The Soggy Dollar
The Soggy Dollar
The Cast
Date: 08/15/2019
FILLERBUSTER’S ELEVEN
BACKGROUND: This started as a long-winded numbered blog. It transformed into an organized long-winded category blog. Now, it is a quick-hitter to ease your pain. I lack time. So, the preparation of the blog actually made me procrastinate from writing the thing. Let’s see who makes the cut. Barely edited as usual unfortunately, so please excuse any mistakes during my stream of consciousness. I feel the need…the need for speed. Let’s turn and burn.
SETTING: This is written in 30 minutes on Thursday early evening post-work in very abbreviated form, not edited, and released. Too much pre-trip stuff to do to be long-winded.
- EVERGREEN: It is a whole different ballgame having Antonio Brown on someone else’s team. When he was a Steeler, his antics were refreshing, hip, out of the box, and a result of football genius. Now, I read the national wire, and find him irritating, unintelligent, and overrated. I won’t go that way full. I know he is a special talent. But, sitting on the other side of the fence listening to helmet complaints, frostbitten feet, and unpaid $38k restaurant tabs has me asking for silence in a way. And, I am confused. When he arrived to camp in a hot air balloon, is that himself admitting that he is full of a bunch of hot air? Bad joke. Sorry. Whatever the method, genius, or reasons, I hope he underachieves and watches the Steelers on TV in the playoffs. Ben might have been sort of a jerk, but we will see what happens when AB’s new QB isn’t listening to every complaint in the huddle this year about not looking his way. Simmer down until you show us you are legit on your new team, Antonio. Especially, since that team is going nowhere this season. But, there is a bright side to all of this. They will be in Las Vegas next year. AB in Vegas? That asks for excitement and arrests.
- NFL: Dak Prescott has apparently turned down $30 million a year. He apparently has some other rings on his fingers that look like title rings. He was 15th in passing yards, 10th in completion percentage, 16th in TD’s thrown, and 19th in QBR. And he played the whole season. What am I missing? No titles, middle of the pack stats, and nothing prominent to show except for a “high ceiling.” Meanwhile, poor Andrew Luck is seemingly making up different injuries on his team, and the guy can’t catch a break. But, when he IS healthy, he is dirty. Stop it, Dak.
- COLLEGE FOOTBALL: Two things. Bama. Now, I know they have an assembly line of talent at every position, but they have lost for the season their new star freshman RB AND a primary linebacker. You can’t have too many losses before the other SEC teams will pounce. A&M, Georgia, and others are right on their heels. Second. Miami Hurricanes chose their starting QB for the season. Jarren Williams. He is chosen over N’Kosi Perry and Tate Martell. That is not the story though. Tate Martell purposely transferred FROM Ohio State to start for another team. And now he is back where he would be at Ohio State…on the bench.
- COLLEGE BASKETBALL: Two things. One, the NCAA amended the Rich Paul, no college, no job rule. And that is great. But what I want to know is this. HOW do a bunch of smart people get together in a room, make a massive new rule change, and NOT think about the obvious backlash it would have? Great that they amended it. Not sure how it got approved in the first place. Second, N’Faly Dante (what a cool name) picked Oregon oddly over Kentucky. Kentucky is losing some recruiting wars suddenly, and to schools not named Kansas, North Carolina, Duke, Arizona, etc. Anyway, big pull for Oregon, as they get the #3 center and #12 recruit overall.
- NBA: As far as the upcoming FIBA tournament, read my last blog for my thoughts on that. The NBA released their schedule. I glance at it, but don’t think it means what it used to. Aside from the 2016 Spurs, who you play, where you play, and when you play don’t mean as much in an 82 game season. In the 80’s, defending home court was a must, as home court advantage in the playoffs was everything. I think we have seen a slight shift over the years, and the schedule means a little less to me and some of the teams. Just go out there and handle your business, as you will play everyone. The other thing I saw this week was about Sebastian Telfair. He was arrested on gun possession. It was only 2004 when he was drafted. And, most people probably won’t know his name. The kid was one of the first to cut a shoe deal pre-draft out of high school, on the cover of magazines, and was the next coming. Well, he was. He was the next coming of wasted talent and wrong priorities.
- MLB: The Orioles beat the Astros, with Verlander on the mound, at +420. This was the biggest upset in baseball in like 15 years. Not sure I am blown away by that, since there are 162 games in every baseball season. A-Rod had more stuff stolen out of a rental car than I have seen in my entire life. $500k. Must be nice. Chris Sale was the fastest to 2000 k’s and that is not a surprise, and Yasiel Puig is now an American citizen, which is.
- MISCELLANEOUS: Triple doubles are amazing in basketball, but I think the triple double Simone Biles did might top them all. Sorry, Oscar, Russell, etc. Anyway, when we talk about most dominant athletes in the world, and the GOAT, let’s not sweep gymnastics under the carpet. Simone might kick our ass if we do. The other thing of note is Ohio State. They want to trademark the word “The.” Fancy. Listen, I went to one of the THE UNIVERSITIES (UVA). Miami, Virginia, and Ohio State. Miami might say something to the media about it, UVA is too low-key to care about Ohio State doing this (as we know what is up and are happy to keep our aloofness to ourselves in our shy Southern manner), and Ohio State is just doing this for show. We get it. Kind of dumb, but also kind of Ohio State-y. And remember, they also did the same thing for the name Urban Meyer, Woody Hayes, and other oddities. Anyway, good luck with all of that, as Jerry Seinfeld would say, and we will all move on.
- GOLF: Bryson DeChambeau is defending the onslaught of playing slowly by saying he gets TO the ball more quickly than others. Please. Basically, this should be a non-item. They are professionals, and they are very good at a hard game. But, Tiger got them their prize money, people are still watching, and they will LOSE people if Bryson clones himself. PLAY MORE QUICKLY. I get you have your special procession that has made you visualize all of these good shots and stories from childhood about your practice swings…but STOP it. Find a way to make it within the pace of play and attention spans of the watchers. Bryson, if you were going out, winning every week while shooting 63’s, I would let you take 24 hours for your round. But you aren’t. You are just another pro golfer thus far.
- THIS AND THAT: I am getting backed up on time, so the next two will be quick. I watched Dumbo because my wife likes cartoon movies. It sucked, except for being a happy cartoon movie. Rambo is an underrated comeback movie for that trilogy and not appreciated enough. Watched it late night when Linds was asleep. Watch the Good Boys while I am gone. I will be jealous, and it is first on my list upon my return. I didn’t know there was a show called Island Hunters, and it is as depressing as Shark Tank to watch. Natural Light is now making s piked seltzer, and that is only funny for frat guys like me that are 40 plus. People are buying shares to Ford, but it is for a tiny medical device company. The friend of the Dayton shooter somehow didn’t have a clue of his buddy’s plan, even though he bought him body armor. Mike Tyson smoked $40k of weed a month to no one’s surprise. I assume he got his face tattoo while high. Bella Thorne directed a porn film, which is surprising for an ex-Disney star. I heard a line from Jay Leno the other day that reminded me of my blog. Do more in shorter lengths of time, because you will still be writing jokes/hooks right up to the day of the shooting, whether it is a day apart or a week.
- THE FILLERBUSTER: The band Ghost sounds exactly like Dokken with heavier bass, you could put any Greta Van Fleet song on any Led Zeppelin album, and it would coexist nicely. Man, I loved Dokken. They were in my wedding vows. Again, KBPI must be making loads of money playing Imagine Dragons every day. The DJ even sounds pained. The Wheat Ridge thing was fun over the weekend. No time to show you my awesome pics, and unfortunately those pics will be trumped by St. John pics next time. At the Wheat Ridge thing, our buddy played in the Austin Young Band. Before this guy becomes big time, you should see him. He reminds me of a cross between Stevie Ray Vaughn, Eddie Van Halen, and Kenny Wayne Shepherd. The Kiss tribute band at Wheat Ridge was nice, but I am seeing the real thing in a month, so who cares? With Alexa in our house now, she just tells her to play Jack Johnson when she comes home to cook her magical dinner nightly. I just Alexa to play Without Me, by Halsey, as I am still in love with that song. I do what my dad did at grocery stores. I leave the cart and then go search. Last week, a worker at Safeway STOLE MY CART and UNLOADED it. Frustrating, and he obviously didn’t understand my dad’s perfect system. I have no idea how so many random swimmers can be on a schedule, but so weird how the pool I go to every morning is insanely busy, but every Thursday everyone gets their own lane. Randomness meets routine. Odd. Finally, our cat, Jackson, got a lion’s cut today. He looks hilarious, and the other cat doesn’t know who he is…again (second time for cut). I am not an expert on cat intelligence, but if your friend goes missing, and then a similar, short-haired cat suddenly appears, wouldn’t you deduct that it COULD be your friend?
- TWEET OF THE WEEK
ALTERNATE CATEGORIES
- THE BEST WORKOUT SONG EVER FOR THIS WEEK (because the best song this week IS the best song ever…for now):
- QUOTE OF THE WEEK
- LINKS TO SAVE YOU TIME IN LIFE
- TRAVEL
- THIS WEEK’S LIST
- MY NUMBERS
- GONE FISHING (the riddle for money):
- PICS BY MY PIXEL (pictures from my phone):
- LIFEGUARD ENTRY:
- NHL
The theme? Trunk Bay (one of my favorite beaches and located in St. John) lost out to the British Virgin Islands (Jost Van Dyke in particular), and the coolest bar you can go to. The Soggy Dollar. The boat throws anchor, and you have to swim to the island in another country. All they serve is Painkillers. The Soggy Dollar is the bomb. Trunk Bay isn’t mad. Soggy Dollar got the pre-trip theme nod, and Trunk Bay will probably get the post-trip one…unless I find a new beach….which we are going to try to do.
Happy trails to Darryl Drake, who died this week. Many teams are more teams than families, but the Steelers get the closest you can get to a family. The WR coach will be missed.
Another sad note was delivered to me this week. My high school tennis coach, Jim Breech, died. He taught me things about winning, losing, and the gray area along with teaching me the game of tennis itself. He taught me everything about tennis, but some highlights I remember, besides that I could be a pain for him during my playing days, were these. I joked about how cocky a guy named Mike Sell was and how he carried himself. He told me that Mike had dedicated his life to tennis, become the best by far, and therefore deserved to be a little cocky after those countless hours (I then watched Mike Golden Set someone). You work to become the best, and then you can ACT like the best. When I refused to change my slice backhand, instead opting for a Steffi Graf style of play, he talked me into playing first doubles, even though I was #2 on the singles chart. I submitted. We won all-conference, all-region, and beat the state defending champions in the final match. Basically, he hid my backhand and magnified my badass serve and forehand. Brilliant. That tennis team we had in high school was NOT your mother’s tennis team. Aside from me and a couple of crazy guys ahead of me, we had the #1 wrestler and PG from the hoops team at 2nd doubles. We had the most badass, non-stereotypical group of tennis playing dudes you have ever seen. And we beat the crap out of everyone. Our rich competitors from the north called us the hicks from South Jersey. They laughed and then left with sad faces. Jim handled us all like a genius. And Jim did one thing I will never forget. We were in the state semi-finals to a powerhouse team that won it every year. We were down 5-0 in the match, so it was over. Chris Sheppard and I were down a set and tied in the second to the unbeaten (for all four years) doubles team. He lobbied to let us continue. We won in three sets. Meaningless for the match? Yup. Meaningful for us? Yup. Sad for the undefeated badasses? Yup. Something to remember his morals and what he believed in? Definitely. Thank you, Jim. I live lessons you taught me every day, and sorry I didn’t get to tell you that in person or on a call. Rest in peace, sir. https://www.ancscremation.com/obituary/james-breech?lud=48674DE99A025846063015F7BA4D0F19
And our weekly reminder of the greatest sequel ever made coming out next summer… Top Gun 2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVRHG6z7sN8
I will talk to you during Labor Day weekend I will need plenty of chill-out, writing, lap-top time by then. San Juan for a night, St. John for a week, and then saying hello to Jimmy Buffet in Key West for a week. I plan on unplugging in St. John and they surely don’t care about sports, so my next blog might be a little more distant as far as knowledge. Peace.
That’s it for today. Hope you enjoyed or are at least more informed. Remember two things. First, feed yourself, feed your family, but always, always remember to…feed the wolf. Second, if you can’t spot the sucker in your first half hour at the table, then you are the sucker. Will I blog again? That is a CLOWN question, bro. As one shepherd said to the other shepherd, let’s get the flock out of here.
And along with being at the speakeasy William & Graham, Mick Jagger evidently had Italian food two blocks from my work. https://www.denverpost.com/2019/08/10/mick-jagger-rolling-stones-denver-lo-stella-ristorante/?fbclid=IwAR1czvKhnoIpmj_QVCgBi4j-ONKsHlbEhCUTgok4X9mdgw9OYwurTiCe5aY
And Jackson should at least make the blog this week:
| THROW IT BACK IN THE POND |
| brady doesn’t love new helmet either |
| ab loses helmet grievance |
| nfl denies tate appeal 4 games |
| giants now qb issues no wr’s-hopes jones won’t play |
| bagley withdraws fiba consideration |
| lowry out world cup thumb |
| pan am gold medalist busted doping bowling |
| espn hires back ed werder |
| bode Miller expecting twins year after losing daughter drowning |
| tiger might give it a go |
| tiger withdraws |
| serena withdraws back |
| atlanta united mls manager says equal pay is ridiculous |
| Miley Cyrus Liam Hemsworth separate |
| first scooter denver death a few blocks from our house |
| you can buy air Force one Japan version 28 mil |
| asap Rocky convicted but probation |
Steelers Randy lyft
| Sean newcomb punctures fire extinguisher |
| cards cut philon after arrest |
| cards minegar arrested dui |
| ravens trade kicker to vikings |
| nadal wins 5th rogers title |
| martinez scores in 10th consecutive straight |
| serena retires in rogers match |
| protests at pan-american games |
| brittney griner ejected |
| rich paul rule fallout |
| brady says don’t read anything into selling house |
| wr rishard matthews retires after being let go by saints |
| fortnite champ swatted at home |
| epstein |
| Hong kong |
| skins not trading trent williams |
| barca 112 mil neymar |
| titans oc yells at wr, unaware of injury |
| pats cut etling, end wr experiment |
| hbo looking at hard knocks version for bama-psu |
| Dow next to recession in news |
| Russian explosion |
| stills fins owner |
| nets owner buys rest |
| ruiz balks at fighting joshua in saudi arabia |
| manager accuses stealing signs in llws |
philly shooting narcotics
lue close to clips deal
Harvey joining a’s on minor league deal
Ussf uswnt impasse over pay
Sapp says dt mccoy not even close to legend
Mls st. louis reach deal
Diaz smokes joint visit
Man dies during taco eating contest
Zion and Langford might have been paid by nike in HS
| Jay z defends roc nation, kaep |
| new favorite player might be devin bush |
Cousins acl
Conor mcgregor hits guy in bar in Dublin
Triathletes dq’d after holding hands at finish
Earnhardt ok after plane crash
Landry jones signs with xfl
Bama fan who killed auburn trees not paying up