Bowling

My plan was to end the college football season with a glutonous portion of bowl games before saying goodbye until August. I was going to watch at least five minutes of each bowl game and recap my experiences here. But a week with family killed those plans... sadly I am the only one of my family that could find eating left overs while taking in a BC/Boise St game on the Smurf Turf enjoyable. While I watched the Pistons/Spurs showdown, I was forced to miss them eke past the Heat. I have been on a vacation from work as well as sports. So, here I am, newly returned to my apartment. Am I unpacking? No. I am looking up sports news while watching game 1 of the 2004 ALCS on my new Red Sox DVDs. Which lead me to posting.

Schilling just gave up two runs in the first (which I knew was coming) but his pitches looked worse than I remember. This is pre-bloody sock and that just makes his later performances even more incredible to me. When He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (not Lord Voldemort) stepped up to bat the first time, it felt a little gross. The Sox are going to be pretty bad next year, so I have to relive the past.

The news clip I saw on ESPN that led me to post instead of unpack concerned the New Orleans Saints. They signed an agreement to play again next year in N.O. and Red Stick (Baton Rouge for those that don't parlevous francais). I'm glad they aren't moving. I was one of the only people to have pity for the ownership. They would look like the biggest jackasses if they moved the team post-hurricane, but would they really have the kind of market available to come to games? The Aint's already were in one of the smallest markets in the NFL. Now that market is trying to rebuild itself and may not have the kind of money to spend on coming to a game. I'm not a heartless guy... I sympathize w/ the people stuck in N.O. and I am ashamed of the response they got. Rebuilding the city is a billion times more important than worrying about the Saints. But it is his business after all and he has to keep it successful. Keeping them there is the best thing for everyone. However, rebuilding the Superdome isn't. We will never know all of the horrible things that occurred at the lawless Superdome evacuation center. Piss poor emergency management led to a situation where we couldn't uphold laws and we can't now. Instead of cleaning it up, I think it would be better to destroy the whole building so we can move past it. It's kinda like how after the Abu Grahb prison stories came out, they decided to close the prison and move the prisoners elsewhere. Bad stuff happened and it would be easier to move on by not using it anymore. However, the city doesn't have the kind of money it would take to demolish it and build a new stadium. I understand that building a new stadium isn't an option, but it would be ideal to putting some closure on a horrific experience for many.

Sadness

Johnny Damon is a Yankee. A little bit of my sports passion just died.
And this made me vomit a little in my mouth.

New York Red Sox

Just seeing that title should make you sick. There's an interesting strategy going on behind those pinstripes, and I don't like it one bit. Every offseason, the Yankees buy a new team. This year, they decided to buy the 2004 World Champion Boston Red Sox. They almost got the ball rolling by snagging Pedro Martinez in the 04-05 offseason. Luckily, they didn't truly become Pedro's daddy. The first shot really happened last season when they picked up Alan Embree and Mark Bellhorn after the Red Sox dumped them. I didn't mind Bellhorn leaving because he nearly gave me heart attacks in the playoffs, but I was sad to see Embree go. I come home tonight to see Nomar, the former heart of Boston, has narrowed his selection down to four teams, including the Yankees. The rumor on the side claims Steinbrenner is in talks with Johnny Damon. I just get the feeling in all of this that they are trying to 1)create a Curse II or 2) trying to win a championship with the former champions. This isn't the first time a team has ripped off a good lineup from another (think Denver Broncos lineman) but this goes straight to the gut. Stealing your arch rival's talent. There is no way their plan would work because that team won on chemistry and character. You don't come back from a 3-0 deficit without it. How are they going to recreate that with a team that treats the game like it is working in an office. Everything is just business, including the grooming rules. Plus, everyone knows JD is like Samson and he'd hit .220 without it. All of this leaves me with one question; couldn't they have gone after David Wells instead?

That's all for me on the evil empire. Look for my bowl predictions in a few days... they should be good!

The Tagliabue Who Stole New Year's

Check the schedules: There will be no bowl games on New Year’s Day. Go ahead, I’ll give you a minute to look it over. When I first noticed this on Sports Illustrated’s website, I checked ESPN. Then I checked individual bowl websites. But in the end, I realized it must be true. There will be football that day, because it is a Sunday. Home to the NFL.

Tradition is big in my family, and New Year’s Day is the one day of the year when my family allows me to watch sports all day with them – and they enjoy it. I love beginning the day with the Tournament of Roses parade. That's postponed until Monday also. I love watching teams I don't care about on New Year's. College football is my favorite sport played at my favorite level. New Year's is part of a great farewell until next September. It's like binging before the spring/summer hibernation.

I understand that the NFL isn’t going to change its schedule, but how much revenue must college football be losing right now? How awesome could a day of both NFL and college football be? Games could be on Fox, ESPN, CBS, and ABC. Instead, we will be treated to the Pittsburgh Steelers putting the Lions out of their misery and about 10 meaningless games. Most playoff spots will be filled by then and I don’t think the Colts will be going for the perfect season that day. Hell, my fantasy football team will have been crowned champion by then. Ok, that was a lie. I can’t trash talk anymore... Mike, your team has a 90% chance to win. You have done a good job of picking up players just as they are getting hot and throwing them away like a used, cheap hooker when they fizzle out. Congrats. I'll get you next year. Or maybe the Lions will be an offensive juggernaut and Kevin will blow us all away for laughing at him when he selects Jason Hanson in the 4th round.

The reality is I will be sitting at work watching score updates on January 2. Most of my coworkers will probably be taking a vacation day. Happy New Year. Did you finish those TPS reports?

Coaching Vacancy

Steve Mariucci may have been fired less than a week ago, but like every Lions fan, I am looking forward to next season. Because that’s all we have. So here is my crazy attempt at finding my favorite NFL team a new leader.

Dick Jauron: He’s the interim head coach now, but there’s no way he is offered the position full time.
Urban Meyer: He’s definitely been getting calls from NFL teams for a year or two, but his offensive system is definitely designed for college. Plus, let’s see what he can do with Florida for a few more years.
Bob Stoops: He knows defense really well, but I think the Lions need someone with a good offensive scheme. Plus there’s no way they steal him from Oklahoma.
Jim Mora: He seemed to run the Colts Offense well, right? He’s still an analyst, which means he will still listen to an offer if it is good enough. Plus, we will have another chance to hear that now famous “PLAYoffs?!?!”
Pete Carroll: He’s said in the past he’s happy staying at USC, but would there be anything left to prove if they win the championship again?

I'm confident none of those people will be selected. Since there is no rush at this point to fill the spot, the Lions should take some time and develop a strategy, interview a lot of coaches, and ultimately select a coach with an offensive scheme that would play to our offensive players' talents (geez... what an idea!!). They need to bring discipline to this team and bring in a good offensive line coach. But part of the Lions' short term strategy needs to be losing. They have a lot of ground to make up in the 2006 Draft sweepstakes. Here's there competition in the race to get Matt Leinart or Reggie Bush (c'mon... he's not coming back to college):

Houston: With Dominack Davis and David Carr, they really don’t need a QB or a RB. What they need is an offensive line and something called a defense. I think they'll keep losing (as evident by their complete turnaround vs. the Rams) but they'll trade down a few spots in the draft
San Francisco: They could probably use a RB, and Reggie Bush could stay in state. But wouldn’t that make their selection of Frank Gore a waste?
NY Jets: Curtis Martin is aging and Chad Pennington is too injury prone. Leinart or Bush would have a great opportunity to learn a little here before taking over.
Green Bay: Aaron Rodgers is the heir apparent to Brett Farve, but Bush could understudy Ahman Green for a little while.
New Orleans: They have a QB and a RB. What they need is a home. And a defense to compete in the D-Happy NFC South.
Baltimore: Taking Leinart means they’re giving up on Kyle Boller. But QB seems to be their weakness.

...which leads us to
Detroit: I wish they had a chance at Leinart, but they need to stop winning. With games on the horizon against Green Bay and New Orleans, they can improve their chances with an L. Just think: Leinart passing to Mike Williams once again. But we all know they’ll take the best available WR.

Before I wrap this up, I wanted to say it is absolutely ridiculous Dre Bly didn't get fined by the Lions. By complaining about Joey, he did the same thing that T.O. did. He hasn't been as problematic as Owens has in the past, but he should have at least been handed a fine by the team to send the message that complaining to the media is unacceptable.

Numbers Don't Lie

John L. Smith's Record at MSU

2003
Start 7-1
End 1-4

2004
Start 4-3
End 1-5

2005
Start 4-0
End 1-6

I don't think that John L. should be fired this offseason. He should be given one more year to prove himself. A successful MSU coach needs to have the team in contention in November. The way to do it is... is....
(Adam was about to begin solving the difficult challenge of fixing the MSU football program. However, he doesn't feel like writing a blog that long, so he quit halfway through; much like his beloved Spartans. He did leave a message: "Basketball season begins Saturday")

Go P's!

I was inspired by last night's comeback victory over the Celtics to write about how excited I am about this year's Pistons. First of all, I love that they still seem to be using the "we get no respect" thing as motivation. They appear to be set out this year to prove Larry Brown was not the reason for their success. I thought that they took Flip Saunders because he was best available, but he is already having an impact on the team.
"L.B. is a more technical coach, who wants you to run your sets, but Flip says that if we see an opening, we should go ahead and attack." - Rasheed Wallace
"I started to feel it, so I got aggressive. This is absolutely due to Flip's style. Just look at what we can do when we start forcing turnovers." - Chauncey Billups
I picked up on the Celtics game in the third quarter right as the Pistons started their comeback. Chauncey had a monster game, but Rip and Rasheed also scored over 20 points. The team is hot right now, hopefully they won't cool off.

Look for the Pistons to have a little trouble in December. They have a four game road trip early that could give them problems and they finish out the month with games against the Spurs, Heat and Cavs in the last week. I predict they will finish the 05-06 campaign with the same record as last year's Suns: 62-20.

BCS Mess

I’ve decided to change my blog. I like writing about sports more than I do myself because it is debatable, it is my number one hobby, and it is my profession. I am going to keep talking about a lot of different sports, fantasy football, and the sports business. To really feel like I changed my blog, I switched from to this new layout.

The first thing I want to talk about is the BCS. The Daily Quickie on espn.com today talked about how BCS haters have only a few more days to complain before the controversy ends with an Alabama loss. He’s right. I predicted the end of the controversy last week by correctly picking Miami over Va Tech and I think Alabama will lose this weekend. USC and Texas won’t lose another game because USC is almost an NFL team and Texas is in the NFC North of the NCAA. But the BCS still has been controversial every year except for 2002. The people in favor of the system argue it makes regular season games more important and teams can’t afford to make a mistake. Let’s review a little history:

In 1998, Tennessee (1) and Tulane (10) were undefeated. There were six teams with one loss including Florida State (2) and Kansas St (3).

In 1999, Florida State (1), Virginia Tech (2), and Marshall (12) all went undefeated. This isn’t as controversial, but who’s to say Marshall couldn’t have pulled an upset? They didn’t lose a single game, so shouldn’t they have had a shot?

In 2000, Oklahoma (1) was undefeated. There were six teams with one loss including Florida State (2) and Miami (3).

In 2001, Miami (1) went undefeated. Four teams, including Nebraska (2) and Oregon (4) Illinois (8) and Maryland (11), had one loss. Colorado (3) had two losses but was still ranked higher than two teams with one loss.

In 2002, only two teams were undefeated; Miami (1) and Ohio State (2). This is the only year that the BCS worked properly with no controversy.

In 2003, six teams had one loss including Oklahoma (1), LSU (2), USC (3), Miami (OH) (11), Boise St (17), and TCU (18).

In 2004, five teams went undefeated including USC (1), Oklahoma (2), Auburn (3), Utah (6), and Boise State (9).

Florida State and Oklahoma have benefited the most when there’s controversy. I know that Kevin would say that the controversy is good because it makes the games more exciting. But the system leans in favor of the major teams in the major conferences. If Michigan State, Oklahoma, and Miami were all undefeated, who do you think will be left out? If they opened it up to an 8 team playoff system, it would be less controversial because it would include more teams. The system has encouraged teams outside of the six BCS conferences to put better teams on their non conference schedule to get national respect. If they had more of a chance, they would have even more of a reason to play better teams. Then we would be able to tell how good an undefeated Utah or Boise St really is.

So what they really need to do is eliminate conference championship games and have the first round of the tournament in its place. The six conference champions get automatic bids and then there are two at large spots. The semi finals would take place around December 30 and the final bowl game is still around January 7. Is that too much football for them to be playing? Perhaps. Then just make it a 4 team tournament. Will it make less money than the current system? I don’t see how more games would make less money. Will it be more exciting? Definitely.

Midseason Review II

Before talking about my projections, let me just say that this was a bitch to post because it doesn't recognize spaces. Sorry if it is hard to read. Anyways, lets see how bad I did.

NFL - Lions
Team (Prediction) Result
Green Bay Packers (Loss) Win
@ Chicago Bears (Win) Loss
@ Tampa Bay Bucs (Win) Loss
Baltimore Ravens (Loss) Win
Carolina Panthers (Win) Loss
@ Cleveland Browns (Win) Win
Chicago Bears (Win) Loss
@ Minnesota Vikings (Loss) Loss

...So I was 2 for 8 because I correctly predicted they'd beat the Browns and lose to the Vikings. OUCH. I estimated that they'd have a record of 5-3 and their record is 3-5. Let's see if I can make up for it in the 2nd half.

Game (Prediction) New Prediction
Arizona Cardinals (Win) Win
@ Dallas Cowboys (Loss) Loss
Atlanta Falcons (Loss) Loss
Minnesota Vikings (Win) Win
@ Green Bay Packers (Loss) Loss
Cinncinati Bengals (Win) Loss
@ New Orleans Saints (Win) Win
@ Pittsburgh Steelers (Loss) Loss

I originally predicted them to end the season 4-4, but I think another 3-5 is more likely. If they do finish 6-10, they will miss the playoffs and axe Harrington and Rogers.

Conference (Previous Prediction) Current Prediction
NFC East: (Philadelphia Eagles) New York Giants
NFC North: (Minnesota Vikings) Chicago Bears
NFC South: (Carolina Panthers) Carolina Panthers
NFC West: (St Louis Rams) Seattle Seahawks
Wild Card: (Falcons, Seahawks) Falcons, Rams

AFC East: (New England Patriots) New England Patriots
AFC North: (Pittsburgh Steelers) Cincinnati Bengals
AFC South: (Indianapolis Colts) Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: (San Diego Chargers) San Diego Chargers
Wild Card: (Chiefs, Bengals) Broncos, Steelers

MVP: (Peyton Manning) Edgerrin James
ROY: (JJ Arrington) DeMarcus Ware (I have no idea)
AFC Champ: (Colts) Colts
NFC Champ: (Vikings) Panthers
NFL Champ: (Colts) Colts

3 Bold Second Half Predictions
1) The Vikings are gonna make a run. Brad Johnson told his WRs to run their routes correctly and the ball will be there. Their timing against the Lions looked good. They started the season 3-5, they'll go 5-3 in the second half.
2) The Colts will lose their first game in week 11 in Cincinnati. Did anyone else realize Indy has 3 Monday night games? Is that fair? Yes, yes it is.
3) I will defeat Mike's dad in the finals of our fantasy football league! HA!

Midseason Review

Let's take a look at some of my College Football predictions

1) There won't be two Big Ten BCS teams this year. They are all going to beat each other up over the season. The BCS team will be Ohio State, U-M, or Iowa. I pick U-M, but they won't be headed to the National Championship game.
There is no way two Big Ten teams will make BCS bowls. The BCS team won't be any of the three. Penn State, Wisconsin, Ohio State, and U-M will finish with two conference losses. Penn State will go to the BCS bowl game since they will have beaten Wisconsin and OSU.

2) Michigan State will go 7-5. They will lose to: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota.
I was right about two of the three losses. They will beat Purdue this weekend, lose to Minnesota, and finish the season with a win over Penn State. Their 7-4 record will earn them a spot in the Music City Bowl.

3) Michigan State will beat U-M. If you think about it, MSU has a potent offense (if Drew Stanton is healthy) with multiple talents at WR and RB. U-M's defense is good, but not impossibly good. The game is at MSU, which sways it in our favor. MSU's crappy defense will hold up just enough to not lose the game.
Wrong. Stanton was healthy, but the defense was not good enough to win the game. Next.

4) The Heisman race will be between Bowling Green's Omar Jacobs, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Chris Leak. And another RB not named Adrian Peterson. That's pretty easy to say after week one.
Jacobs has been pretty quiet this year. Leak's campaign was brief. My mom could've predicted that Bush and Leinart were going to be candidates again this year. I believe Reggie Bush wins it over Leinart. Remember... he's scoring a touchdown every 8.3 times he touches the ball.

5) USC will win the National Championship again this year over Texas.
Finally, a prediction I can really stick by. Virginia Tech will lose this weekend and Alabama will lose next weekend, thereby ending any BCS controversy. If Va Tech beats Miami and runs the table, it's hard to imagine Texas holding on to their point lead.

Next time, a look back at my NFL predictions. It's not pretty.

Is It 5:30 Yet?

I had one of the worst night’s sleep last night. I’m an hour into the workday, but it feels like I’m working overtime right now. I know as tired as I am, Mike has got to be 1000 times more tired. You’re insane... opening, tutoring, whatever else you’re doing today.

In my office, there’s a popular joke about getting fired since a few people have been cut for little reason. I always laugh at the jokes, but today it feels a little weird since I am probably thought to be the person to fill a gap since they think I can be bought cheap. And I might… we’ll see. Still feels weird. I really don’t want someone to get axed because they work their asses off and don’t deserve it.

Yesterday, I went to the crew team race for Stacey. I didn’t want to wake up early on my day off, but she made me breakfast in bed to butter me up. It was a little awkward at first since she was catching up with people she hadn’t seen in years. At the end, she got to race with some of the other alumni, which was surprising because I didn’t think anyone would be coordinated enough to get that done. She got to row again and it was great to see her so happy. As she told me, rowing was her life in college. When I met her, she had just finished her eligibility, so I never got to see any rowing. When she got in that boat, she was the most excited I’ve seen her in months. I am happy that I finally got to see that part of her.

I don’t have much to say about sports except:
1. Same old State... only that’s the first game the team lost (the coaches and the defense lost the other two.)
2. Even though I didn’t see the game, I bet Joey could’ve won that game too. I agree w/ Mitch Albom that we will only remember the W rather than the incomplete passes, the Browns had the ball with a chance to tie/win at the end, and that the Browns D is NOT equal to Tampa Bay, Carolina, or Baltimore.
3. My fantasy team lost, but I am now number one in both leagues.

Priviledge High

There's a high school principal in New York that is taking a stand against exactly what I was talking about earlier with priviledged high schoolers. He cancelled prom because parents were renting a party house in the Hamptons, boats for post prom "booze cruises", and holding cocktail parties for their kids. He said that there was too much sex, alcohol, and money being spent on "bacchanalian aspects." I don't know what that means... maybe it's an STD.

I am biased because I really hate prom, but I do think it's fair for him to cancel it. He tried things in the past that didn't work and it's a private catholic school. Parents are all pissed off because they say he doesn't have the right to judge what goes on after prom. The problem is the parents aren't making good judgements, so he has to. I don't understand why some rich parents let their 17 and 18 year old kids act like the Hiltons. I also don't understand why my high school didn't have rental party houses... damn that'd be fun.

Tweener

I know that I’m stuck in a “between” stage in life. Post-graduation, pre-career. Which is sad because I have a full time job… I just don’t have the full time responsibilities or pay. I can just dream of the money. Not that I’m poor… I’m probably breaking even. This would be the second “between” stage in life; the first being post-high school. That was a little more dramatic because I had a lot of Varsity Blues crap to go through and because I was a teenager. But I think this one is harder because the end point is not in sight. It could come in a few weeks or in almost a year. I know a lot of people are in this situation. The interesting thing is this didn’t used to happen to college graduates. Most graduates used to easily get a job lined up before they graduated. Now, it’s so competitive that job searching is a full time job. I am happy that I at least know exactly what I want to do and what I will settle for in my first job. And in the end, I think the internship is a good thing to have right now. It’s like low risk training wheels for a real job. Working 9 hours a day, having to dress up, learning not to eat fast food every lunch break, office bullcrap, etc. And I still am not living at home… that’s worth two gold stars, right?

My Sweet I'm-Better-Than-You Sixteen

Let's take a stroll down my bad memory lane. That's to say that I have a bad memory, not that my memories are all bad. Let's go back almost seven years... to December 1998... my sixteenth birthday. I couldn't tell you any of the details... I can hardly tell you the details of last week. But I know that I went out to dinner with my family and had some friends over to hang out in the basement and watch movies. I probably got some CDs and maybe some video tapes (those are the weird boxy things that we watched movies on back then) and probably a few video games. Apparently I was ripped off because I didn't get a Mercedes convertible and have my friends do a choreographed dance for me. At least thats what this show "My Super Sweet Sixteen" tells me.

I watched this show a few times this weekend. Mostly because I enjoy watching things that make me upset. Upset enough to write about it hours later. It's the same reasoning that propelled Fox News into the top of the ratings. People like getting mad at idiots. Like the parents of these kids. Why do you let your bratty daughter dress like a ho for her sixteenth birthday? I'm a pretty liberal person, but if I had a daughter, I would not let her try and convince me that I have to let her dress up like a vegas showgirl with a feather coming out of her ass. I wondered to myself, "Why do these girls want to dress like a ho?" Is it to rub it in the other girls, who aren't allowed to dress like hos, faces? That is what all of these parties are about... to rub their spoiled lifestyles in the other girls faces. Which is why the parents spend twice what I'd like to make this year on a party. To rub it in the faces of the other kids' parents. "Haha... my parenting might be leading Buffy to the life of a golddigger or a porn star, but I have more money than you" That's telling them.

I am just glad that I can be at home this weekend and be lazy enough to get pissed off at MTV.

That sucks

"Mike Hart will play and be dangerous"... "Worried about the kicking game"... 2 missed field goals, 200+ yards for Hart... I hate when I'm right. Oh well... we can still prove ourselves if we beat Ohio State. Stupid "bigger brother" always showing us up.

No MSU victory, no AL East title for Boston... looks like I'm owed a fantasy football victory over mikey d!!!

Greatest Game Ever Played

...and it is still about 24 hours before it is over. I am talking, of course, about the MSU/U-M game tomorrow. The game that I will probably start watching at 11:30 saturday night thanks to my sister's b-day. I cannot describe how excited I am for this game. It is pretty much the only thing on my mind today. If I were a security guard, the safe would've been robbed by now. If I worked at the Pentagon, the country would've been invaded at noon. If I were the manager of my beloved Sox, the Yankees would be opening bottles of champagne across the hall from me by the end of tonight. College football has always been my favorite sport. I used to watch every Maize and Blue game on Saturdays until I saw the green and white light (and until U-M denied me, but so what). I have always loved the MSU/U-M rivalries more than any other. I love seeing the games so much, I stopped and debated whether I should celebrate my sister's b-day or stay here and buy a $125 nosebleed ticket for the game after hearing a radio advertisement. I finally decided that my sister would never forgive me and my red blood took precedent over my Green blood. I told someone my dream date one time was to eat at IHOP (no longer my favorite restaurant) and watch MSU win a National Championship with Mandy Moore (no longer my celebrity crush). I remember sitting through MSU's miserable season a few years ago when they had all of the discipline problems. Also known around campus as the "Where there's Smoke, there's Fire" disaster. We got destroyed by the worst teams, but I still went to every game I could. The Red Sox could miss the playoffs, my fantasy team could get destroyed by Mike's (but it won't) and I would still have the best sports weekend ever if MSU beats U-M and gives them a 2-3 record. Hopefully this will reenergize a rivalry that is considered to be U-M's second most important game.

Collegefootballnews.com predicts MSU wins 31-23 and says it might not be this close if Stanton stays in the game. U-M's newspaper predicted MSU wins 34-31. I won't predict a winner or a score because I don't want to jinx anything. And I CERTAINLY won't stop watching the game if U-M is up by 50 at halftime and it looks like MSU is done... I learned from the Red Sox last year. I only wish I could be here to cheer them on with the rest of this city.

Sports

Our company softball team won its first game of the season yesterday. We kept getting hit after hit. I went 3-4 thanks to a few good hits and one bad catch. I probably would’ve gone 1-4 or 2-4 against a decent team. It felt really good to score 2 runs in the game. I did give up an in the park homer when I overran a fly ball in the outfield, though. My weak skills made me realize my dad didn’t play sports with me enough when I was young. It’s ok though because he never was in the best of shape and I had a habit of quitting sports when it got a little tough. My last season of baseball ended with me getting beaned 2 or 3 times in a coach’s pitch league (which really is inexcusable… how bad or drunk do you have to be to hit a kid 3 times in one game). I quit soccer when I decided that it wasn’t worth waking up early on a Saturday to run around the field and never score a goal. Sleeping in, cartoons, and doughnuts really are better than soccer, so that wasn’t a bad decision. I played floor hockey in Ann Arbor for a season, but I don’t remember why I didn’t do it longer than that. The only thing I remember about it is having fun getting penalized 3 or 4 times in one game. I quit tennis after I broke my foot. But then again I quit most of my extracurriculars my senior year. I don’t regret quitting tennis… I regret not practicing more and wasting my parents’ money on lessons. If I could go back to when I was 7, I’d take hockey lessons… except I wouldn’t be wasting my parents’ money on them. I wish I had become serious about playing hockey because I love the game. I remember a boy scout event (yeah, haha! I was a boy scout!) where we rented out an ice skating arena for a night. We played hockey until 2am and I got to put on one of my friends’ full goalie pads. I looked really short and fat. I think hockey has the best equipment of any sport because the jerseys look cool and you get big pads and a stick. I really do wish I played hockey when I was younger… not just because of the uniform. For a while I have intended on playing on a company hockey team or playing in an adult league when I get some money.

I can’t wait for the MSU game. This is why I am worried U-M will win.
1.Mike Hart will play. He is listed as questionable right now, but trust me he’ll play. The other running backs are talented, but they have had key fumbles. Mike Hart ran over 200 yards on MSU last year. The other backs won’t do that.
2.U-M has more motivation. They have to prove that they aren’t as bad as everyone is saying they are. They have fallen a lot from that #3 spot they had. MSU has motivation to keep up their success, but the end of the season is a long time away.
3.Our kicking game. We haven’t seen a lot out of the kickers and this game will probably be close. They can’t afford to miss much.

With that said, I think MSU will win and I’m making a bet with a coworker on the game. Hopefully I won’t have to end up walking around the office in a U-M sweatshirt on Monday.

Back in the Everyday Life

I was disappointed that MSU gave up the 21 point lead to let Notre Dame back into the game because it reminds me of last year’s losses to U-M and Ohio State. BUT, Mike was completely right… a win is a win and we still beat ND. The true test of whether this team is different will be on Saturday at Illinois. State too often follows a big win with a poor performance (Last year they followed up their blow out Wisconsin win by not contending against a bad Penn State team). I really hope they can beat Illinois, because this game means more than the ND game. We most likely will lose a few games this season, so they have to take care of business against teams they should beat.

I had a ton of fun with Stacey in Mackinac. We did everything there is to do… even with a half day of rain. I have so much fun hanging out with her and we are completely comfortable with each other. I wish we were still there… especially after work this morning. Stacey said we should just stay and I said that would be fine until VISA calls me and tells me I have no money or credit. I had my card swiped more times than a blind guy walking down a back alley in Detroit. I wrote “See ID” on the back of my credit card… mostly because that’s what my mom does and I always listen to my mommy (ha!)
Most people asked me to see it this weekend… I’d say about 95%. I get a little annoyed when people don’t check it, because that is a little added security measure for me. Then I remembered when I was at Rockets, I never checked a single signature. I’m such a hypocrite… and I LOVE IT! It works especially well with my weak memory to make me always right.

I’m copying Mike who was copying Cori who probably copied someone else’s blog, but it’s fun, so here we go…
I am not: good with memory
I hurt: internally way more than externally
I love: Stacey (aww…) and sports
I hate: being stubborn and partisanship
I fear: not being able to get that first job
I hope: to not take things for granted
I crave: Taco Bell… or T-Bag as everyone at work calls it
I regret: a few things, but I don’t dwell on them
I cry: when I reach my stress breaking point… I never cry during a fight
I care: too much about what people think of me
I always: breathe
I long to: always keep my priorities straight
I feel: squishy
I listen: more than I talk
I hide: that I am upset in a fight
I drive: very well… I have the “bob and weave” when I am in a hurry
I sing: badly alone… you would be surprised how much ability you lose when
you don’t practice
I dance: stiffly… I need a few beers to loosen me up
I write: a few plays
I play: MLB 2005… it boosts my Nintendo ego that is crushed by Mike & Kevin
I miss: some of my college friends… it is always good times when we go out
I search: the internet often at work
I learn: technical skills much better than facts
I know: how to improve many businesses
I say: the right things
I succeed: usually… I don’t think I’ve given myself high enough goals yet
I fail: rarely…. I wanted to purposefully get a 0% on a meaningless HS test just
for the fun of it
I dream: about random people… I rarely dream about those most important to
me
I sleep: terribly on an air mattress… worth it to have Stacey spend the night
I wonder: how things became the way they are
I want: to work for the Boston Red Sox or an NBA/NHL team
I worry: about losing my parents
I have: what some have described as a boring personality, but I am happy with
who I am
I give: much less often than I want to
I fight: like a lawyer… I don’t show if anything affects me
I wait: to get a great first job
I am: who I am (Isn’t that Reebok’s tagline? I definitely am a marketer)
I think: that I have more answers than many of the talking heads on TV
I can’t help the fact that: I am stubborn in admitting I am wrong

If I were a color: green
If I were an emotion: ?
If I were a state of mind: ?
If I were a sound: ocean
If I were a book: you might be able to predict what comes next
If I were a song: it definitely would NOT be an emo or punk song

LAST TIME I:
cried: about a month ago
bought something: yesterday (gas)
gotten sick: months ago… I have allergies a lot more
eaten: 2 hours ago (Fruit Loops)
been kissed: 2 nights ago
felt stupid: probably a few days ago when I talked to kevin (he makes people
feel stupid, I guess)
had a serious talk: 2 nights ago
missed someone: while ago
hugged someone: 2 nights ago

RANDOM:
what type of automobile do you drive: Grand Prix that is poorly maintained
would you rather be with friends or on a date: whichever I have a better time
do you attend church: rarely
do you like being around people: for the most part
have you ever liked someone you had no chance with?: of course
have you ever cried over the opposite sex: yeah… after a breakup
have you ever lied to your best friend: yes
ever wanted to get revenge on someone because they hurt you: yep
rather have a relationship or a “hookup”: haven’t had a hookup
want someone you don’t have right now: no
ever liked your best girl friend: yeah
do you want to get married: yes… eventually
do you want kids: yeah, 2 or 3
what is your favorite part of your physical appearance: my genuine smile, not
the fake one
are you happy with your life: yeah… most aspects
if you could change one thing, what would it be?: get a full time paid job

DO YOU…
have a boyfriend/girlfriend?: yes, Stacey
read the newspaper?: I read State News & LSJ online
have any gay, bisexual or lesbian friends?: all three
believe in miracles? No… but I believe human spirit can do unlikely things
believe its possible to remain faithful forever? yep
believe in God? yes
have any secrets? yes
have any piercings? no
have any tattoos? no
have a best friend? I don’t know that I have a best friend
have any bad habits? of course
care about looks? sometimes, but not Sundays... that is the day I don't give a damn
trust others easily? Not really

This Post Needs No Title

Last weekend was the best football weekend ever. I watched so many games with Stacey and Kevin. We had fun ripping on all of the terrible commentators. Everyone talked about how badly the Big Ten did since U-M, Ohio State, and Iowa lost. But they were the ONLY Big Ten teams to lose. The Big 10* has the best record with Big 12 (which actually does have 12 teams). We still have a couple of weeks before the teams all start beating each other up. I am changing my prediction... MSU will beat ND and stop this "Charlie Weis Revival" crap and bringing my record prediction to 8-4. A little DYK (that's Did You Know for those of you who don't watch ESPN as much as I do) MSU is the number one offense in the country. ND did beat two ranked teams, but Pitt lost to Ohio in week 2 and U-M's offense is not as strong as people think. But isn't every other State fan still a little skiddish at the thought of a chance at a conference title? I remember the last time we all thought MSU would be really good. We wound up with a QB in rehab (unfortunately he wasn't rehabbing his knee) and a terrible season. I will always hope they can do it, just wouldn't put money on it.

As to the NFL, my playoff picks went 6-6 last week. Only one of me AFC picks lost and only one of my NFC picks won. Which sucks because two of the NFC teams played each other, so that was a gimme. My fantasy teams some how went 2-1. I lost because I started Culpepper and lost by one. Daunte lost me 6 points, so I would've won had I not started a QB. Ah well, long season ahead.

After some 33 posts, I finally got into an argument with someone over a blog. Funny thing is that it was over one of my first posts. Not gonna elaborate since I don't want to start another.

This new radio station popped up on 101.7, which means I won't be able to hear "Listen to Your Heart" on the half hour. It's called Mike FM (I hope it doesn't get to D's head) and I still can't figure out what kind of radio station it is... they say they play anything. For example, I've heard "We Didn't Start the Fire", U2's "Sometimes You Can't Make it On Your Own", and some weird 80s rap. Right now, "Purple Rain" is on. I don't remember hearing any DJs in the 8 hours that I've been listening to it. I'm thinking the "station" is a computer in some guy's basement with the shuffle on.

I found my Red Sox hat this morning when I woke up. I knew today should be a good day. Anyone else find it odd that I can't find the hat and the Sox lose and the Yankees win big? We'll see tonight if finding the hat turns things around.

Another softball game tonight. I have a hitting streak going on. Hopefully I can add to the one. Maybe finding the Red Sox cap was a good sign for the game.

I leave for vacation in 4 days. I am very excited. I'm going to Mackinac with Stacey, which means I'll be eating a lot of fudge. I'll burn it off somehow. Giggidy giggidy GIGG-I-DY. Haha... just kidding. I'm also glad that gas prices are dropping. Any chance it'll go down to $1.50 before we leave?

NFL Predictions

How excited is everyone for tonight? And Saturday? And Sunday? Football is back, so here are my predictions.

NFC East: Philadelphia Eagles
NFC North: Minnesota Vikings
NFC South: Carolina Panthers
NFC West: St Louis Rams
Wild Card: Atlanta Falcons, Seattle Seahawks
Close call: Detroit Lions

AFC East: New England Patriots
AFC North: Pittsburgh Steelers
AFC South: Indianapolis Colts
AFC West: San Diego Chargers
Wild Card: Kansas City Chiefs, Cincinnati Bengals
Close call: NY Jets, Baltimore Ravens

MVP: Peyton Manning
ROY: JJ Arrington (I hope, for my fantasy team's sake)
AFC Champ: Indianapolis Colts
NFC Champ: Minnesota Vikings
Superbowl Champ: Indianapolis Colts

Yes, my prediction leaves the Lions out of the playoffs. I think the most questionable NFC teams are the Seahawks and the Panthers. The Steelers and the Bengals are the sketchy AFC teams.

College Football Predictions

I am a little late in coming up with these predictions. College football kinda snuck up on me. You have no idea how weird it is to watch college football all day and then watch a baseball game at night. Complete season clash. From 11-5 it was fall and from 7-10 it was summer again. This will really piss Mike off, but I think they should move the end of baseball season. Regular season ends last week in August and the World Series is mid-late September.

Biggest fact after week one: The Big Ten is the only undefeated conference in football. (All ten teams won; Purdue hasn't played a game yet) Which leads to my first prediction:

1) There won't be two Big Ten BCS teams this year. They are all going to beat each other up over the season. The BCS team will be Ohio State, U-M, or Iowa. I pick U-M, but they won't be headed to the National Championship game.

2) Michigan State will go 7-5. They will lose to: Notre Dame, Ohio State, Northwestern, Purdue, and Minnesota. Which means...

3) Michigan State will beat U-M. If you think about it, MSU has a potent offense (if Drew Stanton is healthy) with multiple talents at WR and RB. U-M's defense is good, but not impossibly good. The game is at MSU, which sways it in our favor. MSU's crappy defense will hold up just enough to not lose the game.

4) The Heisman race will be between Bowling Green's Omar Jacobs, Reggie Bush, Matt Leinart, and Chris Leak. And another RB not named Adrian Peterson. That's pretty easy to say after week one.

5) USC will win the National Championship again this year over Texas.

Screw Football!!!!

Wait, screw football?! Could that possibly be the title of my post??? After all, didn't I just complete three fantasy football drafts this week? And aren't I keeping College Football Gameday Scoreboard on refresh while I work tomorrow? Yes, I did and yes, I am. So how does football make me so mad (yeah, I know kev... "how mad does it?") that I complain about it in a blog? When it is played by high school kids.

After a tiring day yesterday of walking around as the mascot (I did get to hug a lot of hot drunk girls, but that still doesn't make it worthwhile) all I wanted to do was sit down and watch some TV. I turn on Stacey's 5 channel wonderbox (wow, that isn't the right name for it) and there's some overweight guy talking about the Podunk vs. YouGottaPurtyMouth football game. This guy probably goes home at night and reads about the 3-4 Defense to his 5 year old after reading up on the top Pop Warner prospects. Guys who scout middleschoolers are like child molesters without "the bad touch". Still kinda creepy. Anywho, I turned the channel and saw highlights of another high school game rolling. The channel after that... you guessed it, more overweight unathletic high schoolers reaching the climax of their sad lives. Half of Stacey's channels were devoted to different high school football recap shows. AND THIS WAS ON A THURSDAY NIGHT!!! I know that my Spartans will always give fans a glimmer of hope before puking all over it on the field against Rutgers, Louisiana Tech, etc. But the HS teams in the area aren't even that good. This town is more obsessed with minors than Michael Jackson. (Could've done better with that rip, I know.) The point is, I hate HS football and I don't want to hear about it on 3 TV channels and a radio station all day long. Especially not after I've been in a sweat drenched suit that feels like wearing smelly wet towels. But there's always the drunk girls...

Oh No! Gas Prices!

Everyone is flipping out about gas prices. I watched the local news last night and the top story was Hurricane Katrina. The next story was about gas prices topping $3. The people they interviewed were flipping out and talking about how they have to change their lifestyle. Do they swim in gasoline? A $.30 increase for a gallon of gas for a 20 gallon tank is $6. Yeah, that sucks. Although, I have a 12.5 gallon tank and a tank lasts me about a week and a half to two weeks. I drive about 20 mins. to work each day. But the extra few dollars I pay won't break my quite small bank.

I think the thing that is frustrating me in this is where people are placing the blame. Which is surprising because people are blaming Bush. I didn't vote for him... I should be happy people are upset with him. But we all knew about his ties to the oil industry. Now people are surprised he won't regularly tap our oil reserves to control prices like Clinton did? (Yes, he did announce yesterday he will temporarily tap some reserves, but his reason was to make up for losses incurred by Katrina, not to relieve high prices.)

Why aren't people more upset with the car industry for not making Hybrids or Electrics sooner or faster? Why aren't they upset with themselves for buying an inefficient SUV? We have a limited resource that is projected to be extinct soon. And yet we still use millions of gallons a day. I think some Americans feel like it is their right to buy a huge SUV because they work hard. Well, it is! BUT, there are consequences for doing that and I will put you at the front of the blame line.

I read in the Washington Post today that Bush's disapproval rating is at 53% now. The main reason is anger over gas prices. If this continues, it is very likely we will see a Democrat take over the White House. The Republican candidate will most likely be a member of Bush's administration or a close friend. (Bush Sr was Reagan's VP, Gore was Clinton's VP) They will have the nearly impossible task of resolving the public's anger issues over gas and Iraq. I would like to see a good Democrat candidate win the next election, but isn't it weird how much of a role gas prices could play in the decision?

Sludge Puppies

I took my car in for an oil change and they said I have way too much sludge built up and I need a $70 flush of my radiator. I thought I just got a $170 radiator flush a month ago, but apparently I am mistaken. Either way, I am sick of my car needing attention. It is like a high maintenance girlfriend. (Not referring to Stacey, love you honey!) My dad said he is going to do it when I come home next. He hasn't done it before, but apparently he is going to figure it out! Eh, as long as I don't have to pay $70 he can clean it with my comforter for all I care. No, Kevin, you can't really clean my radiator with my comforter tonight.

I woke up this morning with a fresh patch of pimples waiting for me. I'm almost 23... shouldn't I have better skin yet? It reminded me of Family Guy last night. "Slather on my bacon grease and grow me a posse!" Haha. Maybe I'll buy that ProActive stuff again. How can I resist what Jessica Simpson, P Diddy and Vanessa Williams tell me to do? "Buy ProActiv or Die, Mutha****!"

My rents got a new puppy, which blows my mind. My dad has been totally opposed to one because Kimmie puked and crapped and peed all over our carpet. Plus, seeing her die was really sad. We think she had a few strokes because she couldn't walk right. A few days before we put her to sleep, she could only hobble around for a few feet. We had to put her water bowl under her head and feed her like that. She wimpered a lot. We finally decided to put her asleep after she went into a convulsion one day and foamed at the mouth. I better stop because I know Mike is already crying. Haha... just kidding buddy. It was really sad to see her die because I knew she was in pain, but I didn't really miss her once she was gone. I just don't have much attachment to animals. I remember one of my old coworkers' friends' dog died and she sent out an e-mail to her friends. She kept talking about religion and her spirituality... which was kinda weird. She claimed God blessed them in the way their dog died because they were all around. But the dog foamed at the mouth and convulsed... is having that happen to your dog and having your 7 year old see it a blessing? I just remember thinking it was all a little weird.

Which brings me to my next big thought of the day. And it's deep. Don't know how random it is... Anyway, I have been thinking a little about my religion. Maybe a little of it is from the South Park episode from last night. (Sad that South Park and Family Guy dictate my thoughts so much today. Guess it's because I haven't watched much TV in a while.) I am officially Catholic/Christian. I do however believe homosexuality isn't a choice, gay marriage should be a legal union, death penalty is murder but abortion isn't, women should be able to be priests, and priests should be able to marry. So, I am a fairly liberal christian. I am turned off by people who "wear their religion on their sleeve" because I think God didn't want people to boast about their faith. Don't remember what part of the Bible that's in, but I remember hearing about it on Ash Wednesday a few years ago. For example, we were wristbanding anyone who was drinking on the same night as we hosted a few churches. When I asked some of the church members if they were going to be drinking, one of them rudely answered "Alcohol?! Oh, no! I'm here for Christian night. I wouldn't want any alcohol!" First, Christians can drink. Second, they aren't supposed to be rude to thy neighbors, so you're a hypocrite. Third, I don't care that you're Christian, so don't talk down to me.

I was reading the preachy website for the Christian rock band that performed here. It said drugs and money will make you feel like half a person... God will make you feel like a whole. I don't go to church and I don't really have a relationship with religion. I have strong beliefs and I am not going to compromise them. I also believe in free will and think that saying "God has a plan already written out for you" is disowning responsibility for your actions. But I do believe there is more to this world and more going on than just what I see. I just felt like lately I've been doing work and errands without thinking much of God and life. And I don't think it's good to ignore what I believe created this world and I... God. Most times I go to church, though, I feel like I am not learning anything from it. I feel like I just go "because I have to" for whatever reason and that doesn't seem worthwhile. I don't know what I want to do from here... just wanted to put some ideas out. But I'm not switching to Scientology... nice try Tom Cruise.

Blur

The past 9 days have seemed like a complete blur. Outside of Sunday night, I really haven't had more than a few hours away from work. We started the homestand with a concert and ended it with another. It is a weird feeling to know the date and have no idea what day of the week it is. It was a lot of fun though. In that week, we had our manager get tossed, a player get tossed, and a cheap shot play at the plate that almost broke out into a fight. If only they could've won a few more games. I'm pretty happy with how things are turning out and it has been fun to do so many different things. We have a few promotions coming up, so I know I will be doing a lot of random tasks.

I really don't know if I could do this year after year... or even for a full season. It definitely is a different lifestyle. I think I might want to do basketball. I like the arena environment and it is half the schedule. Although nothing compares to minor league baseball promotions.

I heard a rumor today that two top MLB players have tested positive for steroids and are in the appeals process. Supposedly this will be officially announced soon. The two players are Johnny Damon (which hurts b/c he's a Red Sock) and Roger Clemens. If he really did test positive, that would be a HUGE story. I heard a debate on ESPN a few weeks ago over whether or not MLB should rename the Cy Young for Clemens.

The NHL finally inked that TV deal. I knew that a lot of networks weren't too interested in the contract, but I figured that NBC would sign on. They don't have many sports and the NHL deal has to be pretty cheap compared to other sports. The winning bidder was Comcast who is going to put at least 58 regular season games on its OLN network. They also will broadcast the playoffs and the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals. How can you tell the networks thought the NHL was really shitty? NBC was willing to buy the rights to the Finals, but not the first two games. Now, the only thing that I can remember about the OLN network is that it carried the Tour De France in its entirety. "They're still biking... Lance is in the lead...oh! They're going uphill! Tremendous! ...still biking..." I have heard the network is trying to reposition itself as a competitor to ESPN. Gary Bettman likes the deal because OLN will focus most of their energy and attention to the NHL. But wouldn't it have been better for the league in the long run to take a cheaper deal from NBC or another reputable network that fans actually receive? I think this is another mistake from the incompetant management of the league.

I have to get the most out of this weekend... which means doing as little work as possible. I need to get a haircut, get a few groceries, clean my room, schedule my Mackinac vacation (can NOT wait), hang out with the girl, drink a beer, watch the Lions game, work out a little, play basketball, read Harry Potter, review my fantasy football strategy and schedule drafts, and kill a drifter. Haha... just kidding. I'm going to drink more than one beer.

Iraq War

After reading this article "US Lowers Expectations for Iraq" I got kinda pissed off. I never believed the arguments that Bush made for war and I still don't know how I feel about starting a war without provocation. Bush originally argued that Sadam had these weapons and the threat was that he would sell them to terrorists. When we didn't find the weapons, the argument was that we were liberating a country from a tyrant that had been killing off civilians and depriving them of freedom. The goal was to catch Sadam, restore their utilities, and lead them to a free, independent government with a self-sustaining economy. We caught Sadam, but that is where success trailed off.

We will begin to pull troops out of Iraq shortly, but what are we leaving? Their basic utilities are still worse off than when Sadam was in power. The insurgency is stronger than predicted. Now, we believe they will have an "Islamic Republic" rather than a true democracy.

I am not saying that we should've been more successful or that we should stay longer. But why aren't we questioning or holding the Bush Admin more responsible for leading the US into this war with little assistance and information that we now know is "gray" to put it nicely? I think that we need an independent investigation that results in more than a report that is discussed on the six o'clock news and forgotten. Although I don't like Bush, I don't think that a different President would've been much more successful. But that doesn't mean that we shouldn't hold whomever accountable for spending that much of our taxes on a war with a poor plan and limited outside assistance. The bigger tragedy is what the Iraqi people have already had to go through and what they will be left to deal with.

I think that the hope is that if we leave, the insurgency will calm down because their goal is to get American troops out of Iraq. But I doubt that will be the case. There will be a country with profitable natural resources (oil) and different religious groups and a weak government and weak security. The motivation for gaining power will be very high.

I really want to know what other people think, so post some replies.

Joey Do!

Mike Theis would always watch a Lions game and yell "Joey Don't!" at the screen whenever Harrington would throw. It was really funny. The Lions are getting a good amount of preseason talk and EVERYONE has a magnifying glass on Harrington. I looked at their schedule today and realized they do need to git err duunnn this season. Their schedule is a cakewalk. They play the Bucs, Bears (twice), Browns, and Bengals. (Did anyone else realize all of the crappy teams in the league start with B?) Between the 4 of them, they were 22-42 last season. Also, they play the Cardinals, Saints, and Cowboys (20-28). Their division consists of
Green Bay - Always solid, but will Farve ever start aging? Ok, Packers are good.
Minnesota - Randy Moss-less. Lions should be able to take one of the two games
Chicago - Rex Grossman. I hate Rex Grossman. He didn't do that well in college, did he?
So, here's the season and how the Lions should perform.
Green Bay Packers - L - But, a victory would be a good start, wouldn't it?
@ Chicago Bears - W - If it is a loss, Joey will really have pressure on him
@ Tampa Bay Bucs - W - This is coming off a bye week
Baltimore Ravens - L - Raven's D is too tough... I think Boller will score just enough
Carolina Panthers - W - If I'm wrong, they probably beat the Ravens the week before
@ Cleveland Browns - W - Braylon Edwards or Rogers & the Williams'? Hmm...
Chicago Bears - W - Good old confidence booster
@ Minnesota Vikings - L - Can Lions really win first 4 road games? No.
Arizona Cardinals - W - Another should-be victory
@ Dallas Cowboys - L - Close game, but I don't want to be too optimistic
Atlanta Falcons - L - Tough game to predict. If Vick isn't playing, that definitely is a W. Entertaining Thanksgiving Day game
Minnesota Vikings - W - Lions find stop losing skid...
@ Green Bay Packers - L - ...for one week
Cinncinati Bengals - W - Carson Palmer will have a good season
@ New Orleans Saints - W - I will never put Deuce McFumbles a lot on my fantasy team again
@ Pittsburgh Steelers - L - Rothlisburg... I just realized I have no idea how to spell that.
That's it! They should be at least 9-7 next year. Last year, that record would put them into the playoffs. The question is, will Joey succeed?

Bless This

While driving today, I was cut off by a Subaru with a Jesus fish and a "Love is the Answer" bumpersticker. Apparently the guy was borrowing his wife's crappy "Love-mobile". What is the world coming to when even the lambs of God have road rage.

Have you ever played a board game with someone who gets overly excited when the tiny plastic hourglass is tipped over? I was playing Taboo with my family this weekend. I know, what 22-year-old still has family game night? My relatives were over and the choice was games or drinking. When it was my mom's turn, she would turn into an 80 year old at a McDonald's drive thru. "Ready, go. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT YOU USE TO..." It was very comical.

I have shaved 10 points off my golf score from last year. Which means I have gone from embarassing to "just say you're a casual golfer". I am proud of my first and second shots. I need to improve on my chipping and putting.

Sad Fact

Mike's blog profile has been viewed 176 times. Kevin's has been viewed 81 times. Mine has been viewed 8 times. At least 4 of those times were probably me. That puts a good ole dagger in the confidence balloon. Aw, screw it. I don't care if random strangers look at my profile.

Gay Old Time

I saw an interesting segment on the news last night. It was about a religious camp for homosexuals. Immediately I was against it because I think that being gay is due to nature and it isn't a choice. I've heard of similar camps before and stories of people who are sent by their ashamed parents and are expected to change because someone throws a Bible in front of them. I was surprised when the people interviewed said that they chose to go to the camp and that they are still gay. They said the camp just taught them to surpress their desires. They wanted to do this because they believe acting out on their homosexuality is a sin.

I think this is interesting because they admit that being gay isn't a choice, but know that acting on those desires is a choice that conflicts with their religious beliefs. So would the Catholic church acknowledge this to - that being gay isn't a choice? I don't think so.

I don't know if homosexuality is a sin or not - that's up to God to decide. I do know that privacy should remain a freedom we enjoy in the U.S. I also think that a political party that argues for a government that doesn't interfere in citizens lives' is being hypocritical by opposing gay marriage. You know how wrong and inhumane we think that the generations before us treated minorities? Before they claimed minorities were inferior due to science, now people are claiming gays are due to religion. I think that our children will look back at the way we mock homosexuals and deny them some of the same rights we enjoy and wonder how we could've rationalized it. Evidence: While all of the states (including my own) banned gay marriage last year, many college towns (again, including my own) were opposing the measures in large numbers. Who is a threat to the "institution of marriage" more - people who get married 5 times or a committed gay couple?

Listen to Your Heart

No, this is not a sentimental or philosophical post. I am referring to the song that I (and Kevin) always hear during work. One of the local radio stations plays the song "Listen to your Heart" by some group called DHT at least 5 times a day. I kinda liked it at first, but now it is starting to grind on me.

I hate my car. Now the battery is dead and I need to take it in to get a new one. I am very appreciative that my rents gave it to me and it is not that old. I just worry about the day my dad expects me to start paying to fix it. I am just glad to have gotten out of the Quiznos (mmm...toasty) parking lot last night.

I slowly am becoming a real employee here. I have my phone set up and most of the right keys and a security code. Now I only need business cards and an e-mail address. And a raise. Not holding my breath for that last one.

Wedding Crashers is hilarious. It is like a really good "MTV Movie Awards" sketch that lasts 2 hours. "Well, the girl with the hat just eye fucked the shit out of me." Haha... just go see it.

I drove the wrong way down a One Way street the other day. It was a first for me. I didn't see any signs as I turned out of the McDonalds. I saw someone do the same thing today and I thought "What an idiot, he shouldn't be driving. Oh, wait..."

Tomorrow the newest Red Sox Commemorative DVD comes out. This one has the complete ALCS and World Series games. Of course I am going to buy it. Smart marketing ploy... come out with multiple DVDs that briefly recap all of games, then sell poeple the actual games themselves for $90. You can buy it on mlb.com for $120, but it comes with a free baseball cap valued at $30. I still don't understand the economics of paying $30 more to get a free hat. If the Sox don't make the ALCS this year, I am going to watch the games from last year instead of this year and pretend they won again. Then I am going to do something nice for my girlfriend to convince her to not be pissed at me for spending all of my time watching old baseball games.

New Hockey League

I am excited for tomorrow - the day NHL execs will be scrambling to fill up their rosters and find their way below the new salary cap. I am scared about my team - the Detroit Redwings. I know we will see a different team since their last roster earned about twice the new salary cap. I've heard McCarty might have to go. I'm sad if he leaves, but the one thing that would be the saddest is the loss of Steve Yzerman. He is one of the most underrated players in the NHL. If he is bought out or retires, then that will be the most unfortunate outcome of the lockout. He deserves the chance to try for another title as a Redwing and to have the spotlight when he retires.

Tomorrow night, I will have free time. First time since Wednesday (no joke). At least my bank account just topped 5K today. Cheers to that.

Best Lunch Break Ever

Let me preface this story by saying that I didn't really have lunch breaks at my old job. We ate at our desks while we worked. Nothing fun ever happened. Onto the awesome story.

Day 3 at the new job was very boring. I still don't have too much to do... I am probably the only person who would complain about not having anything to do at work. Anyway, back to the story. A few of the guys invited me to go to lunch with them. I didn't really want to go, but I went anyway because I want to make friends. We drove 15 miles to someone's barbeque after buying some beer. Don't worry, we didn't drink on our lunch break. It was a payment for the lunch. When we started driving into the country, I got a little nervous... like I was about to be on Punk'd... even though I'm not a celebrity. We pull up to this nice house with a pond and a pool. I think the more sources of water one has, the richer they are. We get out of the car and two really hot girls come out of the house. (I love my girlfriend.) The girl who lives there turns out to be the daughter of a certain car dealership owner. They bought over $100 worth of food for our barbeque. So, we grill up some burgers and some hot dogs with the hot girls by the pool. When we got back to work, we had been gone an hour and a half. And we didn't get in trouble at all. A fun lunch makes any boring work day better!

Day One

Starting the new job at a certain minor league baseball team. Fun news: I get an e-mail address and business cards. I've been in meetings with each department all day to learn what they do and how it affects me. Beyond that, I find myself in a familiar situation where I don't have anything to currently do. Which is why I am updating my incredibly popular blog. I did make new signage for an upcoming event. I would laminate it like I am supposed to, but nobody told me where that is. Game time is less than an hour away (hopefully) but it might rain. For the first time ever as an employee here, I don't want it to rain, because that will mean a doubleheader at some point, which will mean more working hours. I am excited for things, but right now I just have that awkward first day unfamiliarity. And nobody is here and nobody has anything for me to do. Which is strangely familiar from my last job. Time to hunt down that laminator...

Oh, and the Pistons made a mistake by letting LB go. Pound for pound...

A New Beginning

I did it. Today, I gave in. I joined a club that I never understood. I bought a Nalgene/Moosejaw bottle. Well, not really... I bought mine at Meijer. I will be working long days starting tomorrow (scary) and the only water fountains in the park are gross. So, I bought a durable, plastic bottle. A "Nalgene-esque" bottle. For four years, I have seen sorority girls and "guys who are really into fitness" (see also: arrogant metros) walking around campus with those hard plastic bottles. You might be asking yourself, "Adam, so what? They like having 1000ml of refreshing water on hand whenever they get parched." It's more than the Nalgene bottle... there's a Nalgene culture. Everyone knows the importance of those little bottles to campus - our commencement student speaker even mentioned them in her speech. So that's my Nalgene bottle confession.

Whenever I see someone who is disabled, I feel bad. A lot of people do, but I feel really bad. Like I am spoiled and waste my life writing a story about a water bottle. (Oops) At Meijer, a woman in a motor cart asked me to get her a bottle of milk for her. I felt bad for her disability, but damn was that cart fast. I bet she got done with her shopping in half the time it took me because of that cart. Disabled kids make me the saddest.

I am excited because Stacey and I are planning a little 3 day getaway to Mackinac Island after the season is over. We have it all planned out and we're making it our Christmas gift to each other. I can't wait! But for now, I start a new job tomorrow with a new "Nalgene Bottle". I have to come up with some name for it that makes me sound less gay.

White Trash America

I read a lot of "watercooler" articles at work, which will probably end today since this is my last day at work. Today I came across a few that I had to share.
ALBANY, N.H. — A 45-year-old man was arrested after a teenage girl noticed him looking at her from the depths of a toilet seat in a New Hampshire outhouse, police said. Carroll County law enforcement officials said they do not know how Gary Moody was in the sewage tank of the log cabin outhouse but they had to decontaminate him before they formally arrested him June 27.

If you wonder where people like this come from...

BARTLESVILLE, Okla. Jul 14, 2005 — A woman has been arrested on child neglect charges after giving birth while drunk, police said. Melissa Irene Tanner, 37, is accused of having a blood alcohol content close to three times the legal limit when she gave birth to a baby girl on June 30... Tanner reportedly has six other children.

Mechanical Boob Feelers

Haha... I love that title. Haha... I said title. Anywho, this story pops up on the Engineering Website. Some professor made a mechanical device that allows him to perform a breast exam on women who are in another location. Read More Too...many...jokes....brain overload! Let's see... "Reach out and Touch Som..." No, too easy. "First the robot takes them out to dinn..." No, not funny. "The best male-substitute for women since the vibrator." Eh, do women really want to get felt up by a machine? Some probably do. Scary. I'm at a loss for the best joke. Anyone want to help me out on this one?

Petoria and Other Made Up Places

From an msn.com article by Matt Crenson
"By those criteria, the most successful made-up nation would have to be Sealand. Englishman Roy Bates founded Sealand in 1967 by occupying an abandoned World War II artillery platform 7 miles off the coast of Britain. He proclaimed it an independent state and named himself Prince Roy of Sealand.

Soon after, Bates tested his country's sovereignty by firing warning shots at a Royal Navy buoy tender passing nearby. He was brought before an English court, but a judge refused to hear the case on the basis that Sealand lay beyond British territorial waters. Since then Britain has extended its territorial waters to a distance of 12 miles from the coast but so has Sealand, insisting that the waters between the two countries be split down the middle.

About a decade after the shooting incident, three associates of Bates landed on Sealand with the intention of discussing a business proposition. Bates was not there, but his son Michael the Prince Regent was. A disagreement ensued, and the men ended up imprisoning the prince in Sealand's kitchen.

...Does this remind anyone else of that episode of Family Guy where he claims the land around his house is Petoria?

Home Run Derby

I am excited for the All Star Game and Home Run Derby. Yes, the AL team is dominated by Orioles, Yankees, and Red Sox. But that's because these players have been putting up the numbers for the big teams. If the AL best White Sox could match the star power of the AL East, they'd have a couple of starters too. I do have a small problem with the Home Run Derby lineup. They have decided to take a representative from eight countries that are represented in the MLB. The players that we will see tonight will be exciting, for the most part. However, only 3 of the 8 are starting in the ASG tomorrow night.

The line up is: Bobby Abreu, Jason Bay, Hee-Seop Choi, Andruw Jones, Carlos Lee, David Ortiz, Ivan Rodriguez, and Mark Texeira. In my opinion, Ortiz, Jones, and Texeira are good. Hee-Seop Choi is tied for 51st and Jason Bay is tied for 30th in the home run column, so they're out. The Yankees, Orioles, and Cardinals, 3 of the teams with the most ASG Reps, have no HR Derby representation. Hmm... the fans apparently love those teams, so why aren't they in the Derby? While Ivan Rodriguez is the only Tiger in the ASG, he has 6 home runs so far. That's one less than the number of HRs Jason Giambi has hit in 32 games. If the Tigers have to be represented, why not give non-All Star Dimitri Young a spot. How fucking awesome would it be to see David Ortiz and "The Best Player in Baseball According to Kevin" in the finals. The tiebreaker could be a hot dog eating competition. If it is unfair to give a non-All Star a spot, then give the HR Derby spot to someone more deserving than Rodriguez.

Since I am the authority on so many things in sports, and because I am positive that the Major League cares what I have to say, I came up with my own HR Derby roster. There is a little bit of debate over the last spot due to injuries, evening the AL/NL representatives, and the "Should the Tigers get a spot?" debate. My list contains 4, 5, or even 6 All Star Game starters.
Definite:
Andruw Jones
Mark Texeira
Alex Rodriguez (As much as I hate him, he is one of the biggest names in baseball)
Albert Pujols
Daaaaaavid ORTIZ!
Morgan Ensberg - Replaces Choi or Bay as a "lesser known from the NL" because he has hit more dingers
Miguel Tejada

Choose One:
Dimitri Young - if the Tigers must get a spot and a non-All Star is allowed
Paul Konerko - A lot of HRs and he's from the best team in MLB right now
Derrek Lee - I'm pretty sure his injury is keeping him out of the Derby
Bobby Abreu - Maybe MLB was right.... nah

Michigan State Spirit

From a July 8th Lansing State Journal article on MSU students studying abroad in London:
"She canceled class then began searching for the students absent from class. After three hours, she found the last two inside a pub, watching television reports of the attacks."
I'm sure they only went to the pub to watch the news. Michigan State spirit lives on in England...

I found a gray hair growing from the middle of my forehead this morning...

Can I just say that I've dealt with more complex phone calls today than I've ever had to in the past year. For example: one caller got pissed that I didn't know who Dennis was. Finally I figured out he meant our secretary Denise when he kept referring to Dennis as "her". And my day (8am to 10:30pm) is only half over. I hope that the people at the stadium tonight know how to tip and won't be assholes to me. Today made me fear my internship schedule a little more.

Dinner Table Discussions

Things discussed recently over dinner at my parents house:
1) My mom didn't know that anything beyond soft core porn was legal. My sister went into an 8 minute story about the porn/AIDS scare that happened in California last year.
2) My sister recalled the time her ex-boyfriend dropped acid and was tripping for a whole day. Apparently they fell in love with a candle and a sandwich maker.
3) My dad innocently said he would "toss his own salad". After my sister and I busted out laughing, we refused to explain the slang meaning. Five minutes later, my mom insists that she knows what it is because it can also be called "a slang term that begins with R" We also decided it is impossible to "toss one's own salad". If you know how it is possible, please keep it to yourself.
4) My mom used some outdated metaphor about cleaning up a dirty wet horse before you put her away that sounded like something women do after sex. (My parents' metaphors are very outdated)

I might have 2 sisters and my parents have a happy marriage and a white fence, but we aren't really a normal family.

...Also, in my sleepy daze this morning I accidentally shaved my sideburns back to normal length. May they rest in peace.

Top 46 Songs EVER

Why did I decide to make a list of the Top 46 instead of the Top 50? Because I am a rebel. And because I am impatient. Some of the things I considered when choosing the list was how much emotion the song provokes, how unique it is, and how much energy it has. Each person only gets one song, otherwise I'd have a list full of Guster, U2, and Beatles. Here's the list... now trash it. Just tell me what you think should be different, asshole.

1. U2 “All I Want Is You”
2. Guster “Demons”
3. Rent Original Cast “Seasons of Love”
4. Incubus “Wish You Were Here”
5. Beatles “In My Life”
6. Eminem “Lose Yourself”
7. Foo Fighters “Times Like These” (acoustic)
8. Live “Lightning Crashes”
9. Simple Minds “Don’t You Forget About Me”
10. John Lennon “Imagine”
11. Elton John “Your Song”
12. Ray Charles “Georgia On My Mind”
13. Simon & Garfunkel “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
14. Lynard Skynard “Sweet Home Alabama”
15. Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
16. Frank Sinatra “I’ve Got The World on a String”
17. Al Green “Let’s Stay Together”
18. Kanye West “All Falls Down”
19. Buffalo Springfield “For What It’s Worth”
20. Trick Daddy “Let’s Go”
21. Smashing Pumpkins “Tonight, Tonight”
22. AC/DC “Thunderstruck”
23. Jay-Z “Can I Get A…”
24. Nine Inch Nails “Hurt”
25. Red Hot Chili Peppers “My Friends”
26. Bush “Glycerine”
27. Jeff Buckley “Hallelujah”
28. Nirvana “Heart Shaped Box”
29. Michael Jackson “The Way You Make Me Feel”
30. Linkin Park “In the End”
31. Carly Simon “Let The River Run”
32. Ben Harper “Beloved One”
33. Billy Joel “Goodnight Saigon”
34. White Snake “Here I Go Again”
35. Guns N Roses “November Rain”
36. Coldplay “The Scientist”
37. Weezer “Say It Aint So”
38. Dave Matthews Band “Ants Marching”
39. Postal Service “Such Great Heights”
40. Bob Dylan “How Does It Feel”
41. Harry Chapin “Cat’s in the Cradle”
42. Franz Ferdinand “Take Me Out”
43. Tupac Shakur “Changes”
44. Ronan Tynan’s “God Bless America” at Yankee games
45. The Verve “Bittersweet Symphony”
46. Johnny Cash “Folsom Prison Blues”

Road to Okemos

I am taking Mike's advice to think about how I got here, this amazing land of opportunities, this Okemos. In my 22 years, I have:

Seen a surprise concert by Eminem after watching the premiere of 8 Mile
Marched in a Disney World parade
Performed on a Disney World stage
Played "Survivor" with 7 people for a week in a small room with barely anything else(I swear it was fun)
Planned that same event the next year as it was going on
Watched a MSU football game from the press box and interviewed players after the game
Hosted a radio show (as crappy as I was) that people actually listened to
Competed on the tennis team (as crappy as I was) and won second place on a bum ankle
Interned at the Palace and walked around the backstage like I owned the place
Gone to some good parties and many bad parties
Gone to many good games like U-M/MSU Football 2001 and MSU Hockey def U-M @ Yost
Graduated from college (graduation wasn't that fun, but I'm still proud

And that's just what my crappy memory came up with in 10 minutes. I like Kevin's quote about not worrying about things that you can't change because that was the most important thing I learned freshman year of college.

Let's Go Nuts... About Decisions!

Last March, I had an interview with the Lugnuts for the marketing internship. It lasted ten whole minutes. And I'm pretty sure I waited in the lobby for three of those minutes and two of those minutes were devoted to pre-interview bullshit like "how's that weather"... very weathery, that's how. Surprisingly, I didn't get the job. I promised myself then that I would have the marketing internship by Christmas. I procrastinated a little on that schedule, but they offered it to me last week. If I take it, this will be the only way of communicating with me. On game days, I will come in at 8:30 am and leave around 10:30. But not the good 10:30... the bad 10:30. It will be a lot of fun because I will get to help with the broadcast and schmooz with people and go on the field a lot. I know it is what I want to do... I hate it that money gets in the way. I will probably make it by and not lose any money (like I did last summer when I had to drive to Detroit to be a Shock intern). I know I will do amazing things for a marketing department someday... I guess this is the road to get there.

Basketball has the most attitude, so the marketing needs to reflect that. Flashy entrances, energized bands, and a hot dance team are a must. But why not try a courtside DJ or pep band? If done right, it wouldn't exploit the urban stereotypes of the NBA or be a carbon copy of college. Baseball is much more of a stadium experience because of the giant outdoor field. In game promo spots in a Major League stadium should be targeted at a few sections. Special promotion days work best in baseball... but the key is to dive deep into them. Don't just give something away - think about how you can fit the look of the stadium, the concessions sold, and the music that is played into the theme. Football is the most dominant sport. Very little needs to be done beyond putting a team that is exciting to watch. That is why Charles Rogers was a person that the Lions had to draft. Hockey does not exist currently and will be on life support when it returns. The main network that is considering broadcasting NHL games is Spike TV... I'm not smart enough to save it.

Game 7 Analysis

Why The Pistons Will Win
Momentum, foul calls, experience. Their victory in the last game proved they can beat the Spurs at SBC. In a game seven, referees will most likely have the "let them play" mentality and will call fewer fouls. Also, Dan Crawford and Ron Garretson will most likely not be working the game tonight. Pistons are something like 13-1 in this year's playoffs when that is the case. Finally, they proved against Miami that they can have the focus at the end of a game seven to clinch it. They're undefeated in series clinching games.
Why The Spurs Will Win
Home court, adjustments, something to prove. Having the crowd behind you is a factor and the Spurs have only lost 6 games at SBC this year. The stat sheet shows they lost the last game on missed three point opportunities. Detroit was 8-17 (47%) and the Spurs were 8-28 (28%). I don't see the Spurs taking and missing as many 3's in game 7. And you can't underestimate the drive a team has when there is something to prove. The Spurs gave up a game that everyone says they should've won and TD is getting a lot of criticism for missed free throws and not making the necessary plays to close out games. The Pistons weren't expected to get to a game 7 and nobody would blame them for not winning two road games to clinch a championship.

Lost in the Headlines

They had an hour special with that Runaway Bride and her fiance' last night on NBC. She ran off and claimed that she was kidnapped, but admitted she made the whole thing up when they found her. WHO CARES?! She is going to get a book and TV movie deal with NBC, which means she is going to make money off of this. Maybe I should follow in her heroic footsteps and claim a hispanic man kidnapped me.
The boy that was lost at a Utah Boy Scout Camp was found yesterday 5 miles away from where he was last seen and police claim that there wasn't any foul play involved. Now his parents are acting like he is a hero. He was the one that got himself lost to begin with. He didn't get kidnapped - he just walked off. I hope the Boy Scouts don't let him in because he sucks. I wonder when his NBC TV movie will come out. I can't wait to hear about his scary ordeal and the dramatic ending of him getting to level 10 at a game of Tetris on one of the rescuer's cell phone.
At least this is all we have to talk about in the news. Thats a good sign, right?

Midday Update:
His parents said what got him off the mountain was his hopes that the Pokemon cards he ordered from E-Bay had arrived. Not his life ahead of him, not his friends and family, not even his pet - his motivation was a 3*5 card with a picture of a cartoon blob. This kid is stupid.

It Was Like A Dream...

I'm not going to talk about you know what and who should've been guarding you know who because it is upsetting and we all know what I would say. SO...
Weird day yesterday and today so far. I wasn't planning on going home for fathers day and my mom and I had a big fight over the phone when she found out I didn't have to work like she thought I did. I cried for the first time in a really long time because she was talking to me in front of my dad, so it must've sounded to him like I REALLY didn't want to come home for father's day. Also, she made me feel guilty for them all coming two days in a row for my graduation. In the end, I had a really good time and it meant a lot to my dad that I was there.

On the way home, I detoured around the race traffic on Michigan Ave. and went out of Saline on Bemis, which happens to be the first time I've driven the route to Katie's house since... It felt a little weird, but I thought little of it. I think being in Saline again stirred up some HS memories, because in my dream last night I was back in HS. I don't remember much of it, but today I really miss certain things. I miss playing for the tennis team (even though I was bad), I miss seeing Katie dressed preppy with straight brown hair (even though that isn't her anymore), I miss seeing Melanie and Diane, I miss hanging out with everyone during VB practice (I don't miss performing... and I don't miss that practice where everyone was talking about me behind my back...) I just don't feel comfortable right now being a 22 year old college graduate that works in an office all day. Maybe a trip to the bar tonight can cure that...

Return of the Random Musings

TODAY'S MUSINGS
What does ESPN stand for? S is probably sports and N is probably network. But the E & the P? Every Sport Possible Network? But when is the last time you saw rowing on Sportscenter?
Why is the keypad on a telephone or cellphone numbered 1-9 from the top down while a calculator or computer numberpad numbered 1-9 bottom to top? Which is correct?
What does "Quil" mean in DayQuil or Nyquil?
What happened to Southern Michigan University?
If CNN stands for Cable News Network, and Fox News is a network on cable, does that mean they don't really have any news? If they did, wouldn't they also be a cable news network?
Why are they called the Buffalo Bills? Why is their logo a Buffalo? Shouldn't they be the Buffalo Buffaloes?
I think what doomed Destiny's Child is their name. Child is singular. Shouldn't they have been Destiny's Children? Unless Destiny's Child just refers to Beyonce. I wouldn't be surprised.
TODAY'S FACT
Every U.S. President with a beard has been a Republican.

Waiting Game

I have checked my e-mail way too much today. Finding a full time job is much more complicated than choosing a college. I don't really want to get into the details, so I will move on to something more fun.
Stacey and I started the Star Wars di-triology (Episodes 1-6) last night. We have already completed the 24 Seasons 1 & 2 marathons as well as the "Brat Pack" fest. To answer your question, they rank #1 Breakfast Club #2 St. Elmo's Fire #3 Sixteen Candles #4 Pretty in Pink. You can't truly appreciate "Not Another Teen Movie" until you watch those movies. I like watching movies with her because it never gets boring.
No musings or facts today because I actually had a decent workload today. GO PISTONS!

It's no John Edward, but...

I have never been one to believe in people communicating from beyond or any of that "White Noise" crap, however....
TODAY'S MUSING
At work, my coworker grabbed a campus envelope from the bin. For those who aren't "in the know" of campus communications, manilla envelopes are reused to pass around paperwork from department to department. Just cross of the previous name and stick it in the mail. The last name on the envelope she picked up was her father's whole name. He did have a common name, so it could be a coincidence. Although, I checked MSU's database and there isn't a single entry that comes close to matching that name. How does everyone else feel about strange occurences? Anyway, John Edward is still the biggest douche in the universe.
TODAY'S FACT
Intercourse, PA is 604 miles from Climax, MI. It would take a woman 9.5 hours to travel that distance, but a man could go from Intercourse to Climax much quicker.

Today's Post is Brought to You by Allegra

My allergies are in full gear today. Maybe I am growing allergic to post-its and Microsoft Office. I am going to miss sitting around all day and making $7.30/hr for doing minimal work. How did I get this job? NETWORKING. I may have gotten paid a very crappy $6/hr last summer to lug 30 lbs. up and down steps, but that job lead to much more. It got me this cushy office job, a few good references, and will most likely lead to the Lugnuts internship and full time job. Not bad for pushing pop and peanuts.

TODAY'S MUSINGS
Here's the difference between using celebrity to your advantage and ruining your career. Britney Spears' show is like watching a 16 year old girl that thinks she is deep and insightful. Everyone thinks she is a drama queen, immature, and even a little white-trashy. Her rat-like husband is ruining her career. Paris Hilton knows everyone thinks she is a dumb, sexy, party girl. So she builds her own clubs, markets perfume, and stars in a successful TV show that highlights her stupidity.

The Breakfast Club is definitely the best "brat pack" movie. Sixteen Candles is second, and Pretty in Pink is a distant third. St. Elmo's Fire lacks Molly Ringwald, so I don't consider it a true "brat pack" movie. It was ok, but Demi Moore trying to "freeze to death" by sitting in front of open windows made no sense. Judd Nelson is hard core. Ally Sheedy wasn't cute. "Don't You Forget About Me" is the best 80's song ever.

TODAY'S FACT
I like to look at the live cameras on Cedar Point's website at work. It makes me happy if it is raining because that means the people there aren't having fun while I'm at work.

The Trouble Begins...

Another nine hour work day and some more prodding from Mike and Kevin did me in... I have created a blog. Soon I will be saying "I created a what?" Time to take off the warm ups, put in that mouth guard, and get in the game.

TODAY'S MUSINGS

• The girl's name with the highest percentage of hotties is Jaclyn. Think back... have you ever met an ugly girl named Jaclyn? Think I'm wrong? Open up facebook and do a search for Jaclyn.
• I have a college degree, but one of the women I work with is convinced I'm an idiot. Everytime I am dealing with someone on the phone or in the office, she interrupts me and tells that exactly what I was about to tell them.
• The thing about the Lugnuts internship that I'm most excited about is having my bio on their website and wearing my black polo shirt (the highest in the Lugnut polo hierarchy) around the stadium. I think it's about time they offer it to me.

TODAY'S FACT

The last time the Pistons won a game in San Antonio was in January of 1997. (0-10 since)