We don’t call them “airplane casts” anymore…I am deeper these days…

Greetings and salutations, people.  Thanks for coming aboard (the boat).  Well, a plane today, but whatever…

For those not in on the last couple of blogs, briefly…new ballgame.   I am not releasing any new direction until late May when I come back from my international cruise, but the focus is making this something, and not random dribble all the time.  Not every day.  Just when a couple days go by or when I have something to say…

Nothing to look up as this is from a plane, and being posted when I make it back to my hotel room after a long day of setting up for a tradeshow.

But, setting up for a tradeshow or not, I will never complain about going to my favorite U.S. town, San Diego.

MASTERS:

My Masters day was phenomenal with a phenomenal ending.  Sure, I was sort of rooting for Rickie Fowler too, but I have found myself pulling for Sergio Garcia for a while now.  I think once he quickened his excruciating pre-shot routine a couple years ago, I immediately realized he was likable.  Where does the time go?  To many of us, he is still that 19 year old kid at the PGA running after his blind shot from behind the tree.  TWENTY years he has been on tour.  Wow.  My wife had to be at the airport at 430am worse case Sunday.  I volunteered to drive, as I was going to have a glorious pre-Masters morning.

430am: drop wife at airport

515am: swim a mile at 24 Hour Fitness

630am: play nine holes of golf with the sun rising (made it obvious that I need a separate driving range trip-short game wasn’t horrible though)

10am: (ok, so I snuck some work in)

1130am: The District for brunch

1230pm: on couch ready to watch the leaders tee off

Mickelson surprisingly fell off on Saturday.  Spieth surprisingly fell off on Sunday.  Rickie never could get it going.  Kuchar, Casey, and Rory started playing way too late.  What did we have left?  The mature 19 year old and boringly consistent Justin Rose.  It was a great ending overall, even if it lacked a couple shots that would ring in our memory for decades.  No one gave it away.  Rose had a lead relatively late, but no choke job occurred.  Sergio came and GOT him.  And the only thing that sucks about a playoff hole at The Masters is when there isn’t a second playoff hole.

It was a great day of sports.

Interesting that the US Open will be a par 72 this year, and can’t wait for that tournament to arrive.

SOUTHWEST:

I do a lot of calculating when getting on a Southwest flight.  My main goal is an end seat on the exit row at ALL times.  But, today, the people before A38 decided to jack that up for me.  So, what is the next option?  Everyone has their own theories.  Here is mine.  IF I have a connecting flight and the flight is under 2 hours, I am doing first window near front for quicker exit.  IF it is a nonstop, then it gets complicated.  I am asking the count who checked in.  If the count is above 90-95% of capacity, then I am taking the window seat right behind the exit row (since they can’t go back).  If the count leads me to open seat optimism, then I am beelining it to the next to last row window opposite side of closest bathroom.  Now, today, I had a couple sit down in my row.  So, I thought about destination and matched that up with open seats.  Since typically I believe the Grand Canyon shows up on the right side when going from Denver to San Diego, I snagged a window seat behind wing on right side.  You short, tiny people don’t need to worry about this leg room stuff.

 

THE CUP:

Given that the up and coming teams are still a little too young and that all contenders either have glaring deficiencies or bad seeds, this is the Capitals Cup to lose.  Well, let me rephrase that, the Cup is the toughest team win in all of sports.  Let’s just say that they have no one to blame but themselves if they blow it this year.  There are no other true powerhouses in the field.  I like Anaheim, Montreal, and Minnesota a little, and of course there is perennial Chicago, but I think I will be rooting for Columbus with my Flyers not in the mix.  Columbus has a brutal draw, but the toughest thing to win isn’t going to be easy regardless.  They catch the defending champions without Letang.  Then, the Caps-Blue Jackets series will be epic.  And, if Sydney puts his team on his back THIS year, than that is just epic.

Of course, you can break down the stats and teams on paper all you want.  We all know that any of these teams could be the lucky keeper of the HOT goaltender and all stats and paper are moot.

Oh, and another hockey note.  You are telling me the #4 sport out of the big four sports CANCELLED their players playing in the Olympics????  Did they not watch the WBC and how that helped baseball?  Are they MAD?

 

SHORTS:

-Congrats to DU for winning the Frozen Four.  I guess when the Avs are as bad as they are, balancing college hockey with a championship is needed.

-So quietly, Clemson football snagged the #1 recruit this week.

-The Phils are 3-3 and scored 12 runs in one inning.  Stop the baseball season right NOW.  It will just go downhill from here for the Phanatic, myself, and friends and family.

-So glad I went to Joe Louis Arena once in my life.  It closes down now, and the place just stunk beautifully of championships, hockey, and beer.  Great experience going to see a game there.

-So cool that on a night the Cubs celebrated their first title in 108 years, Rizzo, the first Epstein recruit, gets the winning hit.

-Perhaps if Junior Galette partied a little less and got arrested a little less, he could toughen that knee up so he doesn’t blow out his ACL…again.

-So, next season, are we going to see Tubby Smith pulling a Gene Hackman and telling the ref his team is on the floor?  With one star already leaving, and now the Lawson brothers heading out, not sure of his head count for Memphis basketball.

-You can try and tell me that Kaep has not been blackballed, but when was the last year that every single able bodied first or second string QB wasn’t signed at this point?

-The Cavs can downplay it publicly all they want.  The Celtics getting the #1 seed will hurt a little emotionally AND strategically.  LeBron will turn it on of course, but that home cooking is a little bit nicer I don’t care WHO you are.

-Total BS that Tony Romo didn’t play in the Mavs game tonight.  Dude averaged 25 pts per game as a HS PG, and even Caron Butler said he could have played in the NBA.  BS.

 

MOVIES:

I knocked out three movies over the weekend.  I don’t have the time nor energy to give you a full breakdown of each, so let’s just keep it high level.

FENCES:  Fences was ok.  Now I have to see Moonlight, because Denzell gave an award winning performance in HIS movie.  It all occurs in one house.  It all occurs while he is building a fence.  It is slow, so pack a Red Bull if you were out too late last night when watching it.

THE ACCOUNTANT:  Don’t lose any sleep if you never see it.  Life will go on.  It is sort of like a movie where Ben Affleck just decides to combine Damon’s more successful characters into ONE character.  The Accountant dude is like meshing Good Will Hunting math skills into a Jason Bourne beat up machine.  Skip it and you will be fine.

HACKSAW RIDGE:  GREAT movie.  You need to see it, assuming you can take blood and guts galore.  The beginning is a love story, the middle is him getting put down like Cuba in Men of Honor, and then the fight scenes occupy the last third of the movie.  I can make jokes about how it is like elongating ONE of the Forrest Gump war scenes into a movie, but not only is that on point, but this is a TRUE story, so no jokes are allowed.  Solid flick.  Damn, Mel Gibson can make a freaking war movie.

 

That’s it for today.  I need to go work for a bit on a PPT and then start this John Corey book I didn’t know had been written for like two years.  Will I probably write another blog in the next couple of days?  That is a CLOWN question, bro.  Peace.