Well due to some password problems, I cannot access my databases at work. I'm still waiting to hear back from the help desk which means a few minutes to blog.
First of all, to the anonymous dude who asked about the cute female Cardinals fan whose blog I had visited and was in conversation with, she took down her photo. Sorry.
A few notes as the weekend approaches.
1) Facebook is bigger than Myspace now. I probably have 25 or so friends on Myspace (half of whom are musicians or wrestlers). But in three weeks, I already have passed that number on Facebook. For one thing, it's much better organized. And also, the restrictions on picture sizes isn't as bad.
2) My last 3 disc golf rounds have been +12, +12, +15. I'm getting better and better, I just wish I could throw a straight disc when I want to. What can I say, a physical activity that's free just works well for me.
3) My volleyball league resumes in either one or two weeks, depending how quickly some teams can get assembled. I'm ready to defend our championship.
4) I don't see the Jets winning against the evil Patriots this week, although New England seems a little vulnerable right now, and I see the Giants laying the Eagles to waste.
5) One more win and the Mets clinch the National League East for the first time since Ronald Reagan was President! I'll feel bad that we'll win while our old teammate Xavier Nady is on the other team, but that's the unfortunate breaks of life. And I wish it could have been at home too. But hey our magic number for clinching the best record in the NL is 5. Who am I to complain. If we only had homefield in the World Series...
6) Fantasy baseball is going well. I'm in the semifinals in two leagues and winning both by slim margins, including one over a certain Brian Geddes. I am Wright of Way, he is Spanky McButterpants, which coincidentally is my name in an upcoming movie. Funny, I finished first in the regular season, he finished sixth out of eight and he beat me both times we played. As for the other, I'm "Team...The Time..." the #2 seed facing the #3 and this guy is making moves literally every day to beat me. So far I'm holding up 6-4 through Thursday and the game ends Sunday. I want a championship, but If I win both my games this week, the worst that can happen is two second place finishes. I'd be okay with that.
7) I saw a piece on CBS about Greenhouse gasses and the effects on the environment. Now I'm no environmentalist, but this bothered me. Due to global warming, ice is melting faster in the Arctic Circle. Consequently, animals who live there like polar bears could be in trouble, small islands could eventually flood, and heat droughts could get worse in time. This guy says we have about a decade to really reverse the effects or they may be unchangeable. Not a pleasant thought.
8) Hard news: Ecclesia's fall retreat is scheduled for October 27-29, the same weekend as Ring of Honor's return to Chicago Ridge. I am not pleased at all. Maybe they'd let me leave Saturday afternoon and come back Sunday morning. Here's the thing: I always have a ball at Ring of Honor, but if I miss this retreat, I know I will regret it. So I'm trying to sell the ticket I already brought for ROH. Anybody want it? It's third row by the wrestler's entrance! If you don't know the wrestlers, it's okay, I'll prep you on anything you need to know before the show!
9) I'm getting my metrosexual treatment on Saturday at Sportclips. Now people may not think of me as being Metro and my style of dress wouldn't suggest that I am as my wardrobe basically spreads from blue to black. And I've never had a facial, manicure, or any other of these David Beckham/Brad Pitt/George Clooney deals. But I'm looking forward to my massage, steamed towel treatment, and full shampoo and conditioner on top of my haircut.
10) I have to credit the Filling Station in downtown St. Charles. They have a good burger, but their fries are excellent. They are handcut (like Scooby's used to be) and you can tell by the way they look and the taste. When you pop one in your mouth, it just tastes fresh.
Bonus: I'll throw in two Mitch Hedberg jokes.
I drove by a company that sells manufactured homes. But these are repossessed manufactured homes. I would not want to be a manufactured home repo man. Those would be hard to sneak away. "Knock, knock, knock. Hi, could you go cut your grass... then look that way for half an hour?"
I bought a scratch-off lottery ticket, but then I accidentally spilled calamine lotion on it, so it did not need to be scratched. Damn! I will not know if I have won!
Friday, September 15, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Mindy and Milwaukee Part 2
So around 7, I said goodbye to Mickie and Jamie and drove up Water Street to the Pabst Theater. I parked in an adjacent hotel for 6 bucks. I walked outside the Wyndham lobby and the theater was the first building to the left. It's a very small theater, but it's been around for 100 years. Great architecture and just a good, intimate place to see a concert. It's actually registere as a National Historic Landmark. Kris Kristofferson, Branford Marsalis (former Tonight Show bandleader), comedian Caroline Rhea, and Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) are playing there in the future.
I got a fourth row seat on the far left for 20 bucks. The top 2 levels were closed but I'd say 300-400 were in attendance. The show started at 8 and was sponsored by a local public radio station. I guess they focus on playing good simple, non-commercial music. Good to know that radio like that is out there because I can't find it in Chicago.
The Greencards opened up, and they're an acoustic trio from Australia and England (mandolin, bass, fiddle). They added a guitar player for the show. They touched on folk, bluegrass, and country and they just released their third record. In between songs, the fiddler from London (which I never thought I'd hear) took a few shots at Paris Hilton's record selling so well which got a pretty loud reaction. They played for about 45 minutes, but they can really play fast. Good opener.
Then came Robinella. If that girl doesn't have a Tennessee accent, I don't know who does. Her husband played keyboard, while she picked the guitar. And she must have a good word of mouth following, because the merchandise stand had a lot of her souvenirs available.
After our second intermission, Mindy came out. It was just her and a mandolin player. She went for about an hour and 10 minutes, which is good when she only has one album out right now. But "Long Island Shores" comes out next month and I will get it. On stage, she was a little goofy, laughing a lot, and always apologizing when she hit a wrong guitar chord. And though she lives in Tennessee, I can still hear her Long Island accent come through, particualrly on words like song, or as she said it "so-wong."
Now I really don't like when most singers sing high notes, but when she does it, she sounds so vulnerable and needing, and maybe a little desperate. But at the same time, I can still hear hope in there too. When she goes into the chorus on "One Moment More," a song she wrote for her late mother, it still leaves me weak. "Come to Jesus" and "Jolene" got the biggest pops. Then we got her back onstage for an encore and she was caught off guard. She said, a little embarrassed, "I didn't prepare anything else!" But she did one more song anyway. I wish she had hung around for a bit like the first two acts did so I could have met her, but hey, that's the breaks.
The show went 3 hours and I got home around 1 am after following some lousy directions from Mapquest. They took me all through Cook County. But a very good night all in all. The drive is long but the venue, music, and atmosphere were great.
I got a fourth row seat on the far left for 20 bucks. The top 2 levels were closed but I'd say 300-400 were in attendance. The show started at 8 and was sponsored by a local public radio station. I guess they focus on playing good simple, non-commercial music. Good to know that radio like that is out there because I can't find it in Chicago.
The Greencards opened up, and they're an acoustic trio from Australia and England (mandolin, bass, fiddle). They added a guitar player for the show. They touched on folk, bluegrass, and country and they just released their third record. In between songs, the fiddler from London (which I never thought I'd hear) took a few shots at Paris Hilton's record selling so well which got a pretty loud reaction. They played for about 45 minutes, but they can really play fast. Good opener.
Then came Robinella. If that girl doesn't have a Tennessee accent, I don't know who does. Her husband played keyboard, while she picked the guitar. And she must have a good word of mouth following, because the merchandise stand had a lot of her souvenirs available.
After our second intermission, Mindy came out. It was just her and a mandolin player. She went for about an hour and 10 minutes, which is good when she only has one album out right now. But "Long Island Shores" comes out next month and I will get it. On stage, she was a little goofy, laughing a lot, and always apologizing when she hit a wrong guitar chord. And though she lives in Tennessee, I can still hear her Long Island accent come through, particualrly on words like song, or as she said it "so-wong."
Now I really don't like when most singers sing high notes, but when she does it, she sounds so vulnerable and needing, and maybe a little desperate. But at the same time, I can still hear hope in there too. When she goes into the chorus on "One Moment More," a song she wrote for her late mother, it still leaves me weak. "Come to Jesus" and "Jolene" got the biggest pops. Then we got her back onstage for an encore and she was caught off guard. She said, a little embarrassed, "I didn't prepare anything else!" But she did one more song anyway. I wish she had hung around for a bit like the first two acts did so I could have met her, but hey, that's the breaks.
The show went 3 hours and I got home around 1 am after following some lousy directions from Mapquest. They took me all through Cook County. But a very good night all in all. The drive is long but the venue, music, and atmosphere were great.
Mindy and Milwaukee Part 1
Mindy Smith is awesome. After Saturday's concert, that's all I can really say.
I got into Milwaukee around 5:45 and decided to grab some dinner. My target was the Milwaukee Ale House just a mile or so down the street from the theater where the concert was. Being that it was Saturday and I was in a new city, I searched hard for a parking spot until I parked right across the street from the restaurant. I parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant, but I guess the Milwaukee cops are cool.
So I went inside and noticed a very busy atmosphere. There was a guy playing a guitar on stage and there ws a pretty good mix of people. Mostly white, but there were families, business people, groups of friends, and a few people my age. The wait was already 45 minutes and that would have just been for me! So I went to the bar and found a seat.
I ordered a sampler of beer which was 6 beers (30 ounces) for 7 bucks. Not too bad. The tender laid out this placemat with a spot for each beer. Each square contained the history of the beer and how it related to Milwaukee's culture and history. I guess beer can be educational.
The Downtown Lites is a light, flavorful, crisp ale brewed with pale malt and 60 pounds of Wisconsin honey per batch. I like a crisp beer, but this was a little light for me. I needed a ittle more body. Then I had a Session Beer, which varies from season to season. I don't know what it was, but it was hoppy and I thought it was good enough. Then came the Solomon Juneau. Excellent. It's a golden ale with a crisp dry finish thanks to genuine saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Not too light, not too heavy, refreshing, yet substantial. Thumbs up.
Then came the Pullchain Pail Ale, a hoppy American ale built with Cascade hops and balanced with choice British East Kent Goldings. (Yes, I'm quoting from the website!) A little more complex than the Juneau in terms of flavor. I still enjoyed the taste. I would have gotten this with a hearty meal in cool weather. Then came Louie's Demise, and the body picked up. This is a more German style ale. This would be more of a cold weather beer, if I was to drink a beer in cold weather. Finally, the Sheepshead Stout. It had that dark Guinness look, and tasted really strong. It was a creamy stout brewed with nine malts. Not my taste. Strangely, of the 5 specific beers I mentioned, the Juneau has the lowest number of votes according to an online survey about people's favorite beer at the ale house. A lot of the darker ones are ranked higher. Ah well.
So I ordered a sirloin steak sandwich and a Juneau beer. Just before my food arrived, a couple of ladies around my age, Mickie and Jamie, sat next to me. It was a little hard hearing them with all the noise, which made for some strange misunderstandings. Like I thought one said she was a baker and it turned out she said banker. They even said I mispronounced Wisconsin, because I didn't say it Wis-caan-sin. They could tell I was from out of state. We talked about work, things to do in the city, and the whole just out of college thing. Sorry, just not much more to say...
The sandwich was served with sauteed mushrooms and onions and horseradish spread on a ciabatta bun with mashed potatoes on the side. Ciabatta seems to be the big bread now doesn't it? It's the midwest's attempt to be Italian. Trying to avoid fries, I hoped the mashed would be really good, especially at an ale house. But no skins, cheese, or herbs. They were just whipped potatoes with seasoning. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare with a crispy char crust on the outside. The horseradish had a more of a creamy consistency which blended in well with the shrooms and onions. For the sampler, sandwich, and beer, I paid 25 bucks, which is not bad.
Actually, felt like steak and the sandwich was 12 bucks by itself.
I got into Milwaukee around 5:45 and decided to grab some dinner. My target was the Milwaukee Ale House just a mile or so down the street from the theater where the concert was. Being that it was Saturday and I was in a new city, I searched hard for a parking spot until I parked right across the street from the restaurant. I parked illegally in front of a fire hydrant, but I guess the Milwaukee cops are cool.
So I went inside and noticed a very busy atmosphere. There was a guy playing a guitar on stage and there ws a pretty good mix of people. Mostly white, but there were families, business people, groups of friends, and a few people my age. The wait was already 45 minutes and that would have just been for me! So I went to the bar and found a seat.
I ordered a sampler of beer which was 6 beers (30 ounces) for 7 bucks. Not too bad. The tender laid out this placemat with a spot for each beer. Each square contained the history of the beer and how it related to Milwaukee's culture and history. I guess beer can be educational.
The Downtown Lites is a light, flavorful, crisp ale brewed with pale malt and 60 pounds of Wisconsin honey per batch. I like a crisp beer, but this was a little light for me. I needed a ittle more body. Then I had a Session Beer, which varies from season to season. I don't know what it was, but it was hoppy and I thought it was good enough. Then came the Solomon Juneau. Excellent. It's a golden ale with a crisp dry finish thanks to genuine saaz hops from the Czech Republic. Not too light, not too heavy, refreshing, yet substantial. Thumbs up.
Then came the Pullchain Pail Ale, a hoppy American ale built with Cascade hops and balanced with choice British East Kent Goldings. (Yes, I'm quoting from the website!) A little more complex than the Juneau in terms of flavor. I still enjoyed the taste. I would have gotten this with a hearty meal in cool weather. Then came Louie's Demise, and the body picked up. This is a more German style ale. This would be more of a cold weather beer, if I was to drink a beer in cold weather. Finally, the Sheepshead Stout. It had that dark Guinness look, and tasted really strong. It was a creamy stout brewed with nine malts. Not my taste. Strangely, of the 5 specific beers I mentioned, the Juneau has the lowest number of votes according to an online survey about people's favorite beer at the ale house. A lot of the darker ones are ranked higher. Ah well.
So I ordered a sirloin steak sandwich and a Juneau beer. Just before my food arrived, a couple of ladies around my age, Mickie and Jamie, sat next to me. It was a little hard hearing them with all the noise, which made for some strange misunderstandings. Like I thought one said she was a baker and it turned out she said banker. They even said I mispronounced Wisconsin, because I didn't say it Wis-caan-sin. They could tell I was from out of state. We talked about work, things to do in the city, and the whole just out of college thing. Sorry, just not much more to say...
The sandwich was served with sauteed mushrooms and onions and horseradish spread on a ciabatta bun with mashed potatoes on the side. Ciabatta seems to be the big bread now doesn't it? It's the midwest's attempt to be Italian. Trying to avoid fries, I hoped the mashed would be really good, especially at an ale house. But no skins, cheese, or herbs. They were just whipped potatoes with seasoning. The steak was cooked perfectly medium rare with a crispy char crust on the outside. The horseradish had a more of a creamy consistency which blended in well with the shrooms and onions. For the sampler, sandwich, and beer, I paid 25 bucks, which is not bad.
Actually, felt like steak and the sandwich was 12 bucks by itself.
That's the way it goes
I guess the biggest rewards in your life come from times when you have to take risks and/or get challenged. With the possibility of a new job, this thought is running through my mind. I had an interview for the Chicago Hounds UHL hockey team that will be playing at the new Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. I would be an account executive, which is a nice way of saying selling tickets.
I don't mind saying I am afraid. The guy I would be working for seems like a fair guy but a little paranoid. After all, his concern is the bottom line, results. And sales is something I've been trying to get away from. But if I want to work in sports, this would be a good start. Because the challenge is just getting your foot in the door. That industry is very exclusive and if I can get in, who knows what it may lead to.
So this guy is going to call me back later this week. Somehow, I feel I'm going to get the job. I'm praying about it. But somehow, I still am fighting fear.
I don't mind saying I am afraid. The guy I would be working for seems like a fair guy but a little paranoid. After all, his concern is the bottom line, results. And sales is something I've been trying to get away from. But if I want to work in sports, this would be a good start. Because the challenge is just getting your foot in the door. That industry is very exclusive and if I can get in, who knows what it may lead to.
So this guy is going to call me back later this week. Somehow, I feel I'm going to get the job. I'm praying about it. But somehow, I still am fighting fear.
Friday, September 08, 2006
The weekend is upon us
And my 65 hours of work are done. Good news: I won the aforementioned contest and my DVD should arrive in a week or so. So Boon Dock Saints will name his fantasy hockey team Claudio Cast-zamboni. I really enjoy making worthwhile contributions to society.
I'm going into Milwaukee Saturday night. Mindy Smith is in concert at the famed Pabst Theater. I'm planning on stopping at the Milwaukee Ale House down on Water Street, getting some dinner, and try some local beer. The reviews I've heard for that place have been really good. And of course, it's supposed to rain which literally happens every time I go to Milwaukee.
Last night kicked off the NFL seaosn. Tight end Heath Miller gave John and I an -87 yard catch for a touchdown in our fantasy league. The tight end gave us 16 fantasy points! Very good start. If only Joey Porter hadn't returned that interception for a touchdown, I'd have been thrilled with last night's game.
Off to play a round of disc golf in Bartlett.
I'm going into Milwaukee Saturday night. Mindy Smith is in concert at the famed Pabst Theater. I'm planning on stopping at the Milwaukee Ale House down on Water Street, getting some dinner, and try some local beer. The reviews I've heard for that place have been really good. And of course, it's supposed to rain which literally happens every time I go to Milwaukee.
Last night kicked off the NFL seaosn. Tight end Heath Miller gave John and I an -87 yard catch for a touchdown in our fantasy league. The tight end gave us 16 fantasy points! Very good start. If only Joey Porter hadn't returned that interception for a touchdown, I'd have been thrilled with last night's game.
Off to play a round of disc golf in Bartlett.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Okay, okay I admit it
I'm going to jump right into this story. And by the way, please give me some feedback. The last comment I have came 3 weeks ago from some St.Louis Cardinal fan, whose blog I had posted on. She was cute in the picture I saw so I had to post...
Two of my favorite sports are pro wrestling and hockey. Now if you aren't giggling, sighing, or shaking your head, this is good. So I'm on the Ring of Honor message boards and this guy (Boondock Saint) has a thread going. He has a fantasy hockey team and he wants to give his team an ROH themed name. He promised a prize to the winner. I thought for about 30 seconds and then the name hit me.
I thought to myself the one thing about hockey that even non-hockey fans love is the Zamboni. There are people who would rather watch this machine with beer ads on it resurface the ice between periods than take a photo with the Stanley Cup, the best trophy in all of sports. So I figured I should do something with the zamboni, since I figured others would try to use it also.
And then in my mind, I began running through the list of Ring of Honor wrestlers and one name stuck. Claudio Castagnoli (pronounced Cast-ag-noll-ee). He's a rich, Swiss mid-card guy who wrestles more of a technical style. He's well known for saying "Heyyy!" kind of like an old Italian family. His finisher, the Ricola Bomb takes its name from Ricola, the famous Swiss cough drop.
And so I combined the two: Claudio Cast-zamboni
The feedback has been incredible. These are actual quotes from other board members, who don't exactly give out praise too easily.
"Winner."
"I'm done. Give it to Claudio Cast-Zamboni."
"Crap, I should learn to read. I say go with Cast-zamboni."
"Claudio Cast-Zamboni... Easy."
"I'm a huge fan of the Superteam of Honor name there, but due to how creative another is, I'll go with: Claudio Cast-Zamboni. Genius right there."
And my favorite:
"Give that man the $10,000!" to which I wrote "I'll take cash or certified check."
Now BD Saint took the top 5 names, which mine is one of, and said the most votes for each one would determine the winner. The other nominees are Team Ghana (after the Embassy faction (Lame!)), CM Pucks (reference to CM Punk (Good one)), Superteam of Honor (named after a famous show (so-so), and Second City Skates (reference to the Second City Saints faction (I like this)). And said he would make a decision by Tuesday midnight and the winner would get a free ROH DVD. It's already Wednesday noon.
The voting as of 12 pm Wednesday is:
Cast-zamboni-5 votes
Team Ghana- 2 votes
Second City Skates-1 vote
Superteam of Honor-1 vote
CM Pucks-1 vote
Hey Boondock Saint, I'm waiting for my DVD! I'll take Joe vs Kobashi!
Two of my favorite sports are pro wrestling and hockey. Now if you aren't giggling, sighing, or shaking your head, this is good. So I'm on the Ring of Honor message boards and this guy (Boondock Saint) has a thread going. He has a fantasy hockey team and he wants to give his team an ROH themed name. He promised a prize to the winner. I thought for about 30 seconds and then the name hit me.
I thought to myself the one thing about hockey that even non-hockey fans love is the Zamboni. There are people who would rather watch this machine with beer ads on it resurface the ice between periods than take a photo with the Stanley Cup, the best trophy in all of sports. So I figured I should do something with the zamboni, since I figured others would try to use it also.
And then in my mind, I began running through the list of Ring of Honor wrestlers and one name stuck. Claudio Castagnoli (pronounced Cast-ag-noll-ee). He's a rich, Swiss mid-card guy who wrestles more of a technical style. He's well known for saying "Heyyy!" kind of like an old Italian family. His finisher, the Ricola Bomb takes its name from Ricola, the famous Swiss cough drop.
And so I combined the two: Claudio Cast-zamboni
The feedback has been incredible. These are actual quotes from other board members, who don't exactly give out praise too easily.
"Winner."
"I'm done. Give it to Claudio Cast-Zamboni."
"Crap, I should learn to read. I say go with Cast-zamboni."
"Claudio Cast-Zamboni... Easy."
"I'm a huge fan of the Superteam of Honor name there, but due to how creative another is, I'll go with: Claudio Cast-Zamboni. Genius right there."
And my favorite:
"Give that man the $10,000!" to which I wrote "I'll take cash or certified check."
Now BD Saint took the top 5 names, which mine is one of, and said the most votes for each one would determine the winner. The other nominees are Team Ghana (after the Embassy faction (Lame!)), CM Pucks (reference to CM Punk (Good one)), Superteam of Honor (named after a famous show (so-so), and Second City Skates (reference to the Second City Saints faction (I like this)). And said he would make a decision by Tuesday midnight and the winner would get a free ROH DVD. It's already Wednesday noon.
The voting as of 12 pm Wednesday is:
Cast-zamboni-5 votes
Team Ghana- 2 votes
Second City Skates-1 vote
Superteam of Honor-1 vote
CM Pucks-1 vote
Hey Boondock Saint, I'm waiting for my DVD! I'll take Joe vs Kobashi!
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
First article
I still remember writing my first article. It was for a newspaper at a summer camp I was attending. I wrote my article and the editor liked my article. She said she liked it but she wanted me to rewrite it. So I thought to myself. "They want me to rewrite it? Forget it. I'll just make a copy."
Eight miles high
That's no exaggeration friends. I went to see Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young in concert last Sunday night in Tinley Park. The show (including intermission) went about 3 and a half hours. All in all, I would rate it as very good.
Mom and I arrived at the venue around 5:30. The doors opened at 6 and the show started at 7:30. For the sake of cash, we had brought seats on the lawn. As we're walking up the ramp that led to the lawn, a guy handed us two tickets. They were upgrades into the main seating area and they were right in the middle section! The prices were so high that most people went for the lawn. Wouldn't it make sense that if they had dropped the price of the more expensive seats by about 10 percent they could have made more money?
And I hung around the concession and souvenir stands for a little bit. I have never seen more expensive items at any venue for a show. 20 bucks for flip flops. $100 for a Stephen Stills Hawaiian shirt. No CD's available. And the food was absurd. 5 bucks for a burger, 3.75 for water, at least 7.50 for a domestic beer, and 15 bucks for a margherita. The cheapest thing I saw were the $2 bundt cakes. Safe to say, I didn't spend a dime.
The first set was basically all electric. The problem was the words were hard to understand with the guitars so loud. If this was Aerosmith, no big deal. But for a group that relies on harmonies and lyrics, it was a big deal. But the second set, which began with acoustics and progressed to rock as the show ended was excellent. The one song I wanted to hear and didn't was Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, arguably CSN's best known song. The crowd popped big for Our House, Teach Your Children, Ohio, and the finale, Neil's Rockin' in the Free World. I was excited to hear Nash's "Immigration Man," "Southbound Train," Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair," and Stills' "Carry On." I loved that they had a more full band. Last time it was a bass player and drummer. This time, they also had a trumpet player, keyboardist, and a pedal steel guitarist! And I love a pedal steel and it made "Teach Your Children" sound like it does on the original record. It also gave a nice touch to "Helplessly Hoping." And Crosby and Nash are so good together I would pay just to see the two of them live.
And there was a strong political message as I knew there would be although I must say it was done well. While performing the acoustic classic "Find the Cost of Freedom," they showed a video of Americans who have died in the Middle East over the last 3 years. As the song went on, the faces were shown, and the number increased. The total is over 2,600.
As for the title of this post, well, let's just say the air was very thick. Even though there were "No Smoking" signs scattered throughout the seating area, half the people around me had cigarettes and cigars. And for a good part of the night, I would say almost half of it, I could smell marijuana. It was so nasty, I can't imagine why anyone would get involved with that kind of crap. And here's the ironic part. For security, you were not allowed to bring in cameras, or any beverages. Not even a bottle of water. I guess the policy is you can take a toke, get high all not long, use stuff that will give you cancer, emphysema, kill your brain cells. But if you try to bring in a bottle of water to keep you hydrated and healthy, they're like "What the hell do you think you're bringing in here?!"
Now have you ever seen that website Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers? Well I saw about 5 guys who looked like clones of David Crosby. I'm talking the mustache, the hair, the whole nine yards. The difference is Crosby cleaned up years ago and I don't think these guys ever did. One of them who was sitting two rows in front of me smoked all night, and drank at least 3 or 4 tall beers. He probably spent more money on drugs than he spent on his tickets.
But in closing, for about 85 bucks for the two of us, the band played a long time, and we got better seats. I'm not sure I would rate it as high as the 2000 show in the United Center when they first reunited, but these four guys can still deliver the goods.
Mom and I arrived at the venue around 5:30. The doors opened at 6 and the show started at 7:30. For the sake of cash, we had brought seats on the lawn. As we're walking up the ramp that led to the lawn, a guy handed us two tickets. They were upgrades into the main seating area and they were right in the middle section! The prices were so high that most people went for the lawn. Wouldn't it make sense that if they had dropped the price of the more expensive seats by about 10 percent they could have made more money?
And I hung around the concession and souvenir stands for a little bit. I have never seen more expensive items at any venue for a show. 20 bucks for flip flops. $100 for a Stephen Stills Hawaiian shirt. No CD's available. And the food was absurd. 5 bucks for a burger, 3.75 for water, at least 7.50 for a domestic beer, and 15 bucks for a margherita. The cheapest thing I saw were the $2 bundt cakes. Safe to say, I didn't spend a dime.
The first set was basically all electric. The problem was the words were hard to understand with the guitars so loud. If this was Aerosmith, no big deal. But for a group that relies on harmonies and lyrics, it was a big deal. But the second set, which began with acoustics and progressed to rock as the show ended was excellent. The one song I wanted to hear and didn't was Suite: Judy Blue Eyes, arguably CSN's best known song. The crowd popped big for Our House, Teach Your Children, Ohio, and the finale, Neil's Rockin' in the Free World. I was excited to hear Nash's "Immigration Man," "Southbound Train," Crosby's "Almost Cut My Hair," and Stills' "Carry On." I loved that they had a more full band. Last time it was a bass player and drummer. This time, they also had a trumpet player, keyboardist, and a pedal steel guitarist! And I love a pedal steel and it made "Teach Your Children" sound like it does on the original record. It also gave a nice touch to "Helplessly Hoping." And Crosby and Nash are so good together I would pay just to see the two of them live.
And there was a strong political message as I knew there would be although I must say it was done well. While performing the acoustic classic "Find the Cost of Freedom," they showed a video of Americans who have died in the Middle East over the last 3 years. As the song went on, the faces were shown, and the number increased. The total is over 2,600.
As for the title of this post, well, let's just say the air was very thick. Even though there were "No Smoking" signs scattered throughout the seating area, half the people around me had cigarettes and cigars. And for a good part of the night, I would say almost half of it, I could smell marijuana. It was so nasty, I can't imagine why anyone would get involved with that kind of crap. And here's the ironic part. For security, you were not allowed to bring in cameras, or any beverages. Not even a bottle of water. I guess the policy is you can take a toke, get high all not long, use stuff that will give you cancer, emphysema, kill your brain cells. But if you try to bring in a bottle of water to keep you hydrated and healthy, they're like "What the hell do you think you're bringing in here?!"
Now have you ever seen that website Men Who Look Like Kenny Rogers? Well I saw about 5 guys who looked like clones of David Crosby. I'm talking the mustache, the hair, the whole nine yards. The difference is Crosby cleaned up years ago and I don't think these guys ever did. One of them who was sitting two rows in front of me smoked all night, and drank at least 3 or 4 tall beers. He probably spent more money on drugs than he spent on his tickets.
But in closing, for about 85 bucks for the two of us, the band played a long time, and we got better seats. I'm not sure I would rate it as high as the 2000 show in the United Center when they first reunited, but these four guys can still deliver the goods.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Big Labor Day weekend...
Well, not really. When you have a bunch of free time from work and no plans, what can you do but blog? I have to say this first of all. And if certain someones from Ecclesia is reading this, and I'm sure she's not, please pay attention. When you have to add fruit flavor into a long island iced tea, it's not really a long island iced tea. The power of the punch has been reduced too much. It's too light and easy. I'd call it more like an East Hamptons iced tea. Raspberry and peach syrup have no business in a long island iced tea.
Crosby Stills Nash and Young concert is on Sunday. I saw them in the United Center six years ago and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Of course we're outdoors and the forecast is calling for rain.
I'll probably hit the gym between now and Monday.
With 12 Ring of Honor DVD's in my collection, I'll watch a few of them this weekend. I can't wait to watch the classic 7-show Milestone series from this past spring.
One more fantasy football draft coming up in 1 hour. Maybe I'll actually get to pick in the top 7!
Time for Jerry Lewis to apply one more coat of black shoe polish to his hair.
Enough rambling. I'm out of here.
Crosby Stills Nash and Young concert is on Sunday. I saw them in the United Center six years ago and it was one of the best concerts I've ever seen. Of course we're outdoors and the forecast is calling for rain.
I'll probably hit the gym between now and Monday.
With 12 Ring of Honor DVD's in my collection, I'll watch a few of them this weekend. I can't wait to watch the classic 7-show Milestone series from this past spring.
One more fantasy football draft coming up in 1 hour. Maybe I'll actually get to pick in the top 7!
Time for Jerry Lewis to apply one more coat of black shoe polish to his hair.
Enough rambling. I'm out of here.
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
More food news
A few months ago, I wrote about the donut burger, the bacon cheeseburger served in between two Krispy Kreme donuts. This is even worse.
Mulligan's, a bar in Suburban Atlanta, specializes in the Hamdog. Get ready to read this and make sure your stomach is feeling okay before you keep reading.
It's a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that's deep fried, covered with bacon, chili, cheese and onions and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries.
Mulligan's, a bar in Suburban Atlanta, specializes in the Hamdog. Get ready to read this and make sure your stomach is feeling okay before you keep reading.
It's a hot dog wrapped by a beef patty that's deep fried, covered with bacon, chili, cheese and onions and served on a hoagie bun. Oh yeah, it's also topped with a fried egg and two fistfuls of fries.
Naming the stadium
I have to call out tennis legend Billie Jean King and NY Times writer George Vescey. These people have publicly stated when the Mets open their stadium in 2009, they should name it after Brooklyn Dodgers great and civil rights pioneer Jackie Robinson.
Folks, this really bothers me. I understand Robinson is a legend, a pioneer, and all of that. But he died 9 years before I was born and more than that, he was never a Met! He was retired before Shea Stadium was on the drawing boards.
The stadium already looks like a replica of Ebbets Field from the outside as the preview picture shows. The Mets have a minor league team in Brooklyn as well. That's enough for me. Why do we have to keep reverting to old traditions? Why can't the Mets embrace their own history and establish a new legacy? When I go to the stadium in 3 or 4 years, I want to see statues of Tom Seaver, Keith Hernandez, and Mike Piazza. Not Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, and Pee Wee Reese.
Another thing. On WFAN, Chris Russo had Vecsey on. They talked about the issue about what to name the new Shea Stadium (in between compelling analysis of Marcos Baghdatis' backhand). I agree with Russo who doesn't agree with Vescey, who thinks that the Mets should name their new stadium after Robinson.
I can see both sides of this argument. I don't want the Mets park to be AT&T park or something like that. Look at he SF park which has gone through 3 name changes in 5 years. But as I've said, Met Life Insurance would be the greatest name in the world! Met Life Stadium is it! But anyway, I disagree with Vescey after his radio appearance with Russo on the strength of Vescey's following response to Russo's assertion that Mets fans would rather see the stadium named after a Met than after Robinson:
"Why does it have to be a Mets player?"
Are you freakin' kidding me George? Are you suffering from dementia? It's because we're Mets fans and the Mets will play in this park! Not the Dodgers.
Here's what I would do. I think they can set aside space for a NY baseball museum honoring the past. But this is the Mets. The Dodgers and Giants have been gone for 50 years now! They're in California, they're out of here. We all know that Mets owner Fred Wilpon has a thing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He grew up with Sandy Koufax. We get that. And I don't have a problem with giving the stadium a touch of the past with a photo wall commemorating the Dodgers' time here. But as I've said, if you do it for the Dodgers, do it for the Giants as well.
And to King, Vescey, and the groups that want the park named after Robinson, here's my advice. Start fundraising now, collect your 10 million dollars for the naming rights, and pay the Mets to name their stadium after the great Dodger. Otherwise they are leading the Mets down the path of a meaningless guilt trip. They could wind up embarrassing the Met organization which is totally uncalled for.
Folks, this really bothers me. I understand Robinson is a legend, a pioneer, and all of that. But he died 9 years before I was born and more than that, he was never a Met! He was retired before Shea Stadium was on the drawing boards.
The stadium already looks like a replica of Ebbets Field from the outside as the preview picture shows. The Mets have a minor league team in Brooklyn as well. That's enough for me. Why do we have to keep reverting to old traditions? Why can't the Mets embrace their own history and establish a new legacy? When I go to the stadium in 3 or 4 years, I want to see statues of Tom Seaver, Keith Hernandez, and Mike Piazza. Not Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax, and Pee Wee Reese.
As one writer wrote, "Rusty Staub should be serving ribs in the center field walkway named "Mookie's Way." Instead, we'll get Duke Snider cooking bratwursts in some alley named after Andy Pafko." And if you're going to acknowledge the Dodgers, then you have to acknowledge the NY Giants as well. How about Willie Mays Stadium? At least he played for the Mets!
Another thing. On WFAN, Chris Russo had Vecsey on. They talked about the issue about what to name the new Shea Stadium (in between compelling analysis of Marcos Baghdatis' backhand). I agree with Russo who doesn't agree with Vescey, who thinks that the Mets should name their new stadium after Robinson.
I can see both sides of this argument. I don't want the Mets park to be AT&T park or something like that. Look at he SF park which has gone through 3 name changes in 5 years. But as I've said, Met Life Insurance would be the greatest name in the world! Met Life Stadium is it! But anyway, I disagree with Vescey after his radio appearance with Russo on the strength of Vescey's following response to Russo's assertion that Mets fans would rather see the stadium named after a Met than after Robinson:
"Why does it have to be a Mets player?"
Are you freakin' kidding me George? Are you suffering from dementia? It's because we're Mets fans and the Mets will play in this park! Not the Dodgers.
Here's what I would do. I think they can set aside space for a NY baseball museum honoring the past. But this is the Mets. The Dodgers and Giants have been gone for 50 years now! They're in California, they're out of here. We all know that Mets owner Fred Wilpon has a thing for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He grew up with Sandy Koufax. We get that. And I don't have a problem with giving the stadium a touch of the past with a photo wall commemorating the Dodgers' time here. But as I've said, if you do it for the Dodgers, do it for the Giants as well.
And to King, Vescey, and the groups that want the park named after Robinson, here's my advice. Start fundraising now, collect your 10 million dollars for the naming rights, and pay the Mets to name their stadium after the great Dodger. Otherwise they are leading the Mets down the path of a meaningless guilt trip. They could wind up embarrassing the Met organization which is totally uncalled for.
Random facts and strange laws
1) There are more than 1,000 chemicals in a cup of coffee. Of these, only 26 have been tested, and half caused cancer in rats.
2) Jack LaLanne is 91 years old. He often says, "I can not afford to die, it will ruin my image."
3) The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
4) Saturday was named for the planet saturn.
5) 45% of dollar bills you'll ever own have been in a stripper's g-string. (Who researched this one???)
6) The average person laughs 13 times a day. (Doesn't seem like enough, does it?)
7) Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.
8) On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
9) Most productive day of the workweek: Tuesday.
10) It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.
11) The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley. (I'm sorry, but is Jesus considered a Western name? Last I checked, he didn't live in this hemisphere.)
And a few dumb laws...
1) In Texas, it is illegal to curse in front of, or indecently expose oneself to, a corpse.
2) In Idaho, the law states all boxes of candy given as romantic gifts must weigh more than 50 pounds. (What if I had a box that weighed 50 pounds with one jellybean inside?)
3) In Atlanta, Georgia, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
4) In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands. (The husband's lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.)
5) According to a British law passed in 1845, attempting to commit suicide was a capital offense. Offenders could be hanged for trying. (Isn't that what the offender would want to begin with?)
6) In Sedona, Ariz., it's illegal to lie about your astrological sign. (That is one free-spirited town, so I'm not too surprised.)
7) In Kentucky, it's illegal to paint your lawn red. (Is that because there are so many bluegrass fans there?)
8) In Tennessee, it's illegal to tell someone to quit smoking.
9) It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone.
Last but not least...
10) In Connorsville, Wisconsin a man is legally prohibited from shooting a gun while his female partner is having an orgasm.
2) Jack LaLanne is 91 years old. He often says, "I can not afford to die, it will ruin my image."
3) The longest word in the English language is pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.
4) Saturday was named for the planet saturn.
5) 45% of dollar bills you'll ever own have been in a stripper's g-string. (Who researched this one???)
6) The average person laughs 13 times a day. (Doesn't seem like enough, does it?)
7) Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.
8) On average, 100 people choke to death on ballpoint pens every year.
9) Most productive day of the workweek: Tuesday.
10) It is believed that Shakespeare was 46 around the time that the King James Version of the Bible was written. In Psalms 46, the 46th word from the first word is shake and the 46th word from the last word is spear.
11) The three best-known western names in China: Jesus Christ, Richard Nixon, and Elvis Presley. (I'm sorry, but is Jesus considered a Western name? Last I checked, he didn't live in this hemisphere.)
And a few dumb laws...
1) In Texas, it is illegal to curse in front of, or indecently expose oneself to, a corpse.
2) In Idaho, the law states all boxes of candy given as romantic gifts must weigh more than 50 pounds. (What if I had a box that weighed 50 pounds with one jellybean inside?)
3) In Atlanta, Georgia, it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or street lamp.
4) In Hong Kong, a betrayed wife is legally allowed to kill her adulterous husband, but may only do so with her bare hands. (The husband's lover, on the other hand, may be killed in any manner desired.)
5) According to a British law passed in 1845, attempting to commit suicide was a capital offense. Offenders could be hanged for trying. (Isn't that what the offender would want to begin with?)
6) In Sedona, Ariz., it's illegal to lie about your astrological sign. (That is one free-spirited town, so I'm not too surprised.)
7) In Kentucky, it's illegal to paint your lawn red. (Is that because there are so many bluegrass fans there?)
8) In Tennessee, it's illegal to tell someone to quit smoking.
9) It is Texas law that when two trains meet each other at a railroad crossing, each shall come to a full stop, and neither shall proceed until the other has gone.
Last but not least...
10) In Connorsville, Wisconsin a man is legally prohibited from shooting a gun while his female partner is having an orgasm.
Monday, August 28, 2006
ROH ain't WWE Part 1
I would have put that not equals to sign in here, you know the = with the slash through it, but my keyboard isn't quite that advanced. I understand I'm a little different than a lot of people in terms of my interests and things like that, but I never thought it was wrong to be different just for the sake of being different. Even if I have to attend shows, concerts, or games by myself, it won't stop me from going.
That said, I'm glad nobody tried stop me from attending my third Ring of Honor show in Chicago Ridge at the Frontier Fieldhouse on Saturday. Hands down, the best wrestling event I've ever been to and one of the best entertainment shows I've ever seen. Considering it was nearly 5 hours for 25 bucks, that's not a bad trade. I will also have pictures in here by Tuesday morning. Here's the recap. The preview is two posts back.
I pulled into the parking lot around 5:45 and the doors opened at 6:30. I stood in line talking with a father and two young sons along with a guy, Frank, who was in town from England. As a gesture of American goodwill, I gave Frank a roll of toilet paper to use later in the night. You'll see why in a moment. Then this lady, who's a camerawoman at ROH, comes out trying to sell us Jimmy Rave t-shirts. This guy is one of the most hated wrestlers in the company. He's the guy we all throw the TP at during his entrance. So she noticed Frank who had TP, and she went nuts on him. And he started pointing at me, blaming me, and I of course denied ever talking to him! I give her credit, she had a comeback for every reason why we didn't want a t-shirt. I guess she's used to hearing the sales rejection. But she was very cool.
I went inside and bolted to the merchandise table. They have a buy 3 DVD's, get 1 free. So if you would not tell this to my mom, I'd appreciate it. I brought 9 DVD's and got 3 free. Yeah, it cost me some money, but look at it this way. How many movies do you own on DVD? TV series? How much did they each cost, roughly? This is basically a bunch of shorter more physical movies and a I got a few free ones on top of it. And as I completed my purchase, I saw Samoa Joe taking pictures and signing. Unfortunately, I just missed meeting him.
I had a third row seat on the hard camera side, which means I'll likely be on the DVD. I'll skip the first 3 matches, since they were the undercard, more or less.
1) Davey Richards vs. Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne. Once again, the Chicago crowd was hot for Sugarfoot. A decent match for Payne who has so little live experience under his belt and a great way to tease Richards' talents for later on in the evening. He's a young guy and he's got a lot of potential.
2) Delirious & Irish Airborne vs. The Embassy and a mystery partner. I was correct. They mystery partner was Nigel McGuinness. And he got a rousing ovation from the fans who know about the great battles he's been giving the World Champion recently. Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinauro were met with the usual TP shower although Prince Nana, their manager who is from Ghana, was not there, which bummed us out as he is an easy guy to hate. This was a good match with plenty of comedy spots, mostly from Delirious' antics and the fans' gay comments at Rave. Nigel got the win after a vicious clothesline on one of the members of Irish Airborne.
3) BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey. Jimmy entered to his usual welcome of waving cell phones, while BJ got what can only be described as a hero's welcome for everything he's done for ROH in 2006. Good match between the former tag team champions, but Whitmer appeared to injure his ankle. He was going to get carried out, but came back. Jimmy got the win with a roll-up, but BJ came away looking fantastic as the man who keeps absorbing punishment.
Commissioner Jim Cornette came to the ring accompanied by the Briscoe brothers. and gave a very solid 10-12 minute promo on his history in the company and his brief, yet volatile relationship with wrestler Homicide.
4) Davey Richards & Homicide vs. Briscoe Brothers.
With the opener being so short, this was Chicago's first real look at what Davey can do in the ring. He did not disappoint. Davey was in the ring for the majority of the match with the Briscoes cutting him off from making the tag to Homicide. Great ending to this one. Davey was able to block the initial attempt at the Doomsday Device but Briscoes ended up hitting a sweet springboard Doomsday toward the end of the match. Not surprisingly, Davey took the pinfall so that the Cide/Briscoes feud will continue to build. But at least he was able to showcase his style that meshed very well with Homicide and the Briscoes.
That said, I'm glad nobody tried stop me from attending my third Ring of Honor show in Chicago Ridge at the Frontier Fieldhouse on Saturday. Hands down, the best wrestling event I've ever been to and one of the best entertainment shows I've ever seen. Considering it was nearly 5 hours for 25 bucks, that's not a bad trade. I will also have pictures in here by Tuesday morning. Here's the recap. The preview is two posts back.
I pulled into the parking lot around 5:45 and the doors opened at 6:30. I stood in line talking with a father and two young sons along with a guy, Frank, who was in town from England. As a gesture of American goodwill, I gave Frank a roll of toilet paper to use later in the night. You'll see why in a moment. Then this lady, who's a camerawoman at ROH, comes out trying to sell us Jimmy Rave t-shirts. This guy is one of the most hated wrestlers in the company. He's the guy we all throw the TP at during his entrance. So she noticed Frank who had TP, and she went nuts on him. And he started pointing at me, blaming me, and I of course denied ever talking to him! I give her credit, she had a comeback for every reason why we didn't want a t-shirt. I guess she's used to hearing the sales rejection. But she was very cool.
I went inside and bolted to the merchandise table. They have a buy 3 DVD's, get 1 free. So if you would not tell this to my mom, I'd appreciate it. I brought 9 DVD's and got 3 free. Yeah, it cost me some money, but look at it this way. How many movies do you own on DVD? TV series? How much did they each cost, roughly? This is basically a bunch of shorter more physical movies and a I got a few free ones on top of it. And as I completed my purchase, I saw Samoa Joe taking pictures and signing. Unfortunately, I just missed meeting him.
I had a third row seat on the hard camera side, which means I'll likely be on the DVD. I'll skip the first 3 matches, since they were the undercard, more or less.
1) Davey Richards vs. Alex "Sugarfoot" Payne. Once again, the Chicago crowd was hot for Sugarfoot. A decent match for Payne who has so little live experience under his belt and a great way to tease Richards' talents for later on in the evening. He's a young guy and he's got a lot of potential.
2) Delirious & Irish Airborne vs. The Embassy and a mystery partner. I was correct. They mystery partner was Nigel McGuinness. And he got a rousing ovation from the fans who know about the great battles he's been giving the World Champion recently. Jimmy Rave and Sal Rinauro were met with the usual TP shower although Prince Nana, their manager who is from Ghana, was not there, which bummed us out as he is an easy guy to hate. This was a good match with plenty of comedy spots, mostly from Delirious' antics and the fans' gay comments at Rave. Nigel got the win after a vicious clothesline on one of the members of Irish Airborne.
3) BJ Whitmer vs. Jimmy Jacobs with Lacey. Jimmy entered to his usual welcome of waving cell phones, while BJ got what can only be described as a hero's welcome for everything he's done for ROH in 2006. Good match between the former tag team champions, but Whitmer appeared to injure his ankle. He was going to get carried out, but came back. Jimmy got the win with a roll-up, but BJ came away looking fantastic as the man who keeps absorbing punishment.
Commissioner Jim Cornette came to the ring accompanied by the Briscoe brothers. and gave a very solid 10-12 minute promo on his history in the company and his brief, yet volatile relationship with wrestler Homicide.
4) Davey Richards & Homicide vs. Briscoe Brothers.
With the opener being so short, this was Chicago's first real look at what Davey can do in the ring. He did not disappoint. Davey was in the ring for the majority of the match with the Briscoes cutting him off from making the tag to Homicide. Great ending to this one. Davey was able to block the initial attempt at the Doomsday Device but Briscoes ended up hitting a sweet springboard Doomsday toward the end of the match. Not surprisingly, Davey took the pinfall so that the Cide/Briscoes feud will continue to build. But at least he was able to showcase his style that meshed very well with Homicide and the Briscoes.
ROH ain't WWE Part 2
Intermission. Slice of cheese pizza and a warm Sierra Mist. The snack table is right next to the curtain where the wrestlers came out. I could see McGuinness, Joe, and Claudio.
5) Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Castagnoli is a rich guy from Switzerland who betrayed ROH by joining their rival, CZW. Joe is an ROH icon, as he was champion for almost 2 years. Fans were chanting "Joe's Gonna Kill You" from the instant the Olympic anthem began playing to announces Claudio's arrival. Joe shook off Claudio's early offense and just ripped into him with kicks and slaps. Joe hit three "Ole Ole kicks" (running kicks into the guardrail on the outside) to ensure that everyone went home happy. Surprisingly, Claudio was able to mount some semblance of a comeback land some beautiful European Uppercuts. But Joe ended that with a Musclebuster for the easy victory.
Post match, Joe discussed his "unfinished business" with Bryan Danielson and laid down the challenge for a title match in Chicago on 10/28. Fortunately, I had already brought my ticket. I would not miss seeing my two favorites go at it. Here's a photo of Joe as he's just entered the ring.
Also during the promo, he referenced his legendary Chicago match from 2 years ago with CM Punk, now in ECW. As the fans were chanting their hometown hero Punk's name, Joe settled them down and said in a shot at the WWE-owned ECW, "Don't get so excited, he's wrestling vampires now!" Huge laugh.
6) Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal (ROH World Tag Team Titles)
From an action standpoint, definitely the match of the night This was one of the best tag matches I've ever seem. Aries came out with his injured ribs taped up so Daniels and Sydal worked them for much of the match. Both Strong & Aries and Daniels & Sydal have worked with each other enough this year that they were able to land some fantastic double team moves. Nothing I could write about the action would do it justice. Anyone who saw Aries' tag matches in Chicago on Wrestlemania weekend will have an idea of the rapid pace and crisp manuevers that all four men were able to uphold throughout the entire match. There were these two girls (about 17 or 18 I think) a few seats down from me, screaming for Aries. And I mean glass shattering screaming. When Aries first entered the match, they started. He leaned towards them and said "Do that again baby." We all went nuts. Aries and Strong win with backbreaker and 450 splash combo. Afterwards, Daniels and Aries agree to wrestle next time we're in Chicago. Awesome. This is Aries with the microphone and Strong close to the camera.
7) Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana (ROH World Title Match), 2 of 3 falls.
Cabana, the Chicago boy, had his last shot at the world title. And the crowd was hot for him. And he comes out to Copacabana, the Barry Manilow classic. Danielson came out to "The Final Countdown" got on my side of the ring, threw his arms out, and screamed "Best Wrestler in the World!"
Cabana jumped out to a 1 fall to none lead within the first ten minutes of the match , following a Colt 45 (Tiger driver/Pearl River Plunge). Colt was clearly in the head of Danielson early and it showed. The Colt 45 and following pinfall stunned the World Champion and put him on the defensive the entire rest of the match, while at the same time increasing the need to get a decision over Colt with each passing second. 15 minutes into the match, Danielson fell through the ropes to the outside and separated his right shoulder. He had to wrestle 45 minutes using his left hand to chop, suplex, headlock, etc. It shows how great he is to be able to improvise like that after such a severe injury. I've separated my shoulder and couldn't put a shirt on myself for 4 days!
Most of the next 30 minutes was mat wrestling with Cabana controlling most of it. Around the 40-45 minute mark, however, the match took a sudden, unexpected brawling twist with Colt and Dragon brawling all around the arena for a good 10 minutes. Danielson hit hit springboard dive onto Colt in the 3rd row of Section B (I was in C) and from that point on, the final 20 minutes were filled with desperation for Danielson, possibility for Colt, and a rollercoaster of emotion for the fans. I couldn't quite catch a lot of the action from my vantage point, but at one point Dragon went to work with a chair and delivered a suplex on Colt to the floor. As they went all around the building, we were shoving our chairs out of the way to let them through. At one point, they actually went right by me! The entire brawling and highspot sequence was brilliant because it not only added some much needed variety to the match, but left the crowd standing on their feet whether they wanted to or not.
Cabana had so many near falls, including another Colt 45. Danielson worked the leg of Cabana, and relied on his trademark maneuvers, especially the Cattle Mutilation, Crossface Chickenwing, and Elbows to the head. Then the announcement came that there were only 5 minutes left. For the final minutes, every move, every hold, every pin attempt sent the crowd into a frenzy because they realized just how close Dragon was to losing the title on a technicality. I have never experienced a crowd atmosphere like the one during the final minutes. I pray that it will come across on the DVD because you just can't imagine how hot the crowd was whether they were cheering for Dragon or for Cabana. The finish was the embodiment of the phrase "edge of your seat" (metaphorically speaking of course because everyone was standing).
With 2 minutes left, Cabana could almost feel the World Title belt around his waist. He constantly asked Todd Sinclair to confer with Bobby Cruise over the time left in the match. He made every attempt possible to dodge Danielson and try to escape with a 1 fall victory and a home win over Danielson. He ran around the ring for a 20 seconds with Danielson chasing. The n with 40 seconds remaining, Danielson asked Sinclair to check the time and when his back was turned, Danielson hit a low blow on Colt, allowing him to utilize a small package to get a 1-2-3! The falls were even at 1-1 at the 59:35 mark. Both men spent the remaining time spent, exhausted, and gasping for air as the 60 minute time limit expired. This match was absolutely incredible! This is Cabana mortified at losing the opportunity and championship that was snatched away from him.
I know the finish sounds cheap, but Danielson did it his way and he once again proved why most consider him the "Best in the World." There is clearly more doubt on the title reign of Bryan Danielson and how much longer he can retain, but the fact is the man went 60 minutes in back-to-back nights and for the 3rd time in 22 days. His endurance is unmatched and when it seems like his back is against the wall and the title will leave his waist, he finds the ability to retain. I hope his injury isn't too serious.
This show was way better than the June show, and I will be purchasing it on DVD when it comes out.
5) Samoa Joe vs. Claudio Castagnoli
Castagnoli is a rich guy from Switzerland who betrayed ROH by joining their rival, CZW. Joe is an ROH icon, as he was champion for almost 2 years. Fans were chanting "Joe's Gonna Kill You" from the instant the Olympic anthem began playing to announces Claudio's arrival. Joe shook off Claudio's early offense and just ripped into him with kicks and slaps. Joe hit three "Ole Ole kicks" (running kicks into the guardrail on the outside) to ensure that everyone went home happy. Surprisingly, Claudio was able to mount some semblance of a comeback land some beautiful European Uppercuts. But Joe ended that with a Musclebuster for the easy victory.
Post match, Joe discussed his "unfinished business" with Bryan Danielson and laid down the challenge for a title match in Chicago on 10/28. Fortunately, I had already brought my ticket. I would not miss seeing my two favorites go at it. Here's a photo of Joe as he's just entered the ring.Also during the promo, he referenced his legendary Chicago match from 2 years ago with CM Punk, now in ECW. As the fans were chanting their hometown hero Punk's name, Joe settled them down and said in a shot at the WWE-owned ECW, "Don't get so excited, he's wrestling vampires now!" Huge laugh.
6) Austin Aries & Roderick Strong vs. Christopher Daniels & Matt Sydal (ROH World Tag Team Titles)
From an action standpoint, definitely the match of the night This was one of the best tag matches I've ever seem. Aries came out with his injured ribs taped up so Daniels and Sydal worked them for much of the match. Both Strong & Aries and Daniels & Sydal have worked with each other enough this year that they were able to land some fantastic double team moves. Nothing I could write about the action would do it justice. Anyone who saw Aries' tag matches in Chicago on Wrestlemania weekend will have an idea of the rapid pace and crisp manuevers that all four men were able to uphold throughout the entire match. There were these two girls (about 17 or 18 I think) a few seats down from me, screaming for Aries. And I mean glass shattering screaming. When Aries first entered the match, they started. He leaned towards them and said "Do that again baby." We all went nuts. Aries and Strong win with backbreaker and 450 splash combo. Afterwards, Daniels and Aries agree to wrestle next time we're in Chicago. Awesome. This is Aries with the microphone and Strong close to the camera.
7) Bryan Danielson vs. Colt Cabana (ROH World Title Match), 2 of 3 falls.
Cabana, the Chicago boy, had his last shot at the world title. And the crowd was hot for him. And he comes out to Copacabana, the Barry Manilow classic. Danielson came out to "The Final Countdown" got on my side of the ring, threw his arms out, and screamed "Best Wrestler in the World!"
Cabana jumped out to a 1 fall to none lead within the first ten minutes of the match , following a Colt 45 (Tiger driver/Pearl River Plunge). Colt was clearly in the head of Danielson early and it showed. The Colt 45 and following pinfall stunned the World Champion and put him on the defensive the entire rest of the match, while at the same time increasing the need to get a decision over Colt with each passing second. 15 minutes into the match, Danielson fell through the ropes to the outside and separated his right shoulder. He had to wrestle 45 minutes using his left hand to chop, suplex, headlock, etc. It shows how great he is to be able to improvise like that after such a severe injury. I've separated my shoulder and couldn't put a shirt on myself for 4 days!
Most of the next 30 minutes was mat wrestling with Cabana controlling most of it. Around the 40-45 minute mark, however, the match took a sudden, unexpected brawling twist with Colt and Dragon brawling all around the arena for a good 10 minutes. Danielson hit hit springboard dive onto Colt in the 3rd row of Section B (I was in C) and from that point on, the final 20 minutes were filled with desperation for Danielson, possibility for Colt, and a rollercoaster of emotion for the fans. I couldn't quite catch a lot of the action from my vantage point, but at one point Dragon went to work with a chair and delivered a suplex on Colt to the floor. As they went all around the building, we were shoving our chairs out of the way to let them through. At one point, they actually went right by me! The entire brawling and highspot sequence was brilliant because it not only added some much needed variety to the match, but left the crowd standing on their feet whether they wanted to or not.
Cabana had so many near falls, including another Colt 45. Danielson worked the leg of Cabana, and relied on his trademark maneuvers, especially the Cattle Mutilation, Crossface Chickenwing, and Elbows to the head. Then the announcement came that there were only 5 minutes left. For the final minutes, every move, every hold, every pin attempt sent the crowd into a frenzy because they realized just how close Dragon was to losing the title on a technicality. I have never experienced a crowd atmosphere like the one during the final minutes. I pray that it will come across on the DVD because you just can't imagine how hot the crowd was whether they were cheering for Dragon or for Cabana. The finish was the embodiment of the phrase "edge of your seat" (metaphorically speaking of course because everyone was standing).
With 2 minutes left, Cabana could almost feel the World Title belt around his waist. He constantly asked Todd Sinclair to confer with Bobby Cruise over the time left in the match. He made every attempt possible to dodge Danielson and try to escape with a 1 fall victory and a home win over Danielson. He ran around the ring for a 20 seconds with Danielson chasing. The n with 40 seconds remaining, Danielson asked Sinclair to check the time and when his back was turned, Danielson hit a low blow on Colt, allowing him to utilize a small package to get a 1-2-3! The falls were even at 1-1 at the 59:35 mark. Both men spent the remaining time spent, exhausted, and gasping for air as the 60 minute time limit expired. This match was absolutely incredible! This is Cabana mortified at losing the opportunity and championship that was snatched away from him.
I know the finish sounds cheap, but Danielson did it his way and he once again proved why most consider him the "Best in the World." There is clearly more doubt on the title reign of Bryan Danielson and how much longer he can retain, but the fact is the man went 60 minutes in back-to-back nights and for the 3rd time in 22 days. His endurance is unmatched and when it seems like his back is against the wall and the title will leave his waist, he finds the ability to retain. I hope his injury isn't too serious.
This show was way better than the June show, and I will be purchasing it on DVD when it comes out.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Strange family past
1) My grandfather didn't speak to my grandmother for three days. He didn't want to interrupt her.
2) My great uncle invented the burglar alarm, but didn't get anything out of it. It was stolen.
3) My great grandfather invented the telephone, but he only had one of them so he couldn't prove anything.
2) My great uncle invented the burglar alarm, but didn't get anything out of it. It was stolen.
3) My great grandfather invented the telephone, but he only had one of them so he couldn't prove anything.
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