, he’s compared to Gretzky. If there’s a good baseball player, they get compared to Willie Mays. Finally, in basketball, if someone shows any skills, they always want to bring up Michael Jordan. I get so tired of the media and fans trying to compare every perimeter player to Jordan. We can go down the list from Harold Miner to Grant Hill to LeBron James to now Kobe Bryant of all the people that get compared to Jordan. Michael was the greatest player ever and they’re will never be another player like him. Just like they’re will never be another Kobe, Magic, Bird, Miner, Hill, LeBron and everything in between. I think I get tired of Kobe because gets stuffed down our throat. If the Lakers win this series, good for them. If the Celtics win, good for them as well. Just leave the comparisons alone, please.

-I’ve watched less and less sports channels and loving it. I made a decision a few weeks ago to not watch so many sports channels like ESPN and just watch the games. I get oversaturated with information and it makes the experience of watching a game less enjoyable. The over analysis of sports has gotten out of hand. I’ll elaborate on this more another time.

-I’m going to meet up with Ms. Smith on Tuesday! Your boy is looking forward to catching up with Alicia. If you need a recap of who she is, check this out: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/facebook-and-feeling-yes-at-same-time.html Yeah, looking forward to it.

That’s it from me. Have a good week.