Golden Arch

Hello everyone.  Sorry its been so long, it's the summer what do you expect.  I've decided to stop doing the podcasts.  I'll keep them on here for a little bit longer.  I just don't think they were as successful as I had hoped for....so if you liked them, sorry!

This post is going to be strictly sports talk from my point of view, so prepare yourself....

Lets talk baseball.  I want to start out with the Roy Halliday trade scenario that will unfold in the next week.  It's pretty clear Halliday wants out, and the Blue Jays want prospects.  The Blue Jays reportedly told the Phillies that they wanted their top two prospects plus another good prospect.  I'm pretending to be the Phillies General Manager ...... 

How bad do you want Halliday?  Me:  We don't just want him, we need him, and we will almost do anything to get him.  As an organization, we understand that someone of his caliber is going to come with a very hefty asking price.  Our goal as an organization is to be the best.  Not just the best in our division, which we currently are.... not just the best in our league, which we are making strides toward, but our ultimate goal is to be the best in the majors!  We just signed Pedro Martinez I know, but I'm telling you, we need Roy.  The Blue Jays want our top two pitching prospects.  I can't do it.  I'll give them one, but what happens if one of starters now gets hurt next year or the year after?  That's why I can't do it,  but I'll tell what I will do, I'll give you two young good players, with one of our top two pitching prospects.  We need Roy, badly, but I can't give you all of our minor league talent. 

Blue Jays GM:  Look, Roy is our best player, and arguably the best pitcher to put on a Blue Jays jersey.  I can't give you him for cheap.  We need to also protect ourselves.  Look at it from my point of view, when Roy leaves, our fans will also.  I need talent coming in as he exits to give some sort of hope for our fans.  So here is what I'm thinking.  You give me a good player, a player who will be a great role player, and your BEST pitching prospect, and that's the lowest I'm going to ask for, and if you don't like it, then Roy is staying with us.

Phillies GM:  I understand where you're coming from, and we need Roy for the next 3 years.  We won the world series last year, with him, we're going to win it this year, and the next two years after that we will still be loaded, and will win it again.  I'm thinking dynasty.  We are the Phillies and we will do anything to win!

The Cardinals have been on a mission to add some depth and to protect Albert Pujols.  It's obvious Pujols is the best player in the majors, and sooner or later other teams aren't going to pitch  to him.  Well problem solved....  I'm the Cards GM...

Cards GM: We need to protect him, he needs to be pitched to 4 times per game, he's the best....we need help.  The one guy that will fit the mold of protecting Pujols is Matt Holliday.  He's our guy, he will solve our problem!  We are on a quest for greatness, we know we're good right now, but adding Holliday  will make us the team to beat.  We feel we are better than the Phillies, even with Halliday.  But when we add Holliday, we will definitely the one to beat.

The day of getting traded, Matt Holliday played for his new team, the Cardinals.  He had a stolen base, 4 hits, and 1 rbi.  Looks like the Cards are the team to beat as of now in the National League.  The Cards definitely now the team to beat in the NL Central.  All 6 teams are within 9 games of first place.  The pirates are in last, exactly 9 games back.  The reds are 5th, 7 games back.  The milwaukee brewers are only 3 games back of the cards, and that's good enough for 4th place at the moment.  The Houston Astros are only 2 games, back and in 3rd place.  The cubs are a game and a half out of first place, which puts them in 2nd.  So, here is the question to every GM in the NL Central.  What does your team have to do keep up with the Cardinals after they just upgraded in a trade?

I'll start from the back of the pack and work towards the contenders as I pretend  to be each GM in the NL Central...so here we go...

I'm the Pittsburgh Pirates GM:  To answer your question about keeping up with the Cardinals, for us it's impossible.  We don't have the talent to even try.  This is the second time in the past 6 or 7 years we are trading away our good players to gain prospects.  The first time we did it, it seemed to work out, we have still with us from the past rebuilding session...Jack Wilson, Freddy Sanchez, Zack Duke, Andy LaRoche, and a few more pitchers.  We have traded this year, Nyjer Morgan, Ryan Doumit, Adam LaRoche, and a couple more solid players.  Look, I would like to admit to a mistake, normally the people who are out of their divisions tend to be sellers every year.  This was the one year that we were in our race, and I blew it.  I started selling off all our good players to other teams for their average prospects in hopes of rebuilding.  Now we are out of our race, and I'm taking full resposibility for the lack of competition in Pittsburgh.  Let's be honest, we aren't the Steelers, we struggle every year, and year after year we find ourselves saying maybe next year.  The difference this year is we are saying maybe in 6-7 years stemming from realizing that our shortstop and second baseman aren't going to re-sign with us after their contracts are up after the season.  Sorry Pittsburgh, at least you have the Steelers right?

Now I will be the Reds GM: 

Well, to be completely honest, we don't have any plans for the next few days.  If a deal were to go down, it won't happen till the night before or the day of the trade deadline.  The reason?  We haven't exactly decided if we are in this race or out.  We stood steady at 4 to 5 games out of first for at least a month, but have recently been slipping.  It's obvious that we're hurting a bit due to injuries.  Jay is out for a long time with a broken list.  Volquez is still injured, and we are just bruised and beaten up.  Our pitchers are under-performing, as usual, and Homer Bailey still hasn't shown us that he deserves to be here in the majors.  My gut tells me to sell sell sell, but the fan inside me says to buy buy buy.  We have been trying to find a big right handed hitter.  In earlier discussions, we had talked about acquiring Matt Holliday, or Mark DeRosa.  Neither deal went through as the first place Cardinals snatched both of those players away from us.  If we decide to sell, we need to unload to get some good prospects if at all possible.  Aaron Harang is and has been under-performing for about a year and a half now, and Bronson Arroyo is too inconsistent and too expensive.  Both him and Harang are getting about 12 million each and they are breaking our bank for the lack of productivity they are giving us.  Don't be surprised if one or both players are moved, depending on the deals offered obviously.  Also, Francisco Cordero is lights out, but if we are out of the race, obviously winning isn't going to come often, therefore we don't need our closer and the $25 million he is taking from us.  Surely someone could use him, as long as we get our prospects in return.  I also think Arthur Rhodes will be moved if the right deal comes about.  Teams always need left-handed pitching, so with a prospect or two, could go one of our few lefties.  One more person could surprisingly go at the deadline.  Ramon Hernandez is a possibility to be moved.  He's a gamer and has given nothing short of his best as a Red, but it's pretty clear that Ryan Hannigan is ready to be a starter in the majors.  Maybe Ramon could help us out some more by giving us prospects as he walks out of the clubhouse doors after saying see you later Cincinnati, "Maybe next year."  Hmmm, sounds an awful lot like the Pirates...

Now I'm the Milwaukee Brewers GM:  We are 3 games out, and we need pitching.  Manny Parra is beginning to become a bit more healthy, and better, day after day.  He seems to have gotten his swag back and he could be our answer.  We have one week to decide if he will be the answer to catching the Cards or if we need to go out and get someone.  If he isn't the answer, look for us to get a pitcher from the Oakland A's.  His name is Justin Duscherer, or something like that.  We have been scouting him and we like what we see!  Check back in a week to see what we do with our team.

I'm the Houston Astros GM:  We are broke.  We are in the race, but in 1 month we won't be contenders anymore.  What we have to work with is mediocre pitching and that is never good.  We assumed signing Ivan Rodriquez in the offseason would be our answer, but with recent developments coming from the Cards, it's clearly not the answer we need right now.  So, for now, until next year, we play ball and hope we win the race.

I'm the Chicago Cubs GM:  We are right where we need to be...we have come this far without a solid left handed pitcher.  When we add one before the trade deadline has passed, we will be an even stronger team.  One person we are looking to get is Arthur Rhodes from the Reds, we know it'll cost a prospect or two, but getting a player we need is well worth the prospects.  I mean hey, we're the Cubs, it's been over a hundred years since we last won the world series.  How much worse can it get.  Maybe this is the year that dreaded streak ends, only if we find a lefty though...

I'm the Cardinals GM:  There is no doubt in my mind that we will win our division race.  We have done some things that none of the other teams can come close to doing anything we did.  To us, it's already hello playoffs!

Now to the NBA...

I think it's a good thing the Cavs got Shaq, it gives them one year to win the Championship before they bring in Chris Bosh to win multiple Champioships, or so I thought.  Shaq is good, Anderson Varajeo, not so much.  The Cavs spent $50 million on Varajeo, which I'm afraid is going to restrict them getting Chris Bosh.  Everyone knows the Cavs want/need him, which is why I'm not sure what Danny Ferry is doing.  I wander exactly how much money he has saved up to go after Bosh, because if Varajeo is worth 50 million, it's scary to think of how much Bosh will ask for...

I'm not sure what is wrong with the Lakers.  Last week they withdrew their offer to Lamar Odom.  Hello, you won't win another championship without him.  Your lineup is much better with him, than without him.  If you let him go to Dwayne Wade and the heat, you're in trouble.  So you added Artest, nice pickup, but you need Odom, because Bynum is too tall for his body, hence the reason why he gets hurt every other day.

Trail Blazers, you missed your shot, you needed help for Brandon Roy in the backcourt.  Recent rumors have said that you might be looking to add Kirk Hinrich, which would be the pickup you need.  Only to find out today that you signed Andre Miller to a 3 year deal, which essentially doesn't help Brandon Roy.  Look, Miller is decent, but he isn't a Kirk Hinrich.  I mean let's be honest, anyone other than Steve Blake will make you a better team, I just expected more from you!

Dear Miami Heat, if you don't make noise soon, you won't have your best player even sooner.  There are issues with your team, Flash needs help.  Specifically from Lamar Odom and Carlos Boozer.  Boozer isn't going to be in a Jazz uniform for much longer, and you need this to be true more than any other team in the NBA.  With those two, you won't win any titles, but it will give hope to Flash and your fans, showing them that you are trying to win.

The Pistons are going to be good this year.  Ben Gordon and Tayshaun Prince, along with Richard Hamilton and Charlie Villanueva.  That's a solid starting 4 and hopefully their point guard is a very good facilitator!

Allen Iverson, you need to accept a bench role.  You need to play behind a young point gaurd and be his mentor, and show him the ropes of the league.  It's obvious you won't, but you should.  Memphis would be a good fit for you, because if you suck there, no one will care because no one watches Memphis.  

The Minnesota Timberwolves will most likely become the first team ever in the history of the NBA to complete a whole season without a head coach.  It's obvious something in the organization is wrong.  No one wants to play there, no one wants to coach there, the only person that actually wants to be there, is the sports guy Bill Simmons.  You need to consider hiring him as your GM because he has some good ideas, like never drafting 3 point guards in the same draft.  Ricky Rubio will not be good in the NBA, mark my words!  You won't be good this year again, sorry fans.

The Celtics found a way to somehow get better again this offseason.  Now instead of the the big 3, there is the big 4.  I wonder what their new nickname will be after ESPN makes another commercial with them.

Lets talk Orlando Magic.  HELLOOOO, what in the world is wrong with you?  I agree Rafer Alston had to go, but Cortney Lee?  No way, he was a rookie and he gave your team so much more than you'll get from JJ Redick, even though it pains me to say that.  You lose Hedo Turkoglu to the Toronto Raptors, and you get Vince Carter?  NO WAY!!  In NBA years, Vince Carter is an old man only 2 years away from dying.  He's past his prime and is simply not good anymore.  The only reason why he is still well-known, is because what he did 1o years ago in all those dunk contests.  

I want to give props to the Houston Rockets for getting Trevor Ariza.  They needed him.  If only Yao Ming wasn't out for the year...  With Yao, they have a good shot to win the title, without Yao, Trevor is waking up every day extremely angry that he's stuck with the one, the only, selfish, can't get his team out of the first round of the playoffs, give me the ball, always hurt, Tracy McGrady... at least a former Blue Devil is there to run the show when the cameras aren't on, and that's why we love you Shane Battier!

Now to soccer.... yep, America still hates it...

Training camp starts soon, and the Bengals will be filming for their new series on HBO called Hard Knocks.

T.O. has his own reality show, guess what it's called....         

The T.O. Show....Have fun Buffalo!!

"You worry about yours, let them worry about theirs, cause I got mine."--Lil Wayne

The Campaigns Are On!

Alright, let me break it down here right quick for you...I feel bad.  I feel bad because my last post was not good... and I apologize.  I know I can do better, which is leading me to this blog.  I have multiple things to talk about so here we go...

My first thing is about Sportscenter.  Look, I'm a sports guy and I love the show, but we have to draw a line.  I completely agree with Sportscenter going Live.  I think it's great, this way when something big happens in the sports world, they are right there to give the news.  My problem comes with how long it's on.  I don't think you can basically run the same program (with minimal things changed in between the episodes) until 3 o'clock in the afternoon.  I think when a show is on, it's nice to watch it once, maybe twice, but when you want to watch something about sports I refuse to turn to Sportscenter because it's just the same thing.  Instead of running the program for 8 hours a day, they should just put on Baseball Tonight, or show some ESPN Radio TV shows.  I know that sounds weird but an example is Mike and Mike in the Morning, or The Herd with Colin Cowherd.  I'm not saying to stop playing Sportscenter, but change it up every once in awhile.

The next thing I want to talk about is Real World.  The next Real World has been announced and it takes place in Cancun, Mexico.  This is an incredible place to hold the Real World.  Having it in Mexico is setting everyone up for failure.  The whole cast is going to be completely shwasted.  When everyone is drunk for the whole time, there will be fights.  Fights are equal to drama, and in reality TV, drama equals success.  I will definitely be tuning in when this premieres.

People are upset at Lebron James for not giving an interview after the game 6 loss in Orlando, and also for not shaking hands after the game.  Look, Lebron poured his heart and soul into all 6 games while getting nearly zero help from his teammates.  Really, teammates?  When you are on a team with LBJ, he asks only two things.  He asks for the guards to knock down 3's, and he asks for Ilgauskas to hit that 18 foot jumper.  Neither of these two things happened in the whole series.  So, as LBJ, when you go score basically 40 points a night for 6 games, when he loses, you really expect him to shake hands and say congrats on beating me?  Come on, people are mad because he left Mo Williams and Delonte West to do the post game interviews.  Well, they are the ones that couldn't hit the shots and make the big plays, so why not let them deal with the media.  I don't know, I just don't see the problem.  When you are trying to win a championship and you get zero help from your team, you're going to be frustrated.  He did what he did and we can't change that, so get off of him.

So Heidi and Spencer got married, any bets on when they get divorced?

OK, now to the serious parts of this post.  When I wake up in the morning, it's about 7 or 7:30 ish.  I turn to ESPN2 and watch/ listen to Mike and Mike in the Morning.  I love the show.  So, I've decided to start a campaign.  My objective in this campaign is to get mentioned on the show.  The way that I am hoping to do this is by giving my input on random questions.  What I mean by this is, every time on the show they ask for input on the subjects they talk about from the listeners, I will be emailing in.  Hopefully over the summer, I can sit in front of the TV from 6-10 a.m. with my laptop and every time they ask for input, I'm emailing in and hoping I get on TV.  Call me stupid, but eventually, it will happen.  That's my goal, so don't put me down.

I have a fascination with this guy named Bill Simmons.  He runs a podcast about every other day, and sometimes daily.  In his podcast, he talks about random things from reality TV, to sports.  I think the reason why I like it is because it's basically my blog, in a podcast.  I had no intentions of making it this way, but the more I listen to his podcast, the more it becomes evident, his podcast and my blog, are basically the exact thing.  I mean, we talk about different things, but for the most part, they are equivalent.  I actually am in the habit of listening to a podcast of his before I go to bed.  You can listen to his podcast if you go to ESPN PodCenter, and look for "the BS report with Bill Simmons."  I love them.  I encourage you to listen to one if you like sports...but, the other day he had Mark Cuban on and this was a great podcast.  I have never been a big fan of Mark Cuban, but this podcast changed my mind.  Cuban talked about some options that are coming up with free agents and the economy and his business skills.  If you didn't know, Mark Cuban is the owner of the Dallas Mavericks, an NBA team, and he owns so many more things.  He owns a show called HDNet, which shows concerts and once a month shows movies before they come out in theaters.  I just enjoyed it, and it got me thinking about things that I can do in the sports world as I grow up.  It also got me thinking about my blog.  He basically said, when things are written, you have to look at the credibility of the source.  Take a blog.  If something is written on a blog, he looks at how many "followers" are on the blog.  If there are a lot, and a lot of people are going to read it, then he will pay attention.  I want to take this time to say I need more followers.  If this blog is going to continue to be written I need to know that people are reading it.  

I want to say thank-you to Kyla for becoming my second follower!

I am also setting up another campaign.  This one has two separate parts that are not linked to each other, but they both have something to do with podcasts.  

1)  Plain and simple, I want to make it on the BS report.  I know sounds crazy and this is kind of out there, but I think it would cool.  So, Mr. Simmons, if you are reading this, think about it.  

2)  I am looking into how to create a podcast and I want to make at least one podcast and post it on this blog.  This seems to be a bit more of a possibility of actually happening, so I am interested in doing it.  I will keep you updated on this goal/campaign.

Feel free to let me know what you think about my 2/3 campaigns.

I do want to talk about the Reds really quick.  The first-year player draft is coming up and the Reds NEED left handed pitching.  Right now, the reds pitching rotation contains zero starters that are left-handed.  There are only 4 teams in Major League Baseball that don't have a lefty in their starting rotation.  The first team is the Kansas City Royals, and everyone knows how they have been in recent years.  They also have Zach Greinke who is pitching like he should be a Yankee next season.  The next team is the San Diego Padres, and they aren't too good this year.  Not to mention they have Jake Peavy and he is beastly.  The next is the St. Louis Cardinals, and they are good, but they have Chris Carpenter and Adam Wainwright who are two stellar pitchers.  The last team is the Cincinnati Reds.  Micah Owings gives a good outing once in every 4 games.  Edinson Volquez is good, but he is battling injuries right now.  Bronson Arroyo is consistently inconsistent, even though he has 7 wins.  Johnny Cueto is good, plain and simple, but at times erratic.  Then, there is Aaron Harang.  I haven't decided on him this year.  He clearly isn't as bad as last year, but he isn't as good as he was two years ago, which leads me to the conclusion that he is just mediocre and doesn't deserve to be the highest paid player on the Reds roster.  Which leads me to my short letter that I am about to write to the Reds Management. 

Dear Cincinnati Reds, 

Please draft a young, but good, left-handed starting pitcher that can make some noise on his way to the majors.  But, please make sure he isn't going to be a dud, like Homer Bailey is so far.

Sincerely,

Chris Patterson

My quote for this post is by William A. Ward- 

"Adversity causes some men to break; other to break records."

MTV Movie Awards

Ok, so I've decided to do a running post during the MTV Movie Awards.  If you haven't watched it yet, then stop reading right now, because I'm about to talk about everything during show...

The opening skit was pretty funny, not hilarious, like I was hoping for, just pretty funny.  

So best female breakthrough performance went to Ashley Tisdale from High School Musical 3...

Best fight went to Robert Pattinson from Twilight...

Eminem KILLED it!!  He's the best, what else can you say?

I think at this point, Andy Samberg needs to relax a little bit and let the jokes come to him.  I think he's trying too hard to be funny, but he is a definite improvement from last year's host.  I forget his name, but he's that British guy who was in the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

The song with Andy Samberg and Will Ferrell was funny.

Jonah Hill is hilarious...

Breakthrough Performance for a male went to Robert Pattinson, which is such a terrible pick.  I completely disagree!!!  Really people, it's bad enough that he won best fight, so please stop voting for that pitiful performance, as well as that pitiful movie!

I can't tell if what just happened was actually supposed to happen....and it kind of looks like Eminem is actually pissed off.  I'm confused.

Zach Effron won Best Male Performance from the movie High School Musical 3...

haha the guy who "won" a tech award is funny, not to mention he is humping the Popcorn Award.

Best kiss goes to....wow, Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart from Twilight...blah blah blah, who cares! Even though there thank you was funny...

Jim Carrey ladies and gentleman!!  AH, love the digital shorts!!  I actually love the slowed down "remixes" of Andy's Digital Shorts on SNL!

The WTF award goes to...haha nice rhymes, even though I hate that "Droppin 35" song,  Amy Poehler wins...good choice.

I can't wait for Kings of Leon...

Best song from a movie goes to...WE LOVE LIL WAYNE...the award goes to Miley Cyrus from her stupid movie...Wow, she is soooo not funny at all!

I did enjoy the interruption of the Twilight Sneak Peek, less Twilight means better Show.

Well it looks like I'm still not going to watch Twilight...

Congrats to Ben Stiller, you deserve it man.  The generation award, what a good person to give it to.  His introduction was funny.

HAHA love the Doubt video game!!

I liked the Star Trek skit too...

Kristen Stewart from Twilight won Best Female Performance...I actually typed as soon as they said her name because it's obvious that the little 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17 year olds are obsessed with that movie which put a huge damper on the awards show, not to mention she dropped her award...pitiful.

Gotta love Kings of Leon!  They are soooo good.  The best of the performance was that the drummer picked up a beer towards the end...classic.

I love Will Ferrell and Danny McBride (aka Kenny Powers).  HA there intro was funny.  Best Comedic Performance goes to Jim Carrey.  I can understand why, but I think James Franco's performance blows his out of the water.  His acceptance speech was funny.  Good one Jim.

Heath Ledger won this year's best Villain.  Good for him, he deserved it.  RIP.

BEST MOVIE GOES TO TWILIGHT, which is completely ludacris.  I am seriously upset.  This is a joke!  Get a new system MTV because of all those movies that were nominated, Twilight most likely came in last!! Yeah even behind High School Musical 3.  AHHHHHH TERRIBLE!!!

But I do think it's funny that they made an Indiana Jones video game.

OK, now I'm mad and I'm leaving...if you didn't like the post, don't fret more are to come...

Midnight

OK, I got a good story for you.  Well, I can't say good, because it is probably somewhere in between decent and good.  Which apparently makes it dood (not to be pronounced like dude, it rhymes with good).  So back to my dood story, earlier this week, I decided to start buckling down on my school work and really start to focus.  Naturally, I chose to eliminate all the distractions that have been surrounding me for quite some time.  On my Mac, I have all the web pages that I visit daily in what us "Macions" (pronounced Mac-e-ons) call the "Bookmarks Bar."  So I took out all those websites.  Those websites included, centsports.com, facebook, my own blog, espn.com, and my hometown newspaper's website.  In addition, I unplugged my PlayStation 2, and yes I am aware that I am rockin' it old school, and quite frankly I will still be rockin' it old school until Sony decides to quit making new games for the PlayStation 2.  In which case I will be forced to move on to bigger and better things (and more expensive as well).  I say "forced" because it's really not that fun to play old games all the time.  You gamers out there can relate, and I appreciate it.  Ahh, sorry, now back to my dood story.  Since I took those things I call 'distractions' out of my bar, I didn't go to my pages that much.  The thing is, with Facebook, if I don't have easy access by being just one click away, then I won't go to it.  Seriously, I think I have a problem.  I say this because I refuse to type in websites.  I only go to websites if I can just click on them.  So anyway, I thought that meant I wouldn't be on Facebook anymore for my remaining 4 weeks at the time, but now it's down to three!!!!!  So I got bored, I still have some websites on my bar that I never go to:  YouTube, Apple, Yahoo!, Google Maps, Wikipedia, etc.  I have two drop down bookmarks on my bar, one is called news, and the popular.  I never click on news or popular, mainly because with all my other previously bookmarked pages the drop down bookmarks got pushed out of the bar.  So like I said, I got bored and started to venture and click on those drop down bookmarks, that I will now call tabs, because writing bookmarks has just gotten old.  So when I clicked on the news tab, guess what came up?  ERRR, wrong.  I know you are thinking Facebook.  And this is when I make you feel stupid.  I said the news tab, why in the world would Facebook be under the news tab.  Come one Gibson.  I got you didn't I?  Speaking of Gibson, I think I told you about this blog a couple months ago when I started and I am a bit hurt because today is the first time you have read it...you should be ashamed of yourself.  Alright, now that I have mentioned Gibson, like I said I would, I would like to move on.  So, ESPN was on the news tab.  And I still continue to visit that site daily.  When I clicked on the popular tab, guess what came up?  No, still not facebook people.  EBay...  Just to let you know, none of this really has anything to do with my story.  To finish my story though, as I told you I deleted my pages, including my blog page, I had nothing to do.  Tonight I got a bright idea to write a new post, and like I said earlier, I don't type in websites.  But, I was forced in this situation to do so.  I tried typing the website, and the funny part is I forgot what it was.  I literally went to five different pages having to do with random "Club Dynasty" things, like night clubs or something.  Because I couldn't remember MY OWN WEB PAGE, I had to go to Facebook.  I lied to you a little bit ago when I said that Facebook wasn't under the popular tab, because it really is.  Which is why I went to Facebook to find my web page, which means that I still go to Facebook daily.  Meaning, all these "distractions" I tried to eliminate, are haunting me, it's a curse.  And that is my dood  story, see it's in between decent and good, a little long and I apologize for that, but something tells me that I don't care and you'll get over it.

I also said earlier that I unplugged my PS2, which I did, for 2 days.  Actually, I just got done playing it.  I know someone out there is thinking "Hmm, I wish he would tell us what game he was playing because I really want to know."  Well today is your lucky day, because that is EXACTLY what I'm about to do.  I have been playing wrestling games.  I know what you're thinking.  You are thinking, "Wrestling? Come on, you can do better than that, no you can WAY better than that."  And this is when I tell you to watch your mouth.  I tell you this only because, well, because I just don't want to hear it!  Anyway, it's old school wrestling.  Back when Goldberg, The Rock, Stone Cold Steve Austin, Rowdy Roddy Piper, Ric Flair, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, Kevin Nash, and Big Papa Pump Scott Steiner were still wrestling.  I know I said old games aren't fun to play, but this game is colossal.  I mean come on, you put all those names in the ring, and you got yourself a damn good Royal Rumble.  Which by the way, I am in a season with Goldberg, and the Rumble is coming up in 3 weeks.  I'm hoping to get the last position to enter because I'm not sure if I can last through 30 guys.  Right now Super Star points with Goldberg is maxed out at exactly 100!  When I started the season, his Super Star points totaled 80.  I know that's only 20 points difference, but sometimes, if you lose you will lose anywhere from 1-4 points, and if you win, depending on who you play, you can anywhere from 0-3 points.  So, it's taken a solid 8 hours of game play to max out his Super Star points.  Of course, when I say 8 hours, I don't mean 8 hrs in one day, I do mean 8 hrs in 2 days though.  But yeah, if you get a chance, play SmackDown! Here Comes the Pain (It's the one with Brock Lesner on the front cover).

I decided in this past week that when I write papers, not blogs, I write best after midnight.  I have theory about it too.  My theory is... when I write after the hour of midnight, I am so tired, that I can't focus on anything but writing.  I know you are thinking I'm crazy right now, but it's the truth.  I get so tired I only focus on one thing.  And, to top it off, when I turn off the TV, and write in silence, it's game over.  In fact, I would go as far as guaranteeing that I will get an 'A' on my research paper on Amy Hempel in my english class.  Bold statement I know, but I'm telling you.  After midnight, when I write, I'm lights out!

I know I already talked about her, but I'm serious, Amy Hempel is an amazing writer.  She doesn't write novels.  All her stories are short stories, except for her two novella's but that is a different story, literally.  Sisters, take notes please, for Christmas I am asking for one of the following:  Reasons to Live by Amy Hempel, The Collected Stories of Amy Hempel by Amy Hempel, or At the Gates of the Animal Kingdom by Amy Hempel.  If you know me, you know that I don't read, but I could read Amy Hempel everyday for the rest of my life!

HA, the Lakers lost! YES!!

Oh my, look at the time, just past midnight.  Looks like I gotta get to writing my research paper!  

The quote for this post is as follows,

"Sometimes I have to lie a little to tell the truth."

-- Mark Twain 

Only at OU

Hmm... it's been awhile.  Oh wow, I can't believe what I just remembered.  Remember that song by Staind some time ago, called "It's Been Awhile."  Yeah I went there.  And I liked it too.  It's been awhile since I could hold my head up high.  And it's been awhile since I first saw you.  It's been awhile since I could stand on my own two feet again.  Ok Ok hopefully you remember now, because if you don't, then I would STRONGLY encourage you to look it up on that wonderful thing called Youtube!!  

Oh the craziness that is going on in my life.  Last weekend was Palmerfest here at Ohio University and it was extremely CRAZY!  I have never been apart of something as wild as that day.  It was great, refreshing in a way.  I had 5 (kind of 6) friends that came to visit me for the all day party. Gibson, Evan, Declan, Kendrick, and Ciesa all came to visit and I loved almost every second of it. Yes, I realize that I just called 3 of them by their last names and 2 of them by their first, but if you knew anything about me, you would completely understand why I do that.  The funny thing is that I know I have siblings out there who are reading this and frantically trying to figure out why in the world I do this.  Have you figured out the answer yet, yes I'm talking to you Rachel and Kelly???  Ahh, I'm actually not going to tell you just yet because I think it's kind of funny.  So, the reason why I said kind of 6 friends came to visit is because Ciesa brought his girlfriend and she is pretty cool, therefore she should be honored to be my friend.  I know sounds cocky, and well, it is, so get over it.

Oh my, what to talk about next...wellll, I am in the process of watching Grey's Anatomy.  Sad, I know, but you will get over it.  

I am taking a class and attempting to be an RA.  By the way, which most likely isn't going to happen due to the fact that there are 280 people that are available for the 73 positions, soooo I guess the chances are slim.  But, we'll see what happens.  I find out on Wed. of next week so I will keep you posted.  Ok, so in this class, we talked about diversity today.  I really got to thinking and I want to propose something.  I think that you should all put yourself in a position that isn't you.  If you like sports go see a play or the orchestra.  If you like the orchestra or plays, go see a sporting event.  I think that it's interesting.  Imagine being a minority, for example, being the only black person in an office at work.  Just think about the things that have to run through their minds.  Thoughts of loneliness along with others.  But, try to put yourself in their shoes.  Literally, put yourself in their position, a position to where you are the minority.  This might be ignorant of me to say, but I think that if everyone understands what it feels like to be put in a position like that, then a lot of problems could be solved.  I don't know, it's just a thought...

On a brighter note, it's amazing how awesome the Reds are this year.  They just finished off a complete shilacking of the Arizona Diamondbacks.  Not exactly sure if shilacking is a word, but if it isn't, than it should be.  

Just saw a movie trailer for Angels and Demons, and I can't even begin to explain how excited I am for that movie, so I won't...

Hmm... Calculus sucks, just an fyi.

I've got a question for you, would you every step in front of a moving bus for a complete stranger?  Would you ever do that?  Maybe you try and save the person and in the process, you get hit, would you do it?  Just think about it.

I'm doing a research paper on Amy Hempel right now.  Right now I'm still in the "research" stage.  Basically the paper is due in two weeks and I haven't even started, and I love it.  But, Amy Hempel is probably my favorite author of all time.  I think mainly because she doesn't write novels.  And no, she isn't a sports writer either.  She writes a lot of short stories and puts them all together which makes a book.  It's just cool, and a lot of times they books are just about random crazy things, which is exactly what my blog is about.

I bet you thought that I forgot about what I said earlier, well I didn't.  So, if you know anything about me, you understand why I call some people by their first names and some by the last.  Well, here it goes, the reason is because they just sound better.  Gibson sounds better than Brandon.  Both are two syllables, but, the last name just sounds better.  Declan sounds better than Robillard.  Not to mention that his first is two syllables and his last is 3.  Kendrick is way better than plain old John or Johnathon.  And again you have the syllable thing.  Yes, I could call him John, but that is boring and there isn't any fun in the name John.  With Ciesa it's either Ciesa or Michael, and I'm sorry but Ciesa sounds better than Michael.  Because both are two syllables, the better name is said.  Now, Evan is the odd-ball.  His last name is one syllable, and his first name is two, but his last name is Wray.  Look, Evan and Wray go well together, but I can't call him Wray because in a conversation, if I said "Hey Wray" then it sounds like I am saying "Hey Ray" as in the name Ray.  And I just can't bring myself to doing that just yet.  So, that has nothing to do with anything, and to top it off, you just wasted 30-40 seconds of your day reading this paragraph.

I have 4 weeks of school left and I can't wait.  So the plan is to knock out 3 more blogs before the end of the school-year.  And, I'm having a bit of an issue finding more "top 5's" so I need things to have a top 5 about, which means I'm looking to my 4 readers out there to give me ideas.  

That being said, I clearly don't have a top 5 for this week, so I will leave you with a quote.

"It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am." -- Muhammed Ali

Like A Boss

Hey everyone! Sorry for being lazy and not updating my blog recently.  I have been very busy playing video games and watching movies.  Oh and by that I mean do Calculus homework writing papers for my english class.  Actually instead of writing this, I should be reading a paper and writing a response about it.  HAHAHA, wow I hate writing papers! 

If you are an Ohio University Student and are reading this, then vote for iOU --> Specifically for Roger Jones for University College Senator and Shawn Silvis for South Green Senator!!!!  GET IT!!

Well, baseball is officially back and I love it!  The reds are about to sweep the Brew Crew and I can't wait.  Looks like the Reds are definitely on their way to the World Series!

I struggle on a day-to-day basis trying to figure out this Ohio weather.  I'm sure that in Phoenix, Arizona it is about somewhere in between 85-95 degrees.  Sure would be nice!  Here in Ohio, it's April, and still in the mid to low 50's.  Yes, that means jeans and sweatshirts.....still, and I hate it.

I have a video that you should watch....sorry for it not being censored, but it's funnier this way.  Check it out!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NisCkxU544c

Here is another blog that I happened to come across, and let me tell you, it's crazy!

Check it out!

http://www.artnewsblog.com/2007/09/etch-sketch-art-george-vlosich.htm

I thought I would take the time to let everyone know how good of an Easter I had.  It was great.  I had to do a big math worksheet, which was somewhere in between awful and terrible.  I also had to write a paper.  Granted, if I wasn't such a procrastinator, then I probably wouldn't have had to write on Sunday.  But, my dinner was the best!  It consisted of a Peanut Butter Sandwich and Baked Lays!  Wonderful.

I have recently become addicted to a television show on HBO at 11 pm on Sundays.  It's called Russell Simmons presents Brave New Voices.  It's about teen poets who basically use Spoken Word to recite their poems.  It's an amazing documentary and is very heart-warming.  Here is a link to watch the first episode online.  You need to watch this!

http://www.hbo.com/bravenewvoices/index.html

Ok, so here are my top 5 tv shows on tv right now...

5) Deadliest Catch

4) Real World/Road Rules: The Duel II

3) Nitro Circus

2) Fantasy Factory

1) Russell Simmons Presents Brave New Voices

This is just so "Taxing"

I start my post off today with my uncontrollable  optimism for the Cincinnati Redlegs.  I can't wait for the baseball season to begin.  I know that most, if not all of you, hate baseball season.  I'll admit it's a little long, especially when your favorite team just gets obliterated every game.  But hey, this is the one time of year, that MY Cincinnati Reds, are in first place.  That's right, first place!!  I actually feel pretty solid about this upcoming season.  I think the reds have some good young players, and they are a team like they have never been before.  They have good pitching, and a limited amount of old washed-up ball players still trying to "make it."  April 5th.  Yes, Sunday night, the first baseball game of the year will be played.  To be honest, I won't watch that game.  Why, you might ask?  Well, here it is.  The Reds have played the very first game of the year for quite some time now, up until about 4 years ago.  For some inane reason, Major League Baseball decided to play games the Sunday before the Reds play.  HELLO, you just messed with TRADITION!!  You don't mess with tradition.  So, in turn, my first baseball game of each and every year, will always be the Cincinnati Reds.  There is no such as Opening Day anywhere else, but in Cincinnati.  So boo you MLB, for not continuing Tradition, and disrespecting the Cincinnati Reds organization.

Shifting gears, I was flipping through some tv channels and one of the channels was CNN.  Apparently, some spear-fisherman, speared himself in the head.  How does that happen???  Was he trying to spear jumping fish??  I don't get it.  If the fish are in the water, how in the world do you spear yourself??

We are down to the Final Four in college basketball!  My predictions are as follows:

Michigan State vs. UConn-

This will be a tight defensive battle.  Michigan St. is a stellar defensive team, and UConn has Hsheem Thabeet.  This game will go back and forth the whole game.  UConn will win though.  They will hit a shot with about 20 seconds left in the game leaving Mich. St. with a last second shot, only for that shot to go in-and-out.  Look for tears to arrive as the time expires.  Tears of defeat, and heartbreak, as well as joy!!

Villanova vs. North Carolina-

Just to refresh everyone's memories, I HATE North Carolina.  I am very bitter that they have gone further than my beloved Duke Blue Devils.  So, because of this, I must go on record as saying that Villanova (the team that took out Duke) will continue on with their wave of momentum.  They will go, and play their best game of the year.  They will shut down Ty Lawson, keep Psycho T (his nickname, but literally, rumor has it that he is pyscho.) to his normal amount of points.  They will make North Carolina play defense, and I think everyone knows that North Carolina doesn't know what defense means.  'Nova moves on to play UConn!

CHAMPIONSHIP GAME- Villanova vs. UConn-

'Nova is on mission!  Earlier in the season, 'Nova traveled to UConn and lost only by 6 points.  This time, it's REVENGE!  They get 'em on a neutral court and show the nation how good they truly are!!  I don't know how they will do it, but it will be done!  They will win it all, and finally, get their "One Shining Moment!"

YOUR (my) NATIONAL CHAMPION-- The Villanova Wildcats

In other news, it was announced yesterday, that Guiding Light will be cancelled.  It's a shame right?  WRONG!  The less soap operas America has, the better! 

So, last week was my Spring Break.  I went to North Carolina!  Sounds good right?  Hmm, it was really nice to get away, and just have some time to relax.  When you think of North Carolina, you think of nice weather, and beaches.  Sounds perfect right?  Well, the nearest beach is Myrtle Beach.  Which is awesome.  The problem?  It was 3 hours away, and when you are left without a car, that is a LLLOOONNNGGG walk.  So, that was out!  Now, touching on the whole nice weather part, I was there from midnight on Sunday to Saturday morning.  When I woke up Monday morning, it was chilly.  Sunny but chilly.  So there was no laying out going on.  From Tuesday until the day that I left, it rained.  It rained the whole time!  But, I must say, if you are ever in Pfafftown, North Carolina, make it a must to stop at El Macho Nacho, or as the regulars at the restaurant like to say, El Maguey.  But, while in North Carolina, I came across and XBox 360, and well, that was fun.  There is nothing like playing online against people who literally, don't do anything in life, and play video games from the time they wake up to the time they go to bed.  Only to get up the next day to the exact same thing.  I played Call of Duty: World at War for the first time.  It is a very good game, but frustrating if you are a beginner playing against crazy "experts".  But, all in all, my trip to North Carolina was a success.  My one big complaint though, I was sitting at my gate at the Dayton Airport waiting for my flight to start to boarding.  I was watching the news, not because I wanted to, but because that was the only thing in the whole airport that was on tv.  So, what comes on the tv?  Ahh, there is nothing like hearing about two plane crashes that just happened, right before you start boarding your flight.  So, thank-you very much Dayton Airport staff members for the much not-needed anxiety about flying, and then crashing!

The Real World Finale was on last night.  And, it goes without surprise that there was one more fight between roommates to finish off the season!  I must say that I called it from the very beginning that Baya and Ryan would start dating.  Of course, being the genius that I am, it came true when we learned that they are starting a relationship on the Reunion.  Ryan is about to go back to Iraq for the second time, and it goes without saying, "Be safe, and come home soon Ryan!!"

My top 10 for today is......(According to the David Letterman)

"Top 10 signs your accountant doesn't give a damn anymore"

10) Tells you to expect a refund in 3 weeks and an audit in 5

9) Does all calculation on the tv remote control

8) Tells you to deduct yourself

7) No longer gets that glint in his/her eye when he/she talks about deferred contributions to tax-favored              annuities

6) He says, "I thought the 1040 was EZ until I met your wife!"

5) Keeps asking when he can do your kitty's taxes

4) Whenever someone mentions a joint return, he/she whips out his/her special brownies.

3) Recently moved office to cave in mountainous region of Afghanistan.

2) Instead of working on your taxes, he/she is reading lame jokes on Letterman.

And, your Number 1 sign your accountant doesn't give a damn anymore is.....

1) Constantly trying to arrange a threesome with H and R Block.

Sorry it took so long to write a new post, hope you enjoy!