I would like to assume that people read my aptly titled, 'ramblings' because they have a interest in my content or because there's not much content to be found around these parts. Either way...
I noticed a theme regarding my comments, from the wise men of TSM and their sage words. You haven't yet begun". It's true, I guess. I am only 20 and supposedly that earns me at least 8-10 more years of sheer stupidity before I finally wake up and realize it.
I was thinking this morning, while I was working, about my friend. The friend, who unquestionably has seen her life take a dramatic change by one little action.
Made me wonder, there was a time that me and her were seemingly destined for something beyond friendship and it was apparently impossible to not see, according to everyone else.
Obviously, that world isn't going to happen now. (Child or no child).
Here is the thing that is crushing me at this moment, why don't I care? She was my best friend and her world is changing now and I can't find it in me, to feel anything. Not even, sympathy.
The thing that is on my mind constantly...Is missing that one girl. My best friend, the one who rescued me from drowning in my pool of misery last summer and gave me new blood.
I miss her...intensely. We never had that straight-forward 'break-up'. It's hard to say if we were ever your classic boyfriend/girlfriend but it was something magical in its own right. She's off hours away from here. I saw her a couple weeks ago and despite one incredible night...it just reminded us that we're not together.
I know I'm out most people's league. I'm fairly average, at best. I don't posess anything that is seemingly desirable for a girl, much less this incredible blond beauty who completely lives up to the cliche of "shines her light on you". My last two girlfriends (her and my most recent ex) were completely incredible and I probably set the bar freaking high now. Of course, one cheated on me. The other, had to leave me.
Maybe that is poetic justice, get the right girl but that girl will be gone before I am ready. I wonder if me and my best friend/lover didn't have this distance between us...would we be still special or does the distance enhance this perfect feeling that she gives me.
I wonder, if my ex did us a favor first...because I know I would have made her cry instead and I'd rather cry a river before I ever let a tear shed down her cheeks.
Another close friend of mine, told me "You are too busy solving our problems for you to even realize, the only question is you"
The scary thing is? The goddamn asshole is right. The only thing I cant answer is myself.
-First things first: That "mutant baby" picture (it's Czech's new Avatar Picture) scares the fucking shit out of me. That may be one of the scariest things I've seen on the internet, and I've seen some terrifying shit on the internet.
-I can seem to quit listening to the new Ghostface Killah album. It's that damn good. Anyone who enjoys hip hop should give this one a listen. Plus, it doesn't cost very much, and it's got some awesome producers (the late J.Dilla, Pete Rock, MF Doom, Just Blaze). Also, I'm looking forward to the new Current 93 CD (should be out by May or June), the new Aphex Twin CD (out on the 18th. It has the best tracks from last years Analord vinyl series), the new Mono album (a great post-rock band from Japan. It's being produced by Steve Albini), and a re-issue of shoegazer band Chapterhouse's album Whirlpool (complete with bonus tracks from ep's). Also, I might get the new Goldfrapp CD, and the new one from The Sounds (they are a new guilty pleasure for me).
-All of my classes were cancled yesterday. I still got a ton of homework to do.
-A guy in a dorm a few rooms from me keeps playing the three songs over and over again, and it's driving me crazy: Lovers And Friends by Usher w/ Lil' Jon and Ludacris, The Crossroads by Bone Thugs N Harmony, and Love by Keisha Cole. I have to hear these songs for 50 minutes every fucking morning.
Friday night... that's the night that most people, besides Saturdays of course, go out to hang/have fun/etc. As for me, it was spent in the recently renamed ipayOne Arena, watching the San Diego Gulls (AA affliate of the Colorado Avalanche) play against the Phoenix Roadrunners. It was my first "professional" hockey game in person. What I saw was absolutely POORLY played hockey. I excused it as the players not really being good enough, it's not NHL, after all, but my god. Has the referees ever heard of the term "icing"? Isn't that shit illegal? I must have missed the memo where it was now allowed. I saw many instances of icing in the game. There was only one "fight", which involved both teams resembling a mosh pit in the corner of the rink. Mick Foley wrote in his book how shameful it was that he saw lacrosse players get in needless fights just to boost ratings/attendances. I saw that last night. It seemed like the players were attempting to create fights with each other for no reason other than just because. It was just terrible. It made me appreciate the NHL much more. Too bad the NHL is the red-haired bastard stepchild of the sports world.
Oh the Gulls lost, 3-1.
Today, I decided to just relax, and wanted to do a "mini-marathon" of Arrested Development, courtesy of my new DVD set. My wife dropped the bombshell that my company was required as she went to the mall to get Easter stuff to make a basket for my son, so I went along with her. We picked out some cute stuff for the basket, so I think our son will enjoy it immensely, as he's big on cars and I bought a lot of cars for the basket. I just came home, and now I'm just going to chill out before resuming my file of Kingdom Hearts II, which is two days overdue at Hollywood Video, oops.
Just filling an entry so it doesn't stagnate. Toodles.
• I love local news, and not in a good way. While Medium-Large Media have their own agenda and chose to ignore stories that don’t have to deal with Abu Ghrab and Halliburton, the more local stations focus on the good stuff, like cops catching some kids peeing in a water supply. A local story in my neck of the woods (although Drudge has since picked it up on his site) deals with this 10-year old who is protesting, with her parents’ consent, over getting “picked on” by school administrators for wearing mini-skirts to class. Of course, with this added attention, I’m sure it will just lure in some of her male classmates to oogle her without knowing why they’re doing so. And of course if something happens to her, like a when group of boys trying to look up her dress at the bottom of a stairwell, her parents will be the first ones bitching to the school about this inappropriate behavior.
Well I see this sort of thing isn't just limited to my neck of the woods. Maybe if parents cared about the quality of education their kids were receiving as they did with the local school's dress code, we as a country might fare better in those academic competitions where we always get beat by those dang Asians.
• As of this writing it looks like the Pirates are still be winless this year, leaving them and the Phillies the only teams without a victory so far this season. And while this team sucks on the field, their marketing department is even worse; then again it’s not like they have much to work with. This year’s slogan/campaign is “We will…” Before the season started, these two words were followed up by words like “Persevere,” “Fight” and “Not give up.” I’m sure there are a few more descriptive words that can follow “We will,” but the ones I’m thinking of don’t portray the team in an all-too positive light.
• I was eating an Eggo waffle this morning and something caught my eye when looking at its nutrition information. According to the Eggo box, one waffle is 100 calories while two waffles are 190 calories – huh? I guess if you eat three waffles then it’s only 270 calories. Going by this math, I guess once you get waffle numbers 11-12 you are home free; I'm sure your carb count will probably leave something to be desired though.
• I finished my first year of franchise mode in Madden ’05, and one thing I like almost as much as playing the games are the various off-season tasks to do, especially scouting and drafting rookies. This off-season had no significant departures from my team, save for Jerome Bettis who was pissy because I wasn’t starting him. So going into this draft, my only real need was to have a power back. I did some scouting, and when it came time for me to make a selection I was torn between a few running backs and a tight end that would really come in handy. The problem for me was that the tight end was projected to go in the second round and the several running backs available were projected to go in the first round, meaning the backs would probably end up with slightly better ability stats. There was some concern with drafting any of these first-round backs though, because I had some doubts about any of these them being high in the “break tackle” category, which is what I was really looking for, and the tight end had some excellent combine stats and a full slate of positive reviews. I bit the bullet and picked the tight end, figuring a decent back would be available next round (there were a few backs I had my eye on that were projected to go in the second round, and the tight end pool in this draft was really shallow; the tight end I was eying up was the highest projected player at his position). I bit the bullet and selected the tight end, and after selecting him got treated to a chorus of boos, meaning my fans weren't too thrilled with the pick. However, after I signed him to a contract, his stats were revealed: 78 overall, which was higher than either of my current tight ends and an excellent score for a drafted rookie. I’ve done a few pre-season games so far in the new year and I’m taking a real liking this guy. Although I still don’t have a “power back,” (my highest rating in this category among my three half backs and two full backs is in the low 80s) I’ll take this tight end over any of the rookie backs that were recently drafted.
So, I decided the other day I wanted to start blogging again... and then I couldn't. I had that stupid Canadian skin on, which was only there to say "Hey everyone I'm Canadian", and clicking the entry menu didn't do anything. Well, today I looked at the settings (again) to see if there was something I was missing. I saw an option under "Look" to always show entry options. When I selected it, the blog turned over to the default skin (which works out well) and suddenly clicking "Entries" actually did something! I wish I knew how to permenantly change the blog skin so I didn't have to worry about it flipping back to the Canadian one, but in due time.
Now I am free to share with everyone just how funny I find "The War on Easter" graphic that they use on The Colbert Report... but later.
21.
My antisocial ways are disturbing. I go to with friend to a bar tonight. But, I'm tired. This is my main problem with weekends. I hate going out on Friday night, because after work, the last thing I want to do is go in pressure-filled social situation. Then, Saturdays, I just want to relax all day... plus, I work quite a few Saturdays. Then, Sunday, I feel like doing stuff, but there's work the next day. I always have excuses. Anyway, my pal is probably getting her brains fucked out right now, while I went home like a loser at 10pm. Oh well. I'm just really, really not a crowd type person.
I'll reply to more stuff. Since I don't know what to talk about. Well, there's random sports things and other stuff... but, I'm not Bored enough for that currently.
Somewhat true, I guess. But, I'm not ready to give up on Losman yet. I see there's talent there. He's quite mobile. He's got the arm strength. And he's definitely got the self-belief. Give him at least another year.
Indeed. The sack in one of those stats we'd probably be better off not having. It's really not a very significant play. Infact, I think it would be better for QB's if it didn't exist. They're always so worried about getting sacked... it's hardly the end of the world. INT's, can be.
That doesn't really work though.
For example, soccer is quite fun to play. But, there's no way in hell I'll ever watch an entire game. Even if it's the World Cup final.
Playoffs, I've come close to watching all of. I recall watching lots of the D-Backs/Yanks series. The Sox/Yanks shit turned me off again, though. Also, the Playoffs are hurt by the announcing. Listening to McCarver's incoherent non-stop babble cannot be tolerated for long. And ESPN has Berman in the early rounds. Ugh.
Yeah, I'm kinda the same. Although, I'm not sure if it's me growing up... or growing restless with how sports has turned into big business, with so many spoiled athletes who obviously don't give a shit.
I love college football. But, only the very few games that mean anything. But, I shouldn't get into another rant about that. College bball, I usually can watch entire games. Mostly because they're shorter than 2 hours. However, with so many games going on, it's more enjoyable to hop around and watch bits of every game.
I know. But, sometimes, it's hard to get me to believe that. When you have TWO sets of parents that basically disowned you, one of which who enjoyed making me feel miserable... it's hard to believe in people. If your own family hates you, why should anyone else be better? But, whatevz. Family talk gets me so fucking pissed.
I was just being heelish then. Any job, is a good job. I truly mean that.
About 6 years ago. Right before my senior year of tennis, which really fucking sucked. Gave me some hard lessons about life, and who your true friends are, though... so, I consider it worth it.
It doesn't bother me much, anymore. Although, the flexibility of my foot isn't the same. Mostly, the problems were mental. I was afraid to put all my weight on it for a couple years. And sprained ankles... I think I've sprained my right one at least 10 times. It got to the point where it barely bothered me when it happened. I wish I wasn't so damn clumsy and uncoordinated.
More tomorrow. I think I'll do a lookback at my most miserable sports viewing moments.
I had been looking for an excuse to do an entry on one of the most bizarre years in baseball history and the A.L. MVP pick in 1981 was controversial so might as well do a redo. 1981 featured the strike to end all strikes, until the 1994 strike trumped it of course. The players went on strike on June 12th that year over free agent compensation and did not comeback until August 9th, losing 712 games in the process.
Now the owners decided to come up with an idea to drum up some interest back in the sport to bring back a jaded fanbase after the strike ended: a split season. The standings as they were for games played before the strike would be considered the first half and then the second half would be the games played after the strike ended. An extra round of playoffs would be added where the division champ of the first half would meet the division champ of the second half. Now if the entire nation didn't say "What are they fucking stupid?" when the announced this, then they should have. My guess is the owners came up with this idea to try to recoup some of the revenue they lost from the strike by getting an extra round of playoffs.
You don't even have to be a baseball fan to see the obvious problems with the idea. First off the season restarted it meant all the division leaders thru June 11th had already clinched a playoff spot: Yankees, A's, Phillies, and Dodgers. These four teams had essentially nothing to play for beyond pride for two months as they already knew they were going to the playoffs. Doesn't really get the competitive juices flowing, you know? Second problem was the nightmare scenerio where teams who had better records overall for the entire season being left out of postseason play due the split season where otherwise they would have been division champions. Hey guess what? It happened.
St. Louis finished with a 59-43 record overall, 2 games better than second half N.L. East champion Montreal and 2 1/2 over first half champ Philadelphia. But it got much worse in the N.L. West. Cincinnati finished 66-42 overall, 4 games better than first half champ Los Angeles and 6 1/2 games better than second half champ Houston. The Reds had the best record in baseball in 1981 and did not go the playoffs. Let me repeat that, the team with the best record in baseball did not qualify for the postaseason. I'm surprised there wasn't riots in the streets of Cincinnati. The madness doesn't stop there as in the A.L. West, Kansas City won the second half title but finished the season 3 games under .500 overall. So we have the best team in baseball not in the playoffs and a team with a losing record in the playoffs. Almost makes you think they would have been better off shutting down the season like they would 13 years later.
Oh ya the A.L. MVP. Rollie Fingers won the award marking the first time a closer had won it. Already gone over this in the 1984 and 1992 redos that closers should not be winning the MVP. He would beat out Rickey Henderson in a very tight race. My only guess is that the resut was due to Fingers being the established, World Series hero while Henderson was only his second full season. It's also pretty rare for players with low homerun totals to win the award as he only hit six homeruns in the short '81 season. His teammate Tony Armas was the only other player to receive a first place vote and finished 4th overall despite being, ironically enough, the 4th best player on his own team that year.
Actual Results
1) Rollie Fingers 2) Rickey Henderson 3) Dwight Evans 4) Tony Armas 5) Eddie Murray 6) Carney Lansford 7) Dave Winfield 8) Cecil Cooper 9) Goose Gossage 10) Tom Paciorek 11) Dwayne Murphy 12) Kirk Gibson 13) Steve McCatty 14) Bobby Grich 15) Jack Morris 16) Al Oliver 17t) Buddy Bell 17th) Robin Yount 19) Bill Almon 20) Jerry Mumphrey 21t) Mike Hargrove 21t) Alan Trammell 23t) Steve Kemp 23t) Greg Luzinski 23t) Dennis Martinez 23t) Ken Singleton 27t) George Brett 27t) Dave Stieb
#10
.336/.389/.439, 68 RC, 133 OPS+, .301 EQA, 32.4 VORP, 18 Win Shares
#9
.294/.360/.464, 66 RC, 138 OPS+, .310 EQA, 34.7 VORP, 16 Win Shares
#8
.259/.348/.493, 62 RC, 146 OPS+, .308 EQA, 29.3 VORP, 20 Win Shares
#7
.326/.379/.509, 78 RC, 151 OPS+, .315 EQA, 39.6 VORP, 17 Win Shares
#6
.294/.360/.534, 73 RC, 156 OPS+, .319 EQA, 40.1 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#5
150 ERA+, 1.49 K/BB, 1.08 WHIP, 51.9 VORP, 18 Win Shares
#4
.304/.378/.543, 72 RC, 164 OPS+, .325 EQA, 49.1 VORP, 21 Win Shares
#3
.320/.363/.495, 75 RC, 151 OPS+, .316 EQA, 42.0 VORP, 22 Win Shares
#2
.319/.408/.437, 76 RC, 150 OPS+, .323 EQA, 45.6 VORP, 27 Win Shares
#1
.296/.415/.522, 90 RC, 163 OPS+, .333 EQA, 47.7 VORP, 26 Win Shares
Damn what kind of self hating A's fans am I to not give the award to RICKEY~? Also I'm taking an award away from a player who has his number retired by the A's. What have I done!?
Anyways as I mentioned in my entry about my first game that Evans has been very under valued over the years. Also have a couple of other good players who have been forgotten in Cecil Cooper and Bobby Grich. Hey and look STEVE McCATTY!!! What you don't remember Steve McCatty? Ya okay '81 was his only good year and he should have won the Cy Young. I guess a similar parallel would be 2003 when Esteban Loaiza blew away any other year he had but couldn't get the Cy Young. I did actually come close to putting Fingers at #10. Oh and that Tom Paciorek card is awesome.
Baez.
I guess he's the Dodger closer for right now, and with the way he pitched tonight, it's not something the Dodgers need to worry about. Hong-Chih Kuo could be a good setup guy, because he has pretty good control. The Dodger starting pitching will be the downfall of this team, and Tomko isn't very good. At all.
The injury situation for LA is not good right now. Kent has an elbow problem that he's playing through, Furcal has a messed up shin, and Nomar is Nomar. If Drew stays healthy (yeah right), the Dodgers can be a dangerous team.
I have no doubt that they'll win the division, but at this point they don't look like a team that can win a round in the playoffs. It's still early, so there's plenty to see from this team. Including injuries.
The Phillies don't look like a very good team. They don't have the pitching, and for whatever reason, their hitting isn't there either. I don't see any reason to worry about the hitting, because it'll come around, but the pitching situation is bleak. If Philly doesn't turn it around quick, Manuel's going to be the fall guy. Looks like it may be another long season in Philadelphia, and I know exactly how it feels.
I won't post on Lakers/Suns tonight, mainly because I have no desire to see LA get beat up by a clearly superior team. 30 point win for Phoenix tonight.
What the hell is wrong with motorists? There’s a reason I drive like an old man – because someone has to prevent accidents. I was making my usual commute to work this morning and I came to an exit where I noticed this car in that striped area that can be found between a highway and an exit. It was obvious that the person was going to get off that exit but then realized that he was taking the wrong exit and was waiting to get back on the highway. Fair enough. Now the lane I was in is the only lane that takes me to an upcoming exit I need to get on, and because I try to prepare myself for situations that I fear might take place, I did a quick glance over at the other lane just in case this dipshit was going to try and pull out in front of me. I do this sort of thing many times because you never know when you’ll have to take evasive action one of these days.
Today was one of those days.
This asshole just drives out in front of me, forcing me to swerve into the other lane. I laid on my horn, rolled the window down, and called him every name in the book. For the rest of the quality time we spent together I kept the horn on; I also got behind him and gave him the high-beam treatment. When he got off on the exit before mine, I thought the rest of my commute would be smooth sailing. Boy was I wrong.
While on the next leg of my voyage to work a few minutes later, I had another fun incident. There’s this shitty merge ramp that motorists don’t bother yielding at, and this is why I normally stay in the middle of the three lanes that are available to me in this area. This morning was no exception, but apparently it wasn’t enough for this asshole. Once he merged from his road onto my road he then proceeded to move into the center lane – right where I was. I had to slam on my breaks, causing the “loose traction” light to come on. My reaction was pretty much the same to this asshole as the first one, although I wasn’t able to get behind him and flash the high beams. Instead I just laid on the horn while driving next to him for the next 4-5 miles. Had I known the better half left her plastic juice cup in the car with me when I dropped her off at work, I would have thrown the goddamn thing at his car, hoping that it would have crashed through the passenger’s window.
I know it’s funny to hear me say I’m a defensive driver only to go batshit a few sentences later, but I can’t help it. However, I don’t consider this to be road rage. To me road rage is screaming and swearing because someone in front of you is only going 15 mph above the speed limit and you want to go 40. To me road rage is throwing a fit because the car in front of you is observing the flashing 15 mph lights of a school zone. To me road rage is throwing a temper tantrum because every stoplight isn’t green for your entire drive home from work. I don’t have road rage; what I have instead is motorist rage – the road has nothing to do with it. This is like when someone says I’m not a “people person.” Oh, I’m a “people person;” I’m just not a “stupid people person.”
When someone shows zero disregard for the safety of other motorists by being too fucking lazy to check their blind spot before changing lanes, I consider it more than appropriate to blast the horn and give them the middle finger, along with a few choice words. I could have been seriously hurt in either of these accidents this morning – am I supposed to go “That’s OK”? Fuck that shit. If you’re going to be an asshole, so will I; and let me say that there’s nothing quite like laying on the horn while following one of these people through traffic. I don’t understand why more people don’t practice this behavior – just giving a hippie “beep” for a few seconds is nothing. Follow the bastard in and out of lanes while your “HONK” is going full tilt. Who knows, maybe you’ll freak that person out enough that they will drive more carefully for the next week or so.
When Mrs. kkk and I began our courtship, she never really saw me pissed off. Then there was that lady who almost plowed into us. Here’s the scene: I was in the Shittburgh city limits (around the Civic Arena for those keeping score at home). I was in the left lane and had my turn signal on for several seconds before merging into the right lane. Suddenly this bitch in a SUV behind me swerved over into the right lane without giving any notice, almost crashing into us. There was no need for her to do this; I wasn’t driving slow and there was a decent amount of traffic, so if she was looking to speed she was shit out of luck. Well, I let the cunt pass, and then I got on her ass with the horn full tilt. She went in and out of several lanes trying to avoid me, but to no avail. I even went past my exit just to let this bitch know she cut off the wrong person. I think the best part of this was every lane she merged into while I was behind her she had her blinker on. As I drove past her on the exit she got off I said something about killing her (or maybe her children, I can’t remember) and turned to the better half, who by this time was stepping on the imaginary brake in the passenger’s side while onto the nearby door handle, white knuckles and all.
Accidents happen all the time – it’s a fact of life. If I’m in a Wal-Mart parking lot, I act like ever car driving through the lot doesn’t know I’m there. There have been a few times when I saw some motorist not pay attention to the road for whatever reason and I’ll just stop my car and let them go through. It’s actually amusing to watch them turn to my direction, see that a motorist is there and have that look of panic when they don’t yet realize I’m not driving toward them. I can deal with this because busy parking lots are difficult to maneuver through. However, when you’re doing speeds of 60+ mph, my tolerance for carelessness is all but nil. I’ll probably end up killed in one of these incidents, but at least I know I wasn’t the one who committed the traffic violation.
Hmm...where to start this time.
A little about my current status. I am still fucked up. Most of you aren't familar with what's wrong with me. I suffered a heat stroke last August in a field operation at Camp Lejeune. I had been operating off of no sleep, little food, and piss warm water to drink. It was really hot and humid this particular day, lucky me. I was in full combat load, around 120 pounds of gear on my person, and I was running full throttle for close to three miles. My body couldn't take the pressure, and I collapsed. The heat-regulaters in my body couldn't handle the overload of heat, and it shut me down, litterally. I woke up two days later. When I awoke I was told I was very lucky I was alive, and that I was severely and nearly gravely injured. The stress from the heat stroke caused some serious damage to my body. The entire lest side of my body was crippled for one of the days I was unconscious. A large hole was ripped into my heart from the stress as well, since strokes attack muscles, and your heart is a muscle. It didn't stop there. After the hole was ripped, it formed an anuyersm. That continues to fuck me up to this day. My body also can no longer regulate temperature. If I get too warm, I'll black out. This happens all of the time.
Currently, I am pending a medical seperation from the United States Marine Corps. I have accepted this. I'm looking forward to my future, and I have many opportunities ahead of me. I want to go to college and become a school teacher.
I've been listening to a lot of Incubus, and Alter Bridge as of late. They've really grown on me. I think they're really good bands. Our Lady Peace continues to be my favorite however.
I've been watching more, and more wrestling. I'm getting back into the thick of things. I just wish there were more options on television when it comes to wrestling. I've never been too impressed with TNA, and I like the WWF, but there needs to be more variety.
Ever since I turned 21, I've been getting drunk every night, and I love it. Plus, I'm on leave right now, so I don't have to be up before the sun is up.
So, I guess this thing is going to become my Dodger/Kings/Lakers rant blog. I've got a lot to say after every game, and I guess this is going to be my platform to say it. After the Dodger game tonight, I'll update again.
Wrestlemania thoughts
The tag match was ok, though it wasn’t anything special and I’m guessing that Carlito and Show didn’t get the belts because Carlito and Masters are set to split up soon and they’d rather have a team that is sticking together be the ones to get the belts. Not that it matters, because whoever do get the belts will be getting squashed within a month by a useless relative of someone in power.
MITB was pretty good but not as good as the MITB from last year. Shelton Benjamin was the star of the match, like last year, and did some great spots. The crowd was hot for RVD and they popped big for his win.
The Batista-Orton deal seems to foreshadow what, at least for this week, is the preferred main event for Smackdown at Wrestlemania 23.
Benoit and JBL was not the PPV quality match that they had been reportedly having at house shows, but they didn’t get a lot of time. It was decent, but that’s about the best you can call it.
Edge and Mick Foley had my MOTN with a great hardcore match. Lots of great spots and the finish will be in the WM highlight reel for years to come. It was far better than Foley’s match with Orton a couple of years ago because there was a lot more done.
The backstage deal with Booker T, Sharmell and the freaks was funny at first but it ended up feeling like a bad SNL skit. Ted DiBiase looked a lot like Jimmy James from Newsradio.
Skimmed most of Booker and Boogey Man, but I don’t think I missed a lot.
The women’s match was surprisingly good until the finish got blown beyond all hope. The real story was the crowd turning on Trish huge and Mickie becoming, for at least one night, a super over babyface.
Vince looked like a walking cartoon character.
The casket match appeared to be better than it had any right to be, and Mark Henry looked ok. Not good, but ok. Undertaker was feeling it, especially after his big running dive.
Vince and Shawn had a capable affair, but it certainly wasn’t as good as Vince and Hogan from 2003 and I don’t think it got as much heat as it should have done for such a strongly pushed program. They covered up as best they could for Vince’s weaknesses and the big finish capped things off nicely.
The SD main event had some “WTF?” booking with Angle getting a visionary tap out on Rey, which keeps Angle strong but kills Rey, especially after he tapped out rapidly on Smackdown last week. Angle looked tiny and his physical transformation over the last year or so is very sad but not unexpected.
The time of the match was totally unforgivable. Would it really have killed Vince and Hunter to shave 5 minutes off of their respective matches and give these three the time to have the great match that they seemed more than capable of delivering? The finish got a good pop which was a surprise considering that the crowd booed whenever Rey or Orton were on offense.
I skipped the Playboy match or whatever that nonsense was called.
Hunter and Cena had a far better match than I think anyone was expecting. With a minimal amount of gimmickry, Hunter and Cena had a really good match, excellent for Cena, and it had an incredible atmosphere with the pro/anti-Cena fans never staying quiet for long if at all. The finish was initially a surprise but it wasn’t much of when you stop and think about the turmoil and second guessing going into the WM weekend when it came to the top matches and their finishes. I’ll give Hunter credit for doing what I don’t think anyone predicted and tapping out clean. I know people want and can’t wait for Cena to turn heel, but Dan Wahlers made an excellent point in his latest column when he pointed out that a lot of the backlash against Cena is because it’s a rebellion thing and the fans are bucking against the system. Once booing Cena is the ‘correct’ reaction it’s not being cool or rebellious to boo Cena then it is likely that the reactions to him will stop being so loud and compelling. The best thing to do right now is to keep him babyface because it’s the ideal way to maintain the huge reactions he gets and to keep people wanting to pay to see Cena, whether it’s to boo him or cheer him.
Wrestlemania 22 was better than 21 because, while the peaks might not have been as high as last year, the valleys weren’t as deep, and the whole show was more solid. I don’t think it was worth $50, but it was a better PPV than most people thought it would be.
The Path I Chose, I had to Follow
If there is no road, there is no tommorow
Hold On, Hold On for as you long as you can see
It doesn't matter, nothing matters for it's only make-believe now...
I can't even begin to explain how much I regret the decisions I made throughout my life and that's expected. You can't show me one person who did everything right from the start. I do, however feel like I am way behind where I should be. I'm 20 years old and I lost almost 1 and 1/2 years on my life by waiting until I went to college and once I got here, I haven't really gotten anywhere. I still feel stuck as the same 18 year old I was, the day I grabbed that diploma from Dr. Carter (my HS principal, who I hear is dying of cancer...which is a shame. He was one of the very few good ones).
I see my friends, already changing things. Some for the best and some for the worse, but change nontheless. I can't change, beyond my haircut. Fuck, I even have the same fucking wardrobe as I did 2 years ago.
Every time, I think I got the urge to get the fuck up...something always comes to me and brings it back down and I can't remember how things got to be this way.
It used to seem that there was always something to make you happy and get you through the days...I had a really, really good month in January. It's always been a running theme in my life...I start the years off in a incredible fashion and it derails sometime around labor day into a complete mess.
Then, somehow it fixes itself up and disappears and I get another brief glimpse at the concept of happiness...
Oh, the girl from the other day? She's giving us another creature into this world.
Lesson: Don't have drunk sex.
Very soon Roger Federer will compete to try and win the French Open with hopes of keeping alive his chance to win the Grand Slam for 2006 (he has already won the Australian Open). Paris in springtime and all that. But the pleasantries surrounding Paris will be far from Federer's mind. The French Open is a grueling, tough tournament that has denied glory to some one of the game's great players. Pete Sampras--who has more grand slam titles than anyone--never conquered the clay at Rolland Garros. McEnroe came within 1 game, but failed to pull it off in an agonizing defeat to Ivan Lendl.
Of course the Australian Rod Laver did win the French Open and did win the Grand Slam--twice (1962, 1969). Since 1969, only Steffi Graf has won the Grand Slam (1988). Can Federer pull this off? Doubtful. There are too many Euros who grow up on clay and do nothing but play claycourt tennis. They dominate hard court and all-court players on clay. He's got about a 30% chance to win and I'm going to predict a victory. At this point, I believe his confidence and amazing ability will overcome the claycourt specialists. As dominant as Sampras was in his prime, the clay-courters knew they had a good chance against him on the red clay. I believe the clay-courters of today look across the net at Federer and aren't too sure they can actually win. That will be the difference.
-Good God, there been quite a few bannings lately. So far, it seems like fanofcoils, Desperate Housewife, and
Dam(o)n Yankees have been kicked out. So, what does ol' lovecraft think of this? Well, here are my thoughts of the banned offenders, including some long delayed thoughts on someone banned a while back.
.Dam(o)n Yankees-While he did get in a few arguments, and say some stupid things, he really didn't do anything to annoy me. To be honest, I don't see why he was banned, though I would like to know why.
.Desperate Housewife-I can see why. The guy constantly chastized posters in the WWE forums (including yours truely) for complaining in a "fan forum" (which it is not) about the product. I've already said it several times, so I'll say it again: This is the fucking internet. People complain over dumb shit all of the time, and it's nothing new. If you can't take the heat, then step away from the fire.
.fanofcoils-This guy should have been banned the first time he made an idiotic comment. Everyone from Special K, Vitamin X, Slayer, and yours truely couldn't stand the guy. Plus, he was the ultimate troll (read the threads on V for Vendetta and The Hills Have Eyes in the movie forum), derailed threads (as Special K pointed out), and was most likely some past banned poster. Good fucking riddance.
.MikeSC-An oldie to be sure. Wow, were to start. Randomly insulting people. Failing to back up his "facts". Trolling the NWA TNA forums. Turning a "Farenheit 9/11" discussion into a shitstorm (and I didn't even like the damn movie). Calling Islam a "Radical Death Cult". The list just goes on. At least he has his own message board now.
Glad I got all of that off of my chest. Anyways, here's some cool videos from YouTube
-Can performing their song "Paperhouse"
-Video for Cabaret Voltaire's "Sensoria"
-YOU DUMBASS! (I'm one of the few people on Earth who liked this show. Oh Well.)
• Over at the other place LessoninMachismo made the following remark concerning my recent b-day. “Happy birthday to kkk, who is weighing his options: Is a FREE piece of cake and/or scoop of ice cream worth having eight jackasses in red polos singing to you in front of a restaurant full of strangers?” It’s true that I’m a cheap bastard, but even I have my limits. Like I told him over there, when the better half and I began our courtship we agreed on two things that I think are imperative for any relationship to succeed. Forget all that hippie fidelity, love and other mushy shit, we agreed on much more important matters. The first was if we were ever to be married we agreed not to shove wedding cake in each other’s faces at the wedding reception. The second was under NO CIRCUMSTANCES were we to let any of those cookie-cutter chain restaurants know if it was the other person’s birthday. I’m sorry, but if Nicole would have let the staff of Applebee’s know of O.J.’s birthday one night they were dining there I would have acquitted The Juice in a New York minute. Fortunately, neither one of us has broken our word on these two promises we made to each other years ago.
• Jimmy Rollins of the Phillies is making a run at Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive hit record. The problem is he’s doing it over the course of two seasons (the end of last season and the start of this season), while DiMaggio had his 56-game streak take place over the course of one season. The question now is if Rollins can reach, or even surpass, DiMaggio’s record, should it count? I’ve heard that it won’t, but I figure what the heck; to me it seems harder to end one season with a 30-game hit streak (or whatever Rollins had at the time) and start the next season with a 30-game hit streak. If the Baseball Gods want to put an asterisk by Rollins’ record, that’s fine, too. This just in: Rollins’ streak is over. Oh well. I’m still keeping this paragraph.
• Well Eminem and ex/current/recent/whatever-the-hell-she-is-now wife have called it splitsville, again. I guess that’s what you get when you say on a record you’re going to kill the bitch and dump her corpse in a river and don’t follow through.
• For the weekend of March 31-April 2, Larry the Cable Guy’s movie made as much money as did Sharon Stone’s Basic Instinct sequel ($3.2 million each). The sad thing is I’m not sure which moviegoer got the better deal.
• For all you commies out there that bitch whenever you find out how much a CEO makes, this should be right up your alley. Coke is now paying executives for actual performance, rather than just throwing them into a pool of money. I never really cared how much CEO’s make, although I do have a bit of a problem when a company pays some dipshit for running the business into the ground. There’s a difference between that and a CEO who takes charge of a company slated to lose $100 million in the next fiscal year, but due to his new policies/etc. the company only loses $10 million and gets on the path for financial profit. Pay the man in that instance. But don’t reward incompetence, which is was U.S. Air did with years of upper management figureheads that did nothing but screw up the company even more over the years, which eventually helped cause that airline to go belly-up.
Just watched PTI with the two hosts commenting on a controversy surrounding NBC's Dateline and NASCAR. Dateline wanted to investigate anti-Muslim sentiments in the country, based on a Washington Post/ABC News poll showing increased bigotry in America. Naturally they chose a NASCAR event to find the bigotry. NASCAR fans are largely from the South, people with southern accents are bigots, ergo, there will be plenty of bigots at a NASCAR event. The Dateline crew had Muslim looking men walking around at the race at Martinsville, Va. No one bothered them, there were no racial incidents.
Wilbon was cool with what Dateline did, saying "NBC is trying to create news where news does exist".
Oh, so Wilbon is indicting the NASCAR fans as bigots, with no proof.
Neither one of the hosts mentioned that nothing happened to the two Muslim looking men.
That didn't stop Wilbon from saying: "if there is something untoward happening towards these gentlemen, that they said at a racetrack, then why is it happening"?
A lot of the time I like and agree with what Wilbon says. Then he pulls one of these and confirms to me that he has serious problems with race in this country.
I finally decided to start one of these things on here. I like the idea and execution of TSM blogs, so naturally, I couldn't resist anymore.
This won't necessarily be wrestling-centric, as I do have a lot more things I can talk about other than wrestling. I won't hold anything back here and will be as open as I want to be. Since I don't know anybody in real life on TSM or that knows about me on here, I can be as free and as open as I want about anything.
Recently kkktookmybabyaway talked about turning 30. Yes, being in your 30s is a real shock if you were someone who was very active in their 20s. In my 30s, things began to hurt, ache and generally be sore that never were before after normal physical activity. I played a lot of tennis and golf in my teens and 20s. In my 30s, my shoulder would be killing me after a game of tennis, where that never happened before. And of course the "legs go". I remember when I took classes at Cincinnati State in my 30s. There was a huge hill with steps that you had to climb to get to the building. When I got to the top, I was a physical wreck and my legs, specifically the thigh muscles, were killing me. And it wasn't that bad really. I could've jogged up the steps easily at 25. Whenever I hear of a pro athlete who is just past his prime and has made some type of comeback and says "I'm in the best shape of my life" I just laugh. Sure you are.
Yeah, I'm really looking forward to my 40s.
I just wish these egghead scientists would perfect this whole nanotechnology thing. Molecular sized robots roaming around in your body, keeping your cells in pristine condition, all your muscles and organs in perfect health, forever. Let's get going, boys, staying young forever is a concept whose time has come.
Hi there Ortonsault, are you comfortable and angry?
Comfortable and furious, TSM.
Then go ahead and speak for America, Ortonsault.
Ok, here it goes. Yesterday I watched a second-season (1994) episode of Boy Meets World. In this episode, Cory's mom tells him to be more polite. At school, Cory accidentally bumps into an attractive but 'rebellious' girl, causing her to drop her book. Cory politely picks it up for her.
The girl—'T.K.' (played by Danielle Harris)—is impressed by Cory's kindness. Almost immediately, Cory not only has an excellent conversation on the phone with her, but she sends him very nice gifts—such as a wreath, candy, and steaks. She switches her homeroom class to Cory's (and tries to sit on his lap instead of in her own desk). Additionally, Harley Keiner's bully gang is suddenly very nice to Cory.
At this point, Cory inexplicably tries to breakup with T.K. Harley reveals that T.K. is his little sister, and Cory is in some serious sh*t. Cory is forced to go on the planned date with T.K. On the date, Cory tries to be as unappealing as possible, and he rejects her attempts to makeout with him in the backseat of the car. In the end, Cory avoids a pounding from Harley and, presumably, Cory and T.K. remain 'friends.' (T.K. is never seen again in the series.)
Cory, you b*stard, what the h*ll were you thinking? The first time I saw T.K., I thought, "That girl is going to become a very sexy babe." Topanga just b*tched at him every episode and got p*ssed off when he tried to go beyond kissing. Cory had a dream situation and he threw it away.
Bottom line, America?
Draftback...ain't I clever? The NFL Draft is later this month and the point of this blog is a lot of nostalgia so might as well look back at some old drafts, plus I've done no football content to this point. Pretty much picked in 1990 at random and because at first glance the 1st round looks rather uninspiring. I will only be looking back at the first round picks as to hell with going over the whole thing. Don't expect any real insight as unlike baseball there isn't much in terms of statisical analyst to do when it comes to football. There is Football Outsiders but their data only goes back five or six years.
1. Indianapolis - Jeff George, QB, Illinois
The Colts traded up to make this controversial choice at the time as it surprised many that he left Illinois early and some weren't even sure he was worth a 1st round pick, let alone the #1 choice overall. All things considered George didn't have that bad of a career but his habit of being a jackass kind of always painted him a bad light. Didn't help that he never made it to a Pro Bowl either.
2. N.Y. Jets - Blair Thomas, RB, Penn State
An overhyped Penn State running back who is a bust in the NFL? GET OUT! Actually showed signs of being a good NFL back in his rookie year but bad knees did him in.
3. Seattle - Cortez Kennedy, DT, Miami
Seven time Pro Bowl selection who would spend his entire 11-year career with the Seahawks. Definently a good pick here.
4. Tampa Bay - Keith McCants, LB, Alabama
Was rated #1 overall by many but he was a huge bust. Last I thing heard on him was he stole a car last year. Ya life didn't turn out to well for him.
5. San Diego - Junior Seau, LB, USC
No brainer here, 11 Pro Bowl selections and a future spot in Canton.
6. Chicago - Mark Carrier, DB, USC
Good NFL career as he burst on the scene his rookie year with a 10 interceptions on his way to Defensive Rookie of the Year. Selected to three Pro Bowls.
7. Detroit - Andre Ware, QB, Houston
Hands down the #1 rated QB coming into the draft and everyone thought he'd be star because he was drafted by a team that had the run and shoot offense. Hey how'd that turn out?
8. New England - Chris Singleton, LB, Arizona
Lasted seven years...um ya that's all I got.
9. Miami - Richmond Webb, T, Texas A&M
Another good pick here, made it to seven Pro Bowls, playing 11 of his 13 years in Miami.
10. New England - Ray Agnew, DE, N.C. State
Halfway decent player who hung around forever it seemed.
11. L.A. Raiders - Anthony Smith, DE, Arizona
Pass rushing specialist who was an absolute beast his first few years in the league.
12. Cincinnati - James Francis, LB, Baylor
Solid player who played nine seasons with the Bengals.
13. Kansas City - Percy Snow, LB, Michigan State
The only thing I remember about Snow was I had one of the "behind the scenes" NFL tapes and one segment was on the Chief's war room before the '90 Draft and they were pretty excited about Snow. He ended lasting a whole three years.
14. New Orleans - Renaldo Turnbull, DE, West Virginia
Part of those scary good Saints' linebacker cores from the early 90's. Decent career with his best year coming in 1993 when he had 13 sacks.
15. Houston - Lamar Lathon, LB, Houston
You can see this was a very deep linebacker draft. Solid career.
16. Buffalo - James Williams, DB, Fresno State
With a common name like that you think I'll actually know anything about the guy?
17. Dallas - Emmitt Smith, RB, Florida
Safe to say everyone except maybe San Diego regretted not taking him.
18. Green Bay - Tony Bennett, LB, Mississippi
Yet another linebacker who had a solid career.
19. Green Bay - Darrell Thompson, RB, Minnesota
1641 yards rushing, 3.5 YPC, 7 career touchdowns, gone after 1994. Ya not a good pick
20. Atlanta - Steve Broussard, RB, Washington State
You know it would have been kind of interesting to see what Broussard would have done in a standard offense rather than the run and shoot. Okay maybe not that interesting but might have given a not so non-descript career.
21. Pittsburgh - Eric Green, TE, Liberty
Pretty good tight end who made it to two Pro Bowls.
22. Philadelphia - Ben Smith, DB, Georgia
Played six years and really who noticed?
23. L.A. Rams - Bern Brostek, C, Washington
I don't think I paid as much attention to the NFL as I thought (and I don't pay that much attention today) I did. The guy played for the Rams so being a 49er fan you think I'd remember the guy with them playing each other twice a year but I don't.
24. N.Y Giants - Rodney Hampton, RB, Georgia
Good career, had five consecutive 1000 yard seasons from '91 to '95.
25. San Francisco - Dexter Carter, RB, Florida State
49ers had the right idea drafting a running back as they would end up being correct in their concerns about Roger Craig lasting much longer (he didn't) but Carter wasn't the guy to replace him. Actually led the 49ers in rushing his rookie year but that just tells you had bad their running game was.
• So the NCAA Women’s Final Four is over and done with. Go Maryland. Actually, I don’t care about women’s basketball on the collegiate level (or any other level for that matter), but if other people like watching it, and there's an audience for this market, then more power to them. I was watching some highlights this morning of the final game and something caught my eye. Schools have female cheerleaders for women’s sports? Odd. If I was a male athlete, I don’t know how I’d feel if every time I scored a basket a bunch of guys in matching outfits and pom poms sitting under the hoop would get up and dance around – not that there’s anything wrong with that mind you. Oh, and I am sincere when I say congratulations to Maryland for winning the women’s title – I don’t like college sports, but any team that beats Penn State or Duke is OK by me.
• Lovecraft is still waxing poetic on faux hippies, and he reminded me of a college experience. Back in 1998, before he became the first boss of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge was a Republican governor of Pennsylvania. Even though some of his critics, particularly the union crowd, dubbed him “One-Term Tom” he was for the most part a popular governor, and the Democrats really didn’t have anyone to go up against him for his re-election bid. The Democrats brought out some old guy by the name of Ivan Itkin who had no shot at beating Ridge. Itkin came to our school one night to do a taping for our student television crew, and I spoke with him afterward for an article in our school newspaper. He seemed like a nice guy, and although I had no intention of voting for him, I felt he genuinely believed what he was saying. Of course, this guy had no chance of winning; in fact, his campaign strategy was to go around in only a dozen or so counties pimping what he could do as the state's next governor. The problem was Pennsylvania has more than 60 counties. Granted some counties are bigger than others, but with a strategy like that, especially when your opponent is reasonably well-liked throughout the state, you are destined to lose.
After his television segment was over, and before I was about to talk with him, I was chatting with some blonde chick that was part of the student TV production crew. I was waiting for Itkin to arrive outside the studio, and she was waiting for a nearby elevator to come to our floor. For some reason she must have assumed I was a lib just like her because she began saying what a great guy Itkin was and how he’d make a great governor. Obviously, she hadn’t been reading up on current events, because even the more liberal media in the Shittburgh area were questioning Itkin’s chances of victory against Ridge. I had to break it to her that her guy had no shot of winning this election. When she asked why, I explained to her his pisspoor campaign strategy, lack of a war chest and the fact that the evil Republican governor wasn’t so bad, at least in the eyes of the Pennsylvania voters. At that moment she got a dejected look, the likes I have only seen in former blind dates when they realize that I’m the person they’re going to be spending an evening with, and said, “Oh, no. That means we’re going to have four more years of Governor Tom Ridge.” It was at that moment the elevator door opened, and as she walked into it and hit a floor button I said to her, “You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing.” As the doors closed, you should have seen the look of fright and disgust on her face; you would have thought she had encountered the Anti-Christ, or, worse yet, George W. Bush.
• Oh, and for those who wondered what I did on my 30th birthday yesterday, here’s a quick rundown: Went to work, made a vet appointment for Max, who is having issues with going to the bathroom. Left work for a few hours to get him to an appointment slot that was available that day. (If you have a cat, particularly a male, who is struggling to urinate, get them checked out ASAP. Chances are it’s just a urinary tract infection, which is what Max has, but other times it could be more serious, and even life-threatening, as was the case with my in-law’s cat, who had his pee hole clogged up.) Went back to work. Ate at a ghetto all-you-can-eat pizza chain store called CiCi’s. (It’s one of those places I eat at every six months or so, and every time I do I swear I’m never going back. But then whenever I need to intake some more disgusting, greasy food I return and the cycle starts all over again.) Went grocery shopping (saved $40 off a $110 order for those keeping score at home). Picked up Max from the vet. Unloaded groceries. Laid in bed swearing that I’ll never go back to CiCi’s again. The End.
Today's entry is named after a song from the 60's Garage Rock band Chocolate Watch Band.
-Good news for horror fans. It looks like "Cemetary Man", which I think is the best Italian Zombie Movie ever made, will be released on DVD in June by Anchor Bay. It will come in a widescreen transfer with 5.1 Dolby Surround sound track. Special Features will include a special making of documentary, a directors bio, and trailer. More info can be found here.
-I'm taking a short story writing class right now, and it's all kinds of awesome. I'm currently working on a story for the class called "Jessica", which deals with a zombies that don't actually do anything to harm people(I thought it would be cool to try a story with zombies that don't eat flesh) , a troubled man named Ryasn, and his now zombified wife. I've got about six pages done so far.
-I don't care how many people complain about it, I love that the Spirit Squad are the tag champs. Sure, they have a shitty gimmick (which I will admit I liked at first), but they are pretty good workers. Plus, it's good to see the belts off of Kane and Big Show, though the tag titles are mostly useless at this point.
-Finally,
