My MLB Predictions Update (you were right Meggie, Jonathan, Noth, you Twins and Cardinals fans and me, the Mets stink...longest post title ever!)

August is always a fun time for me. School starts up, summer is coming towards and end and I can finally focus on watching baseball and preparing for the NFL season.

However, with the Olympics taking up all of my sports viewing along with July being a huge month in mixed martial arts, I’ve fallen behind on my baseball viewing.

I wrote about the Manny Ramirez trade so I haven’t been totally out of the loop. I continue to see my Mets blow any chances of making the playoffs, good times, but besides that, I haven’t watched a full MLB game in a month. It’s been so bad that I had to look at the calendar and realize that I haven’t done an update on my MLB predictions.

As you will see, my prediction skills aren’t the best, but its always fun to look back

Let’s get to the picks.

Here were my choices before the season started for the National League:

NL East- Phillies (They’re going to win this division by default. The Mets disgust me.)
NL Central- Milwaukee (They’re only four games out, but I think that the Cubs take this one.)
NL West- Arizona (Talk about winning a division by default. I think that the first team to win five games in a row in the next month is going to win it)
Wild Card- Colorado (Terrible choice, seeing how they’re 15 games out. When I did this a month ago, St. Louis was in the lead. However, the Brewers have it now and I think that they hold on.)
NL Champions- Arizona (If the Cubs or the Brewers aren’t in the Series this season, I’ll be surprised)
NL MVP- Prince Fielder/Ryan Howard (This race is so wide open right now. Chase Utley has hit the tank. I would look at Chase, Henley Ramirez and of course, the Hebrew Hammer, Ryan Braun!)
NL Cy Young- Johan Santana (I guess this goes to Brandon Webb, especially if the Backs win the West. I still like Volquez but the Reds are so far out of it right now. Look out for CC Sabathia to maybe get consideration at the pace he’s going.)
NL Manager of the Year- Bob Melvin (Arizona was doing well but they have been below average. I think it comes down to Tony LaRussa and Gonozalez at Florida.)
NL Surprise Team- Cincinnati (They started off well, stumbled a little bit and were only a few games below .500 in early July. Not anymore. They’re definitely going for the future and it was nice to see them get rid of Dunn and Griffy. Those two guys are professionals, but it was time for a change. I like the youth movement led by Jay Bruce, Cueto and Volquez, who’s a stud. They’re not going to make the playoffs, but if they may have a future. The Marlins and Cardinals have to get looks in this one.)
NL Disappointment- Chicago and San Diego (This Cubs pick continues to look worse and worse by the day. I was on with San Diego).
NL Worst Team- San Francisco (even worse than Pittsburgh) The Giants are still terrible and getting worse by the day, making my pick look better. I’m actually cheering for them to lose more and more to make me look better. Go Nationals and Padres. The National League is terrible.

My standings predictions for each division and the current ones:

My NL East:

1) Philadelphia
2) New York
3) Atlanta
4) Washington
5) Florida

Current NL East:

1) Philadelphia
2) New York
3) Florida
4) Atlanta
5) Washington

Thoughts: The standings haven’t changed in a month and I think this is how the season is going to finish out. None of these teams are great, but I guess Philly has the best one of the lot. I’m not saying that I expected the Mets to win the World Series. Heck, I predicted that they wouldn’t make the playoffs. However, seeing how average Philly is, the Mets should win this but keep finding ways to lose. I don’t even get mad at it anymore. The Marlins have been a pleasant surprise. Washington is Washington.

I have to place the Braves in a separate category. The run is over and I couldn’t be happier. Now those spoiled Braves fans can get a taste of losing and like it! They just aren’t a good team. Their fans have been getting mad with their performance the past two and a half years, but they should save their anger. They want to blame injuries, but if the entire Braves roster was healthy the whole season, which is not possible, the Phillies and Mets are still better. Braves fans, it isn’t going to get better. Expect this for another few years. And one more thing. I love McCann, but to all of you idiots who told me that Jeff Francoeur was better than David Wright a few years ago, who’s laughing now bitch!!!! Suck on that losers!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Moving on…

My NL Central:

1) Milwaukee
2) Cincinnati
3) Chicago
4) St. Louis
5) Houston
6) Pittsburgh

Current NL Central:

1) Chicago
2) Milwaukee
3) St. Louis
4) Houston
5) Pittsburgh
6) Cincinnati

Thoughts: Milwaukee may actually finish in first, so not too bad there. The Natti’, not so much.

Much love to the Cubs. I thought that they would be a disappointment, but they have delivered.

I’ve said this every time I do a review and I know that she reads this blog, so, once again Meggie, you were right.

The Cubs are going to make the playoffs, that much is certain. What they do afterwards is the key. St. Louis has continued to surprise. Houston and Pittsburgh aren’t worth discussing.

Actually, I’ll take that back. I like what the Pirates are doing. They are going to stink for a while but they have hope. There is no reason that they couldn’t have some successful moments like the Twins and A’s have had the past few years.

My NL West:

1) Arizona
2) Colorado
3) Los Angeles
4) San Diego
5) San Francisco

Current NL West:

1) Arizona
2) Los Angeles
3) Colorado
4) San Francisco
5) San Diego

Thoughts: Arizona was doing so well and then something happened. The Dodgers are the team that I think is going to pull this division out especially with Manny playing hard all of a sudden. This is the worst division in baseball, pathetic play and I don’t want to discuss it anymore.

On to the American League:

AL East- Boston (Tampa is for real. No one saw that coming)
AL Central- Cleveland (oy vey as in the second worst record in the AL. Same as last month. There’s no excuse for this.)
AL West- Seattle (terrible, terrible, terrible pick)
Wild Card- Toronto (They’re only eight games out, they can do it right? Yeah, I know, terrible pick)
AL Champs- Cleveland (my AL picks were terrible, weren’t they!)
AL MVP- Manny Ramirez (Well, seeing how he’s in another league right now and quit on the Red Sox, this pick is probably not going to happen. This race is wide open as well. It can go to anyone on the Angels, Red Sox or Rays. K-Rod from Anaheim is still a sleeper here.)
AL Cy Young- Roy Halladay (Another open race but watch out for K-Rod once again.)
AL Manager of the Year- Terry Francona (this is Joe Maddon’s award, manager of Tampa Bay, right now. Terry has done a good job and you have to consider that loser manager of Anaheim, the manager of the Twins and wait for it…Ozzie Guillen! Oz can pull this one out. Gotta love it. He’ll probably curse at everyone while accepting the award, looking forward to it.)
AL Surprise Team- Kansas City (terrible choice by me and I thought that they would show some signs of life for the future like Cincinnati. Not happening.)
AL Disappointment Team- Yankees and Anaheim (Yankees, yes…Anaheim’s in first place and cruising. Mixed bag.)
AL Worst Team- Baltimore (the Orioles aren’t that bad. Oakland, Kansas City, Cleveland and Jesus Christmas Seattle have worse records.)

My AL East:

1) Boston
2) Toronto
3) New York
4) Tampa Bay
5) Baltimore

Current AL East:

1) Tampa Bay
2) Boston
3) New York
4) Toronto
5) Baltimore

Thoughts: Last month, I said that the Rays are the story of baseball, but the season is long. Not only are the Rays still the story, they are for real. I still hold out hope that Boston will catch them and win the division but that’s just for my predictions.

I LOVE THE RAYS!

The Yankees weren’t going to make the playoffs before the season started and I’m sticking to it. They are too old and too young at the same time. Toronto has disappointed me a little and Baltimore is actually not a terrible team.

My AL Central:

1) Cleveland
2) Detroit
3) Kansas City
4) Chicago
5) Minnesota

Current AL Central:

1) Chicago
2) Minnesota
3) Detroit
4) Kansas City
5) Cleveland

Thoughts: The White Sox are doing well right now, so respect to Jonathan and Noth.

The Twins continue to surprise me. I thought that they would be terrible this year, but respect to them. If Liriano can come in and make a major contribution, watch out for these guys.

Detroit, Kansas City and Cleveland, nothing more needs to be said.

My AL West:

1) Seattle
2) Anaheim
3) Oakland
4) Texas

Current AL West:

1) Anaheim
2) Texas
3) Oakland
4) Seattle

Thoughts: First, they will always be Anaheim or California and not this LA crap. Next, you know that I will always resent the Angels and hope that they lose because of their manager. If you need a reminder, http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/07/my-five-saddest-moments-as-sports-fan.html. God, I dislike that manager. They are the strongest team in the league and should make the World Series. However, they seem to have trouble with Boston in the playoffs, so look out for that.

Seattle sucks, its that simple.

Texas is a fun team to watch because they can score some runs. The pitching just isn’t enough. Oakland is whatever.

That’s all. I was listening to some Mars Volta and Evanescence. BTW, Amy Lee. Let's see, rocker, dark hair, beautiful eyes, great voice, she can get it anytime if you know what I'm saying!

Enjoy some of their music below:

What type of college program do you want to work for?

What’s up everyone? Hope things are well for you.

Sports Illustrated had an interesting article on its Web site about the top-25 Division I schools in athletics for the 2007-08 season. Here it is: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/07/01/2008-top-25-ncaa-rankings/index.html?eref=T1

It was similar to the Director’s Cup which is compiled by the Collegiate Directors of Athletics, which uses a complicated point system based on how each school’s athletic team places in its respective national championship. Of course Stanford won the Cup for the 14th consecutive year.

The Cardinal finished second in the SI standing while Arizona State took the title. The article does a good job of breaking down how they came up with the standings so I won’t repeat it here.

The article did get me thinking about some of the schools on the list and made me wonder how some of these programs dominate everything and some are lacking.

I’ve never been to Stanford but I heard it’s an amazing place. The crazy thing about that program is that they win at everything, have such high academic standards and are a private school. Usually high academics and private school equals struggles in some sports (see Rice, Northwestern, Wake Forest, Vanderbilt and some others). In the last 15 years, Stanford has been to a baseball College World Series, a men’s basketball Final Four and a Rose Bowl. That’s incredible.

I’ve actually been to UCLA, North Carolina and Georgia, the number 3-5 schools on the SI list and I understand why they do so well. UCLA is like a college heaven on earth. Amazing weather, beautiful people, tons of things to do, I didn’t want to leave. The campus was also so beautiful and I saw every type of hot woman possible.

UNC and UGA were just as majestic with a southern twist. I wanted to sit on a bench, grab a cup of iced tea and just chill. Hot women there too.

The rest of the list has typical schools. I was glad to see Virginia on there because first my cousin went to law school there, I got wasted there when I visited there as a high school student and it’s a fun place overall.

I think about these types of things (not the drunken nights) when I look at colleges that I may work at in the future.

I’ve had this conversation with some of my fellow grad school classmates. What type of athletic department do you want to work for? Sometimes the bigger the school you work at and the bigger the financial stakes, the potential for the abuse of integrity is higher. I’ll put it this way. The stakes for a team in the Pac-10 or the SEC is a lot higher than a mid-major conference like the Atlantic Sun or the SoCon.

I’m not saying that all schools in major conferences cheat or that mid-major teams don’t bend the rules.

The thing is that when there are such high financial stakes in place, things can happen. I’ve spoken with people in compliance departments at schools and they’ve told me that they couldn’t work at certain big schools because they know that some illegal things are going down.

When the difference of millions of dollars for your athletic department comes down to winning a BCS bowl game, a conference championship or making it to the Sweet 16, that can be a recipe for bad things.

I know that personally, I would like to work at a school that is competitive in as many sports as possible. As much as I like college football, I like “Olympic” sports as well. However, if the school that I’m working for compromises it integrity to win championships, I’ll have a problem with that.

I know this was a random post. I’ll expand on some of these thoughts another time.

Here’s some John Fruciante, guitarist from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. As much as I love Omar Rodriguez-Lopez from the Mars Volta, John is on another planet guitar-wise. It’s funny that those two men collaborate on musical projects all the time.

The thing I like about John is that he’s versatile. He can give you heavy guitar riffs, acoustic melodies, soul, blues, jazz and everything in between.

I want to work for an athletic department similar to John. Versatile, flexible, willing to compromise and able to play anything, anytime well.

Good fight, good night.

Cleaning out the Links, Part II

Time for me to clean out some more links for your enjoyment:

-One great thing that I’ve come across recently is the SI Vault. Sports Illustrated has archived all of their back issues on to a Web site so that you can see every article written. Here it is: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/

I’ve read stuff by Frank Deford, Curry Kirkpatrick, Ralph Wiley and so many other legendary writers. Sports journalism has truly changed over the years. Here are some interesting articles I’ve bookmarked:

Here was an interesting article on Pat Summit that appeared in Sports Illustrated in 1998. Despite the fact that I’ve grown to dislike that orange community college in east Tennessee, I respect Summit. I don’t like the university that she works for, but I acknowledge her. Anyway, here’s the article: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1012132/index.htm

Here’s an article on Tom Seaver in the middle of his dominance for the Mets: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1086339/index.htm

Here’s an article on the UnClutch nature of Magic Johnson. I had a talk about this with my boss, which I’ll discuss in detail on a post later this week: http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122425/index.htm?eref=sircrc

-Another topic that I will discuss later this week is how potentially worthless my English degree is. Here’s an article on the 10 Most Worthless Majors: http://www.holytaco.com/2008/06/03/the-10-most-worthless-college-majors/

-While I was a pretty smart dude back in my elementary school days, I would always find time to play games to get rid of the monotony of classes. Unlike high school or middle school for some when you can change rooms and subjects every hour, elementary school was just sitting in that one room going over the same stuff everyday accept for gym and lunch. Here’s a list of the top-10 Indoor Games: http://theloveofsports.com/index.php/site/comments/top_10_indoor_games/

I was king of the number one game on the list. I was good at number six and eight as well. Number nine, not so much.

-Here’s a listing of SI.com’s Top 25 College Programs for the 2007-08 season: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/07/01/2008-top-25-ncaa-rankings/index.html?eref=T1

It’s like the annual Sears Trophy that’s given out to the top overall college athletic program. I don’t understand why Arizona State or UCLA doesn’t win in every sport, yet Stanford does. I’ve been to UCLA and it’s like heaven on earth.

-Here’s a funny link to the Top 10 Annoying Things about Facebook: http://www.collegecandy.com/haha/10039

I have to be honest, as a Facebook addict, I violate one or two of these.

-Have you ever wanted to order a custom championship belt just like your favorite wrestler or combat fighting champion? Check here: http://www.azstarnet.com/accent/248887

And if you don’t think that I’m going to have at least one of these in my life, you’re playing yourself. I will have one and battle my future wife in competitions for ownership of it. This will keep the marriage active and competitive, which is all you need. Oh yeah, a good pre-nup as well. Just kidding, or am I?

That’s all for now. I didn’t give you a preview of this week of the blog yesterday, so here it is:

Tuesday: Why did I major in English?

Wednesday: Maybe something about college athletic programs or the values of pimping. Either one works for me. Tell me which one you want to hear about.

Thursday: Do we view our superstars differently now for winning or not winning championships?

Friday: MMA Review

Saturday: Whatever I damn well please.

Sunday: Sunday Reflections

Here’s some Mars Volta

Sunday Reflections (on a Monday)

Hey everyone who actually reads this blog (I’m not even sure how many of you that is at this stage).

Sorry that I didn’t have Sunday Reflections for you yesterday, I had internet problems.

I promise a week-long post fest with various topics.

They will include:

>My MLB midseason predictions review (damn Mariners)

>My Mixed Martial Arts Update. Two major shows are taking place this Saturday with the UFC and a new promotion, Affliction. I’ll give my thoughts on these shows and the MMA world in general.

>Why your boy won’t have any children anytime soon. It involves finances, straight talking to toddlers and used baby car seats.

>Updated Top-Five Women list.

>Maybe a top-five Family Guy moments.

>My final analysis of the concept of pimping being easy!

>The Josh Hamilton story, from my prospective. BTW, I don’t ever watch the Home Run Derby because of Chris Berman of ESPN. Let’s keep it real out there. Anyway, I flipped over and saw some of the homeruns that he was hitting. He has the most pure swing from a lefty that I’ve maybe ever seen. More on this when I talk about him.

This weekend, which will include Monday for our purposes wasn’t bad. Here were some highlights:

-I played video games with my friend Joel all night Friday and that was awesome. I’m now hooked on playing Splinter Cell, I think that was the name of the game. I love playing video games.

-In fact, that’s how I spent my time early

Actually on Saturday, I started by playing video games until early evening. It’s an obsession at times. I then headed over to the Green Hills Mall to walk around and read some books. That’s something that relaxes me so much, reading books in a bookstore for hours. After that, I was going to head home but two things happened.



First, I saw a long line outside of the Apple store and I later found out that a new IPhone was being released. Why were people waiting for this phone? Someone please explain this to me.

Second, I saw one of the nastiest lightening storms develop and got an up-close view of it from the Mall. It was sick. I call it nature’s fireworks show for a reason.

Because of these things I was there longer than expected, but I did get home.



-I watched The Love Guru, the new movie with Mike Myers, which wasn’t as terrible as I thought it would be. I gave it a chance and I actually laughed at some moments. I had such low expectations for it. Myers is decent and Jessica Alba really, really can’t act. She’s hot and all, but I need more then eye candy. My main man Romany Malco, or Conrad from the TV show Weeds, does an awesome job as a hockey superstar. Even Justin Timberlake does well in his role, especially his nickname in the movie. Plus Steven Colbert and Jim Gaffigan! What more do you need?

The movie is way too goofy to be taken as literally, especially the part about a star Black hockey player. That was the most unrealistic part of the movie. I mean, that can’t happen in real life. The movie lost some marks for that.






-I was kidding about that last paragraph, or was I? You and I will never know. However, its funny how the two players above grew up in Alberta, Canada. What is it about Western Canada and Black hockey players. In fact the one in the Oilers uniform is from the same hometown as Nashville's own Jordin Tootoo and hero to all, Mark Messier.

That’s all for now. See some of you around.

Here’s music from De Facto, the music project of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler and Ikey Owens from the Mars Volta and the deceased Jeremy Ward. It’s a Dub group and they’re amazing. I wished they played under this outfit more, even though Jeremy’s death probably puts an end to that dream. Also, their albums are hard to find, even at Grimeys. Good fight, good night.

...So Black people don't listen to Rock music?

First, if anyone can tell me the name of that musician pictured above and a famous song of his that was covered by Cream, Eric Clapton’s epic band, I’ll give you a prize. He’s considered the “Grandfather of Rock and Roll,” and was a blues musician. That’s all you’re getting.

It’s funny that I mentioned Rush in one of my posts yesterday because they’re a talking point in today’s topic.

The subject is “So Black people don’t listen to rock music?”

When I was living in Atlanta about three years ago, my old boss got me tickets to a Rush concert because we were both big fans of the band. He had a commitment and I couldn’t find anyone else to go, so I decided to head out to the event alone. I get there and I get the most unusual looks from some people.

I’m not exaggerating this, but out of about 8,000 people there, I was probably the only black person there. I didn’t care about this fact, but numerous people came up to me and were asking me if I was a Rush fan. Um, I’m at the frickin concert, of course I’m a fan. The fans would tell me that they never met anyone like me who liked Rush. You and I know what they meant by that comment. I wasn’t offended because it takes a whole lot to offend me and backhanded racism isn’t going to get me pissed.

So the show goes on and I’m singing along to all of the songs and feeling the moment, but the event prompted me to think about my presence there.

Another incident that got me thinking was earlier this year, my old roommate had a friend over and we were talking about John Frusiante, the guitarist for the Red Hot Chilli Peppers. I told him that John collaborates musically often with my favorite band, the Mars Volta. The guest then tells me that he has never met a black person who likes the Mars Volta. Mind you that both official members of the band are Hispanic, one Mexican and one Puerto Rican, their music is progressive rock and can’t be explained easily and furthermore, their bass player is also Latin, the keyboardist and drummer are Black. I wasn’t mad at the guest at all and we even shared a laugh over it.

I’ve always been into all types of music, no matter what the racial makeup of the musician is.

I think this started back when I was younger in two instances. First, my older brother, Denny, was a big hip-hop fan back in the late 80’s and we shared a room. So I would hear Eric B and Rakim, LL Cool J, Big Daddy Kane and everything in between all day, every day. So of course, being the rebellious younger brother, I tried to offset that with what I thought was the complete opposite of this, rock music. When Denny would be out of the house, I would finally get to listen to something different and that’s when I discovered rock music.

Second, my mother was always playing different music styles in the house. She was into old school R&B like Al Green, the O’Jays. She was also a big country music fan and would play that in the house as well. So I was getting James Brown on one end and Garth Brooks and Alabama on the other end. She was playing Ricky Skaggs back in New York in the late 80’s. Respect to Mom for that. She also listened to R&B shows on Saturdays while we cleaned the house, so I got that as well. And on Sundays, gospel music was the thing of choice.

So this was my exposure to all types of music at an early age. Then, I went to a private school with a multi-cultural cast of characters and that was big also. We would listen to Dr. Dre and the Chronic one moment and then blast the Pearl Jam or Soundgarden the next. I also began to watch MTV endlessly and that helped too.

Being the competitive guy I am, I would put my stereo in scan mode (when the radio will go to a station for a few seconds before automatically changing to another one) and try to name all of the songs, artists included. If I didn’t know a song, I would go back to that station and listen to the rest of it. I used to do this for hours while doing homework.

Through this I just developed a love for all types of music over the years. I still like rap music, but not all the time. Some days I want to listen to Fleetwood Mac, sometimes I like a Montgomery Gentry tune. Sometimes, I want to listen to some Biggie Smalls or Snoop Dog. There are times when a Miles Davis track or Sade makes me chill. I like it all.

The thing that gets me mad is that people seem to segregate their musical choices, especially minorities.

I’ve spoken with black people who have told me that I’m acting White because I listen to rock music. I try to explain to them two things. First, I don’t give a crap about your opinion of my musical taste. Second, if you really want to break it down, rock music is based on the blues, jazz and even gospel back in the day and that was performed by a majority of Black people.

It seems as if Black people are critiqued for expanding their musical horizons while White people are applauded for the effort.

It’s as if a White person went to a Lil Wayne concert one night and picked up a Coldplay CD the next day, its all good but if a Black person did the same thing, the black person would be made fun of. I’ve been that Black person.

I used to play my Metallica music one moment and then transition to some Jodeci the next and my Black friends would give me a hard time.

I hope this has changed over time and I actually kinda think it has. You have some groups like N.E.R.D, Gnarls Barkley and Mars Volta who are out there representing a different set of music without boundaries. You know those guys grew up with a playlist of groups like Rush, Zeppelin, Black Flag, Sabbath, jazz, salsa and soul music all playing together. Their music is representing this.

I think this is also a representation of society in general. You’re seeing more of a mixing of races in friendships and even in dating. I have friends of all races and I love all types of ladies, so I think that the walls are slowly breaking down.

For the time being, don’t let your skin color determine what you listen to. Free your musical mind and you may find something special.

For tonight’s musical choice, here’s a band that has some Brothers in it and further, they represent Brooklyn! Here’s TV on the Radio with their song, Wolf Like Me.

Advice we can all use

Earlier this month on the great sports blog, Deadspin, there was an article written about a message to the graduates of the Class of 2008 in college. Here’s a link to the article for reference, it’s a good read: http://deadspin.com/5015813/a-special-balls-deep-message-to-the-class-of-2008

The article has some good points and the comments section also provided some good advice that can relate to life in general.

I know that I’m five years removed from graduating from college and I still can use as much knowledge as I can. So, I’m going to list all of the advice points/messages from the article and give my thoughts on them.

Graduation commencement speeches are pointless: I’ve detailed my memories of my college graduation in a past post here: http://pourtoutpancakes.blogspot.com/2008/05/my-graduation.html. At my school, we don’t have guest speakers. Instead our current Chancellor gives a message of hope. I really didn’t care too much for it and was just concerned with staying cool on a hot afternoon.

Watch all of the sports you can now: Luckily for me, I work in sports. I get paid to follow sports, to a certain degree. I have to know about the athletics of the school I work for and the conference, but everything else is just gravy. I’m not married, single and have no children, so I have a lot of free time to enjoy the ball game. However, you can get burnt out on sports. I like being the smartest sports person that I know, I mean that seriously. I haven’t met anyone that can touch me with knowing so much about every sport, even ones that I don’t care much for like golf. It’s a tough balance, but for now, I get my fill.

But to go into this point further, it seems like there’s this perception among men that once you get married, you have to give up all of your interests, sports included, and become a wimp who enjoys none of your hobbies anymore. If you’re a sports fan and your wife gets mad at you every time that you want to watch a ballgame or hang out with you buddies, reevaluate your wife situation. I’m not saying that you should hit the bars every night. Spend time with your wife. However, if she isn’t willing to allow you to follow your interests, that’s a problem. Also, get into her interests as well, make it balanced. If your wife gives you grief, that’s a shame on you moment, I’m just saying.

What, you got a job already: The point of this one is that you will move back home after you graduate college. I did and lived with family for three years before I moved out on my own. Take advantage of this opportunity as much as you can, because once you reach a certain age, you can’t live home again unless it’s an extreme circumstance.

On this same front, be prepared to have misunderstanding parents who don’t get your career. My mother will never understand why I’m in graduate school barely making money to live and taking loans out when I have a college degree from one of the best schools in the nation. She thinks that I should be making big bucks right now, but the reality is that in sports, it’s a grind to get to where you want to go. She even joked that when I graduate from grad school next year, I should be getting a salary around $40,000-$50,000. Maybe in two or three years. She doesn’t get it, but she loves me and supports me. Just be prepared for people to not get that you won’t make money when you first get out of school, which brings me to my next point…

Your first job will suck and you will not work for a cool company: My first job after college actually wasn’t bad. I was an intern for a fashion magazine and made no money. I learned a lot though. My first real job was working at a financial public relations firm in Atlanta about a year after I graduated. The pay was good and it helped me establish myself as an individual. In the end, I found my calling volunteering on the game day staff at Georgia Tech athletic events, which I didn’t get paid for at first.

I’ve lived in three different cities in three years. I’m technically a graduate assistant and get school paid for and get a stipend, which compared to other situations, is amazing. However, when your friends from college are making high five-figures and owning homes while you struggle in your small apartment and living check to check, it’s going to be rough. But if you find out what you like to do with your career, it will all work out in the end, you have to believe that.

Furthermore, work can’t be about money. Make sure that you’re fairly compensated for your work however. If your job pays you say $20,000 but you know that someone else will pay you more, treat you better and help your career more, take the new job. However, if you’re doing your work purely for money, your interest will end soon. You may make some cash and be good financially, but you will most likely be unhappy.

Don’t go to law school: If you want to be a lawyer, that’s cool. Just make sure that you are cut out for the lifestyle and actually want a legal career. I worked in the law school library of my school and people would be in school to do some other things then law. Why spend all of that money for three years? Go to business school. Its only two years, the skills you pick up translate to any profession and it’s more laid back. Or you can go to graduate school in your chosen profession field. Just make sure that’s what you want to do. I can’t do all of this stuff for sports management and decide to be a doctor. However, I want to work in sports, so it’s all good for me.

Live and work in New York City for a year: I totally agree with this. I’m biased because it’s my hometown, but it does make you a stronger person. Furthermore, the NYC allows you to see different cultures in action and makes you realize that you’re just one person among millions. It humbles you and that’s good for you.

Unless you work in the fashion industry, never wear a polo shirt with your company’s emblem in it: Me turn down free clothes, please. I work in a college athletic department. Our school’s logo is on everything, so this doesn’t apply to me.

In relation to this however, people tell you that you should dress for the job that you want. That’s true and not true. If you work in a corporate office where everyone wears a tie, wear a tie. However, if you work in a business casual office, don’t wear suits everyday. You may think that you’re dressing great, but believe it or not, a coworker or two will resent you inside because you look like you’re trying to prove that you’re above them. I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve been told this multiple times. If you like to wear suits in that type of environment, only do it a few times a week. On Fridays, wear a polo and some nice slacks and you will blend in with everybody.
For the ladies, be careful of what you wear, because men are men. If your skirt is too tight or high, we’re going to notice. If your blouse is too low cut that we can see cleavage, we’re going to talk about it. Even that male boss that you have who is married with kids and seems so respectful will talk about how you dress with the male co-workers because he’s a man. It happens.

Also, every place I’ve worked has always had a ranking of the cutest women in our office, bosses and married people included. It doesn’t mean that we’re going to act unprofessional and practice sexual harassment; it’s just that guys do that stuff. It stays between us and we move on.

So ladies, just be careful.

Never do your taxes by hand: I always do my taxes by hand and no problems there.

The only pick-up line you should ever use at any time is “Hi, my name is (whatever your name is, likely Tyler or Taylor or something like that).”: I agree with that. Just introduce yourself to someone that you’re interested in. If he or she just rejects you coldly, then screw that bitch or bastard.

If everyone else is dancing, you should dance too: I don’t like to dance at all. However, I think you can take from this statement that you should be open to things in life. If your co-workers are watching a ballgame at the bar even though you can’t tell the difference between a touchdown and home run, go anyway. If you’re talking with someone and they start discussing a topic you have no idea about, just ask them kindly to repeat what they said and explain it in more detail. You may learn something.

People are frickin idiots: The article uses another F word, but I try to keep it clean here. I don’t think that people are idiots per se, but that they aren’t as intelligent as you think. Never look at someone and say, wow, they’re so much smarter than me I don’t compare to them. Screw that attitude.

It also helps to be a little selfish and let people live in their own way. If someone wants to drink every night, do drugs, have sex with anything that moves and kick puppies, let them do it and don’t stick your nose in their lifestyle. If you don’t like gay people yet someone you know declares himself a homosexual, let them be. Not everyone has your beliefs in life and they shouldn’t either. Do you want to live a society where everyone shares the same opinion and beliefs as you do? That’s what cults and organized religion are for and neither one has the best history in society.

If a girl playfully punches you in a conversation, you can hook up with her: I don’t know if that’s totally true, even though I’ve heard that if she touches you, that’s a good sign. Just be careful with that one.

Don’t smoke Crack: Don’t do drugs in general. That leads to some bad stuff.

I’m not an angel and will tell you that I haven’t experimented in the past. However, just get that phase out of our system. As cool as it sounds to be a stoner when you’re 40, you’re still a stoner at 40. Let it go.

Here are things you should go name brand on:

-Cereal
-Oatmeal (most important one)
-Toilet paper
-Peanut Butter and Jelly

Be extra nice to the people who handle your food: I can’t say this clearer. They handle your food. They can mess up your night real fast, if you know what I mean. If your waiter is being rude, don’t act like an ass because they can do stuff to your food. Just be polite with your complaints.

Be nice to people who work in retail: I worked in retail for a year and it’s a thankless job. Also, be nice to the clerk when you’re returning an item, because that’s the biggest pain in the ass to do. Furthermore, try to return stuff where you got it from. It may seem easy to leave those socks in the pants section, but the clerk has to return that stuff and that’s extra work. If you don’t want to return it in the original section, drop it off at the front counter. Your future clerk will thank you.

Also, tip well; especially at places you go to often. It matters.

Avoid STD’s: If you’re inclined to have sexual activities, please protect yourself. It’s so simple. There are so many forms of protection, it’s not funny. Wear that condom, use that lube or cream, take that pill. Be safe out there, for real.

Don’t be married under 30: There’s no rush. If he/she is cool when you’re 25, they will be the same at 30 if that person is right for you. Marriage compromises you so much in relation to where you live, what job you have, how often you see family and friends. Why rush into that, because once you get married, you can look forward to 30-40 years of sitting in the house watching the news together.

Furthermore, communicate with your future wife/husband. Make sure that each of you shares the same opinion on things like home ownership, kids, sexual activity, education and everything else. If you want four kids and she wants none, that’s a problem. If you want to live in Seattle in five years while she wants to go to school in Miami, work that out. Go to therapy or marriage counseling BEFORE you get married.

Go home and get stoned at least once a quarter during lunch: I don’t condone drug usage so I can’t co-sign on that one.

I will say this, take advantage of your vacation time. I know that you want to impress your boss and work every hour possible and take no time off, but that will burn you out quickly. You will start to resent that job and perform poorly. If you finish work early on a day, just ask your boss if you can go home early. They will most likely say yes. Live your life and don’t get obsessed with work. You have to have balance.

Learn to say “screw it”: Things in your life are going to happen that are outside of your control. Just accept it and you will be a lot happier.

Learn the art of networking: Become friends with other people in your job industry in your city and nationally. Join organizations like PRSA for public relations people. They know about job openings before they’re published officially.

Also, network your friends. They may know of someone that you could date.

Never trust your bank balance online: Just keep track of your money and make sure that your checks clear before you start spending.

Never eat your roommate’s food: Its all about respect.

Don’t mix wine/liquor and beer: Amen to that. It’s a bad combination that you will pay for later in the night. Also, blacking out because you drank too much may seem cute when you’re at that keg party at name frat house here, but when you’re in your late 20’s that gets old. The reason is that your friends now have to drag/carry your drunken butt home and no one wants to be a babysitter to someone drunk when you’re out. Turn down that shot.

Get good car insurance, including AAA: When you’re broken down in the middle of the highway, you’ll be thankful you followed this advice.

Never tell someone that “I’ll make more money in a week then you will in a month:” That’s just an asshole thing to do, number one. Secondly, life is cyclical. You may be flying high right now, but something can happen in a second that brings you down.

Karma: Believe in that.

Don’t become good friends with your neighbor: Be respectful and open, but keep a distance.

Don’t crap where you eat or eat where you crap: I can never get this statement right. However, here are a group of people that you should never date if possible:

1) Coworkers
2) Neighbors
3) Student-Athletes (if you work in an athletic department)
4) Ex-boyfriend/girlfriend of a good friend of yours or sibling
5) Sibling of a good friend

That’s a partial list. I’m sure that I’m forgetting some

Buy good alcohol: You graduated college or are close to it. Enough with the Natty Light, cheap wine, Milwaukee Beast and others. However, don’t hate on box wine, that stuff is the truth.

Never trust a big butt and a smile: Bell Biv Devoe told us this, but there is some meaning to this. Be careful who you hook up with. Have fun, but just beware. Stay away from those dirty girls.

Go to your high school’s graduation five years after you graduated: I haven’t done this yet, but would like to.

Separate home and work: If you’re having problems at home, don’t bring that into work. Your co-workers will hate you. If you’re having problems at work, leave it at work. Your spouse, kids or roommates don’t want that crap.

Never go to bed hungry: My uncle Greg believes in this and I agree. I know that healthy people tell you not to eat before you go to sleep, but you don’t want to be lying there in your bed with your stomach grumbling. Have a banana or a bowl of oatmeal and call it a night.

Have one really good suit: Goes without explanation

Save your MP3 collection/old albums: I liked Limp Bizkit at a point in my life. I once bought an NSYNC album. Those weren’t good choices, even though I love Justin Timberlake now. However, I look at those music purchases and can think back to those times fondly.

Fly your freak flag with pride: I like soap operas, especially General Hospital. I cry over movies all the time. I like mixed martial arts. I love the Mars Volta and Minus the Bear even though I’m a big black guy from the NYC. I love Maury and court shows, especially People’s Court and Divorce Court. Don’t play the macho card and act all tough. Accept your diverse interests and if someone gives you shit about it, they suck.

Go to at least one music act in every music genre: Hit up a rap show if you’re a big alternative music fan. Go to a dive bar and see a punk rock show if you dig hip-hop. Hit up some classical music. See a jazz band. Diversify your musical taste and it will make you a better person.
Never date a woman with more than one cat: Pets are cool, but if she digs the cats more than you, move on.

Don’t get drunk at an office outing: I know that open bar looks enticing, but if you get drunk off your ass, you will be remembered as an ass and that’s not good.

If you have kids, be careful how often you mention them at work: Yes it’s cool that your son got his first base hit in little league or your daughter danced well at the recital, just don’t bore us with that info.

Learn a musical instrument: Even if you suck at it, like I do with bass, at least you’re trying. Don’t be a pussy and start playing Guitar Hero.

Don’t kiss up to your boss too much: Have some dignity.

Know the syndication TV schedule: When you’re having a rough day, there’s nothing better then watching an old Seinfeld, Scrubs, Simpsons, Family Guy, Everybody Loves Raymond, Two and a Half Men or Frasier episode to make you laugh and bring your spirits up. Find out when your favorite old show is on and you’ll have something to look forward to at night.

You have two ears and one mouth…you know the rest: It’s an old saying, but listen more than you speak. I have to work on this skill myself.

You’re only as young/old as you feel: Age is just a number used to determine if you can drive, get drunk, rent a car, enter a sports draft, be elected a politician or collect social security. Don’t let that shit determine what you do in life.

Don’t trust anybody: Sounds harsh, but you have to keep your guard up. By default, you will trust the people that need to be trusted and the ones you shouldn’t trust will be shut out because you didn’t trust them in the beginning. It works out.

Don’t take politics too seriously: We all agree that we have problems in our society, just different ways to solve them. Also, don’t label yourself a Democrat or Republican. Think for yourself and vote for whom you think is right for the job and not just based on the party that he or she is representing.

If you find a girlfriend/boyfriend who is willing to wake up early, pack your lunch, start a pot of coffee, and then go back to bed all while you shower, keep him/her at all costs: So true.

Some quick hitters before I go:

-If you can, spend a little extra and get your own place (I wish I could do this).

-Steal free wireless internet access.

-Ignore Boston sports fans.

-Don’t take your sports too seriously. Its cliché, but it’s just a game.

-Get a Costco membership.

-Learn how to cook. Eating out is expensive and the ladies like a man that can cook.

-Get involved with an older man/woman once in your life. You’ll learn something.

-Learn how to iron.

-Beware of moonshine or homemade beer. Worst drunken experience was in sophomore year of college when I didn’t do this.

-All women have dad issues and all men have mother issues. The sooner you realize that, the better.

-Have a professional e-mail address. You can still have a fun one, but when you start applying for jobs and you give your boss the one with goofy nickname@hotmail.com, not good.

-Learn how to swim.

-Watch your bathroom habits at work.

-Eat a good breakfast.

-Know a good lawyer, just in case.

-Don’t lie as much as possible. Telling the truth is much easier.

-Travel as much as you can. America is a great country, see it.

Finally, this is the most important one of all:

Just be decent to people.

Many of these advice items come down to one thing. Treat others as you would like to be treated. I know that some people are going to respond negatively and be an asshole to you. Don’t be a pussy and take someone treating you like crap. Stand up for yourself. However, if you’re good to people, good things will happen to you.

And I’m a nice guy, but I get screwed out of things at times. However, I can look at myself in the mirror and be happy with that guy. If you can do that in your life, well done. If not, there’s time.

I would love to hear your tips because this was the most fun post that I’ve ever written and I know I’ve missed some stuff.

For your viewing pleasure, here’s some Limp Bizkit. First concert I ever saw in Nashville was the Limp Bizkit/Method Man/Redman/System of a Down tour back in 1999 during freshman year. Ah, the memories.

See y’all around.

My Funeral

After attending my great-grandmother’s funeral this past weekend, it got me starting about how I want my own funeral to take place.

I know some of you are like, why think about that stuff. However, let’s stay honest here. We are all going to die. Some of us will die sooner then we want to, some will die later. I’m 27 right now and I’ve lived a good life. I’ve been given every opportunity to achieve everything that I can accomplish within my capabilities. Nothing has deterred me from having a good life.

If I die tomorrow, it would suck, but that’s life. I think that once I hit around 70, the party will be over for me, if you know what I mean.

Denial is a bitch when it comes to death, but acceptance is necessary.

This was the rundown of my great-grandmother’s funeral. On Friday afternoon/evening, there was the viewing and wake at her church. After the wake, we went to her house and had an excellent barbeque meal for the repass. On Saturday morning, we had the funeral at the church. After that, the entire family went to the cemetery for the burial. Finally, after that was done, we had an outstanding meal at a local middle school thrown by the church for another repass.

I’m going to detail the general background items before giving the rundown of the events.

Dead Body, Cremation or Other: Cremation is a serious consideration. Less stress, cheaper and I’m always about saving money. However, I think that I need to have my body out there for the people to see. I’m sure there are some alternatives like freezing or getting stuffed, but I don’t want to do that.

Casket: This is very important. I don’t want a cheesy one with a sports logo or something like that. I fear that the family will think that it would be cute for the casket to be the color of a sports ball because I love sports. Not true. I would be cool with something black, maybe a little gold thrown in there. This is still a work in progress. I would want the family to go cheap on this one also because it’s a casket, why spend a lot?

Wardrobe: Since I’ve decided to have a dead body, I have to wear something. Some people like to go with suits, dresses, certain colors like white for purity or even sports jerseys of their favorite team. I don’t want anything expensive, because what’s the point of that. I think that I would go with a nice polo shirt (color still undecided), khakis and white tube socks. No shoes. Why? Personal reasons and the principles of it all.

Location of Funeral: This is a tough one. I was born and raised in the NYC, so I have to represent for that. However, I went to college here in Nashville and live here now. Also, I lived in Atlanta for several years and a lot of my family is there. The deciding factor is that my main church is in Brooklyn, so I have to go with that. Advantage, NYC. If the church had a burial site, I would get buried there, but it doesn’t. However, all of this may be a mute point if I move somewhere else in the next few years and live there for a long time. However, New York is in the lead.

Now, lets get to the events.

Day One

Viewing/Wake: This happens at the same time. This can be at the church, because I want people to have room to just chill and hang out. I want it to be light. People can dress in business casual, jean shorts, tank tops, cut off t-shirts, sandals, I don’t care. I’m dead, but its not the worst thing in the world. There can be a short ceremony where people can say what they want about me, good or bad. I also want some solid rock music playing in the background. Songs from Zeppelin, Mars Volta, Yes, Minus the Bear, Maserati and other bands that I like. This shouldn’t last more than an hour or two.

Meal #1/Repass: So after the viewing/wake, the festivities can stay in the church and an awesome meal can be planned, preferably a southern food barbeque. I want grilled burgers, chips, chicken, some vegetables and fruits for the vegans in my family (I can think of two right now) and of course, pigs in the blanket. Can’t forget dessert as well. Another thing, OPEN BAR!!! Liquor must be involved in this. I know that I would enjoy having a rum and coke at some of my buddies’ funerals, so it will be at mine. Besides, since we’ve saved money on my wardrobe and casket, we can use that money on booze. If the church isn’t cool with liquor, then the meal can be somewhere else. I also want a TV there so people can watch the ballgame, whatever sport it may be. Live the dream!

Day Two

Funeral: Here’s the main event. First, I can’t stop people from doing it, but I want no one to wear black. As my cousin Brandon said at the funeral I was just at, that’s too cliché. I would be totally cool with people showing up in the same clothes they came in for the wake. It not a serious deal. The service will be short, probably around an hour or two, tops. I also want a lot of energy at the funeral. The great part about great-grandma’s funeral was that people were singing and clapping, it was like a normal church service. The band was playing and people were feeling the grove. I want the same from my funeral. Once again, its not the worst thing in the world. The eulogy can be given by a close family member, whoever feels up for it. I would tell them to keep it honest and real. I wasn’t perfect but I wasn’t a jackass either. Somewhere in between will be fine.

Cemetery Visit: Well, at this stage, its time for your boy to go home to heaven or hell or wherever. I’m thinking heaven, but I have no control over that really. I just live a good and honest life and whatever goes down, I’m cool with it. Anyway back to the burial. Not really much to do here accept bury me and move on to the second Repass.

Meal #2/Repass: Everything else can be the same from the first meal the day before accept this one can have Chinese food or Italian food, choice of my brothers, sister, mother, future wife and kids. I’m leaning towards Chinese. Open Bar will still be in play and hopefully a sports game will be on. After that, people can go home and do what ever they want.

These are preliminary plans and there’s a lot more that has to be figured out. The main thing is that I need to develop a play list for the funeral and the wake. This will take some time. I’d love to hear your thoughts on my ideas and even throw some of yours in there. We can brainstorm. Until then, see you on the other side.

Here are three songs that will definitely make the play list. Televators by the Mars Volta, No Quarter by Led Zeppelin and Eulogy by Tool. And yes, for you Tool fans out there, I get the irony of playing Eulogy in my funeral. For non-fans, just listen to the song and you'll get it.

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.