Rants and Raves

Rant:

The first thing I want to talk about is EA Sports. I'm a pretty loyal customer when it comes to EA Sports, but lately their games are tumbling into an endless abyss of nothing. I fully understand their best game is the whole Madden Franchise, but as an entity, how can you be okay with your competition (2k9) out-dueling you. Let's talk basketball. EA has essentially been non existent in the basketball realm of sports games. It's disheartening really. I don't get it. The EA basketball games are awful compared to the 2k9 basketball games. Get your stuff together EA!

Rave:

The pentagonal prism of love is extremely intricate. But, on the bright side, everywhere you look there is someone there. It's never going to be long life with no one by your side because there is someone there for you, it just depends whether or not you find them. Don't get discouraged, you'll be fine!

Rant:

I've decided that if you need any type of relationship advice, you should come to me. I'm so good at it, but when it comes to my own relationships, not that I'm in one, I suck! It's awful...trust me.

Rave:

Ok so I have a board that I control in my buddy's room. On this board is a girl's nickname. It's kind of our own twist on "For the love of Ray J." Anyway, on this board is the girl's nickname and the initials of the guy who is crushin' on her. Well, new to the board is Lupe ( pronounced Lou Pay). We have another buddy who is crushin on Lupe and he has no idea who she is. The two guys are trying to study together, and he refuses to give his notes away, because he wants to know who is Lupe. Well, it's funny.

Rant:

What is with all this fake drama stuff on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, and even Cartoon Network. When I grew up, cartoons were the at the epicenter of evolution. We had Doug, Rugrats, Keenan and Kel, Are you afraid of the dark?, R. L. Stein's Goosebumps books... If you were a kid in those days, you grew up during one the best ever periods as far TV and cartoons are concerned. But now, it's a joke. Hannah Montana, Drake and Josh, all these Japanese anime cartoons. It's an absolute disgrace. You would think after the epic shows like those good ones listed above, the makers of shows now, would make better shows then what they are making. If you didn't understand that last sentence, I'm saying directors/producers get your act together!

Rave:

On a brighter note, baseball season is on its way. Pitchers and Catchers have reported to training camp. I can't wait till opening day in Cincinnati. I will be taking off school that day to watch the Reds whoop the Cardinals.

Rave:

I'm skipping the next rant because I ran out of things to rant on and on about. The Bengals are playing in the Hall of Fame game to kick off the beginning of pre-season play before the next football season starts. Tentative plans, as of now, are that I'm going to that game with my brother! The only problem, he's a cowboys fan...

My last quote was weak so here's a good one to 'spice' things up-

"If you wanna be lover, you've got to get with my friends, make it last forever, friendship never ends"- Spice Girls

There's Batman, and then there's Robin

If you could be one superhero, who would you be? Batman, Superman, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Hulk. This question was asked of me and a couple other guys the other day, and one of them said Robin. Seriously, Robin. What has Robin ever done? I mean really, he does nothing but stand in the background and let Batman do all the work, while in the end, taking full credit for everything.

Hello Kevin Skoog. He's a first time reader, therefore he should become a follower and check my blog everyday for new posts.

Ok so really, for the real thing:

I have this extreme obsession with Mark Cuban. I absolutely love the guy. Most people think he is just some NBA team owner who is loud mouth that doesn't sit in a suite like the rest of the owners, and just yells at the refs for no apparent reason other than to get noticed...or fined. Well, he is that, but he is so much more. I couldn't explain why I'm obsessed with him, other than saying the man is a complete and utter genius. He writes a blog called 'blog maverick' and I read every single post. This man is a genius. When he was in college, at Indiana University, him and a buddy decided to take a risk and open a bar. Well, that was only the beginning of the right business moves he has made throughout his lifetime. He owns HDNet, has stock all over the stock market, he wanted to buy the Chicago Cubs for $300 million dollar. Yes, $300 million dollars, meaning he's not only loaded, but he is an absolutely business oriented genius! I heard him talk on Bill Simmons's podcast and I instantly bought whatever it was he was selling. If I need business advice, I look to him for answers. No, I don't know him, but I want hang out with him one day and soak up everything he has to say.

Liquid soap or bar soap? The debate continues...

What is confidence? I couldn't tell you, but everyone should have it. I know a guy, and everyone thinks he is a pompous jerk, but really he is just confident. Confidence.... you need it to pick up a girl, pass a test, and even to make it in the world. When you go to an interview, you need to be confident in your ability to answer any question that is asked. When you are trying to get the girl of your dreams, you need to have confidence, and courage, to go out of your way to talk to her. But, you can't be creepy about it. It has to be a subtle thing. I'm not good at it, but what I am good at is telling you how to be confident, or more a less, that you need to be confident. Confidence is the X-factor of all X-factors. It seems to be the one thing that either brings people down, or builds them up. Don't overplay your confidence, people will hate you for that. I guess you just need to know how to use your confidence. Not too much, not too little.... make it just right and all will be good.

Someone told me to write about something I care about so here it goes: Tough Love. Yes that's right, Tough Love. I love the show! There have now been two very successful seasons, at least in my eyes, and now I'm just waiting for a twist. By a twist, I don't mean anything stupid, but I do mean like taking guys, and having them go through the "boot camp" and let's see it from the guy's point of view. I mean, you have the bachelor, and the bachelorette. Why can't there be Tough Love: girls and Tough Love: guys. Though I love seeing the girls transform into different people, I want to see guys go through the process for one reason and one reason only. That reason is....it could help me out in that department too!

--"Gotta Eat"- Rally's

Bucket List

So I present to you on my 20th birthday, well the day after my 20th birthday, some things I think are cool.

First off, I was thinking about this the other day...

I think it's really funny that when you are growing up, you can't wait for your birthday, but then at a certain point in your life, you never want your birthday to come anymore. Well, that point is your 22nd birthday. Why? Let's see...when you turn 10, you're stoked because you've finally hit double digits in years. When you're 13, you're happy because you're officially a teenager. Then comes 16, and well, you can finally drive...at least in most states you can. Next comes 18. At the age of 18, you can buy tobacco, if you're into that. Next is 19. The only thing interesting about the age of 19, is well, nothing! After 19 you turn 20, which is still meaningless except for the fact that you are a one year closer to that ever so coveted 21. 21 is the birthday that absolutely conquers every single other birthday. Not because it's so fantastic, because sometimes it's not, but because your whole life builds up until the day you can actually go to the bar and by your first beer....legally. After 21 your whole crashes and burns. From then on, there is nothing to look forward. By nothing to look forward I mean, age wise. When 30 hits, you cry because you're getting old. When 40 hits, there is still some part in you that you thinks you are young, but then you wake up the next day and realize that you are indeed old. Then the hammer drops at age 50. Not only is that supposed to mark the exact halfway point between your life, you realize you are OLD. You realize that really most of your life has come and gone and the day after your birthday, you realize that there is not much more to do in life that you haven't done, except to complete what is left your "Things to do before I die" list.

Speaking of the "Things to do before I die" list, here is mine at the age of 20:

Sports-
I want to go to a Super Bowl, preferably one that Bengals are playing in.
I want to go to a Duke vs. North Carolina basketball game, preferably at Duke.
I want to go to an Ohio State-Michigan football game.
I want to go to the Final Four.
I want to go to a NASCAR race.
I want to go to the Olympics.
I want to go to a Notre Dame football game at Notre Dame to see Evan Wray show off what he has worked so hard to get at.

Travel-
I want to go to France to witness everything that is France.
I want to go to Ireland so I can stare at the hills and be amazed.
I want to take my mom on the trip of her lifetime.
I want to travel with my two cousins and my brother and have a blast.
I want to just get in the car one day and drive. I don't care where I end up, I just want to drive.

Life goals-
I want to....
be the head coach of a football team.
work for a professional team.
be a father.
go to a concert.
be remembered for something remarkable.
graduate college.
buy a house.
live close to my sisters and brother so it's a simple drive to their house when I want to go there.
have this blog turn into something big
work with someone famous
meet Mark Cuban
and of course, witness something, in my eyes, that is truly majestic.


I'm sure there are plenty of things I left out, but hey, it's a start. The way I see it, everyone should at least attempt to do everything they want to do before they die. You only get one life. Why not try and do something for yourself every once in awhile.

Go out tomorrow and do something you wanted to do today, but didn't.

The Journey of Social Networks

I wonder everyday what the next big thing will be. Is it going to be a social network? How about a search engine? How about a place wear you can stream videos....another type of youtube? It is really hard to say what will be the next big thing, but if I had a guess, it would be another type of social networking site. Google released Google Buzz recently, and so far, the reception has been less than stellar. Some say that it's just a copy of Facebook, but just under the Google name. Social Networking is the one thing everyone is attacking. Everyone is looking for that one piece that will turn into a "gotta have," something that will impact people's lives.

Let's not forget though how we got to where we are now. For me, it began with AIM. There was nothing more exciting than signing on to instant message your best friends. AOL set the bar, and started off a long line of things to take over the lives of people. From AIM, it went to Xanga. Xanga was HUGE. Everyone had one, and most likely, everyone still has one because chances are you did not delete your profile. Regardless, Xanga was the beginning of the social network aspect. From Xanga, we go to MySpace. Personally, I hated MySpace, but Tom hit it big. As MySpace hung around, yahoo and possibly google planted their networks with an Instant Messaging feature. From MySpace, we travel to the world of Facebook, which has absolutely taken over the lives of not just young people, but older people as well. From Facebook, comes Twitter, which is hitting it big at the moment. And now, from Twitter, we go to this endless abyss of networks who are trying to find that big feature that will light everyone's eyes up.

That is really the challenge, for me personally, if I am going to invest in the stock market, I am looking for a social network that is undervalued, and hoping it hits big. I just wonder what is going to be next. I mean, Google started as a class project. Maybe some teacher challenges his students to make the next big thing. It will be interesting to find out what will happen.

My Birthday is arriving soon, and I can't wait.

Here's a quote to finish it off:

"It's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years!" - Abraham Lincoln

What's the story?

Let me, let you, in on my life. I have recently discovered how much I love business. Not just any business, but the business of sports. It is quite unbelievable how business works in sports. You have partnerships, corporations, marketing, advertisement, sales, and even naming rights. It could not be a more difficult process to actually fully understand each and everyone of these things, and I'm not about to begin telling you about any of them. If you are interested, you can look it up on google, or bing, or whatever other search engine you choose to use. The business within sports is such a fascinating thing. Not only do you have the stuff like marketing that is more behind the scenes, you actually have to run a team. You may have to dump salaries to free up some cap space to sign a good player. Or get rid of a good player to release the money to rebuild the team. The decisions made within a team will most times be questioned, but remember, even though your favorite player on your favorite team just got traded away, MOST times, it's only to benefit the team.

I'm not sure what's more surprising, the fact that Jamaica doesn't have a bobsled team in the Winter Olympics this year, or the fact that Chat Roulette is slowly grabbing the hearts of the world and sucking them into a wild abyss of nothing. Chat Roulette is just a weird concept. It hooks up everyone who goes to the website to random people all over the world who have webcams. Then you just talk to random people. I've had one run-in with Chat Roulette, and I will most likely never use it ever again. Some people use that to do some really sick things, so beware!

What will be the story of the Olympics this year? No one knows right now... Will it be: Canada not winning a gold medal in any event for the 4th time they've held the Olympics. That's right, Canada has never won a gold medal when hosting the Olympics. Will hockey win the hearts of the world, making it the event to watch? Will Shaun White win gold? Which country will win the medal count? So many stories, and only less than 16 days to hear them....

Business, Sports, America

So it's been an extremely long time since I last updated this. I attempted to drop this blog and move on to bigger and better things, but then I decided I couldn't live without this thing. I just have so many thoughts that all of you need to read. Just kidding, but really new ideas, new topics, it's a new blog. So here we go...

First, let's talk about Entourage, or more specifically Spike TV. I'm a big fan of Entourage, but I think it's more incredible that a TV network will pick this show up. Just think of how much money they have to pay to air this show. Entourage makes a ton of money on itself, then add in the factor that it originally airs on HBO. Now, let's envision the amount of money Spike had to pay HBO, now add the money Spike had to pay the producers, directors, and possibly the actors of Entourage. That's a lot of money. The fact is, Spike has acquired the syndication rights to all 78 episodes that have already aired, and any that will air in the future. That's a lot of money.

Now, I'm not saying it's a bad deal because they spent too much money because believe me, in the long run, the profitability of this deal will far outweigh any amount spent to get the syndication rights. Here's why... there are plenty of people who have never watched Entourage because their cable package doesn't include HBO, which is topic for discussion on another day. Spike TV's main watching group is predominantly men. Typically, men like Entourage for various amounts of reasons that will not be named. On a network that shows UFC, Manswers, and now Entourage, it's inevitable that Spike has positioned themselves to be one of the top networks in the long run. As fans pick up the remote and flip to Spike to watch Entourage, you better believe more fans are beginning to do the same. Entourage is a hit, and a TON of people haven't seen any episodes yet. Now, since Entourage lands on semi-basic cable, look for both the ratings of Entourage and Spike TV to skyrocket.

Now on a lighter note, let's talk college football. Wednesday was national signing day, and some schools hit it big. While other schools like Ohio State spent their day twiddling their thumb and wondering what went wrong. Jim Tressel will never say it, so I will... Buckeye Nation, we dropped the ball. When Tressel came to Ohio State, he made it a point to keep the best high school football players in Ohio, in Ohio. Which means, it was his job to get the best of the best and make them come to Ohio State. Well there's one thing that went wrong. Jordan Hicks played his high school football at Lakota West, which is near Cincinnati. Tell me how he doesn't go to Ohio State. Hicks was the Nation's #1 rated Outside Linebacker by ESPN. He's from Ohio, so he should definitely sign his letter of intent to OSU right? WRONG. Why wrong? Because Tressel dropped the ball once again. Though he finally won a big game... talking of course about the Rose Bowl win over Oregon... it's clear that he lost another. I'm counting this in the big game column, because once you can't recruit the best to your school, you can't be the best. Well, Hicks left Ohio and fled to Texas. I can't understand how Tressel lets one of the best players in the country, who is from Ohio, leave Ohio to play his college football. Add it to the loss column.

How about the fact that OSU isn't even ranked in the top 15 recruiting classes based on ESPN's rankings. Add that to the loss column too. That will account for at least 2 losses over the next 3 years because Ohio State just won't be as good as they need to be.

Now let's talk Super Bowl 44. Not so much about who's going to win, who's going to get paid after the fact, or who's going to be MVP of the Super Bowl, but let's talk about the New Orleans Saints. It hasn't been talked about, or at least I haven't heard it be talked about, but let's not forget that just a couple years ago the Saints' home field was turned into a safe haven for many of the people who live in New Orleans. It's a little unbelievable what happened just short time ago has already been pushed to the very back of everyone's mind, so much that it doesn't even get talked about. Put yourself in a Saints fan's shoes and imagine seeing the Superdome in both a time of need and a time of joy. In both cases, it was a packed house. In one case everyone was on the field sleeping, and the other case everyone was in the stands cheering. So as the Super Bowl approaches, let's bask in the glory of getting to the big game, but let's not forget what happened in New Orleans just a short time ago.