THIS AND THAT

***************(below was the plan-discontinued in summer of 2018 while I figure out website plan)

(as of 11/03/2019, still not updating this-just read the blog)

….still paused as of COVID…

…still paused (probably permanently at end of 2022) and I will eventually replace with something when I get some free time.

This section will be once a month random thoughts, pics, quick hitters in the sports world, etc. from The Fillerbuster.  Basically, the sports will mainly stay on the main page, and this will house more of the regular random thoughts.  Old school readers know what I mean, and the rest will soon.  I won’t update this page but once every two weeks or so, but will keep it to one sentence, one line opinions and items that are more long term.  Unedited totally, as I have no intern or marketing department yet.

NOTE:  SOME things that I believe that will be true forever in my mind are now under the TRUTHS tab on the site.

**************START READING THE WEEK-LIST-changing this up a little…

4/7-8/2018

(or moving day as we call it)

1.  I am not surprised that a horse for the Kentucky Derby is named after Usain Bolt, but more surprised that it took so long.
2. Nice, Indians fans, in pulling something Philly fans would pull if given the same issue, as they made Indian noises at the protesters as they went into a game.
3. It was kind of disturbing today for me at lunch, as I was in a bar that was showing soccer instead of golf pre-game on Moving Day at The Masters.
4. But, kind of makes sense I guess, as the place was Irish and we conveniently watched Man U score three straight pretty goals against Man City to win the match.
5. Anyone else find it sort of amusing the best player of our generation and maybe all time (NOT, as it is MJ) can’t make free throws to save his life in the final minutes of a game?
6. I am still amazed NFL players are still getting busted for PED’s and putting their team in a four game positional hole.
7. Very sad to hear the hockey crash news when I woke up today.
8. Only the Brave was a great, but horribly depressing movie, and even though I picked about four sad endings that could happen, something that was worse than all of them combined is what actually happened.
9. I saw Bleed For This on a plane earlier that day, and although that was a decent movie that tried to get the audience to sympathize with a cocky Italian Providence guy, I also didn’t realize that both movies would have that same guy in integral parts of each movie.
10. I never thought I would ever read a headline telling me that Brook Lopez scored 15 consecutive team points in ANY game.
11. Ohtani hit a bomb last night, and not too shabby for this allegedly overhyped phenom, aye?
12. Of course it snowed on opening day for the Rockies, as Colorado has to keep the stereotype that CO is all about snow, right?
13. I just got back from Montreal, and my decision to start learning a foreign language and being down to Spanish and French MIGHT have given French the edge overall.
14. Considering I spent 1.5 days in Paris last time and you need a month, it sounds like a good idea to me anyway.
15. I had never heard of slacklining previously, and all the power to you all, as I won’t be taking up that hobby.
16. I had never heard of the Barkley Marathon either, and THAT might be something I want to check out and do someday.
17. And I read an article on Ayahuasca and now need to figure out how to get some…sounds great.
18. These items were all in my British Men’s Health I bought at the Montreal Airport.
19. I also read a POSITIVE article on pasta, which is great since that is pretty much all I eat anyway.
20. Traveling all week for PTO and work is only a downer when you can’t go home for three hours after you get back home because of house showings.
21. Weird that I go to cafes and not bars now when I literally need to kill time working or blogging.
22. I had an open seat next to me on a United flight yesterday and STILL didn’t have room to properly type anything on my PC.
23. That Conor McGregor bus attack event was even weirder for me on two counts:  1) After leaving UFC to fight Money, the last thing I would want to do would be piss off the other fighters and 2) How did one fighter have corneal abrasions if the common reaction to someone about to break glass in front of you is to turn AWAY from it?
24. Thank you, Verizon, for making travel easy by just charging me $5 a day for foreign country internet cell access.
25. Tim Tebow homered in his first AB in Double AA and that depresses me on many levels that we have to keep hearing about this saga.
26. I have my second sales engineer in three that somehow HAS to go #2 RIGHT before a big demo-odd ritual.
27. It is almost the NBA playoffs, and it feels like the ASG weekend just got done.
28. I am pretty sure an eagle landing on me before a baseball game would scare the CRAP out of me. #jamespaxton
29. Boston fans have it overall pretty good, but losing Gordon and Kyrie in the SAME season is HORRIBLE luck in what was considered a Warriors challenging year.
30. Montreal Old Town is a pretty cool area of town I will say after visiting, but what I really noticed was what might be the ugliest 2-3 buildings I have ever seen at the corner of the river, Old Town, and downtown.
31. There are underground tunnels in downtown Montreal that are pretty cool, AND keep you out of the wind when it is ridiculously cold as it was.
32. Sometimes you forget where you are, and I suddenly remembered I was in Montreal when non-Olympian curling was on the only TV in the restaurant.
33. Teams will continue to debate which QB is the best prospect, but Darnold throwing in the rain and now changing a flight to throw to an ex-teammate sure has ME buying in.
34. Plug the hole and move on, as the Pats picked up Jordan Matthews to help replace Cooks and Amendola.
35. The Broncos did their best to make signing a punter by at least signing a controversial one.
36. Amazing how punters all average within about 5 yards of each other on average, yet teams still prefer certain ones.
37. It is a good thing that the Warriors have an All Star team ON their team with all of these injuries.
38. The Rams are NOT messing around this offseason.
39. I have seen Black Panther and Justice League in the last two weeks, and celebrities look funny in super hero costumes.
40. I couldn’t get out of my mind the Trainwreck sex scene with Flash from Justice League.
41. Black Panther was great, but it still is a super hero movie, so the ceiling isn’t as high for me in comparison to all other movies.
42. So…Albert Belle isn’t being successful pitching a product like similar player Frank Thomas and instead is getting DUI’s and showing himself naked to people who don’t want to see it…perfect.
43. If I was Bates-Diop, I would have hung around Ohio State for one more year.
44. LOVE the story about the White Sox hiring a guy who wrongly went to prison.
45. I sell technology, but still…Olive Garden has table game tablets for paying and McDonald’s has kiosks I can order food on and get delivered.
46. I personally like the Jordan Spieth driving and texting commercials with gimme’s and layups.
47. I heard that Fultz was returning, but does that mean his shot is coming with him, or is he rolling solo?
48. Silicon Valley is back for a new season, and it is a great, great show that seems all over the place, with 1-2 BRILLIANT episodes per year that reel you back IN.
49. I saw a commercial for a new ice cream flavor, and HOW did it take this long to put chocolate, peanut butter, and cookie dough all into one?
50. I feel like over the last 6 years of hype, we have forgotten that Zion Williamson, as good as he is, is still a tweener and undersized.
51. The Golden Knights are the first team to make the playoffs in its first year of existence since a team with Gretzky and Gordie on it.
52. I am handwriting a letter I will send to every team, pleading for them not to draft LeAngelo Ball just because I think it would be really, really funny.
53. And of course, his dad makes the offense and opponent viable for a 72 point outburst the day OF his declaration.
54. I just really want the Ball family to fail because of his dad.
55. Stop taking pictures of yourself with your catches being injured, Von.
56. Robert Griffin III is now the backup for the Ravens, and now we just need Kaep to get a freaking job.
57. Good luck, Jeff Capel, as although it is true you finally have a head coaching gig, you are getting a BARE cupboard to say the least at Pitt.
58. I mistakenly ate mushrooms (food kind) and luckily there wass so much cheese in the pasta that my confusion somehow still tasted ok.
59. So, I get perennial/dream schools, but Chris Mack DOES know he just left a top five team on the up and up, right?
60. Pretty sure the “new” catch rule in the NFL will still cause problems, but let’s dwell on all of the big catches that were called off in the meantime.
61. Props to the Seahawks to QUICKLY cutting Boykin after an alleged domestic assault claim.
62. So, the lawyers for the ex-MSU dean did NOT tell him to clear his computer?
63. Just in case you forgot how good Messi is, his country team gets beat 6-1 when he doesn’t play, and then a week later, he gets a hat trick in league play.
64. My travel has me not even knowing who is in contention on The Voice, but I hope the kid who looks like Matt Damon is still on it.
65. Speaking of Matt Damon, what a WEIRD cameo appearance in Unsane.
66. Vlad’s kid hitting a walkoff two weeks ago in his dad’s uni in the old stadium was pretty freaking cool.
67. Leave it to 104.3 in Denver to talk Broncos QB’s ALL through March Madness…insane.
68. In case you were curious, at least LeBron thinks he should be MVP.
69. I feel like Isaiah Thomas is going to be one heck of a trivia question someday…a surgery again and probably another trade upcoming.
70. So is Geno Smith, who just went to the Chargers.
71. The McDonald’s All American HS game was on last week, and I guess it was the KU/Duke/UK show.
72. Bagley will be a good pro, but I can’t see any potential of him being one of the great ones.
73. MSU’s Jaren Jackson COULD be a great one on the other side of the coin.
74. The perfect welcome for Stanton in New York was getting booed one night and a standing O the next night, and I remember Mike Schmidt getting the same treatment regularly in Philly when I was a kid.
75. I don’t know if Edelman “stopped” a school shooting as much as just having someone pay attention to his site and see some signs to stop one.
76. Kenley Jansen can say he doesn’t care about a blown save as it is only one game, and he may be right, but not something to say on a microphone.
77. I don’t care about Adam Silver announcing anything before an NBA 2K draft.
78. Noel and Sefolosha DO know that it is not typical for NBA ballers to get busted for PED’s, right?
79. I JUST start getting excited about boxing again, and then GGG-Canelo gets canceled.
80. I will watch the Joshua-Wilder upcoming one though.
81. I got Saban by 1.5 points in this Saban-LeBron copyright battle.
82. On the latest Family Guy, they wear Veterans hats to get benefits, and I love that when they put sunglasses on WITH the hats, they hear various Top Gun soundtrack songs.
83. The Red Rocks getting a roof Fox prank on April Fool’s Day was a good one.
84. I guess since Hassan Whiteside is one of the few old school centers left in the game, he feels that is leverage to go on rants.
85. You can be a foster parent for a dog?
86. I was watching Ben Hur with Lindsey’s dad on Easter, and I forgot how great of movie that was, how much of a game changer it was for the industry, and why my Latin teacher used to force feed the movie to us in school.
87. I like that the Pastor brought Jesus coming back to life and the OTHER holiday skillfully and cleverly in his sermon on Easter/April Fool’s Day.
88. Ichiro stole a HR early in the season like it was 15 years ago!
89. Hey, Phillies, let your bullpen warm up before calling them out, please.
90. What a lineup for Isle of Dogs, and not sure how randomly they got every big name and their mother to sign up, but I am intrigued.
91. They can make as many Jurassic park movies as they want as far as I am concerned.
92. They can really stop making Mission Impossible movies though.
93. I feel like being the Brow really doesn’t allow you to shave the mentioned “brow” nickname.
94. I got 129k on the old school, underrated game, Gyruss, last week, and although that is good by any standards, my brother and I used to get 200k regularly.
95. MoviePass is the best thing ever, and those who don’t have it I will never understand ($9 a month!).
96. I firmly believe in putting cream cheese on about everything.
97. I think Tulo thinks at night life was better just staying with the Rockies.
98. LeBron getting a dunk on game 867 with at least 10 straight points I admit was pretty cool.
99. I heard the song Living in America the other day by James Brown, and I immediately think of Rocky IV when I hear it.
100. Bell, you are not a “villain” in Pittsburgh, but TRY to work with them, and understand you are the easiest to replace position on the field as far as longevity.
101. Things are good in Philly, as the Flyers are in the playoffs, the Sixers’ process is working, the Phillies are on the up and up, the Eagles just won, and Nova.
102. Melo made the bold statement of MAKING the postseason, and that is great, Melo, and thank you for your very good, deep microphone moments.
103. There is a Magnum ICE CREAM that predates the condoms???
104. Lost in headlines was that Penn State is good year over year, but also their high quality backup is staying to be guaranteed to be a backup for one more year…impressive.
105. I don’t care how you slice it, the movie Truth or Dare looks DUMB.
106. When you talk about the value of the Senior Bowl and combine, think about the fact that Baker went from late first round to second round, to #3 on a board I saw the other day.
107. I don’t understand this Jesus Christ Superstar thing that was on, don’t know when it began, and I didn’t watch a second of it.
108. So cool that Kirk Gibson’s #88 seat already sold out for the season.
109. KAT getting 56 points had to be the quietest 56 point scoring game I have ever run across.
110. I took off three PTO days in March to play golf, and it was snowy and rainy all three of them.
111. I have no idea how I stay between 525 and 540 Twitter followers ALL the time, but I find it mathematically intriguing.
112. I am having a late surge on liking Chick Fil A later in life.
113. Thanks, Hamilton, as I entered the lottery EVERY single day to exhaustion and didn’t get a whiff.
114. In case you were curious why I haven’t mentioned the golf I am watching, it is because I am logging those notes for my main blog tomorrow.
115. I feel bad for Azubuike’s mom, as the first time she watched him play, they got SMOKED.
116. I think if I was a celebrity, I would do Drunk History in a heartbeat.
117. I had enough of Jersey when I grew up there, so not sure how I feel about Lindsey being all into the show.
118. Batting the puck ONE time in the air in a career is pretty stellar, but twice in a month? #sidneycrosby
119. Wind River was a little depressing, but a great movie overall.
120. I don’t care about women’s basketball much, but UCONN losing somehow made me happy.
121. The Scott Foster backup goalie story was SO cool and everyone watching just wanted that to be them.
122. I am going in a few weeks to a horse derby with miniature horses and as long as I miss no good NBA playoff games that night, it actually sounds oddly weird and cool.
123. I had never even heard about the place, but Crafty Fox falls within my adjective-animal bar naming rules, and actually appears to be a pretty cool place overall.
124. The party I was at organized free pizza for us, and therefore the party became different, I employed my pizza stomach for eating availability, and I killed at least 15 slices.
125. I am kind of confused why I care Manziel threw ONE touchdown, and was sacked three times, and why it was news as a positive.
126. I unfortunately didn’t catch any of the games, but congrats to Minn-Deluth on their Frozen Four victory.
127. Just when we think we had it all figured out, the Thunder beat the Rockets IN Houston.
128. I feel like my week somewhat gets to normalcy and routine when I read that Aldon Smith is once again arrested for anything.
129. Black Jeopardy on SNL with the Black Panther guy was really, really funny this time around.
130. More coming soon…talk to you next time.

3/25/2018

1.  U-571 is an extremely underrated flick when it comes to any movie, especially any type of warfare movies, and was one of THE McConaughey gems before…he got decent.
2. I couldn’t say I knew much about Leslie Odom until the last year, and that is because he is SO incredible in all of those Nationwide commercials.
3. Did Vince Young put a “c” between the “s” and “h” when he misspelled Jeff Fisher’s name?
4. I almost misspelled “misspelled.”
5. I think I would rather forget about the Steelers problems signing Bell than read a “new” story that tells me how talks have broken down again.
6. I said it before and I will say it again that Tubby Smith is going to be a heck of a trivia question someday, as High Point makes it ten colleges now in his career.
7. In my non drinking days, my new secret treasure is iced tea with a splash of Red Bull in it.
8. Get Out is a great movie that is a must see if you haven’t figured that out, but I have it on in the background right now and DAMN is it frustrating the second time around when all of the hints are THERE so obviously.
9. I probably should be watching the Stormy thing, but whatever and I will just catch the highlights.
10. The Grandoozy festival is long overdue for a Denver festival venue (why DID the thing at Dick’s get cancelled these days-the first two were awesome) but why the $224 too high of price for a three day pass that is a PAIN to distribute?
11. I guess IF I were to watch women’s basketball tip to buzzer I would pick tomorrow’s game with UCONN against South Carolina (and ex-UVA guard Dawn Staley), but I still won’t.
12. Tag Burger at Madison in Denver wouldn’t be expected to be a brunch treasure by its name, but it is owned by the same dude who owns Guard And Grace, and is delightful.
13. So, I guess Arizona is dangerous because of drunk golf fans and Miami is now dangerous because of death threat TENNIS fans?
14. I was trying to figure out a good joke for the snow postponement of the NASCAR race, but I couldn’t get a money line enabling “snow LEFT.”
15. I, Tonya was as good as I was told, I was impressed  especially with the camera work on the skates, but I really wished they would have disabled the parts where someone IN the flashback spoke to the audience in the words of the actual interview…too much, and kind of bothered me.
16. Just like my wife has to guard against me seeing when Seinfeld pops up on the DirecTV guide, I apparently have to worry about the same with ANY Pitch Perfect movie.
17. After an older tasting of a burger with peanut butter on it, and now a more recent taste from Good Times last night, I have decided that peanut butter on a burger is a good idea.
18. Nathan Chen just won some world title in figure skating and since I barely heard about it, why does that mean SO much less than an Olympic medal?
19. I have decided that Loyola-Chicago is just a really good team with SOME luck, as opposed to a decent team with a little.
20. I now think that Michigan is a good team, because the fact they won with Wagner shooting that bad wide open from the outside means they are a pretty damn good team.
21. Nova is really, really good, and you can’t come back on them given their team FT%.
22. KU made it through its region and it is a damn shame that Nova and them aren’t split up so the final game won’t just be a feel good story from an lower seeded team.
23. No, don’t reseed the Final Four, but this year it would have been nice.
24. If those commercials with Samuel L. Jackson, Spike, and Charles portray Charles as such a dumb guy, then how come he knows what metaphorically means when him and SJ exchange convo about the armadillo.
25. I bowled a solid 192 on a fun post-movie bowling event with me and my wife, and that is not so bad for bowling about every 2-3 years on good runs.
26. The movie was Unsane, and I would have described it as one hour of absolute brilliance in setting everything up, and then 40 minutes of a bunch of people forgetting you have to RESOLVE a movie plot, even if the idea is smart.
27. Maggiano’s by UA Pavilions has not only a brunch overall, but a pretty damn good one.
28. If the Warriors lose in the playoffs, I want it to be at full strength, so get better, Steph.
29. I was post hoops yesterday, and caught the end of Silence of the Lambs and honestly forgot how damn good that movie is.
30. I love reason/reminder #1498 that is proof how good those PGA Tour guys are that Tony Romo got absolute LAST in his PGA Tour debut.
31. You can hate him for many reasons, but DeMarcus Cousins offering to pay for the funeral (2nd time he has done this in general) of the shot victim was pretty darn cool.
32. The Bennetts had an exciting family week as one retired and the other got busted for pulling a Seinfeld George kids birthday party incident in real life by running over an elderly woman.
33. Canelo is having his own problems so probably doesn’t care, but his doping suspension really threw a wrench into my ONE item I liked about present day boxing.
34. Bumgarner is a postseason guy so Giants fans shouldn’t be sad about him missing time because of injury…he is like the MLB version of Claude Lemeiux.
35. How about this?  How do you tell snowfall in a NASCAR race state and any other state?
36. There is snow left at the NASCAR one.
37. Rigged up my home digital sign and got to say it makes our house showings very classy.
38. Yes, I have what I sell at work at home in my house.
39. Come on freshmen, them celebrating or not, shake their hand. #ukbasketball
40. Hearing about Caeleb re-write the swimming record books is awesome AND depressing when I think about what I went to states in swimming with my past 50 free time.
41. Do the Griz know that Charlotte is not exactly an A+ team like the Rockets or Warriors when losing by 60 plus points?
42. If hoops players don’t want to get hurt, how are they so cool they wear low tops and then don’t even tie those low tops?
43. Not trying to rush Johnny Football is his age, but I really can’t wait until he is too old to try out for NFL teams and more importantly for us to hear about it.
44. I am typing this while watching a movie, and never proof these This And That’s, so sorry if some items don’t make sense grammatically.
45. Combine house showings and March Madness and I have gotten to know the new Stoneys Uptown, and damn if I didn’t get hooked on their bologna sandwiches, mac and cheese rolls, and ice cream sandwiches.
46. I think I am already known there as the “great tipping iced tea guy.”
47. I am already a great tipper due to my bartending background, but more so when I have to camp out during two hoops games without ordering anything but food and an iced tea.
48. I somehow didn’t know that Charles wasn’t on SNL, caught it last night on a taping, and man, it was TURRIBLE.
49. That was not a grammatical inaccuracy.  TURRIBLE.
50. Seriously, why is Southwest allowed to be what he wish was normal and let customers change and cancel flights so easily??
51. I feel like Frank Gore will still be switching teams and getting contracts fifteen years from now.
52. I love Van Halen so much that when I fill my 4Runner, I try to have it automatically stop at $51.50 when filling up (with Plus).
53. We got this app so we can watch and listen to house showings, and officially as of now if you ask my wife what her addiction is, she should say that…I get hushed when speaking to her when she is listening/watching.
54. UCONN men’s hoops picked up Dan Hurley, that is a great pickup, and having all Hurleys in the coaching ranks of high profile schools is a good thing.
55. I am sure there are folks in  Charlotte hoping that Dwight Howard might have many more 30-30 games in him, but that is literally the definition of present day “anomaly.”
56. I get depressed thinking about how there are people out there with either too much money or free time to think we need, as society, a rival for the XFL.
57. You can argue all you want, but LeBron having SEVENTEEN assists and no turnovers against the Raptors this week was absolutely incredible…tough to do.
58. If you haven’t seen Sidney Crosby’s tap goal, stop reading now and go watch it.
59. I am assuming if you have a kid in you for 9 months, you get more than a couple of matches back for us to judge anything regarding your semi-dynasty, Serena.
60. Don’t know about you, but I thought it was a gimme that Darnold would be a guy who wouldn’t throw in the rain…impressive.
61. When I time my walk crossing a street to go right behind you after you pass, cars on street, do NOT stop and let me cross first as that irritates the hell out of me.
62. This Kawhi Leonard thing is the most UN-Spurs thing I have ever seen, and if you didn’t wonder about the absence of Duncan before, you are now, as this would NEVER happen on his watch.
63. I thought recently released David Padgett did a pretty good job given the circumstances, and I hope someone big picks him up still.
64. Einstein’s Jalapeno Salsa cream cheese is the best thing to come along in a WHILE.
65. I hope it isn’t like aioli and has existed for years and I just found out about it.
66. I still hurt from the UVA-UMBC loss.
67. Apparently even though a 20 point win an instant classic, now I have to deal with REPLAYS of the damn thing.
68. A co-worker actually asked me, trying to strike up hoops conversation with a hoops junkie, “what was my most surprising moment from the tourney this year?”
69. Of course, this week I also had a co-worker explain to me how a ship was built…the ex-Navy guy thanks you for this education.
70. In case you care, NBA teams up 5 points or more with 20 seconds or less this season were 884-0 before the Thunders-Celtics game.
71. Of course, let’s keep in mind that the Thunder are 5-2 against the Warriors, Rockets, and Raptors.
72. Zay Jones and Lance Stephenson need to hang out with a lot of booze, I feel like.
73. I admit that Wanted Dead or Alive came on the radio the other morning, and I was singing the crap out of it with my car windows down.
74. Did you know that Tiger Woods flies in actual green from the course he is about to play so he can practice putting on it??
75. In all of these years, I had never eaten at Bob’s Bayou downtown, did the other day, and now have my new go-to for good Cajun food close by (since Gumbo’s Uptown closed down).
76. I have no idea what is going on with the NIT, and it should be that way I think.
77. Bamba from UT declared for the draft, and after blowing that lead to Nevada, I don’t blame him.
78. It is a SMART decision.
79. I think my two favorite fast food places for dipping sauces are officially Chick Fil-A and Arby’s.
80. I love magic, Adam Trent was worth the price of admission, and he did a kid friendly, adult confusing GREAT show.
81. I think the Justin Turner injury is a blessing in disguise, as his backup will benefit later in the season from innings now.
82. Trae Young declared for the NBA draft, and glad he waited a few days more than Ayton and Trier and at least A) let the paint dry and B) acted like the loss actually bothered him.
83. Great timing is like when Steve Francis tells us about his alcohol addiction days and then gets a late night intoxication arrest days later.
84. I think it is fantastic the Blazers have caught fire with those exciting two guards they have out that way.
85. I love that my employer’s 401k provider even figures in death “savings” when you they are matching up your health with your age and how on target you are.
86. Hardaway got the Memphis job, and those my age remember Penny for pure college basketball brilliance when he played.
87. The driverless car death in Arizona makes me definitely know I will wait about 5 years when driverless cars are approved before getting in one…unless we are flying by then, and then it is cool.
88. My bouts of depression are during times like on Saturday when I realized we had run out of teams to have two different games on at the same time so I have a flipper.
89. I think my favorite story even over Zay Jones was Glen “Big Baby” Davis getting arrested at a Hampton Inn with $92k in cash in a suitcase and drugs.
90. I knew he was a tweener more than a tweeker.
91. If didn’t change my Nova pick late against WVU, I would have picked every single point spread game since Friday midday.
92. I thought it was Iowa that was good at college wrestling so therefore feel like I time warped to hear that Penn State has won 7 of the last 8 in wrestling.
93. Focus blog will be tomorrow.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

3/11/2018

1. Going to The Masters for a day…and I am giddy.
2. We walked into Three Lions this morning before our brunch at 11am at Pinche Tacos, and there were about 50 people in there watching a Premier League soccer match…and that is disturbing to a degree.
3. I am totally confused by this Kawhi Leonard situation.
4. Sherman goes to the 49ers and he might be a little passed his prime, but still getting a big name to that team is a big step after the Jimmy G. signing and a couple of down years.
5. Really, there is a “homepod” by  Apple now?
6. I will personally miss Sean McDonough as the MNF voice.
7. So, without even addressing it, somehow we know that LeBron is looking at the Sixers, Lakers, Rockets, and Cavs?
8. I wish we could wait until the end of the season to discuss LeBron’s next whereabouts.
9. The fact that Lonzo Ball said that ANYONE else was pulling a “punk move” (Nugs Murray) is beyond ridiculous.
10. Not sure why Georgia fired Mark Fox, as aren’t they USED to be mediocre at basketball?
11. I am enjoying my day yelling at Tiger and the TV, and I hope you are too.
12. I might have gained a Black Mirror addiction this weekend after watching my first episode.
13. Getting tickets to this Hamilton thing is almost tougher than getting Masters tickets.
14. The Eagles traded Torrey Smith away, and they will be fine without him.
15. I would definitely train my cats to do dumb tricks but they don’t eat treats and unsure how to progress from that sticking point.
16. Lindsey had a Gretchen-brunch birthday celebration day yesterday and if you don’t know what that means, you don’t watch SNL enough OR read this blog enough.
17. I guess if you just count ACTIVITY, then the Browns are doing well, right?
18. A for effort.
19. I saw a jogger on Colfax yesterday and that is disturbing considering the amount of parks either north or south of that shady street…someone just wants to be SEEN working out on a weekend.
20. I will go watch Tiger, wait for the bracket to be released, and wonder when we get more of this Odell Beckham video.
21. Peace.

03/10/2018

1. Coperta in Uptown won’t top White Pie’s lasagna, but was pretty darn good.
2. The pictures of Rome WITH snow this week made me slightly sad I saw Rome in hot weather.
3. But, at least I could wear my sandals.
4. One of the most important decisions I make is what sandals I wear year round, and that decision is coming this weekend, and I would be lying if I said I hadn’t been researching brands for weeks.
5. Lindsey has the IQ Trivia app, and that thing literally makes us put down what we are doing when it is on 1-2 times a day.
6. It took me a long time to accept his brilliance ON the court, but I will admit that it still made me sad that Kobe won an Oscar.
7. Must have been a weird day in the Bennett family, with one being traded and the other released.
8. Phil Mickelson won for the first time since 2013, and all we need to make The Masters extra special is for Tiger to win at Valspar.
9. This is a speed part of the site, so I will just copy and paste my Oscars notes.  
10. The Google Assistant commercial with John Legend is really funny.
11. I think if I ever DID do yoga, I would have Planet Earth playing on in the background.
12. You read it here first, she is the girlfriend of my colleague, she will live the irony of looking for a job and getting famous instead, and she has officially gone viral.  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6364283415210008576/
13. I am starting to believe the OKC Thunder are hitting their stride and the best shot outside of the Rockets at beating the Evil Empire.
14. With Cadillac releasing its self driving automobile, I wonder how long an OCD guy like myself would still pay attention on the highway before actually believing the car is doing fine.
15. I am fine with the Eagles TAKING calls on Nick Foles, but I am trying to hold on to that guy if I am them.
16. I would like to sleep better at night, so therefore this Steelers-Bell thing pains me.
17. This video is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO disturbing and there is literally a dude HOLDING the baby as the other guys are hitting the guy.  http://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/03/05/dad-child-abuse-bar-fight/
18. Canelo, fix whatever problem is going on and don’t ruin my May 5th fight night with you and GGG.
19. Ok, this UCF thing was adorable for a while, but a championship LICENSE PLATE?????
20. The NBA will be changing age limits again, and just let HS players jump again already.
21. I wish Ichiro would play ball forever, wish he would have come across the ocean sooner, and glad he is ending it with the Mariners though.
22. Berman now, Cuban now, and maybe it is easier to keep track of sports celebrities and executives who DON’T commit sexual harassment.
23. I thought that Kevin Love would only have a panic problem AFTER winning the East and looking across the page at the Rockets or Warriors.
24. Damian Lillard is just dirty sometimes, and his 18 points in the fourth the other night was spectacular.
25. I need to take more half days, as it reminded me of my bartending work times of life, when I drove around during the non rush hour middle of the day, going to the empty gym, doing errands, and golfing.
26. If I don’t end up doing a safari, maybe I can just join my company’s sister company WPS, which saves rhinos in Africa.
27. I got the gray out of my hair professionally, and this system won’t work because they said I need to wear a swim cap while swimming, and not only do I make fun of dudes who wear swim caps (past their swim team days), but I live in the water.
28. I got my passport picture the other day because I need a new one, and I successfully got a decent pic while not smiling but yet still not looking like an international problem to anyone.
29. I would say that the Rams just fortified their secondary with three of the most talented…and nuts…guys (Peters, Talib).
30. Ed Hochuli retired this week and we will all miss his biceps.
31. I didn’t know that Hochuli was a lawyer, did you?
32. Hate on Roger Goodell all you want, but scary he ran a charity 40 in .4 less than Orlando Brown, a high draft pick prospect.
33. I absolutely LOVE watching the early rounds of The Voice.
34. And with Kelly Clarkson on the show this season, I almost rolled off the couch when Adam busted out the 40 Year Old Virgin scene where he yells out Kelly Clarkson.
35. If the USA loses to Morocco for the 2026 World Cup, I will be quite mad.
36. Guess it looks like my dream of attending the World Cup exotically might be dead and I will just wait until the World Cup possibly comes to ME.
37. As I mentioned in my focused blog last time, if the Rockets get home court advantage for the playoffs, it will definitely make the whole anti-Warriors movement MUCH more feasible.
38. I hate these anti-tanking regulations, as I think if you want to check out your young talent for the rest of the season, it is worthy and at least those players will play their butt off to win.
39. Christian McCaffrey is already a legend in my book, but saving the hiker in CO was kind of like the likable version of Tim Tebow helping a guy at the baseball field.
40. Tubby Smith will end up as one of the toughest trivia questions like ever, and when he gets hired one more time, it will be his TENTH college team.
41. I just really liked the headline “Piazza angry at soccer team’s rent.”
42. I love JuJu, but focus on your stuff and don’t recruit LeBron, and you are supposed to not like Ohio or things from it anyway.
43. My wife doesn’t like ANY of my workout songs, but just passing along a lot of OTHER people like songs I picked out a WHILE ago. 
44. Amazing how good you can get your house looking with a little cleanup and knowing it HAS to be clean for selling photos. 
45. I am someone who DESPISES the song Zombie with all of my heart, but the Bad Wolves remake of the song is not bad at all.
46. The article about the triathlete being attacked by people who tried to cut off both of his legs was very, very disturbing.
47. I love that my wife, when finding out that there was a fire down our street, said “I have to go save the cats.”
48. The cats don’t read my blog (although they DO know when I am typing this part).
49. Someone tell the housing industry to change things up, as I found out that our open house occurs the second weekend of March Madness because the prices are better at that time.
50. I guess it beats it being the next weekend, but I guess I will be one of those guys I hated while bartending…the non drinking guy with iced tea staying at the bar for all 8 hours of my shift.
51. But, being an ex-bartender and heavy tipper, I will probably just go in the place, drop $25, and say I will be eating twice, nursing the tea, and keep the rest.
52. Yesterday was a GREAT day at work, as there was FREE pizza (my favorite thing) and a soda given to me.
53. Steve Francis telling us that he sold crack on the street corner before facing Gary Payton for the first time four years later is a very believable story.
54. So, the NFL asked the SAME guy if he liked men and if his mother was a prostitute???
55. Were the Redskins waiting for some of those scab players to die OFF before pitching them Super Bowl rings??
56. I wonder if Richard Sherman will be as cocky as a free agent as he was with a job on a great defense.
57. The fact that the Raptors CLINCHED a playoff spot seemingly two weeks after the ASG means the ASG is played WAY too late these days.
58. Why do I care about what Peyton will pitch after Papa John’s and how the hell is that guy so likable?
59. I am happy if I am Derrick Rose OR the Timberwolves…good chancy pickup.
60. I guess Jerry Jones DID have $2 million under his mattress.
61. I talked to a guy at work who was AT the Nuggets-Cavs game the other night, and I said “now THAT is a game you can tell your kids you were at.”
62. LeBron was relentless at the end of that game.
63. The Nuggets are really frustrating this city right now.
64. I thought it was clever and classy for the McDonald’s in CA actually FLIP its real sign for the women’s holiday this week.
65. 104.3 in Denver has personalities I like, but they really need to stop talking about Kirk Cousins and the Denver QB situation for…like 5 minutes a day.
66. I agree with the Titans releasing Murray and clearing way for Derrick Henry.
67. Michael Porter is going to be a All Star NBA player, but he looked like he was a step slow in Mizzou’s loss the other day.
68. I watched our first Black Mirror last night, and it was a HECK of a STRESSFUL show…i will be watching more of those.
69. I had a line on Masters tickets, my #1 sporting wish, but $750 is a little steep for one day of walking around a golf course.
70. I will bite when I find one some year at $500.
71. Shiffrin wasted no time at being at the top post Olympics, as she wrapped up her World Cup title BEFORE she even skied today.
72. You did well today, Browns, but PLEASE tell me Taylor is Plan B.
73. I have to go scalp Steel Panther tickets down the street and watch the rest of the UNC-Duke game.  Peace.
74. (Might be a little more spotty in doing this part of the blog during March Madness)

03/04/2018

1. I am typing some of this during the second half of the ASUN Championship, and FGCU was down THIRTY TWO in the second half, and they are presently down ten…with ten minutes to go.
2. Roger Bannister died this weekend, and what a legacy to have…being the first person to break the four minute barrier in the mile.
3. I don’t care if Cincy beat Wich. St. today, as I still think Wich. St. has what it takes to make the Final Four, depending on the draw.
4. They lost three commits already post Miller phone tapping, and not surprisingly, the three studs on Zona also all declared for the NBA Draft this weekend…getting the heck out of Dodge.
5. Trae Young is still going to be a HELL of a player at the next level, but him not even winning his CONFERENCE’S POY, let alone national POY, is crazy.
6. Graham deserved it with KU’s comeback to take the title.
7. Radford, UVA’s down the road state school, made the tourney on a buzzer beater, and here we go with pandemonium.
8. I think that NO big dog wants Nevada in their bracket.
9. That freaking song The Middle I STILL love, and I am sitting on my couch with it playing at every commercial break for the Target commercial.
10. Kawhi Leonard is now having contractual problems with the Jordan Brand too?
11. Seriously, it is so weird for a guy who loved heavyweight boxing SOOOO much as a kid not even know much about Wilder OR Ortiz.
12. Do you ever sit back and wonder what we would be doing with women’s MMA IF Rousey had never lost, and the last two years would have simply been her and Cyborg just challenging each other again in a round robin?
13. I worked last night (Lindsey and I are going out to eat for Restaurant Week tonight and I had to get ahead), which is really, really sad, and I had the absolute best thing happen to me while working on my couch…Bill Walton announcing a game and saying weird, dumb shit.
14. I would like to consider as an official “hobby” of listening to Bill Walton announce games.
15. I love Hubie Brown for the opposite reason.
16. Well, we knew what we were in for, but still pretty impressive that Trump has “squeezed in” 100 trips to his golf course during his tenure.
17. I was about as surprised by the official word that Gordon Heyward wouldn’t play anymore this season as I was that Ryan Shazier won’t play next season.
18. Just get better, guys, and take your time.
19. I am basketball biased of course, but I think you are missing out if you aren’t at least turning on some of these smaller conference final games to see if they are close…special stuff for those schools.
20. Anyone else curious which drops first, or which SHOULD drop first…the Kirk Cousins or Aaron Rodgers contract that will break the bank?
21. Just get Bell’s deal DONE, Steelers, so I can get some good sleep again, ok?
22. Just like I never met an official New Jersey Devils fan ever (you are either Philly or one of the NY teams), I have never met anyone who loved the Pacific Rim movies and SURE as hell didn’t think there were enough people to have a hockey team OR make more movies.
23. Please tell me in Hurricane Heist that they were PLANNING the heist BECAUSE a hurricane came, and that it wasn’t just random and exciting enough to make a movie out of it.
24. We are running out of ideas.
25. Sure, why doesn’t Michigan beat MSU to really confuse things?
26. Why doesn’t Penn State beat Ohio State to really confuse things?
27. The Masters commercials are starting and am 5% sadness and 95% excitement…the 5% is just me wishing I was there.
28. UVA won the CRAZY ending game against Louisville, and then a close game (Colson was back and Guy was hurt, people) against Notre Dame, and that is fine to roll into the ACC Tournament.
29. I still am a little sad that I won’t be used to a LOT of people picking UVA…and happy of course.
30. Rode in an Uber Friday night where the kid loved Philly so much and his woman back there so much that he kept his car clock on East Coast time, and that was one of my favorite things about the weekend.
31. Well, my buddy getting married was pretty cool too (guy I used to bartend with), and his wedding was to the point, short, only with essentials, and perfect for the kind of person Rob is.
32. I did invent a dance there (which I have done many times over the years of course) with his best man, which we named “The Scarecrow who had to go to the bathroom.”
33. The Toto-Africa dance by everyone was easily the highlight of the night (at least when I was out there).
34. They had three stations for food, but I admittedly never made it past the mac and cheese bar and potatoes station.
35. Along with the dumb questions we know they ask at the combine, UT punter Michael Dickson was asked to start with a staring contest.
36. Lamar Jackson I am sure would LIKE to be a QB, and I am sure Terrelle Pryor wanted the same thing.
37. The Rams got rid of Robert Quinn, and you can’t say that they aren’t at least TRYING massive changes to get over the hump in the NFC.
38. FGCU didn’t win, and it goes to show you that comebacks themselves are HARD, let alone finishing the job…exhausting.
39. In case you are curious, IF you can be successful at getting the drugs INTO Russia, officials say that you CAN take drugs such as heroin INTO the actual game…no problem.
40. I have always wanted to do heroin and watch weird Olympic events.
41. Sarcasm, people.
42. We are moving to a rental here shortly, I am moving stuff to a storage unit slowly, and I am realizing how much I am ignoring those “let go” commercials.
43. George Mason’s Ian Boyd hit THREE consecutive buzzer beaters in games.
44. So, Steph Curry can’t afford to get the BIG hotel rooms, and instead smashes up the smaller ones?
45. Since the white actors in Black Panther are from Lord of the Rings, I heard they are the Tolkien White Guys of the film.
46. I haven’t gotten confirmation, but apparently my dad MIGHT have watched Rounders for the first time ever, and he got hooked, as he should be considering I have been yelling from a mountaintop about that movie since it came out.
47. I would say thus far that Max’s Wine Dive had the best Restaurant Week bargain AND food.
48. Thank you, Three Days Grace, for releasing a new album, and The Mountain is JUST what the doctor ordered for my workout song rotation.
49. The Browns are probably offering their #1 pick for the right price because they have the #4 pick and THAT way THEY didn’t make the wrong choice and they can just pick what is left for them.
50. Dr. Pepper, I just noticed, released a STRAWBERRY version and it is delicious.
51. It was at Qdoba when I made this discovery, and it was right after I was looking at a sign for their new shrimp thing and wondering WHO would ever get shrimp in anything from Qdoba?
52. A Texas HS coach dissed a CO guy for CO kids failing drug tests, and he got fired, so we will never know if the kid would have gotten a clean sample.
53. Probably not though, and you STILL shouldn’t say that on Twitter.
54. Sean Miller must have learned from Rick Pitino HOW to deny something we all know you actually did wrong.
55. That’s it for today.  Peace.

02/28/19

1. Ronda Rousey’s overstated tough faces were badass before she lost, then became funny once she lost, and now are perfect again in WWE.
2. You knew the Red Sox would eventually fold and rename Yawkey Way, and glad I was on it when it was still…it.
3. Glad you were offered 100k, Nate Robinson, and thanks for getting your 15 minutes today by telling us.
4. Another Wednesday and Pitt basketball is still losing.
5. For the millionth time, listening to Hubie Brown announce a game is magical.
6. Steelers hope to have Bell’s deal in place by March 6th and then I can finally exhale.
7. The top six of the highest paid hoops coaches is Titles, Title, New Guy, Title, Title, Cheater, and NOW I understand why OSU’s Chris Holtmann is coaching is ASS off this year.
8. Chicago got rid of Mike Glennon today and NOW can someone give Colin Kaepernick a freaking ring?
9. Seattle wants NHL first, and then NBA, and we ALL know that city deserves both.
10. People sometimes just randomly start using new expressions, and I have started using “ask” as a noun ALL THE TIME at work and out of work.
11. Scary that Matt Forte is now retiring after what seems like YEARS of being off the radar and the dude is only 32 years old.
12. Ryan Shazier won’t play in 2018, and all progress aside, I kind of thought we all already KNEW that.
13. Whatever this Hamilton play thing is, I had no idea they hold lotteries for tix, and my wife apparently needs to go to this performance hell or high water.
14. Randomly in conversation, someone actually asked me to rank my favorite Dokken songs since I talk about them so much, so I gave it a go for 10 minutes…tough decisions.  
15. Dokken was even in my wedding vows.
16. I am pretty sure Va Tech and Miami REALLY want to be in the tourney, as the Hurricanes just won on two buzzer beaters, and Va Tech has beaten UVA and Duke.
17. I was WONDERING where Bruce Willis was, and apparently he was making a movie called Deathwish, where he appears to play everyone he played like 20 years ago.
18. I went on a kick years ago admitting that sometimes I liked “girl songs,” and The Middle is my newest one…LOVE it.
19. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lj6Y6JCu-l4
20. I have never cared much about NBA Player of the Month Awards, but both LeBron AND Anthony Davis have rights to complain about the other winning it…what a month by both of them.
21. Miles Bridges paid back his $40 from a meal, and NOW we can get back to the classy kid leading his team possibly to a title…what a joke he had to pay that amount.
22. Sam Darnold I am sure has his own reasons for not throwing at the combine, but know the last probable #1 guy to do this was Manziel and it is just odd.
23. Sacrifices in marriage go deep and I am going to dinner with Lindsey tomorrow DURING the UVA-Louisville game.
24. Now LeBron wants an NCAA alternative, and I wish he would try to change the world when his season is NOT in play.
25. Think LaVar Ball is having second thoughts after the Zona thing made Shaq’s son commit to UCLA…enjoy Lithuania, bro.
26. THAT is where Tim Lincecum is…wondering where he went. #rangers
27. I like Pizza Hut better than Papa John’s anyway.
28. Blue Pan pizza is really where it is at though I will say.
29. That’s it for today.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

02/26/19

1. Vontae Davis is of course a lucky man to even be an NFL player, but I feel like his city choices have gone down per team, going from Miami to Indy to now Buffalo.
2. I am not afraid to say I watch The Voice as a main compromise show with my wife, I am watching it right now, and it is perfect background to not totally pay attention to either thing.
3. I feel like Larry Eustachy has been slowly stepping down from jobs for years.
4. I was confused about the Kawhi Leonard thing, then thought I understood it, and now suddenly he IS coming back in March, so therefore I evidently didn’t understand it.
5. The Russell Wilson thing with him at spring training is adorable, until one realizes that he was better at baseball, he already has a ring, and now he is on the premier choice for baseball, so people better be checking the fine print on his Seahawks contract.
6. I am glad to hear the NFL is taking some mattress ($2 mil) from Jerry Jones.
7. I don’t know why anyone throws out slurs in general anyway, but I really didn’t even know Jamaican slurs…were a THING.
8. The store was out of reduced fat Cheez-Its, I went with regular which I prefer not to do, and I once again will say that reduced fat ones are better and crispier.
9. One of the coolest things I saw this week was the Iowa player missing a FT on purpose so he didn’t BREAK the deceased Chris Street’s record of consecutive ones made.
10. In the Zona-Oregon game, I watched that game pretty much knowing the entire nation would just prefer if they lost that night after this week, and they did.
11. They are up and down and all over the place, but if ANYONE has a chance to beat the Warriors in a seven game series in the West outside of Houston, the Thunder have the best chance.
12. The Nebraska thing is fun, and glad another team is doing these fun things, but someone already did this and I am not as enamored.
13. I still personally like the fan thing at ASU…what is it…the curtain of insanity?
14. But keep it up, Nebraska bench, as it IS still fun.
15. Stoneman Douglas winning the state hockey title was really cool and felt good to all of us, and it also settled my curiosity of whether they even do hockey in Florida at that level.
16. During the Olympics, an author actually called the police because someone was showing a Confederate Flag.
17. But it was a NORWEGIAN flag.
18. Does the rest of the Big 12 KNOW what kind of recruiting class KU has coming in, and IF someone was about to stop their streak of titles in conference, it was THIS year.
19. While Lindsey was hanging out with her friends at the Gigglin’ Griz Saturday, I played some Golden Tee, and MAN was it refreshing, natural, awesome, and…I still totally have that game down.
20. In the Olympics gold medal game, we were all rooting for Germany, didn’t think it could happen against Russia, it almost did, and what a great tourney they had.
21. I won’t talk about Va Tech’s win over Duke yet, because it will be part of my focus article this week.
22. …BUT I will say that beware that when Bagley was out, Grayson started coming on a bit…scared the rest of the nation slightly I think.
23. Some might not think that anyone else should do the finger wag from Mutombo, but I think everyone who CAN do it SHOULD, and Embiid qualifies…bring it BACK.
24. Blake Bortles was signed by the Jags so their media has something to complain about for an entire additional year.
25. I live in Denver is one reason, but the SECOND reason I want the Nuggets to win a round in the playoffs is so Jokic, who is HOT lately, becomes a household name.
26. Sean Miller might make FIVE million more dollars for being let go than he would have for NOT getting fired.
27. Shaq’s son got out of dodge all quick.
28. Texas Tech had a couple of TOUGH games back to back, but in the end they still DID kind of blow their chance for any 1 seed, and maybe a 2 seed.
29. My favorite little thing about this week was hearing Dokken at the grocery store, which is totally random but made me smile.
30. The song was Hunter if you care…good one, track two off of Lock and Key.
31. Do these kids who got paid now look at everyone else’s amounts and go “man, I got screwed?”
32. I love the Ali-Selfies commercial SO much.
33. They could have saved some college travel expenses and just cancelled that UVA-Pitt game I think…7 pts allowed at halftime.
34. I think you could spend quite a bit of time creating a flow chart breaking down Nagasu’s post skate speech about winning the group medal, doing DWTS, etc.
35. I am glad Lonzo Ball is back from injury, and just hope Lithuania gets another shot at holding his dad captive soon.
36. I am pretty sure that anyone who was on Jonathan Martin’s side after HIS whole thing on the Dolphins probably jumped off with the rest of us after that Instagram post.
37. Marcus Peters in Los Angeles sounds like he is somewhere where he can do something stupid off the field in…yay.
38. Hell of a player when he is locked in though…
39. One of our cats Carl Lewis SPRINTS out of the litter box and I don’t know why.
40. One of my favorite work conversations last week was my colleague, also Mark, saying “THIS is a hell of a business model” after picking up a dry erase marker and it not working, like all dry erase markers do after about two days.
41. Speaking of work, we had a work meeting with “Blue Pan” pizza and I am sold on it as different, off the beaten path, and worth the price of admission and then some.
42. I compliment this type of pizza because I typically just think pizza is pizza, it is all good, and I have a tough time differentiating it even with my pizza passion and additional stomach only assigned for free pizza.
43. Blue Pan.  Solid.

02/22/19

(last installment was in the Cabo blog)

1.  I thought OU would at least give a GAME to KU instead of getting trounced by 30 plus.
2. Ruthy Hebard, the non household name, who now holds the record in college hoops (men and women) for most consecutive FG’s (33).
3. The Red Sox picking up JD Martinez was GREAT add in a relatively quiet offseason overall.
4. Fans are still taunting black hockey players??????
5. Sad.
6. Yes, the Eagles are trying to TM “Philly Special.”
7. I didn’t recap the NBA ASG because the plane started landing on my airplane rant, but know that Booker is an assassin, Mitchell is a STUD, and the game itself at least TRIED to be decent at the end?
8. Get ready for spring training and the Ohtani show, and for you people who don’t know about this, he is supposedly a massive threat with bat and pitch.
9. You will soon be overloaded with media coverage.
10. If you are looking for contenders and stats to back them, the Warriors and Raptors are the only two teams in the top 5 of the NBA in both defensive and offensive efficiency.
11. The amount of teams all within 17-21 wins in the NBA fighting for Doncic and Ayton is uncanny.
12. A guy went all the way to Ireland to see the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but ended up seeing the Red Hot Chili Pipers.
13. That is a true story, folks.
14. The rich get richer, because Blake Griffin and his hefty contract saves him 1.6 million in taxes by going to Detroit.
15. Jokic had 17 assists last week, and is the first big man since Wilt to do that amount.
16. The Celtics are 28th in offensive efficiency since January 1st.
17. The Rockets are 28-1 when Harden, Capela, and Paul all start.
18. I think limiting mound visits in the MLB is dumb and won’t solve any problems.
19. Rough week for Cuban, as he compounded $600k in tanking talk fines with the whole sexual misconduct within his doors.
20. Weird to be a fan of a coach, but I am NOT a Raiders fan, but will be rooting for them secondarily when not rooting for my Steelers.
21. I have no idea where my Steelers image went on my blog front page, and really need a WP expert to help me get a UVA one up there now.
22. The Flyers got Petr Mrazek and I am excited for the first time in many NHL years for my home team.
23. Not present home (Denver), my OLD home, and I will never change my allegiance…sorry, Avs.
24. Beyonce’s daughter is actually named Blue Ivy?????
25. I guess I will have to use my MoviePass and go see this Black Panther movie that is breaking all kinds of records.
26. I was happy that a younger co-worker also thought that the new Star Wars just sucked.
27. My new addiction seems to be finding bracelets, and perhaps that is because Slash wears a bunch and HE is pretty cool.
28. Denver dropped 72 degrees in temperature in TWENTY FOUR hours.
29. Ryan Shazier says he will play again and that makes me wary AND excited.
30. Anyone else find problems in the fact that Jarvis Landry will make $16 million this next year?
31. It is nice when your basketball team is #1 because they are even on main Colorado TV when they play…Georgia Tech???
32. The jalapeno salsa cream cheese from Einsteins is like my new favorite cream cheese EVER.
33. I have a fancy shell winter jacket and notice that EVERYTHING falls off my shoulders…cool looking, not very practical.
34. Less than a week after MSU’s magical comeback on Northwestern, Drexel comes back from THIRTY FOUR down to win against Delaware…nuts.
35. Texas Tech losing to Oklahoma State kind of lessens the elevation of the KU game Saturday, doesn’t it?
36. Big Papi’s show idea was that he needs a job?
37. Classy, older Toni Braxton is engaged to crazy looking BIRDMAN?
38. The Spurs-Leonard thing is just WEIRD.
39. The Spurs have won at least 50 games in EIGHTEEN consecutive seasons.
40. Mike Patrick has made some great calls over the years, and he will be MISSED in retirement.
41. I have notes on the NBA playoff format, but am saving it for a focus article.
42. Steve Irwin would be 56 years old today.  Sad.
43. Zona loses Trier, and if that holds, THEN I will finally admit they can’t win it all….finally as I have had them in my Final Four all year even during their slumps.
44. Prepare yourself, basketball world, as Michael Porter is CLEARED to play and is SPECIAL, folks.
45. That’s it for today, folks.  Peace.

02/14/18

• These are NOT edited, so sorry for any grammatical errors.
• Just replacing what I post on the This And That page with some random thoughts. #oldschool
• Robert Parish was a stud among studs, but we are not talking about what is above the shoulders, and I say that because saying Paul Pierce was better offensively than Larry Bird is just…plain silly.
• It is very weird how I am religious about Twitter tweets when I am in my routine, but don’t really care about it when traveling.
• I knew conference play would be a back to earth experience for the Sooners basketball team, but I didn’t expect the bottom to TOTALLY fall out.
• I like The Crossover that ESPN does, but not really sure why they planned it ON the most useless holiday of the year catered to women.
• Let it stop, because if Chris Paul, Melo, LeBron, and Wade can’t figure out a way to be on the same team, then how are underachieving, kicked out of school kids under a monster father going to pull it off…ugghhh https://www.si.com/nba/2018/02/12/lavar-ball-lonzo-liangelo-lamelo-same-team
• Anyone else SO excited about volatile, speak your mind Isaiah Thomas and LaVar Ball (and his dad) being on the same team?
• We all loved the season that Kareem Hunt had, and let’s all hope the woman who says he pushed her in a hotel hallway is LYING.
• I am shallow in some parts of life, so maybe I am in the minority for finding the story VERY funny that a Chicago TV station made the mistake of putting up PF Chang’s with Olympic rings accidentally.
• Hey, I wanted UVA to STROLL into the #1 ranking like any alum, but when most of the top ten ALSO loses at home, who can really complain???
• If it is a tradition involving volatile Goose Gossage, I am NOT NOT inviting him to spring training…just saying.
• The Texas-Baylor hoops game I simply had on as background noise last night SEEMED to be a useless game, but some genius figured out the loser would swing 30% the WRONG way for tourney hopes…the game went to double OT with Baylor winning.
• How’s that rebuilding going, Shaka-miss the state of Virginia???
• I hope if I am a Wizards fan the phone is ringing OFF the hook, as Derrick Rose is past his prime and an injury waiting to happen, but having him BACK UP John Wall sounds lovely.
• You know the sports wire is hurting when I actually KNOW that the top German Shepherd and contender is OUT of that dog show going on right now.
• The Boston PD DOES know a deleted tweet is still a tweet, right?
• Esteban Loaiza made $43.7 million during his MLB pitching career, and evidently did NOT invest, since he was just busted with drugs with the words “kilos” and “distribution” next to his name.
• Hey, Johnny Football, we already sort of KNEW you were bipolar, but if announcing it to the media clears your conscience, then all the power to you.
• When I come back from a trip and not sure what is new and what is an old article, the ones about Reuben Foster getting arrested again REALLY throw me for a loop.
• I am watching UVA-Miami while writing some of this blog, and just HOPING for no letdown in a dangerous game in Miami.
• So, for the record, Serena Williams is now 0-1 when traveling with her baby.
• You really should make time on your schedule to watch the 30 for 30 with the two Bill’s…GREAT info and great presentation of two people with limited personalities and football genius galore.
• I really like the George Washington commercial with him crossing the Delaware Turnpike, because that guy does road rage PERFECTLY.
• It reminds me of a commercial version of Drunk History in a way.
• Bedtimes suck because we are forced to watch all of these Olympics, never knowing when something important is going to happen, and I went to bed RIGHT before Shaun White busted out a SICK 98.50 on a run.
• Maybe it is because it is the only song I walked off a karaoke stage while performing, but some dude was singing More Than A Feeling by Boston in the airport this weekend and I wanted to shoot him…figuratively.
• Remember when Jim McElwain was the hottest coaching prospect on the market, and now he MIGHT be picked up as a WR coach at Michigan?
• When thinking about how GOOD Sidney Crosby is, crazy to think he just got to 400 and Mario ended at 690!
• After reading about how Lane Johnson was calling the Pats “robots,” I just wonder how ANYONE would want to piss off Tom Brady in the offseason and I personally would just be PRAYING he suddenly retired.
• Red Gerard, a CO boy who won the first Olympic gold medal, was born in the year 2000, and that may or may not depress me in a way.
• Did Tara Lipinski have a LOT of plastic surgery or were those lights just shining on her face oddly?
• Rory McIlroy misses a cut and Wozniacki wins the Aussie, and my comparisons with the ex-couple’s ups and downs STILL remind me of the careers of Andre Agassi and Brooke Shields.
• Is it my Seinfeld fandom or his many characters over the years, or does everyone else just LAUGH as soon as they hear Patrick Warburton’s voice?
• Jay Bilas, while announcing a game, mentioned Len Bias as one of his 3-4 players that totally changed the game, and proud that my parents sent me to a small basketball camp as a kid where I got a shoe signed by him…and sitting about 15 feet from where I presently sit.
• In that same game (I remember-it was the UVA-Va Tech game), he also was proud to “hold” Ralph Sampson to 36 and 14 back in the day.
• Impractical Jokers IS a funny show, but I just don’t buy A) they get the venues they get consistently or B) the police aren’t called ever.
• I was asked, being a Jersey guy, about the Jersey Shore anniversary thing coming up, and I replied “I live the Jersey Shore experience, and am happy to not have it anymore.”
• The Cubs got Yu Darvish, so they will obviously be on one of the top lines of preseason baseball, and did you know that he averages ELEVEN K’s per 9 innings, the highest…like ever.
• The Rockets right now are like the midseason Pats, picking up bits and pieces of a bunch of players who MIGHT have a flash left in them.
• Ex-NHL enforcer was charged with sexual assault, and this saddens me (besides that it is a crime) because I have always said somehow NHL players stay OUT of trouble for the most part.
• I am noticing that packing for Cabo San Lucas anytime is easier than packing for Portland in above freezing rainy weather.
• Lindsey had I Bought A Zoo on the TV when we were in the hotel room, and MAN has Matt Damon does some RANDOM subpar movies considering how big of star he is.
• I won’t even watch that Wall one.
• Kirk Cousins, if you think about it, is the first totally healthy close to top tier QB on the market in YEARS (Peyton and Drew were coming off injuries).
• Of course, UNC beat Duke in a year where we thought we had it all figured out.
• I won’t even comment on Pastner and his sexual assault thing because, honestly, I am tired of hearing about harassment and sexual assault cases in sports and with celebrities.
• Jameer Nelson is now on the Pistons and is going to be one HELL of an NBA trivia question 15 years from now.
• I feel like I was getting constant Eustachy updates and his situation at CSU and then I hear nothing.
• So, Revis Island is officially once again…an island…sorry.
• Dammit, I just found out that Widespread Panic is playing at Lock’n in Virginia again this year, and since I drove by them last year, I might…consider.
• Jimmy Garoppolo got signed to a monster contract after his five games at QB, and I just might call this Matt Cassel II.
• I got back from my last trip and was just glad the city of Philly still stood.
• A colleague of mine got off the phone today and said “I just ACTUALLY talked with a jolly, nice guy from ATLANTIC CITY,” and then I reminded him that the Eagles just won the Super Bowl, so this is that odd, hardly occurring time with large Italians being friendly to everyone.
• I know Draymond Green needs to be hip and cool, but does he realize that when he cusses like a sailor and then pays a $50k fine, some of us really wish mattress money had a couple more zero’s on them?
• And just like Sebastian Janikowski’s career with the Raiders, I am done this mini-rant.

02/07/18

1.  IF the Cavs suddenly turn around their season, I am pretty sure the turnaround jumper with 1 second left in OT will be the turning point.
2. Hubie Brown, for the 1000th time, is magical announcing ANY game, but an OT game with a LeBron jumper at the end is icing on the cake.
3. The Knicks losing Porzingis for the season is bad, but NBA fans overall lose also.
4. Does LeBron even have any players on his NBA ASG team, and can we start a “curse” theory or something similar?
5. In case you still keep track of minor league MLB trades, or care about future two sports athletes, Russell Wilson is now a Yankee if you care.
6. I had work travel today, but really wish I had seen live the mom decked out in Bama and Tennessee gear walk out on her son choosing the Gators.
7. Nova lost, thank you Johnnies, and barring an odd loss this weekend, UVA is your new #1 team in the WHOLE land.
8. The oddity is that I want to pick UVA and be right the year where everyone does NOT pick them.
9. Whatever-I will take a title any way I can get one.
10. I love my job so much, I guess, that I got to my hotel room at 4pm Pacific after work travel, worked with no TV sound for three hours (still have more to do after this break) and missed the ENTIRE UVA game on TV against FSU and their apparently brilliant comeback.
11. McDaniels turns down the Colts, the Colts now claim a rivalry with the Pats, his agent leaves him, and now he is the Pats coaching in waiting??????
12. Wow.
13. Steve Wynn has resigned at Wynn Resorts and put him on the getting LONGER list of celebrities doing this whole sexual harrassment craze.
14. After a half of week, I still think I like the Rocket Mortgage/Peele commercial the best…explaining complicated and hip things in plain language.
15. I played some blackjack last night, did pretty well, and the dealer said both my betting methods and hits and stays were “methodical and on point.”
16. Thanks, Grandpa.
17. I love my job because occasionally I get put in a location where I can put my toes in the actual ocean at 5am before a 8am client meeting.
18. I almost jumped in but pretty sure my heart would have stopped due to coldness…but I thought about it without a doubt.
19. Travel to me means finding a convenience store where they sell Lunchables, whether my hotel room has a fridge or not.
20. During my work travel drive yesterday and today, the sun came out in Oregon for an hour or two, and apparently that is absurdly odd.
21. What is wrong with a UK player going to a party with a security guard to watch over his future riches…oh…he was ARMED?
22. Not good.
23. In this topsy turvy college hoops season, Tennessee beats UK AT UK.
24. I met a guy on the plane yesterday who is an engineer for SCRAP yards…dude makes the compressors and conveyor belts BETTER…awesome.
25. I picked up the USA Today Sport Weekly Olympic Special because we all need a heads up what athletes we need to follow and what sports we need to learn for a month.
26. The Warriors, when they lose, do it in such UNIQUE ways for sure.
27. I noticed that LaVar Ball got suddenly quiet when the Lakers started doing better WITHOUT his son playing.
28. Or, maybe my dream happened, which would be Lithuania finding a reason to lock that dude up.
29. I have a little OCD, I love the Master Packer Seinfeld and think I have that magic, and packed six days of cold weather and work clothing in one tiny suitcase…nothing has popped up that I obviously forgot.
30. I know I am not going to miss having kids when my friend texts me for movie reviews and advice, I write him back “go see Molly’s game” and he writes back three hours later that he went to Paddington II.
31. Gronk had his house robbed this week, and he already knew he got robbed in the first half with one catch for 9 yards.
32. Another week of NBA mock drafts, and Miles Birdges keeps moving down and Trae Young keeps moving up.
33. When Tyler Zeller got traded from the Nets to the Bucks, I thought two things:  1)  THAT’S where that guy is and glad he isn’t overseas or something and 2) imagine the change in paradigm where going to Milwaukee is a HUGE upgrade.
34. I don’t know about you, but I don’t feel sympathy for those poor millionaire NBA players who have to MAKE time to go to the Super Bowl.
35. Embiid and Anderson had to MAKE time.
36. Todd Frazier somehow has a perfect system of being a Jersey boy and continuing to get traded back to NY or NJ teams.
37. I don’t know about you, but I am proud of Philly fans just simply for keeping their city upright after the Super Bowl.
38. Gotta go and work some more (at 10pm and later as I have work to do and Lindsey doesn’t get in until 1210am).  Heading to Cannon Beach and Tillamook (I assume a cheese city will have actual loads of cheese there) tomorrow, and more sights TBD.  Peace.

02/3.5/18

1. I really liked the SNL skit about how irritating Eagles and Pats fans are.
2. Another week and it becomes regular now for the Cleveland Cavaliers to be blown out at home.
3. The Nuggets beat the Warriors tonight and they are the only team to beat the Warriors twice this season.
4. The bottom line is that 60 points OR a triple double are both very impressive, but in the same game by the same guy?
5. I will phrase it like SNL just did in front of me:  Donald Trump did “well”  in the State of the Union because we have gotten to the point where “good” is any time he doesn’t say something really, really stupid.
6. Hey Isaiah Thomas, you better watch out because Kevin Love now has a CAST for those locker room meetings.
7. For those of you in the minority of people who haven’t seen Drunk History, you are missing out, and you don’t have to even drink to watch it, as the high quality lip syncing from random celebrities is worth the price of admission alone.
8. The two condiments you need to know about presently in my world are the win and garlic seasoning from Melting Pot and the hot sauce from Sloan’s Tap and Burger.
9. Like a person who was not covered with mud at Woodstock, you are not a Shark Tank person yet perhaps, but it is coming for you (found out last visit that the friend who stays with us once a month is now also hooked on the show since he watched it over our place a month or two ago).
10. Wow, UVA looked solid as ever again today at a dangerous conference road foe, Syracuse.
11. LeBron is getting mic’d up by anyone when talking about leaving teams voluntarily and what they mean after that to their club?
12. Tony P’s closed next to me, meaning SliceWorks now gets the benefits of the biggest lover of pizza in Uptown Denver.
13. I title “lateral moves” as going to a different job with no upward escalation, but the Rams OC going to the Titans might be a DOWNWARD move.
14. Shaquem Griffin getting the call that he can attend the NFL combine is one of my favorite stories of the week.
15. Warren G’s kid is a five star recruit??
16. Makes me love Warren G even more.
17. That Bettor X is making his rounds again, and hopefully not trying to lose the millions he made in the World Series, but the Eagles is what he is feeling if you care.
18. Ronda Rousey has joined WWE and that sounds like the story ended the way it should have suddenly, but I am worried after seeing her act in Expendables whether the wrestlers will be better actors than her.
19. May 5th-GGG-Canelo…boom.
20. The Sixers and Thunder have developed this odd rivalry that actually kind of works for me.
21. I really wish I had better ideas for the revamp of the NFL catch rule, but I would just keep saying “what the Steelers TE did against the Pats.”
22. So “PISSANT” is a weakness of Mr. Brady…I assume that is what the Eagles linebackers will be yelling over the line.
23. They made the NBA ASG winnings more for the winner to try and increase the competitive nature of the game, but throwing around some mattress money is not the end game to fixing it.
24. You feel old when a hockey player who grew up, became legendary, got old, get playing, turned 2000 years old, and FINALLY cleared waivers and wasn’t picked up by an NHL team.
25. Hey, other team, PLEASE don’t allow that amount of points when LaVar Ball is doing anything productive.
26. The breakfast BLT is well worth it just because of the garlic aioli but the sandwich was pretty good too.
27. Two twins have now committed to OU football, and although not a twin, I assume there is dinner conversation about the other twin being the “guy who got a scholarship just because he was the twin.”
28. No, I am not commenting on the Pro Bowl.
29. Dammit…I just did…you win.
30. I missed the live showing of the Curry-Irving showdown, wasn’t doing anything else mind blowing, and am really kind of sad about missing lightning in a bottle.
31. Federer won another title, it was in a close five sets, and just remember the great ones don’t have to DESTROY their opponents to be great, and even Brady has had many close Super Bowls.
32. I wouldn’t want to end this part of the blog, but I don’t want to blog as long as JB Holmes takes to swing the club.
33. Finally, my favorite thing of the week.  This girl is my sales engineer’s girlfriend and she SINGS her resume on LinkedIn and is up to 200k viewers already.  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6364283415210008576/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3BB4TbQq5WSJiZP2oM%2BSzbrg%3D%3D&licu=urn%3Ali%3Acontrol%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base-view_activity_details

02/03/18

1.  JJ Watt was named man of the year, and whether you wonder if you could do something like he did whether you were a millionaire athlete or not is irrelevant.
2. Ray Lewis and Randy Moss/ TO were elected into the NFL HOF, and whichever wide receiver you choose of that grouping, you still realize that we all just watched players who literally redefined their position.
3. Tom Brady just won the NFL MVP and I wonder if everyone is toasting him by guzzling a bunch of shots of water.
4. KU and Duke lost to unranked opponents today and if you hurry and run outside, you might catch a meteor shower or asteroid or something else that never happens.
5. CSU coach Larry Eustachy is in trouble again, and I feel like we all expected this to happen for some reason at some point?
6. I am sitting here writing this on a Saturday night and if it isn’t Armageddon or Tin Cup or Forrest Gump, it is the damn Hunger Games movies that hook me for background noise.
7. I assume SOME soul in Vegas bet ON the Golden Knights to win it all this year at horrendous odds, right?
8. I wonder if Andre Drummond will look really slow or really fast with Blake Griffin as his running mate now.
9. Must suck for Blake Griffin, being that the Clippers put on media signs and banners that they wanted him a Clipper for life…and now he is in the glorious city of Detroit.
10. The fact that he found out by Twitter is absolutely disgusting.
11. Doc Rivers says the Clippers aren’t necessarily going to keep trading key players, but HOW are we to believe any executive after the whole post-lifelong Clipper media plugs.
12. Speaking of playing like we thought you would when drafted, Marbury is retiring the way he wants to at age 41…in China.
13. Seriously though, glad he found his place and he is like a hero over there.
14. I keep saying that Wichita State will come around, but when will that be exactly?
15. LaMarcus Aldridge is playing out of his mind…I mean exactly the way we assumed he would play when he was drafted.
16. All good while Boogie is out due to injury, but can’t wait to see how him and Mirotic get along.
17. JT says his son will never play football, but I am still depressed that he is only 37 and has like THREE successful million dollar careers.
18. The Falcons owner can get pissy all he wants about the Pats ring having 283 diamonds, but I find it funny and I would have done the same thing…you know…if I was a champion athlete in the NFL.
19. SO nice to see Shazier on his feet, whether wobbly or not.
20. I have LOTS of food issues, but was reminded this week again that I love bananas but hate banana bread, love grape juice but hate wine, and love cheese but hate cheesecake.
21. This tweet made me laugh this week.  
22. McCollum 50 points in TWENTY NINE minutes?
23. LeBron is open to the Warriors, and then LeBron is closed to the Warriors, and all I know is that IF it is true, he would make his “taking my talents” speech harmless in comparison.
24. Seriously, WHY can’t every airline do what Southwest does and let you cancel and move flights?
25. Since I hate Fox, I can only assume that internally I am peeved by Fox getting the TNF deal.
26. The Nassar count was up to 265 victims last I checked, and does that mean he didn’t do bad things to ANY appointments?
27. Thoughts and prayers to your family, Rasual Butler, and you were way too young.
28. I am having some serious phone issues (that could be a whole focus blog at this point), and of my three trips to Verizon thus far, my odd takeaway is that an employee told me at Verizon that they didn’t have more help at the time because it was lunchtime, and I thought “wouldn’t that take MORE employees during that time because it is everyone else’s lunch too (the customers).
29. I can reasonably say that I will dive headfirst and risk injury before I ever drop my phone again.
30. I was wondering WHY Jemele Hill would leave being a SportsCenter anchor to a simple writer on Undefeated until I read her first article on Tom Izzo…it was GOOD.

02/02/18

1.  It is really a shame that I get more excited for the 3 point contest and dunk contest than the actual NBA ASG.
2. I love mock drafts, preseason polls, next year’s polls, and all types of trade rumors before deadlines.
3. One of the results of the NBA being slightly diluted is that Tyreke Evans is sought after.
4. Come on, Steve Kerr, you knew deleted tweets are still…tweets, but love your conversation after it.
5. A Washington State football player was given a community award…for serving hours sentenced to him by a court.
6. Soccer transfer rules already confuse me, let alone the AMOUNT people transfer for.
7. I just watched the ASG playerless-Miami Heat fight back to FOUR down from being 28 down against the Sixers.
8. Yes, I was doing other stuff too in the house…background noise.
9. Let’s get to the Super Bowl, as I am over game previews and sites of famous people ice fishing.
10. As soon as the Super Bowl is done, I suppose Kirk Cousins and Le’Veon Bell pretty much take over the headlines.
11. Did anyone even think that Charles Oakley wouldn’t be cleared?
12. I just found out that someone I know kissed Aaron Rodgers on NYE, and I guess that goes on my useless list with the person in high school who slept with Bobby Brown.
13. Julie…something, from Cumberland Regional HS.
14. I had plans on reporting on the mad action in MLB, but the stove is COLD.
15. The 30 for 30 on the Two Bills is fascinating, and I totally forgot that Belichick left his post right BEFORE Parcells left on his own (Hoodie would have inherited a HELL of a team).
16. I admire the energy of the guy who rushed Nassar in court, but did he really think he would pull anything off?
17. Just when we can’t thank the Warriors enough for ruining the NBA balance of power, they replace the Red Panda’s freaking bicycle.
18. The Denver fan who confronted Russell Westbrook gave Denver fans a bad name and glad Westbrook didn’t get hit for it.
19. He will always be Kenny Powers to me, and even though he doesn’t even SAY anything in the Mountain Dew commercial, it is HILARIOUS.
20. Not as hilarious as the State Farm Harden-Paul commercial, but close.
21. Since the hated Crimson Tide already won, and since the hated Pats will probably win also, it is nice that we still have stories like Brevin White, the top 300 player QB who turned down a Bama offer for…PRINCETON.
22. Portland this week, and I think we will head to Cabo the week after (have to burn some earned time off at work before April 1).
23. Sammy Hagar better be there.
24. We have a new #1 ranked workout song for The Fillerbuster.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3E6AKDbI2Y
25. I would be more mad about the Celtics getting Greg Monroe on the cheap until I remember that a big tall post up center was 1994 stuff, and that he will have to sit the bench if they meet the Warriors further on.
26. This is my sales engineer’s girlfriend and this is SOOOOOO freaking off the beaten path cool (she sings her resume on LinkedIn).  https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6364283415210008576/?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base%3BB4TbQq5WSJiZP2oM%2BSzbrg%3D%3D&licu=urn%3Ali%3Acontrol%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base-view_activity_details
27. I would say the groundhogs had differing opinions this week, but then I said “who the HELL is Staten Island Chuck?”
28. Lots more to say, but I will continue this tomorrow.

01/27/18

1. Any hope for Griz fans turned dark this week as Mike Conley is out for the season, and I don’t think they have enough firepower to do anything in any postseason they make.
2. In my insane amount of movie watching these days, I caught a trailer for The Hurricane Heist and it looks about as good as the name implies.
3. I have also seen the trailer for Red Sparrow about 5 times.
4. I had a burger at the 5280 Burger Bar right by UA Pavilions in Denver, and the burger better be EXTRA good if it comes without a side, and it did not have a side, and it did not taste like it didn’t need fries.
5. This will be as quick as I can go, because I plan on diving into the first Blade Runner AND the second one tonight.
6. Cameron Heyward wants more focus and less antics in 2018 for the Steelers, and I am happy with antics and no looking past ANY team on the schedule.
7. West Virginia is such a good home team, lost against Kentucky today, and are really such a confusing team that will probably go down to a sharp shooting mid major first round in the tourney.
8. I was sad to find out Kobe is still finding success even in the movie area of the world, getting nominated for short film…ugghhh.
9. There is a new Murphy Brown coming out right AFTER we got a new Roseanne, and if this isn’t a sign that they are out of ideas, I don’t know what is.
10. Not only did Bama beat OU today, but it was the first game since the opener that Trae Young scored LESS than 20 points.
11. Kind of confusing after OU beat KU, but this is basketball this year right now.
12. Kind of like you have the #1 team just lose their second leading scorer and a watching paint dry defensive team as the definitive second best team right now.
13. UVA beat Duke today AT Cameron, and not that it does anything long term for March, but that is a STATEMENT win that says we CAN win it all even though you left us unranked before the season.
14. I am getting there I will tell you on them…impressive win.
15. Duke AND UNC lost on the same day for the first time since the 70’s…or maybe that is just at home…not sure.
16. Got chills every commercial break because I heard that glorious CBS March Madness theme song…
17. I see all of these movies now because I have the MoviePass and when you have that, you basically just say let’s go to the movies if you have a three hour window.
18. Plus, I don’t booze anymore, so I guess I am just replacing my old school drinking at a bar and playing Golden Tee time.
19. I walked out of Floyd’s today after a haircut, passed by a Which Wich (always meant to try something there), got a sandwich, and I would not run out and try one…decent, but just simply the level above a Subway.
20. Did you see Kevin Love hand a rebounded ball to Isaiah Thomas like he was a TODDLER?
21. I listened to the comedy station on the car radio today and heard an interesting fact I did NOT know…TASER is actually an acronym and stands for Thomas A. Swift Electronic Rifle.
22. I agree with Zach Lowe in Ten Things that if you have a problem with someone NOT making the NBA All Star Game then you have to say who is on it presently that you would kick OFF.
23. Wozniacki won the Aussie Open in a final featuring two players who have never won a Slam (actually they are the first 1-2 players to have both never won a Slam), and I hope that everyone enjoyed the NO SERENA VACATION.
24. Demarcus Cousins is out for the season the ONE time the Pelicans are starting out like they should…shame.
25. 44/24/10 is SUCH a sick stat line to post in the week that you exit stage left.
26. Anyone else notice that during my NCAA revised picks (read my last blog) Zona has won 14 of 15 and is looking pretty darn scary?
27. My favorite website is Deadspin, and the fact that Will Leitch (the founder) is getting his own show makes me very, very happy.
28. Do you all realize media is going crazy when Tiger Woods is MAKING CUTS?????
29. I would throw Henry’s Tavern (by the movie theater) mac and cheese up there in quality…I don’t have a “list” for mac and cheese because it is ALL good.
30. Kind of like not having a top pizza list-irrelevant…ALL pizza is the best, especially free pizza.
31. I found free pizza at work Friday, so that was a good day.
32. Do you realize that the greatest hockey player and guitarist were both born on January 26th?
33. Two great ones both on the same day…
34. I will wait for more info, but pretty darn scary that MSU is suddenly getting in the realm of Penn State a few years ago.
35. I just am PRAYING Izzo can keep doing his thing and didn’t know anything.
36. My Cheez-Its at work are communal and always stocked, but will you PLEASE fold the paper back like my OCD self LIKES?
37. It seems like so long ago when we were talking about how good Arizona State basketball was.
38. Just when we were jumping on the Ohio State basketball band wagon, they lose to Penn State at home.
39. What makes the Spurs so classy and good is that they can send ANOTHER Hall of Famer to a bench role and he is fine with it.
40. …although I am very curious about this whole rumored Leonard rift.
41. I admit that I didn’t think Djokovic would bow out in anything but the semi’s or finals at the Aussie.
42. The massive hit list Lindsey and I make before any trip has begun, and excited about spending three full days in Portland in a week and a half (post work trip).
43. George Costanza would be happy about Kanye naming his kid “Chicago” as it is only a matter of time before Seven or Soda come around.
44. It HAS to be something personal and BETTER be, because I thought Jason Kidd was doing just fine with the hand that he was dealt.
45. Hey, Capela, don’t piss off the Warriors and just let your play do the talking…cue sleeping dog cliche.
46. 144 victims spoke against Nassar??????
47. The Vikings paid less for THREE high profile QB’s than the Redskins paid for ONE.
48. I am fully digital people, with no paper list, and that leaves some time on school nights of me wondering “what did I typically do now?”
49. This town gets away from its QB situation by suddenly remembering that the Avs are suddenly kind of good.
50. Nadal lost at the Aussie, and that means we can just write him off for 2018 before he claims the Nadal Slam at the French.
51. John Wall called Barea a midget, but that midget has had a TWELVE year NBA career, John.
52. He is kind of like Tyrion from Game of Thrones.
53. The Miami Heat are 28-21 and don’t have ONE All Star…THAT is chemistry, folks.
54. I turned down free food at work the other day, and might have caused a small alert throughout the work place, but I am down to 206, people, from 227 lbs.
55. A-Rod will join Sunday Night Baseball, and still apparently will make time for Shark Tank.
56. We want more A-Rod like we want more Trump.
57. I never heard any news on LaVar Ball being a Lihtuanian assistant, so just hope that either A) he didn’t do anything stupid and B) maybe Lithuania has actually mastered keeping LaVar news QUIET.
58. To add to my present Pats blog, the Pats chose white road jerseys, and they have some ridiculous record in the Super Bowl…like 12 of 13.
59. My company is asking for recent pet pics for our internal TV screens, and I draw the line there as I will not be posted on a screen about owning cats…kind of like I won’t take both cats to the vet for shots (be a regular reader, folks).
60. After starting a stir by missing the beginning (when they would have found out if he was actually 6’1″), Baker Mayfield had a HELL of a week at Senior Bowl practice.
61. So, the Cavs let Kyrie go, and now are actively looking at George Hill without even seeing what IT can do on a regular basis?
62. Rick Carlisle apologized for his words to his player, and that made me sad because I thought that telling him that he only had two points and to get out was pretty damn funny.
63. I was over the media coverage on order of the draft before it even began.
64. Televise the damn thing and don’t do it over the phone.
65. Tis the season for mock drafts and I LOVE mock drafts.
66. I thought it was silly and not needed that LeBron congratulate himself on Twitter in long form.
67. Do you REALIZE that Paul George, Chris Paul, Lou Williams, and Andre Drummond did NOT make the ASG?
68. The blind long snapper from UCLA posting a QB tryout video might have been slightly scripted but still was BADASS.
69. I am very curious to see who they replace Gruden with on MNF.
70. How did Woody Harrelson quietly sneak into another Oscars?
71. And I had no idea Mary J. Blige was that good of actress either?
72. I think this Oceans 8 thing for a movie is stupid, and that has nothing to do with my absolute hatred of Sandra Bullock.
73. I don’t know much about the guy, but I was sad when Tennys got eliminated.
74. The NBA does some dumb stuff as far as league management, but I think it is totally logical they want a betting cut and I fully support that.
75. I didn’t know Stained singer Aaron Lewis became a country singer, but was wondering where the heck he went.
76. Locals on the radio here in Denver I think REALLY want Baker Mayfield.
77. Barry Bonds didn’t make the HOF, and I think he should be in simply for the fact that he was already a HOF’er BEFORE he started cheating.
78. So, the UCONN men stink AND are being investigated for recruiting violations?
79. I was reading about Dan Gurney this week and didn’t realize he invented the podium champagne thing.
80. Maybe it is just because I now use them constantly, but I am AMAZED how Google Docs work.
81. The Wonderbum product on Shark Tank really was bad.
82. I have decided that as much as I love Shark Tank, the update of one of the companies is what makes me saddest.
83. I really like the Statefarm commercial with that guy doing the piano jazzy version of Don’t You Forget About Me.
84. You can sue a company if your coffee is too hot, and you can get out of a sports suspension by telling the judge you kissed your healing woman too passionately.
85. January 27th and last I heard Markelle Fultz had not found his shot.
86. I really wish that guy who went to the KU dorms to teach free throws to the team would have stuck around longer.
87. I became a fan of Big Little Lies, and now that they have hired Meryl Streep, I think my time is done.
88. Another day of hoping people stop whispering in Oprah’s ear that she should run for President.
89. I am home solo, and AGAIN have gotten hooked on Tin Cup being on national TV…dammit.
90. Josh Allen can’t hit the side of a barn apparently, but he a threw a football 66 MPH this week at the Senior Bowl and that is 6 MPH faster than Logan Thomas’s record (Kaep through 59 MPH if you care).
91. I was sad to hear about someone vandalizing the Field of Dreams.
92. It feels weird that the X-Games just started and I am not there in some capacity.
93. The Falcons made news because they had cheap food at their new stadium and they STILL ended up outselling everyone.
94. In the past, I would close the bar to make sure I was still up during the Aussie Open final, and that era has now ended and I will be sleeping deeply when Federer wins.
95. The Brewers are making some MOVES, people.
96. I think that when Johnny Manziel tweeted support of the XFL, he thought there were still scantily clad cheerleaders doing their thing.
97. That’s it for today.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

01/20/18

1. Getting my thoughts out of me before I write my Sunday focused article (going to be a good one today).
2. Todd Haley maybe to the Browns would put him in the purgatory I prefer.
3. Clemson losing their second leading scorer doesn’t ruin their long term improvement plans, but DOES take them out of my “dangerous” category of sleepers in the tourney.
4. I don’t do breakfast in bed for Lindsey for the simple reason that she likes BRUNCH at PLACES other than our home every Saturday and Sunday.
5. The best thing about me stopping my drinking is that waffles and french toast and cookies and things like that taste SO much better these days.
6. We watched the movie IT last night, it sucked, and WHY can’t new movie makers make horror movies that make violence ALLUDED to and use our imagination.
7. The new SNL with Jessica Chastain sucked too  if you care.
8. Watching the Jacksonville-NE game while writing this, and I didn’t know Boston had such a fetish for Alice in Chains as implied by their stadium constantly playing them.
9. Consider me in the corner of listening to audio books as NOT reading, but maybe that is just because I know I am a VISUAL and not audio learner.
10. Crazy I am, as I am finally going all digital (already did for blog list) as I spent the first half of the football game transferring all things from my paper list that I have carried for 20 years to my Google Docs.
11. The Roomba is cool and all, but I envisioned it being quiet enough for me to watch TV while it did its thing.
12. The problem about Lindsey watching Dateline and 20/20 is that my natural curiosity makes me LISTEN to the damn show to subconsciously know what is going on anyway.
13. Uh-oh, Big Ben, as you should NOT be in news stories involving Donald Trump, Stormy Daniels, hotel rooms, and YOU.
14. UK losing at home to VERY inconsistent Florida is NOT a good sign for their young team’s tourney hopes overall…can’t trust them, and they will be a first round upset WAITING to happen.
15. KU is having some serious problems at Allen suddenly as we know, and they had to do a 9-0 run just to WIN against a lower tiered Baylor program.
16. Losing Billy Preston to Europe is a Final Four depth type of loss.
17. NBA teams, know that it is VERY hard to score 124 points and still lose by TWENTY FOUR points except if you are the present day Cavs.
18. I am proud to say that Marilyn Manson played one block away but our house ended up OK.
19. Thank you, work trip, as my #1 ranked city in the U.S. I haven’t been to is Portland, and we are tagging on a weekend in February so THAT will be checked off my list.
20. I have to use earned hours for PTO by April 1 due to a change in our policy, and since I HATE taking days off from work, it is weird for me to be forced to take time off.
21. Not sure if I am more impressed by the dude or the lack of resources in the country of Tonga, but the shirtless wonder from the last games took on a new sport and will be a cross-country skier this time around.
22. It sounds like it will be a lot harder for him to go shirtless this time around.
23. I am less surprised about the government being shut down as I am impressed that Trump made it exactly a year BEFORE that happened…it was in the cards, right?
24. I hope the troops at least got to see the games today.
25. Trae Young scored 48, sure, but a couple of decisions down the stretch and some bad shots ultimately led to their demise in Stillwater.
26. The loss (after one other loss) sure takes some of the luster off the KU game Tuesday.
27. I sure as heck didn’t see Wichita State drop TWO straight after the new year given who they play.
28. I STILL have not seen the second half of Molly’s Game and my wife knows I am getting VERY antsy.
29. I should be a commercial for Act Mouthwash, and you should use it too unless you like horrible dentist visits.
30. I love my Droid Turbo and camera so much I might see if I can run the timeline to FIVE years of ownership.
31. I hate when doctors ask me if I want to spend $15 or $20 for some extra item they do, like some cataract thing or fluoride rinse or whatever…they make me feel bad about not shelling out a few bucks for my long term health.
32. The Lakers shot free throws like Andre Drummond any time before this year and STILL won (2-14).
33. They are working on trademarks, and The Minnesota Miracle is such a boring name if you ask me.
34. Wow, Robby Anderson, I don’t even think my mom would allow me to write what you said to that cop, so I won’t.
35. You know we live in a world with too much media coverage when I saw an article telling me how Enes Kanter wants to retire as a Knick.
36. Every time I subdue my hatred for Duke, they do something like pull ALL THREE top recruits by getting The Dunkmaster, Zion Williamson.
37. You people who don’t follow NBA basketball and need simplified to do lists should note that you SHOULD remember the name Zion Williamson.
38. The Raiders either DID the Rooney Rule in hiring Gruden or just did a good enough job of making sure everyone read the flow chart on their fake hiring process.
39. Maria Sharapova apparently is NOT back as she not only lost, but got SMOKED.
40. I feel like I really didn’t need to know Halladay had some drugs in his system-I was fine with the story I got and wanted to let him rest in peace.
41. Every time to this day I hear the acoustic version of STP’s Plush, I get chills still.
42. I went to Butcher’s Bistro Friday for dinner before our Cervantes show, and will throw in their burger at 5 or 6 in my CO rankings.
43. The Mets depressed me this week by bringing back Tim Tebow for spring training.
44. I feel OK with just understanding their is an overload of backcourt Western stars and MAKING a spot for Russell Westbrook in the starting lineup.
45. I still don’t know exactly how this NBA ASG draft thing even works or understand why it isn’t televised.
46. Even Gronk didn’t talk like Mike Mitchell (overlooking the Jags for the Pats) and said the Jags would be the best team the Pats faced this season.
47. The Steelers needed a first grade school to send THEM playbook ideas before their Jags game, as I am sure grade schoolers would at least include a QB sneak.
48. Because of our company’s company band including me and my bandmates list of songs we played, I CAN’T get Shake It Off by Taylor Swift out of my head and it is horrible.
49. That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Will I blog tomorrow?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

01/17/18

1. Lane Kiffin has hired Charlie Weis, Jr., and if things don’t work out, Charlie can still live on his dad’s previous 6 team contracts.
2. Hey, Kaep Haters, he has officially finished his promise of donating $1 million WITHOUT a job.
3. I don’t dive into politics on this site, but how COOL is it that both Koreas are rolling together for the Olympics?
4. That unfortunately kicks the Jamaican women qualifying for the Olympics in bobsledding 30 years after the men did not quite as cool.
5. Whether it be Aaron Afflalo, Trevor Ariza, or whoever, isn’t it better that the NBA players are just fighting among themselves again now?
6. The story about the WSU QB committing suicide is easily the saddest story I have read this year.
7. Our friend, John, who crashes with us once a month on his work trips is OFFICIALLY now hooked on Shark Tank, and that happens, especially when staying at our house.
8. If you haven’t heard or read the name Maame Biney, you might as well prepare yourself for the onslaught of media coverage, and she is a classy chick about to go mainstream.
9. I am glad that an Eagles fan punched a police horse (repeatedly) because that is what the Eagles fans bring to the table when their team is in the playoffs.
10. If you “love” college football, then you gave a hoorah for Bryce Love coming back so we can enjoy his talents for another year in Palo Alto.
11. I don’t care if they have injuries, I remember a time not that long ago when Wisconsin wouldn’t have gotten run OUT of the gym by any level of Purdue team.
12. I still think the Senekot commercial is beyond weird, and I think they KNOW this because I keep seeing it MORE now.
13. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the commercial for the new Corporate TV series coming out, mainly because it has a guy in his office who is yelling at something to no one in particular, and then yells more when he finds out he missed out on free pizza at work.
14. I thought Alienist was an old show, not a new one…
15. Dominoes now has a “carryout insurance” for pizza???????
16. That is insane, but I love it for probably the reason that I think the earth revolves around a big slice of pizza in space.
17. And THAT is not nearly as weird as Kyrie Irving says.
18. I was depressed to hear the Ball brothers combined for 60 points in a game in Lithuania, but my depression turned to happiness when I didn’t see any LaVar comments minutes AFTER they did this.
19. I guess it was probably the middle of the night over here though when they did that.
20. I love Denver weather, because it is supposed to be 75 degrees on Friday, and 35 degrees on Saturday.
21. My company meeting piano/singing experience went just fine, but mainly because we found a lead singer, and I could just chill out in the back playing piano to my dumb parodies singing backup vocals.
22. My voice is basically the PERFECT karaoke voice, good when you don’t EXPECT high quality and just want to see a guy try to hit high notes, almost doing it, but doing enough air guitar to camouflage it.
23. Speaking of Glam Rock (note that I capitalize it) and Shark Tank, Mark Cuban was oddly the one who bought in to two guys with long hair ties for men, with one guy setting recently the Guiness Book of World Record for most consecutive days head banging in the Grand Canyon.
24. 14 if you care.
25. I feel like my irritation to this Nassar thing is building to the same level as the Sandusky thing-everyone just air out all of your stuff in ONE week, and we can crucify him and move on with our lives.
26. I felt closure after finding out that the Bama player who VERY oddly fought coaching staff midway through the title game was already on his way out, transferring to Tennessee State.
27. JUST when we thought WVU might challenge KU for the Big 12 title streak, they piss off a feisty, but not deep, KU squad and get beat at HOME.
28. This March is going to be even more chaotic then normal, and do NOT let anyone in your bracket pool tease you for picking a 3-8 seed winning it all this year.
29. I want to make sure I have this straight-so UW picked up their QB from UGA, but then lost one of THEIR QB’s to UCLA…got it.
30. So, KD is talking about NBA team ownership when we are focusing all of our time even trying to LIKE him after switching teams?
31. The Giants picked up McCutchen and I would worry about the quick demise of my team if I am a Pirates fan.
32. There is no WAY I believe that Mularkey and the Titans parted “mutually.”
33. Cue the Seinfeld clip.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac2Nq33SEx4
34. I didn’t even know that Aaron Rodgers was single, but I guess dating Danica Patrick gets you the hot celebrity knowing you always have hand with your one title.
35. Cue the Seinfeld clip.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBXwfmUpHOA
36. I am very sorry that the Cranberries singer died, but more scared I would say that I have to hear that horrible song, Zombie, more in the next week.
37. I agree that Drew Brees is a great guy, he obviously doesn’t understand the negotiating tool of “leverage” saying he wants to come back so soon.
38. HIM I forgive for announcing his intentions right after a loss, because HIS loss was due to a miracle, and the Steelers loss was due to no prep, game management, and looking ahead.
39. So, I guess this is the year that Venus takes off kind of, as she is a wizard at winning or almost winning, or losing in the first round.
40. What the HELL is wrong with Fultz’s SHOT?
41. This is like the very unproven, poor man’s version of Rick Ankiel.
42. Rodman just got arrested in Newport Beach, and that might ignite my Rant Squad mentions again, as I was worried about him.
43. So, a guy actually went from being the Bama OC and winning titles every other year to the BILLS OC, where you get happy if the sun comes out above a freezing temperature?
44. If I am Kevin Sumlin, I am VERY glad my new landing spot is Arizona with a decent cupboard, as opposed to going to some small school to prove my chops all over again.
45. I still don’t understand A&M getting rid of him, as it is not exactly like they were winning anything lately ANYWAY.
46. UVA basketball is not glamorous, boring to watch if you are not a hoops junkie, but VERY, VERY good.
47. That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Will I blog again?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

01/14/18

1. The sloth commercial has become funnier in our household ever since Lindsey booked a painting sloth Gallery On The Go gig at the Denver Aquarium… WITH an actual painting sloth.
2. I liked the fact that the Eagles had actual dog masks for their game given that they were the first #1 seed to be an underdog playing a 6 seed.
3. It was on SNL last night so it must be real, I am serious about moving IF Oprah gets a sniff at the POTUS, and can’t we just have one “normal” president in between this Trump debacle or whichever other pop culture non-politician we have next?
4. When I watch SNL, I sometimes get confused whether it is an actual commercial being shown next or an SNL skit, and that fact is magnified ever since I saw an ACTUAL commercial for the Trumpy Bear.
5. Just when we thought MSU was back to its dominant ways, a not very good Michigan team thumps them AT HOME.
6. TOLD you the Texas Tech-WVA game was a trap game.
7. UVA, if they win today against NC State, which they will, will move up to #2 in the country in hoops, mind you.
8. Has aioli always existed in our culture and how did I JUST start putting it on everything and dipping everything IN it just in the last year IF it did exist previously?
9. For those hoping Clemson will just go away, they returned FOUR underclassmen as of yesterday that could go higher rounds in the NFL draft.
10. Yeah, them and UGA are going NOWHERE.
11. I am waiting for someone to SUE the government after the Hawaii missile crisis alert that ruined one person’s daily activities, as if you can sue a company for too hot of coffee, then the slippery slope would obviously extend to this also.
12. I went to Tap XIV last night because the owner is Mike Hayter (who I helped to open his original bar downtown when bartending) and immediately got the mac and cheese and it was delicious.
13. I love mac and cheese more than most things in life.
14. For those of you thinking you are not dragging yourself to the gym enough, in my 20 lb losing cycle over the last couple of months, I belong to THREE gyms along with having my work workout room, and work out sometimes TWICE in a day with a torn rotator cuff…suck it up.
15. I got the best thing the other day, a heterosexual married guy at work I don’t talk to much telling me I look good these days and asked about how much I was working out and whether I was watching my eating also.
16. For the record, my “diet” is not proactively looking for bad food, but not adverse to it either.
17. Basically, I don’t swing by McDonald’s on my own, but if free pizza shows up on my work desk or my wife asks me if I want some Good Times on her way home, I don’t fight it.
18. I finally am looking my age unfortunately, as Lindsey stopped by Williams Tavern for a drink, Foolin by Def Leppard came on when I was nowhere close to the jukebox, and I was asked by a random customer if I played that song since I was the only person in the bar who fit that age range.
19. I am about to shave my head, as my gray hair ruins my new appearance physically.
20. I am NOT putting hair coloring in my freaking hair.
21. The Titans scored first yesterday and gave people hope it would be a game, but the Pats are about the only team who can look in the mirror, get pissed at being scored on, and go down the field in a minute and score immediately to tie it up.
22. I am not sure of the age range of Olympic level skiers and snowboarders, but I know what a perfect score is, and I know that Shaun White got one in qualifying.
23. Sure, the Warriors won against the Raptors, but the comeback by the Raptors and, more importantly, the TWO missed FT’s by Curry were very much oddities.
24. The fact that the New England game opened up with my favorite song, Here I Go Again, is a good sign for the weekend, and most people don’t realize that that hit song was originally written in 1982, and I know this because I used all of my allowance money on older Whitesnake tapes when I fell in love with the band.
25. Way to set the bar, Landon Donovan, by retiring and then being a 1980’s boxer and coming back within two years.
26. I was just thinking that it has been a while since Reuben Foster got into any trouble, and glad he resolved THAT issue.
27. Keith Jackson died, he will ALWAYS be known as possibly the greatest college football announcer ever, and his “fumble” and Whoa Nellie” comments will always resonate with me eternally.
28. Our cats needed their vaccinations, we take them to a discount clinic where you have to stand in line, and my wife seemed to think initially that I could do that task on my own, apparently forgetting that, embraced image or not, a guy holding two cats in carriers in a line full of dogs is about as emasculating as any event can be in life.
29. She went with me in the end.
30. So, the Alamo Draft House being full stopped us from seeing The Shape of Water Friday night, waiting on Lindsey’s sister to get back in town postponed the finished watching of Molly’s Game, nothing else was showing at a good time, so we ended up seeing The Greatest Showman, and it was painful as it was a musical, but not as bad as I thought it would be.
31. When you have MoviePass, you just GO SEE MOVIES as much as possible.
32. You can’t beat $10 a month.
33. This is all painful because I STILL have to see The Shape of Water, Ladybird, and The Darkest Hour BEFORE the Oscars.
34. In golf, there is actually a “Eurasia Cup????”
35. There are a lot of teams that I imagine could lose mental toughness, but very weird seeing that lost edge come from a LeBron led team.
36. For better or worse for the ears of passers by, I am singing some of the songs at our company party next week along with playing the keys, and someone at FWI with a voice needs to STEP UP, as singing JT is NOT an easy task.
37. I am an ex-tennis state player, appreciate tennis more than most, love the Aussie Open, and would give you my picks, but this is still football time in my life.
38. The Navy triple option coach might take over Arizona????
39. That just SOUNDS weird.
40. Yes, the Orioles would have been fools for not resigning Machado.
41. I have a feeling that getting the most amount of first time arbitration money will NOT be the only record Kris Bryant sets in his career.
42. Donald Trump, I know I am not the most IN the know about world politics (ironic since I was pol-sci in college), but being on the ESPN wire is NOT a good thing for the President of the US.
43. I had my first burger in a while at Highland Tap and Burger (actually the Sloan’s Lake location), it was very good, it stays in my top five of CO burgers, but probably at the lower part of that top 5 after Justice Snow’s, Humboldt, Park & Co.
44. No, 50 Cent, you should NOT take up the Mets offer on throwing out the first pitch again because your legend in that domain can only get WORSE.
45. The Sixers and The Process are doing fine, but is Fultz having a Rick Ankiel moment as his practice shot looks AWFUL?
46. Waking the Lions by Pop Evil and Lifelines by I Prevail are still reigning kings on my workout song present rankings.
47. It came up in conversation at work because we had a classical music Fun Friday thing going on, and yes, I am on record as an ex-classical pianist as saying Mozart was overrated and Beethoven, Liszt, and Chopin OWNED him.
48. In case you wanted to start liking women’s college basketball, that big showdown this week between 2 of the top 3 teams ended up in a 33 point delta, so I guess you are free and clear on that front for another little while.
49. I read the article about Pop and Aldridge having dinners and hashing out his trade request, it was very interesting, and kept me respecting Pop SOOOO much in the coaching world.
50. I knew ASU was a little overrated at the beginning of the season, but still knew they had good guard play overall, and never saw the floor just dropping OUT coming so soon.
51. I love watching Shark Tank so much, and I would say the only downfall is that since I am in sales, I demand no talking during the show since I want to hear all of the sales strategies.
52. So, basically, I am not very fun to watch it WITH.
53. My colleague made a good point Friday that when high socks were old people socks, young people wore ankle socks, and now that ankle socks are worn by everyone, the young people are now wearing the highest socks possible to man.
54. I have mentioned our entire executive team wears vests at work, and I only have a puffy blue outdoor vest in my closet, and will just wait until a promotion years from now before I wear THAT.
55. Pink will sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl this year, and considering I JUST figured out that when people where Pink on their clothing that this is NOT Pink-musician related, I would say I am not the best person to come up with jokes on this.
56. Does The Commuter movie just have the Taken guy on his way home from somewhere?
57. That’s it for today.  Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed.  Will I blog again?   That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.

01/11/18

1. I will post another one tomorrow or Saturday.  Just have some time and getting a couple of things out.
2. I called it before his final season at AZ and am right so far, as Lauri Markkanen is becoming a STUD…think Dirk with some beef to play more inside but still with the SWEET shot.
3. Of course, this week has been Lou Williams week…dude is on fire, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see another 50 point game soon…he is playing off the bench, people, for the most part.
4. I am ex-military and love the Army, but don’t they have better things to do than be offended that a hockey team uses the same nickname as their parachute team?
5. Saw an article that Chris Foerster was opening up on his cocaine using event, and that dude should probably NOT talk too much more to any mic or anyone with a recorder.
6. Dion Waiters will be having season ending ankle surgery, and that makes me sad as I enjoy his tunnel vision comments about how HE is the best player and a superstar for some reason.
7. An Alabama coach had the team’s playbook stolen right before the title game, and I guess their were no Tua plays in there at that moment.
8. I am just saying “Tua” as I am still learning to pronounce his last name, let alone spell it.
9. I am narrowing down my next FOCUSED article and it will probably be a dual article covering both the NFL weekend and/or LaVar Ball.
10. I will get to the recent Bell comments another day.
11. Not many people happier on this earth than me hearing the news there will be another Canelo-GGG fight…need more closure.
12. Might be just me, but did ANYONE else know there was an NBA game happening in LONDON?
13. One of my cats is always being chased by the other cat, and I am trying to figure out if that IS their game, or whether the cat being chased is going through a living hell of being in a small condo with a cat she hates.
14. Adam Silver is saying he is against televising the NBA ASG actual draft, and that is BS because IF you have this street ball pickup game draft, then you HAVE to go all in and SHOW us it.
15. I don’t care what he meant, or whether you found it harmless, Blake Bortles should not go ANYWHERE close to mentioning LeBron in any comparison involving him.
16. Lindsey asked me if I would be down for her buying another $25 for $50 GroupOn for Maggiano’s and you should know IF you have the MoviePass (which I have told you to get) and if you want the most underrated brunch spot on 16th Street Mall, then you should get that coupon TOO.
17. I am pretty sure we ALL know that Davis did not follow the Rooney Rule is his pursuit of Gruden and his comments, although not needed to prove this, solidify it and pretty much dig his own hole.
18. Rodney Hood is a Duke product who should carry himself with class even when in the NBA, and I think him knocking that phone out of the guy’s hand IS a big deal.
19. This whole refs-players NBA thing has snuck up on us, and make it go away quickly.
20. I watched OKC-Minnesota last night and didn’t really even care about the score, because listening to Hubie Brown announce a game is heaven in itself.
21. I love mock drafts, and admit to reading at least one NFL AND NBA one this week.
22. If you care, my boy, Trae Young, has moved from 19th to SIXTH now.
23. I feel happiness when I watch Shark Tank because I love the show and characters, but get depressed shortly after because I have not invented anything and put energy towards it (well, except this blog).
24. The Commuter is getting a LOT of good hype, or I am just a sucker for above average Liam Neeson flicks.
25. I have a particular set of skills…
26. It was announced that Baker Mayfield was eligible for the NFL Combine, and I for one was aware of that as an issue as much as I was that there was an NBA game being played in London this week.
27. I have gotten to the point where I actually READ an article about Jamil Wilson giving an STD to a woman and the Lakers reneging on his contract just BECAUSE it didn’t have LaVar Ball ANYWHERE in the article.
28. Because I read THAT useless article, I did NOT read the artciel on the sports agent filming his clients in his shower.
29. How many of his clients come over and TAKE showers?
30. Maybe the agent world IS like Ballers.
31. When should I delete these posts by the way?  Every week?  What?  You are right.  I will just keep writing until it tells me I have to delete some.
32. For Bama, Calvin Ridley is going pro and Damien Harris is staying, meaning we get to hear more about the stable of WR’s for them this offseason as opposed to their stable of RB’s.
33. UCF has asked Bama to play them on a couple of city billboards, and THAT is absolutely adorable.
34. I would love Bill Snyder to join Norv Turner on the Panthers staff just so I can make age jokes.
35. Mudslides now, and I have had to check in on my buddy in Santa Barbara a LOT more than I expected a year ago for natural disasters.
36. Hope things don’t happen in three’s and that OBVIOUS natural disaster doesn’t occur, bud.
37. I am ALREADY tired of talking about Kevin Durant scoring 20k and let’s just move on.
38. Purdue basketball is pretty darn good and not talked about NEAR enough heading towards March.
39. So, Washington had slightly down year, get their star QB back, AND get the leftovers from Jake Fromm becoming a star (Eason is transferring), and sounds like a DAMN good week for U-Dub.
40. Iowa State lost to KU at Allen the other night, but that was a CLOSE game heading into the final two minutes, and KU should be concerned.
41. They really have a concerning lack of depth even though we know Self has won with a limited rotation before.
42. I really, really hope that I don’t have to hear game stats from Lithuania of EVERY Ball brother game.
43. Richie Incognito says that his racial slurs were a misunderstanding, and we all believe HIM like we believe that Davis didn’t violate the Rooney Rule.
44. I am NOT a Raiders fan in the least bit (except for missing the old school Raiders-Steelers clashes) but am still excited for Gruden to be a coach again.
45. Next up?  Cowher.
46. Is everyone coming around to the fact that the Virginia Cavaliers are pretty freaking GOOD?
47. They beat decent Cuse and UNC teams HANDILY.
48. Remember way back when to the time when A&M losing by 1 to UK at UK would be a funny joke?
49. UK might have only TWO guys drafted this year in the first round of the NBA draft…slackers.
50. Lindsey is hosting an event with a painting sloth, and I wanted to go watch this sloth…I mean support her…but apparently they are hundreds of dollars for tix.
51. I know I didn’t really move out of the US when Trump was elected like I said I would do, but I REALLY am moving if Oprah gets a sniff of POTUS.
52. I am glad they tucked the story about Craig Sager leaving NOTHING to the kids from his first marriage because I only want to remember him for really, really GOOD things.
53. I really, really, REALLY love everything there is about the Arby’s commercials on TV, and it isn’t just about Puddy and Seinfeld stuff.
54. I am surprised and kind of sad that Mayhem is already back, and was thinking they would at least wait for the Super Bowl instead of the CFP title game.
55. I knew nothing about this Hostiles movie, but DAMN have they sold me like they have with The Commuter, and WILL see it.
56. I would like to thank whoever is in charge of the NFL playoff schedule, because they picked the ONLY time slot on the weekend that successfully got me out of some baby shower I promised I would go to with Lindsey.
57. Lindsey went to the rodeo, she had fun, but since I had gone a few days before, I had already used my non-country guy “rodeo quota” for 2018.
58. I have funny stuff to say on the BBB-LaVar Ball story, but will save it in case I write the focus article on him.
59. Kind of a quiet story for people who don’t live and breathe sports, but the double whammy for US soccer was not only NOT getting a World Cup bid but ALSO having Jonathan Gonzalez proclaim he will play for Mexico and not the US (dual citizenship) was brutal and future damaging.
60. The MSU big time loss to Ohio State was shocking, BUT know that MSU will still win it all, and Ohio State is dangerous to play the second weekend in March.
61. I have matured on another food front, as my wife has convinced me that squash kind of tastes like weird, decent still pasta.
62. In betting, I just need to stop betting on pro football, as I lost EVERY wildcard game but stayed even somehow due to NAILING conference hoops.
63. I had insightful, and funny, notes from the title game for the CFP, but that seems like old news at this point.
64. Due to his injury, I will oddly miss figuring out how Andy Murray has not won more Grand Slam titles.
65. When Kawhi Leonard comes back from THIS injury, we will once again wonder HOW the Spurs stayed in the playoff hunt without him…again.
66. After watching the Golden Globes, I obviously have to see unknowns Ladybird and The Shape of Water and that Billboard movie, as they will rule the Oscars also I guess.
67. It will be HARDER to find fun Manziel CFL stories, but PLEASE…FIND THEM.
68. I have to go listen to Bill Walton announce a college basketball game.  Talk to you next time.

01/07/18

1. This is unedited and just my stream of consciousness, so sorry for any grammatical errors.
2. Some of these, as we go on over the months, will be repeat for old school readers, but since I don’t plan on deleting this much, some things need repeating for the record.
3. I will be adding MANY more pictures (my mom reads this too so needs to be updated), but not this round as I am just getting this concept going first.
4. Rich Rodriguez should have just stayed at West Virginia and not followed greener grass.
5. I think people are wronging themselves by going to In-N-Out and not researching the secret menu.
6. Jon Gruden takes over the most optimal situation he can with a coach needed organization, complete with a franchise QB, star WR, stud offensive line, and simply a defense that needs a little help.
7. I don’t know exactly what a “bomb cyclone” is, but it sounds horrible and I think whoever is in charge of the naming committee needs to understand the day we live in and eliminate at least the “bomb” part.
8. This is a shot of me at the Rose Bowl right before I went to hat backwards mode, and apparently I was very concerned about my hat (which I always am).  
9. Yes, UVA hoops has a slight lack of offensive prowess inside, but they have sharp shooter, their defense remains beyond strong, and they will still be a tough out in March.
10. I am very curious to see how the Cavs (NBA version) adjust their offensive approach and rotation with IT coming back.
11. I would want Baker Mayfield on my roster if I am an NFL guy.
12. When I saw what appears to be a REAL commercial on the Trumpy Bear, I thought someone had slipped me acid that day.
13. I went through Orange County airport last weekend, the resemblance to Dulles is on point, and they both have gates with plenty of room, more space than they need, and everything looks like it was made in 1978.
14. Marlena Shaw wrote a song called California Soul a while back, and I have decided there is nothing better than heading to CA and listening to that song on the plane.
15. There are two NHL divisions with all winning teams.
16. There is only ONE NBA team with single digit losses.
17. There are NO NBA teams with double digit losses.
18. There are NO unbeaten college basketball teams this early in the season.
19. I absolutely LOVE this.  Imaginary low fives after a free throw.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpHsg2vZ5bc
20. In case you are curious, my luck of ALWAYS losing tickets continues, as we didn’t even get to our Rose Bowl seat before I had lost track of my ticket…MANY old stories very similar.
21. I think one of my favorite parts of t he Rose Bowl besides the game was the drunk Michigan State guy shirtless, painted in green, yelling Go Spartans.
22. Stop talking about whether Paul George will leave after this year, as I only care about THIS year right now in the NBA.
23. It is INSANE that Steph Curry has come back from being injured lighting up MORE than before.
24. You can love or hate women’s hoops, but getting a QUAD double is still ridiculous.
25. I am very sad to report (for me) that The Westin in St. John will NOT be open in 2018, and therefore our Dixon family trip will have to be elsewhere.
26. I don’t remember only seeing HALF of a GREAT movie in the theater ever, can’t wait to see the rest, and Molly’s Game struck me as the female lead Rounders.
27. Sundays should be a day of rest from LaVar Ball BS, and I am not enjoying the constant updates from Lithuania EITHER.
28. For some reason, the conversation came up at work about identifying yourself with a type of dog, and after the guy next to me said he was a poodle, I decided I am a lab (water loving).
29. I agree with Paul Pierce that he shouldn’t have to share his once in a lifetime event of being honored by the Celtics with Thomas.
30. The Greek Freak was already scary, but very alarming (for the rest of the league) that he is starting to drain mid range jumpers TOO.
31. All of the football stories I talk about are null and void when you realize the GREATEST football story recently is that Shazier has feeling in his legs again.
32. As far as I am concerned, Serena Williams can take as MUCH time as she wants before coming back to the tour and ruling or not ruling again.
33. Why would I spend money on catnip, cat trees, or other toys when they seem so content in empty boxes?  
34. For you newbies, YES I have two cats, no it was not my call on the first one, yes I then just figured out the one needed a friend, no we don’t have a yard or bandwidth to caretake a dog yet, and therefore I have embraced myself as TWO CAT MARK so leave the jokes in your head please.
35. Why does every running back get media pub for buying their offensive line Rolexes when we KNOW they can afford them easily?
36. Mike Elko left Notre Dame for the same position at A&M and that is the definition of a confusing lateral move if you ask me.
37. I feel like if we put a camera on Todd Haley that we would know more about NYE this year AND make all of our lives much more interesting.
38. I will admit that the Roomba was a good purchase, VERY entertaining to watch, but my animals have NOT scaled it yet and therefore made me sad.
39. I don’t drink anymore and still find it weird saying “let’s grab lunch” instead of “let’s grab some beers.”
40. CU beat ASU and Zona back to back, and I can’t decide if that is more uplifting for typically weak Front Range hoops or simply a downer for the state of Arizona hoops.
41. Both were at CU though, so the whole altitude thing DOES come into play.
42. When the city of Buffalo sent 1440 wings to the city of Cincinnati, did they deliver them to a particular address, or did the driver just drive through the city streets randomly hoping someone would notice?
43. You can be from wherever, but a rodeo is still fun and something is wrong with you if you don’t concur.
44. We keep going to the rodeo on the first weekend by chance, and keep missing all of the small cool smaller animals AND my favorite thing, which is the dog trying to corral the sheep through an obstacle course.
45. Well, at least Joe Thornton lost some of his beard in a hockey fight NOT during the playoffs, when beards are important.
46. Lamar Jackson declared, and that is right, as their is really nothing else he can do on a lesser team for his draft stock.
47. I found the Pats article very entertaining and just hope all of that is true, even though I know it is probably not.
48. I Prevail is my new workout group, and I admit they are not high quality, but I have found three more songs besides Lifelines (Scars, The Worst Part of Me, and Rise) that serve my perfect workout regime purpose.
49. After being defeated by Cyborg, I believe that Andy Warhol would agree that Holly Holm has officially HAD her 15 minutes.
50. After all that he has been through, firing Chuck Pagano had to be a really, really TOUGH meeting by ANYONE with a conscience.
51. Danny Shelton’s boombox suitcase/bag was beyond awesome.
52. Before the last game (don’t feel like looking it up), the Broncos were 5-0 when running more than passing and 0-10 when passing more than running.
53. I feel like Jon Gruden, Coach K, and Pete Carroll have been frozen on their age for the last 15 years.
54. I am very disturbed that anyone with any mind would want to remake the TV show Roseanne.
55. The only thing more disturbing than UCF holding a fake championship parade is the Browns holding a city wide 0-16 parade.
56. Barring injury, and I said this even before the Mavs drafted him, we will be talking about Dennis Smith to future generations on his greatness.
57. Do you think Vance Johnson simply starts every conversation with anyone in the Broncos organization with “Did you get me a QB yet?”
58. The Bengals and Broncos are in the same boat (one long term and the other short term) in the way that they can NOT complain about coaching because they stayed in the game with a pair of 8’s.
59. I believe that everyone in a sane mind, when hearing Carson Palmer retired, simply said “well, he needs to” as that is what I said.
60. I don’t think there is anything more perfect in the world than Mike Tyson opening a full service cannabis resort.
61. Kris Dunn finally hit 30 points in a game, and FINALLY shows like his high draft picking MIGHT be merited.
62. In THIS day and age of the NBA, that one game probably netted him a max contract in future years.
63. The UVA hoops win over a very good UNC was definitive and VERY impressive.
64. I LOVE the commercial with Chris Paul and James Harden for Statefarm with Paul singing that boy band tune.
65. I just said “boy band tune” because I can never remember what songs the Backstreet Boys sang and which ones the NSync sang.
66. The Rams will continue to be good, but the Falcons were experienced, the Rams weren’t, and the Rams really need a more powerful home venue and fast.
67. There is some stat floating around about WHEN the two title game football finalists match up in basketball the weekend before, the team that wins that wins in football too.
68. That is all the positive I will give you, UGA.
69. SOOOOO cool that the CB who chose OU over the Horns was spotted in a pre-decision photo doing the horns down hand thing.
70. Not only was it special listening to Gruden’s last game as an analyst, but we got a good game to boot.
71. I watched SOME of that game in silence as the girls came back from brunch and blasted music while doing their nails after mimosas…talk about a collision of worlds.  
72. SEC hoops is VERY confusing when trying to figure out who is good and who is not.
73. I saw my first Masters commercial and admittedly got excited.
74. The Senecot prescription medicine commercial for constipation still really bothers me.
75. I like Rex Ryan’s segment’s name…Rexplanation…clever.
76. VERY interesting that Case Keenum MIGHT just follow his OC and where he goes.
77. I like the CONCEPT of the DirectTV commercials with things we don’t want to happen to us, but think I could think of better ideas for it.
78. That’s it for this segment.  Talk to you next time.  Peace.