Airplane rant, late work flight, and everything is backwards. I leave state of Washington in warmth and sun and come back to Denver in cold and rain.

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…

On the clock.  Airplane rant.  Unedited.  Evening rant.  Semi-speed version (2 hour flight door to door and I have work to do also).  Let’s turn and burn.

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1. Greetings and salutations, people.  Thanks for coming aboard (the boat).  On the way home from Seattle.  So I guess technically it is a plane.  Odd situation.  I can either pay $15 and get Cavs-Hawks updates and POSSIBLY a live feed if the airline gets the channel but still have a blog to do in the next day…or I can just blog.  Blogging wins tonight.  Hockey and basketball come in 2-3 today (plus, I will have NO time to write freely since I have not been in the office until tomorrow).
2. I am sad in a lot of ways about more planes having wifi on them. I kind of liked it as a separation from everything.  But it is what is evolving.  And we are all SO happy when my boss gets wifi on a plane with nothing else to do or distract him.  Emails galore.
3. No, I didn’t stay up for the whole hockey game even though I was on Pacific time. I was tired.  Work trip.  But, it DID make my morning on this long day MUCH better seeing my pre-playoff bandwagon boys pulled it out against the more physical (and HUGE) Ducks team.  The Blackhawks did the job of stealing a game in Anaheim.  Now they will just cruise to a series win.
4. Come on, first timers. That last sentence of the previous quote was written with a smile on my face and was full of jest and sarcasm.  They will lay it all on the ice and have blood streaks on their lockers and BARELY beat the Ducks, if they are lucky.
5. I watched most of the Warriors-Rockets game after my work stuff last night, and will say that if the goal of the Rockets was to steal a game in Golden State before coming back to Houston, that probably was their shot and I doubt the Warriors will let those shenanigans happen again so soon in their crib, especially with a hobbled Snowball.
6. Snowball is Dwight Howard, first timers.
7. If you take the whole history of the NBA playoffs, there are champions and then there are the “almost” teams. There are literally small MOMENTS in playoff games that you must have the more clear head and the recognition that the particular moment is HAPPENING…right now.  I feel like the Rockets had the Warriors against the ropes and blew it a little.
8. I see that Stephen Curry is pulling an Allen Iverson and bringing little toddlers to press conferences. How adorable.  Not a fan personally.
9. Not of HIS kid…of bringing ANY kid to ANY press conference.
10. NBA draft. The Lakers move up, the Wolves finally EARN that top draft and get Wiggins a play friend, and the Knicks still somehow get screwed.  NEXT plan, Zenmaster?  Okafor and Downs aren’t joining the party.
11. Take that top 5 foreign kid projected at 3 or 4. New York will LOSE it.
12. And don’t worry, Sixers fans, I am sure you all will make lots of crazy trades and moves for everyone in the draft. Their back room is literally JAMMED with flow charts I bet.
13. I love flow charts, as you know.
14. I heard that Okafor was training and doing a scout practice this week in Santa Barbara. I alerted my buddy, Scott.  You better have a story for me this weekend, buddy.  Pretty small town for you not to be able to take a few hours off of work.
15. The Pats won’t appeal the NFL penalties and suddenly “Eastern Illinois” is popping up on Google more than ever as Pats fans try and remember who their backup QB is and where he is from.
16. Wait until Google can be sarcastic on searches. (search for backup QB from server in Boston).  “Well, YOU better not be a Pats fan, buddy.”
17. I stayed at a casino (which follows suit since I sell to them), and my hotel room had ELEVEN light switches. Better than not having enough light in the room with 2-3 switches, but I literally was turning on lights room to room.  Kind of fun and kept me on my toes.  That is a LOT going on.
18. And, apparently, the tiniest things intrigue me. Light switches?  I have issues.
19. As long as a hotel room has a constant fan for white noise, I really don’t care what else it has going on.
20. And that is not true either of course. Just the most important part along with the shower pressure.
21. I am not the schedule maker of my relationship, but apparently I am going to see Blake Shelton (tolerable country music because he is funny on The Voice) at Frontier Days (tolerable because I have never gone to Cheyenne for that event (I think that is where I am going).
22. On the negative part of scheduling in my relationship, we booked an impromptu midsummer quick weekend Vegas trip (as Lindsey’s eyes light up on those things through the mail where things are on special) and now will have to find out how hard it is these days to sell Motley Crue tickets. Not a huge loss for either of us (as they are not hip for her and I have seen them), but I haven’t seen them since the early 90’s, so I was kind of excited.
23. Everett Golson is going to FSU. I think this is a smart choice for him overall, as word from FSU camp is that NO one is completely sold on the incumbent QB, and Golson will bring experience to one of the few positions on the FSU that needs it.  There will be a “QB competition,” but Golson will win it.  This begs the wildcard question.  If you can tell me where to rank FSU with possibly a 2012 or last game of 2014 Golson, then go ahead with your wild guess.  He throws an unknown into the mix for calculated preseason predictions.  You obviously don’t want the suspended Golson at the helm, and definitely don’t want the mid 2014 version either.  Maybe you just want the one that almost beat you all LAST year).  That being said, if you are an FSU fan, you are ecstatic about this sudden unknown.
24. Northwestern AD talks shit about the one and done rule, and the ND AD is ranting and raving about not caring about paying college athletes because they are “students first to us.” You uppity folks.  I am glad I went to UVA.  Still great at academics, better sports teams for the most part, and not all cocky.  Stay off the mic on those issues if you think so high and mighty about your college students.
25. Still not seeing the Triple Crown happen, folks. Not buying in yet.  Although I might not bet AGAINST A.P.    Still feel like a slightly lesser horse overall that skipped the Preakness and is RESTED for the longer course will win this thing like it happens a LOT.
26. Just got free pretzels from the stewardess and bit into them without reading them.  Amazing how taste works if you don’t warn your brain.  They are pretty good tasting, but the honey mustard flavor threw me off.
27. I have already admitted to not reading Deadspin as much as I should these days, but DID catch an article on them weighing in whether the Pop masturbates or not. Deadspin is simply the best.
28. Pacific time SUCKS. You wake up at dawn and the rest of the world is already trucking along, and shows and sporting events start too freaking early for anyone’s good.  The only good thing was today at the airport, when it was 430pm and my work email stopped blowing up.
29. Look at the list of MLB players with the most walkoff HR’s. It is like a bunch of Hall of Famers and then Ryan Zimmerman.  Dude yoked another one last night.  Let Bryce have the next one, ok?
30. I made a mistake and now don’t travel in the next week. I was at McDonald’s two days ago and didn’t get those special sirloin burgers.  I at least have to TEST one being a McDonald’s fan too much for way too long.  Looks like we are having a McDonald’s trip at least for me this weekend, Lindsey.
31. I have gotten to the age where this may or may not have happened.  I was talking to a younger guy who liked sports enough where he should know who most people are.  Anyway, I made a Jeff George reference and he asked who he was.  Ugghhh.
32. There are new hockey coaches for teams I noted when getting on the plane, but I don’t have enough info on all of the hires that suddenly happened to confidently make a hook on it.
33. I have enjoyed the articles in the last two days about people taking Tannehill’s stats over the last few years, comparing them to Andrew Luck, and then calculating how much Luck should get paid based on those calculations. What is Ryan?  25-25?  And he got $96 million?  Crazy talk.  I also remember when Ken Griffey Jr. broke the $4 million barrier in baseball (average salary these days is presently $4 million I believe).
34. The Rangers and Lightning are on right now as I write this also. I just closed my eyes, opened them up, and looked focused out the plane window, and just feel like they are winning.
35. Do young kids even KNOW Mad Max is a remake? I don’t believe so.
36. I can tell you those kids on the street in Olympia didn’t know it.
37. On work trips, if I drive near something cool that doesn’t affect my work stuff and is known locally, I try to stop. Now, I can say I have a selfie of the waterfall on the Olympia beer can.  30 minute detour today.  I will put it on the weekend blog if I remember.  This is a photo free blog aside from the theme as I am posting this most likely on the Uber ride from airport to home (as it will be WAY past my bedtime when I finally get home).
38. And yes, I had an Olympia IN Olympia along with seeing the falls.
39. I have slept on it twice, and now am ok with the new extra point rule in the NFL. I initially fight change for historical data/ records reasons, but sometimes you just have to admit that either the tradition isn’t the best from a game standpoint, or that athletes have changed the game.  Let’s make the kickers get more respect and earn those points a little more.  Let’s have the coaches make tougher decision in the early part of the fourth quarter.  Let’s make it more exciting and let’s understand people created these beloved sports a LONG, LONG time ago.
40. If you would have told me that on May 20^th of this baseball year that SIX teams would have less wins than the Phillies, I would have hugged you on the spot. Like a bear hug.  Not one of those one armed bump hugs.
41. UVA won its second national tennis title in three years. To think, I could have made the UVA tennis team when I went and they were last in the ACC, and now they would laugh at my tryout.
42. Well, not laugh. I was pretty good.  Maybe roll their eyes when I wasn’t looking…or crack on me being from a New Jersey high school.
43. I got that and didn’t even play tennis as it played out.  Of course, my 1983 Camaro didn’t help things, and I now say “y’all” STILL.  Or “you all” if on a work call.
44. I A) did not know “the 5” went all the way up the coast into the northwest and B) now hate that part of that particular highway as much as I previously hated the California part of it.
45. I guess Seattle’s designers chose beauty over a more practical beltway (which I realize is more impossible as the city is on the water of course). The best part of driving through Seattle is that you actually SEE the downtown and water up CLOSE.  The worse part of driving near Seattle is that everyone LEAVING or ENTERING the downtown area is on the same freaking road as you.
46. I would take Rafael Furcal’s baseball career in a heartbeat. He retires pretty healthy at 37.  He got a ring in 2011.  And, through all of the highs and lows of his career, he ended up with a respectable .281 against the best pitchers in the world.
47. Bob, I know you read this thing. TOLD you Mayweather hadn’t decided on an opponent yet.  Khan is the leader in the clubhouse, but no one knows quite yet.  Tried to tell me in MS weeks ago that it was a fact, and I took it as information I had somehow passed over when I had gotten back from a week in the Dominican Republic.
48. Syracuse is football is bringing back #44 to the team, with a committee deciding on who gets to wear it.    How is that possible?  Not the committee.  How did they NOT retire that number after ANY of them?  Floyd Little, Ernie Davis, and Jim Brown???????  Is that right?  I don’t have internet as this is an airplane rant.  Something slipped through the cracks if you ask me.
49. That is it. I need to do some work.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Will I blog tomorrow?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.