Airplane Rant. Enjoy.
Read it, don’t read it, I don’t care…just needed to get some things off my chest.
In no particular order of chronology or importance…
Not on the clock, but I need a nap. Day rant. Blind airplane style. Let’s turn and burn.
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1) Greetings and salutations, people. I am not exactly bouncing out of my seat. Fighting something health wise and barely winning (which I typically do so the fight is not over), traveling, and as far as my views on traveling sick, it pretty much sucks. Let’s get to the stuff I need to get to.
2) UNC’s James McAdoo will enter the NBA draft. Along with the entire rest of the population, I guess he also got tired of waiting for him to reach his potential. He has an NBA body and has skills, so maybe the next level will translate a little better. He definitely didn’t blow us away in college by any means.
3) Chicago Cubs player Junior Lake wore the wrong jersey the other day in an actual game. I guess he fits in perfectly on a team that has been trying to find their identity for the last 15 years.
4) If the high school pitcher who fanned ALL 21 batters the other day in a game was NOT on the MLB scouts radar, he is now. I don’t care about the competition. That is hard.
5) I am editing at this in my hotel room while starving and waiting on a fridge, which is taking forever. I wanted to put lots of pictures in it, but I will make Logan happy by staying starving grumpy and keeping it RELATIVELY picture free.
6) I would like to thank Minnesota basketball for being the best loser in the NIT, and also squashing any immediate talk from SMU about how they should have been in the tourney. Know THIS though. Larry Brown, coach for SMU, has a kid coming in next year that is SICK. They aren’t going anywhere, and SMU might finally be the home of a one and done student.
7) Which, of course, they should have been (in the tourney).
8) I know I am already fearing the end of college basketball when I caught me actually watching the entire college skills competition. I didn’t even turn it off during the women’s 3 pt competition. Ok. That is not a lie, but I definitely think I was in other rooms doing other things during that time.
9) The Feds are opening a case with FSU and how they handled the Jameis Winston investigation. I think this is just to cover everyone involved. I can’t see them bringing him down now, even though I personally am under the impression that he did something to someone pretty shady. But I bet you they didn’t exactly have the CSI “eye of the tiger” either when investigating their own prize QB who was on his way to bringing them a championship.
10) It is not a headline, but Kendrick Perkins being back for OKC really locks up their interior presence. MUCH better with him controlling the lane. I have a similar flow chart to Mr. Royal when discussing who is taking it all in the NBA this year.
11) Neon Deion loves Johnny Football because he has “ghetto tendenices.” Well, I dislike Manziel for many other reasons, but I never saw THAT in him. Of course, being that I am NOT ghetto, I suppose I wouldn’t recognize it unless it punched me in the face (which becomes funny due to a later hook).
12) Meanwhile, Manziel is fighting for future trademarks before he even suits up in the NFL. You have to give it to the kid. He knows what is going on and how to maximize it. Throwing in pads and a helmet was SO dope. With all of this publicity, I hope he doesn’t end up as the next Sebastian Telfair.
13) Wow, THAT was a reach. Some of you are nodding, and some of you are Googling.
14) In other FSU news, Walmart somehow leaked FSU’s new logo. I don’t know where to go on this one. I even get stumped. I think I was going to tie it with the Ira Denson story, but who knows. Walmart. Accessory to a shooting. I am not seeing a connection. And I am tired. I don’t need a joke EVERY time today.
15) Masters tickets have gone down this year, mostly due to Tiger dropping out. I will tell you this. It is pretty far up on my bucket list, and I will go someday, but damn I would be pissed if I had gotten tickets this year and El Tigre would have cancelled on it. SO pissed.
16) Well, pissed in the way that I still would have LOVED the course and treasured the experience. I would have gone found Steve Elkington, who is like the coolest guy in the whole world.
17) Baylor, you are now clear. Good job. I feel like that was a LONG NCAA investigation. Maybe I am thinking of a past investigation. I am confused. I am really slow on the uptake today.
18) Adreian Payne’s dunk in the Elite 8 game was downright dirty. His name has a lot of vowels.
19) Not quite sure, but I think I won my company bracket pool simply because no one had UCONN and UK, and I had the other two. I will take it if it is true. Talk about backing into something.
20) I hear bees delayed a game in Arizona this week. Well, be glad I wasn’t there, Arizona, because your media coverage would have been about bees AND a guy who had a heart attack at the game. Me not being there eliminated the second one.
21) The Seahawks have extended Pete Carroll’s contract in news that is about as surprising as the grass being green and the sky being blue. Many college coaches make the jump to the NFL and fail. Mr. Carroll has done the job that will make about 10 more coaches over the next 10 years try the jump and also fail. Love him or hate him, Pete is raking.
22) The Yanks avoided an Astros sweep the other day. With this story, we could focus on the Yankees, but I think it tells us more about the Astros. They are already on a better pace than last year for wins just with those two wins.
23) The Athletics had a walkoff win the other day by Coco Crisp. What a name. I will truly miss him when he fades away from MLB. I think I will start a petition that he has to immediately be hired as a manager when he retires.
24) I think Danny Manning made the right coaching decision in moving to Wake. He gets to coach in the ACC, and I assume that Wake is a little better living then Tulsa, but just assuming that. Never been there. Just telling it like I hear it. Indirect insult I guess.
25) After being kicked off Louisville earlier this year and then transferring, did I hear right that Chase Behanon already got busted for weed? At least we now why he made his transfer choice.
26) Because it was Colorado State where he is going.
27) And it is legal here.
28) I have never heard someone who just got suspended for drugs for five games announce to the world that they “believe in marijuana.” The Bucks already have their own problems, and evidently Larry Sanders is hoping to be traded to the Nuggets.
29) Because it is legal here.
30) I think what sucks most about traveling on a Sunday besides that I am using my own weekend for work stuff is that there is no Sunday USA Today. Well, at least I remembered that BEFORE falling for that trick once again, buying it, and reading Thursday night news on the plane.
31) Maybe it was because I am traveling this week, or maybe I am slowly maturing, but to be done taxes by April 6th is really a downer for the procrastinating part of me.
32) I am waiting for my fridge for my room. I went to a nearby market to pick up turkey and bread and stuff. It happened to be one of those green/ organic markets. NO one is more lost ever than me in an organic grocery store. I have no idea what is going on. It took me 15 minutes to find freaking mustard.
33) Some factors that determine who will win a championship. Guard play, free throw shooting, coaching. UCONN beat DOWN Florida yesterday after adjusting to an early spurt by Florida. UCON N has stellar guard play, is 7th in the country at free throw shooting, and…has Kevin Ollie??? Fillerbuster, that doesn’t translate. Yes, it does. Jim Calhoun is still very involved with the team, and if you don’t think he didn’t help them prepare and give a few speeches, then you are crazy. They HAVE a coach who has been in the Final Four.
34) Bayern Munich lost for the first time in 53 games. I can’t keep up. There seems to be a lot of really good teams across the ocean. I think I am mixing up which team is in which league a LOT. Congrats, whoever you are. 53 games sounds like a lot. Not sure if you play Man U or Real Madrid anytime soon, but have fun.
35) I am a COUNTRY soccer fan, not league. Once it was explained to me, I realized I am really passionate about the country side of things, and have no idea about leagues and such.
36) The NFLPA will conduct a probe about the DeSean Jackson release. Rules are rules, and investigate away, but can’t we just leave it to he is an asshole who wanted more money who might or might not be in a gang, and a team finally just said “SEE YA”?
37) I think I am more happy about the Chris Johnson release than I should be as he is a living, breathing human trying to keep a job…but I don’t care. Mr. Royal was toying with the idea of writing an entry on him. Like Rocky’s trainer said in Rocky IV. “You know what you have to do. Now do it. DO it.”
38) I just heard two adults on the plane a couple rows back trying to figure out how many games you have to win when you have 64 teams in a bracket. It was quite entertaining.
39) Ron Baker will return to Wichita State for another year. I guess they are going to try and run the table again before the tournament so the committee can give them a 6 seed this time around.
40) Thoughts and prayers to Mr. Schumacher, who still is fighting for his life, and evidently had a few moments of consciousness the other day.
41) I think that Champ Bailey signing with the Saints is a good fit. It is not like the Saints really care about defense IF Mr. Bailey has in fact lost a step or two. It is a win-win.
42) Great article in ESPN Mag about $215 million dollar man Clayton Kershaw. If you thought he was rich and somehow uncool too, you would be disappointed. Married his high school sweetheart, cool as hell, meticulous about the process of preparation, and still drives the same 2007 Toyota he bought his first year in the majors.
43) I have suddenly realized at age 41 that I need to buy more long sleeve shirts with stripes down the sleeve. I busted out an old shirt Friday and decided I am definitely a stripe guy. I guess I could research if that is hip, but that would be the first time I looked into that. I am just glad cargo shorts came back around one last time. Not sure if that thing is already done, but I bought two more pairs the other day at Target.
44) Does Mr. Puig just do one thing every month to stay on the radar with the media? He was late the other day, so I guess he has improved his speeding problem. And wasn’t he fixing that problem by riding with a teammate? So, was the teammate late too? Confused.
45) I am confused why the Timberwolves suck.
46) I am impressed with Kevin Durant’s MJ tying streak of above 25 point games.
47) I am concerned if I am a Broncos fan about the organization directly tying John Fox’s contract with Peyton Manning’s.
48) I am intrigued by this whole Northwestern/ union thing and not sure if I totally understand it.
49) I am bored with anything regarding Melo and the Knicks.
50) I am amazed that as selfish as Melo is these days that HE was the freshman who took his college team to the promised land.
51) I am expecting many more Yankees to visit the DL than just Mark Teixeira.
52) I am happy that I just realized that spelling Mark’s name was never really hard and was just “ei” twice in a row.
53) I am curious about a tall person like Pau Gasol having vertigo.
54) I am not overly concerned if I am a Sooners fan when talking about this Blake Bell injury.
55) I am confused on how far Samsung APPEARS to be ahead of everyone else in all of their commercials.
56) I am tired of that Grant Hill AT&T commercial with Lilly Adams talking about her high school basketball career. I truly believe I could have made that commercial MUCH better.
57) I am still LOVING commercials for drugs with funny side effects. ALWAYS have my ears listening to some intestinal bleeding.
58) I LOVE how UCON N has taken on the personality of Kevin Ollie. Ollie could probably still be doing his journeyman thing in the NBA. He is young. But the right job reared its beautiful head. I am a fan.
59) I am amazed that freaking someone just wrote a song called “Happy” and it is so popular. Makes me feel like I am a total failure in life. I can just write a song called “hungry,” because that is what I am. Damn. Temple of the Dog already covered that.
60) You know that sucker punch game you hear about on the streets and at clubs? Well, I was long gone by this time, but I was hanging with a friend of a friend who had that happen to them late night. If someone wants to try that with me, they better be really, really fast.
61) But of course, I don’t exactly close down bars much these days, so I guess I kind of have taken myself out of that equation.
62) I don’t remember CBS and the other stations ever doing the Huskies channel, the Florida channel, etc. Either I didn’t know what was going on last year, or it is new.
63) Is North Texas a freaking CITY? Is there a reason we are not just calling it Dallas? And from what I hear, you have to commute from downtown to the stadium for the Final Four games. I have been to one Final Four, and I would have HATED it if I had to jump in a cab to get to the games. That would just SUCK. Has to be strolling difference. Since these organizers are making this be held in a freaking football stadium, sometimes that doesn’t work. Well, consider this as one vote to going back to playing the Final Four in ARENAS…not football stadiums.
64) Should I feel bad that when Lindsey and I got home on Friday night, we ordered delivery…from a place literally about ten doors down?
65) UCON is a 7 seed, so no “regional seeding” was obviously done. But, they just walked into some of the best home court advantages they could have. MSG was PERFECT for them. Meant to be? We will see.
66) Some non basketball people are probably all hopped up because a SEVEN seed and EIGHT seed are in the Final. First of all, UK was the preseason #1, so that #8 seed is misleading. Second, the Nova and KU run, both at #8 seeds, were much more exciting.
67) My knockout pool obviously makes it impossible for me to root for UCONN in the Final. Sorry. Great story, but I would like some money.
68) But perhaps I will advise to bet AGAINST UK to hedge my winnings. Like it.
69) Well, chalk at least his toughness high on scoring. UGA QB Aaron Murray will throw despite recovering from an ACL injury. Like it.
70) Clint Dempsey had a hat trick the other day but the teams just tied 4-4. Using Jim Rome’s equation of comparing one football game to the other, and using that to calculate one soccer goal equals two American football touchdowns. That score is like a 56-56 game. Sounds exciting.
71) MJ sure knows how to roll. This is no Bubba Watson hovercraft, but it is smooth however you look at it.
72) What? You are not aware of Bubba Watson’s hovercraft? Well, you NEED to be informed then.
73) Yes, I know I traditionally do no links on airplane rants. But, I have some time when I am back at the hotel and this is a weekend rant.
74) Meaning occasional pictures.
75) I am hearing good things about it, and will go see it, but for the life of me, I am having a hard time visualizing Kevin Costner talk about football instead of baseball.
76) I like these new Buick commercials. I think I have already said that, so sorry if I am repeating myself.
77) I didn’t play it, but just in case you missed Lost Lettermen’s idea of a Final Four drinking game, you should look it up. Things like “drink if they compare Napier to Kemba Walker.”
78) Ok. I will tell you I am PUMPED for the new Godzilla. I might even nix Draft Day and go see Godzilla.
79) Harrison was the hero, but Mr. Young for Kentucky kept them in the game.
80) I almost fell off the couch during the new Gary Busey commercial. Did they just let him get a little “off,” and then just point a camera at him and tell him to start talking?
81) The Charlotte Bobcats are in the playoffs. Say it with me.
82) And actually, not as the last seed or anything. They are ALREADY in. That shit is crazy.
83) I love flying into DC’s DCA Airport. Right by the city, the rental cars are a building over, and it just makes sense. I am welcoming it after my last fly in to Newark.
84) This is really funny. State of the Phils. Thanks for passing it along, Matt.
85) Not sure if I can sleep with this irritating cough I have, but I am going to try. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Will I blog tomorrow? That is a CLOWN question, bro. peace.
86) Well, I personally will not be blogging tomorrow, as it is the Final game of the year in college basketball, but I believe Mr. Royal is loading up something for me. Peace.
86a) Finally, a shout out to my colleague, Josh. He is the hardest worker I know and was supposed to be with me in DC this week. He had a family emergency and had to cancel. I hope everything turns out ok, that is real life stuff as opposed to selling software, and much love, bro.