Day 119

Tomorrow I am off to Detroit for a trade show. Up and out by 6am for an 11 am meeting at the venue. Today I was supposed to have had my Sirius radio installed in my car at the dealership. As usual with car dealers, they waited until yesterday to tell me that the "antennas are back-ordered" 2 weeks, so my two trips to Michigan in the next 7 days with be without satellite radio. Why is it that everytime car dealers make promises, they cannot keep them? They told me "no problem" when I set this appointment last week when I got the car and when I called them to confirm, they weren't ready. Oh well. Should be the worst thing that happens to me. So I have to wait a couple of weeks.

Spending the last two days of my 20's in Detroit for work is a reminder that indeed my days of doing what I want when I want to are long over. I always feel as though I am not that far removed from college, when in fact is was 8 years ago that I graduated from KU. Those days are long gone. I have gone back to Lawrence for basketball games every year since I left and it wasn't until my trip there last February when I finally felt old. I always say now that I know that I am getting old when someone tells me they were born in 1985 or later. When I can clearly remember what I was doing that year, I am officially old. So I have to work a 9-5 trade show on my 30th b-day. So what. It is my reality at age 30. That is why college doesn't prepare someone like me for the "Real World." Yes - I did get the chance to live on my own, be responsible for bills, managing my money, etc. But the fact is that college is the ultimate 4 year "farewell to the good life" party. Think about this. I was sleeping till noon, partying every night, going to class just enough to get by, and the cycle would repeat. I can see my mom now seething at her computer screen, but she knows its true. We talked about this the other night. I did what I did and I learned from my various mistakes, sometimes having to learn the hard way. But for the most part, I wouldn't change about 90% of what I did. It molded me into what I have become. Do I sound like someone who is excited about turning 30 in 2 days?

We are fast approaching my favorite time of year - March Madness. I absolutely love the NCAA Tournament and the week leading up to Selection Sunday. That first weekend of the tournament is by far the best weekend of the year. 4 days of single elimination college hoops from 11 am to midnight. There is seriously nothing better.

Tomorrow if I get the chance, I will write a blog. But if for some reason I can't, just wanted to let you all know that Leah has requested that she write the blog on my birthday. So be on the lookout for that entry.

Song of the Day: "To Live and Die in L.A." by 2Pac

Day 118

This is being written on the plane flight home from Naples. Last I left you, it was a cloudy Friday morning. We did a little shopping in the morning and had lunch overlooking a bay to kill some time before the sun eventually came out in the afternoon. An aside – I stopped at Ben & Jerry’s for ice cream on the way back and had maybe the best ice cream flavor I’ve ever had (I know P – I use that phrase way too loosely about everything). It was Oatmeal Cookie Chunk. For those of you who like Oatmeal cookies, Ben and Jerry’s has managed to captured this flavor in ice cream. They sell it in pints as well. But I digress. We spent the afternoon out by the pool getting more sun and reading. My Uncle Bart left for me the new John Feinstein book “Last Dance” which is a behind the scenes look at the Final Four experience. I couldn’t put it down. It couldn’t have been more up my alley. Around 4:00, Leah stayed at the pool and my mom and I played tennis. This was quite an experience. I was a pretty good Tennis player in my time. I played in tournaments, took clinics and lessons probably 4-5 times a week and played in high school before quitting my Junior year in a dispute with my coach. I pretty much never picked up a racquet again until this past summer on our trip up to my old camp. My friend Brian and I hit balls on old court #1 for nostalgtic purposes and it was like they say about riding a bike – you never forget how. It was strange; I hadn’t played for close to 12 years and I just loved it again. My mom is now taking lessons (she hadn’t played in over 20 some years) so we both brought our racquets down. I’ll say this, for someone who was out of practice all of that time, she was pretty good. She is a natural athlete. I was all over the place. One minute, I am pounding forehand winners like I did when I was 16, the next I am hitting the ball of the frame of my racquet over the fence. We played a set. Mom jumped out on me 1-0. I won three straight games to go up 3-1. Mom won three straight to go up 4-3, I took the last three to win 6-4. But it was a battle. I forgot how competitive I was since I haven’t really played in so many years. It all came rushing back to me, and I was playing against my mom! I hated to lose then, and clearly, I still do now. But it was a lot of fun playing with her. I don’t love golf like she does, but this is a sport we can play together. The exercise is tough as well. I forgot how tiring Tennis is. We had dinner down in the historic district at a place called Chops. Another great meal and solid atmosphere. Solid Filet’s, good calamari teaser, good wine.

Saturday was Golf Day for my mom and I and a leasure day for Leah. We played at a course at The Strand with Paul and Cookie Joseph, the parents of my cousin Debbie’s husband Steve. I shared a cart with Paul. After 4 hours with this man – I have a new favorite person. The guys is rock solid. He reminds me so much of his son. Both big, laid back guys with good hearts. I got some solid insight into the world of the scrap business and heard some great war stories. My golf game, on the other hand, leaves a lot to be desired. I can do everything, just usually not on the same hole. One hole I drilled the side of someone’s house off the tee. Luckily, no damage was done. I thought it was funny. They didn’t. We were back around 3:30 and I met Leah at the pool for about an hour. The day was mostly overcast and because of this, she didn’t put as much suntan lotion on as she should have and got a little fried. Two days later, looking at her, you would never noticed. It all turned into tan. But it was painful for her nonetheless. We took a little bit of a nap and headed down to a different area, 3rd street, for dinner at Campiello’s. This restaurant unlike the two we had gone to previously, was more Florida. Very bright, white walls, people eating outside. We spilt all thin pizza for a teaser and had pastas for dinner. Nothing was appetizing for us on the desert menu (and of course I was in a rush to be home by 9 for the KU/Texas game which turned into a disaster for my Jayhawks), but we stopped at DQ for Blizzards. Solid call.

Yesterday the weather didn’t cooperate so we went and had an early brunch at the Ritz and went to a Movie. We saw Firewall with Harrison Ford. My review? Skip it. It was about an unrealistic as a movie could possibly be and somehow seemed long for a 1 hour 40 minute movie. Throughout the week. Leah and I were wondering if there were any poorer sections of Naples because it seems like the entire city is inhabited by millionaires who are age 60 and up. “Blue Hairs” was the term of the week. They were everywhere. After the movie we dropped my mom off and went to a mall in Naples. Here is where we found that group we hadn’t seen. I swear when I tell you walking from one end of the mall to the next was a creepy experience. It was white trash and Cuban central. We felt like every single piece of trash and Cuban was inhabiting this mall at the same time. It was so odd. We couldn’t get out of that mall fast enough. Had dinner last night with Sondra and Tom Cristal at their club where they live. Carvery night buffet. Tom Cristal is another one of my new favorite people. He has been coming to Maples in the winter for 30 years now. He had a great line. Talking about a place he used to go frequent, but doesn’t anymore, he said the average age of people dining at this restaurant was dead. That was the perfect line to sum up that town. Leah and I felt like we were the youngest people by 30 years everywhere we went.

Overall, the trip was great. We got some sun, had amazing meals, stayed at an incredible condo, and got to spend quality time with my mom, something we never really get to do much of. I cannot begin to tell her how much we appreciate this trip. I just hope that we can spend many more times like this together in the future. Now back to reality….I have one day at home this week, two days in Detroit, and the Robuck’s coming in this weekend. That and the fact that I have 3 days left in my 20’s……

Song of the Day: “Why?” by Jadakiss

Day 117

Yesterday was as nice of a day as it could have possibly been. 80 degrees and sunny with a nice breeze and not a cloud in the sky. I of course woke up too early for my taste and Leah was able to sleep until 10. The pool at this complex is in the shade until 10:30 or so, so we headed down there around that time. The three of us. It was very funny to me because I know my mom is a goer - she doesn't like sitting around at a pool all day. She did it anyways, even going in the pool and reading her book in between several discussions ranging from houses in Cleveland to why I think she needs an ipod. Around 12:30, we walked down the trail to the beach where there is a beachfront restaurant for Pelican Bay residents only to have lunch. There was a little bit of a wait so we took a walk down the beach. On the walk, three live jellyfish washed up with the tide. That was enough for me to know that I will not be going into the Ocean at all the rest of the week. I am a pool guy anyways. I hate sand. Anyways we had a nice lunch then went back to the pool for a few hours and soaked up more sun. I have to capitalize on my short supply of days to get a tan. Around 4:15 or so, my mom and I headed to the gym where she did her weight exercises and I did 25 minutes on the elliptical machine. Like everything else in this place, their gym is like walking into Bally's. They had 10 of everything. We came back up, showered, and relaxed before dinner.

Around 6:20, the sun began to set and we have the best view of it. AT the risk of sounding cheesy, it was one of the most beautiful sun sets I've ever seen. We took solid photos with it from the balcony of the condo with the sky in the background. When I get home I will put the photos up on the blog so you can see what I am talking about. We left for dinner around 7 in downtown Naples. When we got to the main drag, the street was like Rush St on a Saturday night in the summer, except the people were all 45 and up in age. Our reservation was at a seafood and steakhouse called Truluck's. http://www.trulucks.com/home.asp. This place was amazing. They specialize in Stone Crabs, which is one of our favorite things to eat and they are caught fresh every single day right here in Naples. It was a no-brainer to hat we all were going to order. The Wedge salad was good, the Stone Crabs were huge - the medium size were what the collasal's would be at Joe's - and we had a desert that was the whup. It was a some sort of Mocha Almond Fudge pie. We all shared and devoured it. I am definitely feeling it this morning! A-Plus restaurant choice by my mom.

I was up early again today and am dismayed to see the fog that is covering the sky. According to my mom "its going to burn off by lunch time." We shall see.

Song of the Day: "Waiting for the Sun" by The Doors

Day 116

So we are here in beautiful Naples, Florida. I woke up this morning, walked out on the porch that overlooks the ocean and saw nothing but blue skies and sun. Before I get into how amazing this place is, lets back up to how we got here. We took a cab to the airport thinking that leaving in the middle of the day on a Wednesday, we would have no problem getting to Midway in plenty of time. Little did we know that Stevenson would be a parking lot. It was so bad that our cab driver drove up the shoulder for close to two miles to get us to the Cicero exit. We made the plane in enough time (nothing like a $28 cab ride that turned into a $45 cab ride at 2:45 on a Wednesday) and strapped in for two and a half hour flight. Within 5 minutes I knew we were in for some serious trouble because two rows ahead of us were two two year olds who were already out of control. But, I gave it the benefit of the doubt. I was wrong. I am not joking when I tell you one of them was screaming at all times during the entire flight. It didn't stop unless the two were running up and down the aisle. There was some high quality parenting going on. That was two rows in front of us. The row behind us were a yenta couple who were sitting aisle/aisle. They talked loudly the entire flight. That didn't include their two friends who came up and stood in the aisle right next to me and proceeded to yack away for a good hour. Leah always sleeps on flights and she couldn't sleep. I had my ipod, but that couldn't even drown out the kids. Luckily it was only 2 and a half hours. Serenity Now.

But I digress. We are here now staying at the condo of our family friends the Simon's. I'll say this - this is why being rich doesn't suck. Their condo is incredible. It is on the 9th floor of a high rise overlooking the ocean. It has 4 bedrooms and everything in here is so nice and neat. There is nothing this place doesn't have, including my high speed wireless network. This is definitely the life. My mom went for a walk this morning and is back already and Leah is still asleep. I am waking her up in 15 minutes and we are headed to the pool for our first day of sun. I'll be back tomorrow.....oh oh oh bye now.

Song of the Day: "Back in the Day" by Erykah Badu

Day 115

So we are off to Naples, Florida tonight. Very much looking forward to it. This is the first trip that I've ever gone on with my mom alone. We hadn't been on a family vacation since my 21st b-day trip to Vegas. That was the last hurrah for the Dery 4-some. It was great. We should have known something back then about Lisa when she was pissed at my parents because she wasn't invited, even though she and my brother weren't even engaged yet. It wasn't his b-day, it was mine, and Leah wasn't invited. That is either here nor there. Lets move on. My mom tells me the weather down there right now is perfect. Lock me in for some tan time, golf, tennis, and good meals. I will miss my new car and Casey though. Although I won't miss Casey sleeping in between us.

I don't know about you all, but I am not watching a second of the Olympics. Other than Hockey, I have zero interest in that clown Bode Miller or that a-hole Shanni Davis. Davis is from Chicago so the local news is all over him. Meanwhile, I saw on Sports Center that he is having a feud with another USA speed skater because the other guy thinks he isn't a team player, he is only out for himself. Then I heard an interview on Howard Stern from the NBC coverage after he won a gold medal in which he was a complete jerk. He was asked how it felt to win a gold medal and be the first African-American to win one in US history and he said "feels fine" and stopped talking. The follow up question from this poor interviewer was "you seem upset about something" and he said "nope" and stood there again. She ended the interview there. It was beyond weird. What a loser.

I had to go to the Department of Motor Vehicles yesterday to get a new license. It was totally packed in there. I'll say this - it was like the United Nations in there. I seriously was in the minority by far. Nobody was speaking English. It was an interesting experience to say the least. Props out to Jesse White, head of the DMV, for this system in there. Very efficient and faster than I thought it would be. I was in and out of there in 25 minutes with my new license.

Both my basketball teams, KU and the Cavs won last night. KU is on fire, winners of 10 straight and 17 of 19. Next on the agenda is the game of the year at Texas Saturday night. Primetime National TV game. This is essentially the Big 12 regular season championship game. Good thing the game starts at 9 EST so I'll be able to see it after dinner in Florida.

Call me what you want, but I continue to enjoy American Idol. That being said, 2 hour tv shows are too long. Thank goodness for Tivo. Last night was the top 12 girls first chance to sing. Its taken me one show to pick out who will advance. I don't know there names, but the little black girl was by far the best, followed by the girl who went last. Those two are locks for the top 4. You heard it here first.

Did you catch the opening of the NBA all-star game Sunday night? Announcing the starters in a a dance routine was funny, but this league is trying so hard to unite the hip hop world with corporate world, and it isn't working. The whole weekend was so schitcky and lame. I just cannot stand this league - but props out to Cleveland's own Lebron James on being MVP of the game despite coming off as the second biggest ball hog on the floor next to Tracy McGrady, the hop of all hogs. He makes Kobe look like Jason Kidd.

Song of the Day: "I Don't Know" by The Beastie Boys

Day 114

So I am a proud new owner of a 2006 Black Nissan Pathfinder SE. Am I happy about this - absolutely. It is such a smooth ride and has everything I want in the car (including and most importantly Sirius radio). That is the good news. The bad news is that I walked into the dealership at 5:15 and walked out at 11:20! I have to tell all of my readers why buying a new car may be exciting at first, but turns into a horrid experience.

So I walk into Star Nissan on Touhy at 5:15 and Leah is going to meet me a few minutes later. I am approached by a ultra-cheesed out young guy named Ted. He was wearing a tie and a beat up old leather jacket, was up to my chin, and had a bad goatee. I tell him that I am interested in looking at the 06 Pathfinder SE, preferably in Black, and that I would like to take one for a test drive and get the scoop on the features of the car. Now I have done my research online, knew what I wanted in the car, how much the MSRP was, etc. I just wanted to test drive it, and work out the numbers. "No Problem" Ted told me, he just needed to check on a few things and he would get right back to me. About 10 minutes later, he came back and said he needs to drive me out back to the lot to see what they have available. That process took another 10 minutes or so until we found a Black 4X4 SE. He wrote down the number on the sticker and we drove back to the dealership and Leah was waiting for me there. Leah and I asked him a few more questions and he said he had two more customers he was working on, so he would have to have another guy take us on the test drive. So we waited another 30 minutes before the other guy finally got us the car from the back lot and we went on a test drive. The test drive was a 15 minute deal, Leah and I both drove the car and liked it. So back to the dealership we went to talk numbers. Or so we thought.

We get back in and Leah starts to talk to this second salesman, Matt, about the LE, which is essentially the Leather version of the SE which is about $4500 more than the LE. I knew we were already at the top end of what we wanted to spend as a monthly payment based on the research I did, but we figured it was worth it to price out anyways. At this point its probably 7:00. They put us in an office and Ted comes back and says "So, you loved the LE right? Lets see what we can get done for you, I'll talk to my sales manager. It will be a few more minutes." Keep in mind that they have had my Jeep for 2 hours at this point and still hadn't given me a trade-in figure. Of course, in typical car salesman fashion, they got us all excited about the LE, thinking we can maybe get this done. We wait another 30 minutes. Now we are both starting to get hungry. Ted comes back and starts talking about leasing and how its more bang for your buck and we can get your price under a lease no problem, etc etc. Keep in mind we had told him an hour earlier that we already had one leased car and didn't want to have two, so leasing was not an option. He still didn't have the pricing from his sales manager. So we had to wait again. Another 20 minutes go by before he comes back. He comes back telling us he has the price we need under a lease, but the price for financing couldn't get done for the LE. We told him no, thanks for the time, we had already been there more than 3 hours and we were leaving. He grabbed his sales manager, who tried to give us his bullshit and I told him we were done. He was ready to let us walked, but Ted begged us to stay and said "please, just give me 15 more minutes to see if I can get you in the SE.(the car we came in for at 5:15)" I told him I was done, put my coat on and he literally grabbed me and said "just give me 5 more minutes to earn your business, 5 minutes." I looked at Leah and she said "fine, 5 more minutes."

We talked it over and I told her to go home and that I had it handled. We had our set price that we wouldn't budge from and unless they could meet that price, I would leave. So of course that 5 minutes turned into 40. Ted came back with a monthly payment $30 a month higher than I could afford and I said "nope, i'm done, i've been here close to 4 hours. Either get me the price I want right now and I will sign or I am leaving." He then went to what I was told was "the deal maker of all deal makers" sales manager, who came back to me and gave me monthly figure if I would sign right then. I agreed. It is now 9:15.

To get it done, the added $1000 to the trade in value that they had already quoted me amongst other shady deals I don't care to know about. So now I have to wait for the finance department. Of course they were short staffed so I was in line. I am waiting in an office talking to my brother on my cell phone. Another 30 minutes go by. Ted takes me to talk to a woman who I thought was going to be in finance. She wasn't. I got another 30-40 minute hard sell about Rust-proofing, under-carriage treatments, remote start up, and paint coating protection. It was too expensive and I was already at my monthly payment limit I had set. I told the woman this 4 times and she obviously didn't get the memo. The only point in this exercise was that she set up my Sirius radio for the car. Other than that, it was a huge waste of time. I then moved into another waiting room for another half hour. Finally, I got to do the financing, which took only 20 minutes. I had already reached the end of my rope at this point, so I was past the anger and moved onto laughter. When I finished, I waited another 10 minutes for them to pull my new car and my old car side by side so I could clean out the Jeep. Like I couldn't have done this while I was waiting the previous hour. By the time I got in my car and finally got home, it was 11:40! I had been at the dealership for 5 hours.

To sum up - the car business is the scumiest business I have ever seen. Being a part of that whole process is gut-wrenching, annoying, frustrating, and exciting all in one. I didn't eat dinner, they never let me even leave to go to McDonalds to get anything because they were afraid I'd leave. They kept my Jeep keys away from me and my car hidden. Even when I tried to leave I couldn't get to my car. That is one job I could never do. You really have to be a special type of person for that gig. My father in law loves the car negotiation process - why, I have no idea. Leah and I were ready to kill someone last night. Bottom line and I happy? Absolutely. I have the car I've wanted since I was 16 and it is really exciting to purchase something that you wanted for that long with the hard earned cash I have made on my own.

Song of the Day: "Picture Me Rollin" by 2Pac

Day 113

It could not have been colder this weekend. Friday night was just bitter bother cold. My favorite was when I was dropping my car off at the shop Saturday morning and the temperature gauge in my car said it was -1 degree outside. I called my mom in Florida and she said how beautiful it was there and it was 83 degrees. I said "the crazy thing it, you are 84 degrees warmer than we are right now." Think about that. Crazy. Anyways, I am very much looking forward to being in that weather at the end of the week. We have never been to Naples before and my mom said the place we are staying is real sweet. I'll be breaking out the old Tennis Racquet to play with my mom and I'm going to play golf as well. My main focus is getting some sort of tan and not missing the big Kansas/Texas game Saturday night at 9 PM EST. Kidding about the KU game, well, kind of at least. I'm sure that we will be out for dinner Saturday night and I will probably miss part of or most of the first half. But its a 9 PM tip so I should be fine. Back to the tan - you know what this means - the beard is gone! Yes, I did shave the bear last week before I went to Cleveland for the wake and I look at myself now like I am 18 again. It is amazing how much older I looked with my beard. I was so used to it and I liked it a lot, but it was time to go.

In other developments, we took my car in this weekend to check on this sound that it makes everything I go over a bump. I don't know the first thing about cars, but I know this noise hasn't gone away even though everything I have them check it out, they never can fix it. The long and the short of it is that they think this could be a serious problem, and talking it over with my car advisor, my father in law Max, we are approaching the point where trading the car in and getting value for it is probably the best move. We wanted to go yesterday to test drive some SUV's, but all the dealerships were closed. So tonight I am meeting Leah over at the Nissan Dealership and I am going to test drive a Pathfinder. This is the first time I am going to get my own new car and I have wanted a Black Pathfinder since I was 16. We are going to give it a try and see how it drives.

We went to Joe's Stone Crab this weekend with Leah's cousin Jamie and her husband Darren. It is by far the best restaurant in the city and my favorite restaurant of all time. Everything they have is amazing, from their signature Stone crabs to the Bone-In Filet, all the way down to the best cheeseburgers in the city. Not to mention the deserts. You cannot have a bad meal there. It is impossible. Put that in my top 5 things I will miss the most when we move.

The months of March and April are going to be brutal with work travel. #1 on my agenda is my sit down with my boss when I get back from Florida next week to discuss my move. I am confident that he won't say know, but I'm still nervous about the actual conversation. The key is to tell him how much I love working there and how I plan on being at Prairie long term before I get into my schpeal about needing to be closer to my family. I have it all mapped out. After we get past that meeting, I've got trade shows in Detroit, Cleveland, and Louisville; a sales meeting in Iowa; two weddings; a trip to Las Vegas (3 days for work and 1 day fun). Add in the NCAA tournament which is always my top priority in March and we have a full schedule. That doesn't even take into account Jessica's Chicago shower and bachelorette party next weekend and Leah's trip to Cleveland for Jessica's Cleveland shower. Get me to May!

Song of the Day: "Rastaman Live Up" by Bob Marley

Day 112

I was off yesterday, in Cleveland for the aforementioned wake of my friend Rob's father. It was my first wake and I was very worried about having to see a dead body. Luckily, the casket was closed. The reason, however, was that his father had become so weak and frail that he didn't want anyone to see him that way. It was great to see Rob. He was so appreciative of my efforts to be there, but like I have said before, it is something that I had to do. I am so sensitive to loss, especially when someone loses a parent. Top that with the fact that this was one of my best friends growing up and I had spent so much time with his family. I spent close to an hour at the funeral home and was able to spend a solid 30-40 minutes talking to Rob. I used that time mostly to listen to him and answer his questions about what the next few days and weeks are going to be like. Even though it was only for a short time, I was so glad that I was there for him. The downside of this is that this brought all of those old feelings back to me. Remembering what it was like in that situation that Rob is now in. It is a place I don't like going back to, but it was inevitable. On the way home, the weather in both Cleveland and Chicago was bad and the Southwest gates in Cleveland were an absolute zoo. We ended up taking off about 40 minutes late which was no big deal, but the turbulence was some of the worst I've ever been a part of coming in for the landing. So we were finally on the ground, and Midway was on a hold for all aircraft and all of the gates were full. Even though we had landed, we had to sit on the runway for 45 minutes extra. A long day became longer. Such is life.

Lets talk about other things. Mike Davis resigned yesterday as the head basketball coach for Indiana University effective at the end of the season. This brings to an end the tumultuous 6 years of rumors, outbursts, and questionable quotes to the media. IU is on the verge of missing the tournament for the third straight year, which should never happen at a basketball power. I know Mark P and other IU fans are concerned about the future of this program as many of Davis's players have already said they will transfer to go with him, including arguably their two best players in Robert Vaden and D.J. White. I think IU takes two steps backwards before the can go forward. The problem for the likeable Davis was that he was thrust into this position before he was ready. He wears his heart on his sleeve and it sometimes gets him in trouble. Couple that with the fact that you never want to be the guy after THE guy. And that guy was none other than Bob Knight, one of the most imposing figures in all of sports and an icon in Bloomington. Davis will bounce back and get another job in the south, where he recruits unbelievably well. For old times sake, I put a photo on the blog of one of Mikey D's best all time outbursts a few years ago against Kentucky, where he ran onto the court and berated an official in the middle of the play for missing a foul call.

I read a report this morning online that former Indian great, and at one time, my all time favorite baseball player, Albert Belle was arrested in Arizona for stalking his ex-girlfriend. Albert has had so many off the field problems in his life, but he has managed to stay off the radar since retiring 4 years ago because of complications from his arthritic hip. This is just the latest in a string of issues that revolve around his bad temper. Everyone knows the history - running over kids who egged his house on Halloween, a profanity laced tirade to NBC's Hannah Storm during the 95 World Series, throwing a ball into the stands at a fan who was berating him. The list goes on. I actually feel sorry for Albert as he was one of the smartest and best hitters i've ever seen. Everytime he was up, I though he was going to go deep, and he was so clutch. I hope this story isn't true, but i've got a bad feeling that it is.

Song of the Day: "All the Young Dudes" by Mott the Hoople

Day 111

This morning, I got some disturbing news. My friend Pav called to tell me that our friend Rob's father had passed away. He had been battling cancer for almost a year. It first started in his eye and spread throughout his body and into his liver. He died last night with Rob and his brother Chris at his bedside at his home in Cleveland. Vince Paradise was one of the proudest, toughest men I had ever known in my life. We were all a little scared of him as kids. he was the parent who came to every one of his son's baseball, basketball, and football games. He had a distinct voice, and mannerisms that we all knew him by. I will never forget hearing "Come on Rob!" coming from the bleachers when we were on the field or "Way to shoot 2-7" when Dise was pitching. My all time favorite Vince story was after a basketball game our senior year, our bus broke down so we had to get a ride home from a parent. Dise, Pav, and I went home with him. In the car, we started to talk about how bad our team was and how are coach didn't really care anymore and it showed in our effort. He went on to use his beloved Indiana Hoosiers as an example: "That is the thing about Bob Knight. You've Gotta have big balls to play for him. He weeds out all of the pussies!" We nearly cried laughing so hard.

Pav and Dise were my two best friends in high school and we spent a ton of time with each others families. I have kept in touch with them both throughout, but all three of us live in different places. Dise in Cleveland, Pav in Charlotte, and I obviously live in Chicago. They are still best friends and started a company together, so inevitably, they talk everyday, but I have grown apart from them. That being said, when my father passed away, both of them were at the funeral and came by the house to pay their respects. My father loved them both and the feeling was mutual. So when Pav called me to tell me the sad news, it took me 2 seconds to know that I had to be there.

I talked to Rob for about a half hour this morning. His dad has been fighting for almost a year trying different treatments. The last few weeks the doctors had told him basically there was nothing left they could do. Rob said it was so hard being his caretaker for the past few months, but it was what he had to do. His dad was home the last two weeks and Rob was literally picking him up to take him to the bathroom, holding him up while trying to shave him, dressing him, putting him in the shower. The crazy thing for me is thinking about Rob having to do this knowing what his dad used to be. Vince was a strong, tough man. He would never want anyone to see him this way, the same way my dad felt and why he never let any of his friends see him at the hospital. The only positive that came out of this for Rob was that his dad was in a good place mentally and was ready to go. Rob and his brothers got to say everything to their dad they wanted to say. Everything was on the table, and he says it makes him feel so good to know that. I wish I could have had the opportunity to say goodbye to my dad - tell him I loved him and how much he meant to me one last time.

My condolences go out to Rob and his two brothers Chris and Mike.

Day 110

So today is Valentine's Day. I wanted to just write a little something about my three favorite woman in my life. First, lets talk about my Mom. I know that today is one of those days for her that is the toughest. This is now her second Valentine's day without my dad. I am proud to say that I have seen such great growth in her since last V-Day. Not that my mom wasn't strong then, because I will tell you that she is about as strong as they come. I don't know many other woman who could have handled herself they way my mom has since my father passed away. The winter is tougher for her than the summer is, because she has golf to keep her busy, but this winter i've gotten the feeling that she is now used to life without my dad (as am I now), and is starting to find her niche. I think it is great and I couldn't be any more proud of her. Next week, she is taking Leah and I to Naples, Florida for our 30th birthdays. Should be a good time. I am looking forward to not only getting a tan, but playing golf and tennis (mom's new game) with my mom.

On to someone I don't see or talk to nearly enough my Grandmom. She is as sweet as loving as they come. A marvel at age 92. She still drives to play cards with friends, go to lunches and dinners, and get her hair and nails done. She lived quite the charmed life with my grandfather. I believe they were married more than 65 years when my Grandfather passed away a few years ago. It was a tough transition for her, but she persevered. She is now on her own, but like my mother, has gotten used to life this way. Grandmom thanks God every night for the blessed things in her life and she draws her strength from her 10 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and her sons. What an amazing lady. I hope she is ok today. I will be calling her momentarily.

Last, but not least, is Leah. How many more times can I say in this blog that she is the best thing that has ever happened to me. How lucky I am to have her in my life. That she is beautiful inside and out. That she is talented and smart. That she is fun to be with and so thoughtful. She deserves all the superlatives I can throw at her. Again, I am not a big valentine's day guy, but to be able to look back and say that I have spent now 12 V-days with her is amazing. And I love her now as much as I did back 12 years ago. Even though I was told "we are not doing valentine's day this year" because our 30th b-day's book end v-day, I made sure to take care of her at least in a small way. My love for her grows every single day. To all three of these special ladies, I want to give you my best on this valentine's day and I love you all with all of my heart.

Song of the Day: "Do For Love" by 2Pac.

Day 109

Boy am I tired today. Back 10-12 years ago, drinking back to back nights hardcore was no problem. Just give me a nap at some point and I am fine. Fast forward to 2006 and its two days later and I couldn't be more tired today. I can't sleep late anymore and I think I slept a total of 8 hours Friday and Saturday nights. All I know is that Friday night I passed out around 3 am after eating late night pizza and I was wide awake at 7:30. Poor P had to share a room with me. I did my best to keep quiet and I left the room around 8 to go up to the business center. But I digress.

Lets back up - Friday 9 of us flew Southwest to Kansas City and headed to Lawrence for Sean's bachelor party. You had Sean, Teddy, Danimal, Mark P, Buatch, Franco, Jordy, Sean's Dad, and me. I arranged for a private room at the Hereford House, the one legit steakhouse in Lawrence. Little did we know, having the private room was the move. The meal started off good, we were a rowdy bunch, but again, we were in a private room, and then our server walked in. I felt sorry for the poor girl and Buatch dropped more F bombs on her than Stiffler. The food was good, but the next thing I knew, we had finished our meals, Buatch and Franco were insulting each other, the rest of us laughed and rolled out eyes, we were told to calm down by a manager, and we were paying the bill and rushing out of there. We bar crawled a little after that, hitting up Louise's on Mass for a Schooner (see the photo), then we went to our old go to spot Fatso's. I spent countless hours and dollars at Fatso's over the years and now the place is dead. It seemed like every bar we hit was dead Friday night. Next we stopped at the Jazzhaus for a couple of drinks before having a limo pick us up to take us to "Temple." We dropped Sean's dad off on the way and as fun as it was at "Temple," I was lucky enough to witness one of the funniest scenes of my life. Buatch being absolutely abused on the "bima" by 4 different "Rabbi's." So badly did he get abused, the next day he had a deep dark bruise on his side and welts across his stomach. I was almost in tears laughing so hard. I will leave it at that. Around 2, we got back to our hotel and congregated in Buatch's room and ordered pizza. More craziness ensued, including a cracked out girl, who was an unconfirmed Carmelo Anthony, wandering into our room when the food showed up, and Sean and Teddy eating a Bacon, Tomato, and Onion pizza with warm Mayo instead of pizza sauce. Yikes.

The next morning we all pretty much stumbled up to Buffalo Wild Wings for lunch and to watch hoops before the KU game. Half of us ate (I hooked up some spicy garlic boneless dinger - they are the whup). Beforehand, Buatch and I went down to the Fieldhouse and scalped some seats and met everyone else at B-Dubs. Around 2 we headed to the game. We walked around the newly opened KU Sports museum and Hall of Fame, which is now attached to the front of Allen Fieldhouse. We were sitting all over the arena, since we could get 9 together. We sat 4, 3, and 2. Mark P and I sat together. We were about 19 rows up just to the right of midcourt. Really there are no bad seats in the Fieldhouse. We were in our seats for all of the pregame festivities that a first time visitor to AFH must see. the Alma Mater where the crowd sways, the Rock Chalk chant, and the new introductions which are spine chilling. The game was solid, as KU won by 13, but I am glad that P, Jordy, and Sean's dad were able to go through the Fieldhouse experience.

A nap was an absolute must for the group after a long night and long day. Luckily, I passed right out for an hour and 15 minutes before going for Rudy's Pocket Za's at 8. Of all of the pizza's I've ever had, I put the Pocket Za #1 just ahead of Geraci's Pepperoni in Cleveland. I'd say at 9, we walked across the street to Quinton's where round two began. The first couple of drinks were tougher than normal, but once I got a jaeger bomb in me, I was ready to go. On this night, the bar was packed. The on-going themes of the night were how long would it be before Buatch and Franco pass out and whether or not we were "those old guys" at the bar, gawking at college girls. Around 12:30, Frick and Frack disappeared, and weren't heard from until the next morning, and we clearly were the old guys at the bar in my eyes at least. We went back to the hotel when Quinton's closed and went to sleep.

Another early wakeup Sunday morning was tempered by the fact that we got to go to Mr. Goodcents for my favorite sub of alltime - the Penny Club on white with provolone cheese and mayo. Overall, it was a solid weekend. We all had a great time. The downside is its Monday, I had a million things to do today for work and all I want to do is take a nap. Again, the recovery skills of your body at age 30 compared to age 20 are night and day. Can't wait for that 3 PM conference call I have to lead....I promised Buatch I wouldn't mention the destruction of his hotel room or his puking all over the floor and his bed.

Song of the Day: "A Long Walk" by Jill Scott

Day 108

I'm leaving for Vendor Friday in 10 minutes so lets be brief. Its gonna be a slow weekend on the blog due to my trip to Lawrence and the fact that I doubt I will have internet access or the time to write a blog at all.

The beard, which is liked by many, hated by a few (my mom, Leah, etc) has a 2 week shelf life. While I have kept it neatly trimmed once a week and I love the fact that I don't have to shave really at all, I think it has run its course. Couple that with our upcoming trip to Florida, and you have a recipe for the shave off. I've got on 4 days in Florida to work on my tan, so I have to go all out. You can't tan with a beard.

The diet is still going well. The problem is now that I getting in this strange frame of mind. I am still hungry a lot, but I almost enjoy depriving myself of big meals. My lunches have been soup or a small salad, and my dinners every night have been the small Lean Cusine meals. I snack here and there on a few Wheat Thins, Green Apples, and Oranges. That being said, I am looking so forward to eating whatever I want this weekend. Big steak dinner on tap at the Hereford House in Lawrence tonight. Lock me up for a filet.

Props out to both Jaimo and Ags for mentioning Brokeback Mountain to me. Ags and Julie both enjoyed it and Jaimo told me several people, including her mother, said it was :slow and boring."

Song of the Day: In honor of Sean, "Hit Em Up" by 2PAC

Day 107

One day until Lawrence! I whet my whistle last night by watching another dominant performance by the Jayhawks, winning by 21 over Nebraska. I had more good things happened yesterday at my meeting. My boss and I met with my big client Edward Don & Company, to discuss our new products and the 2006 forecast. He had me do a report on our numbers over the last 6 months. When I sent it over to my boss, he called me and said "are these numbers correct? Because if so, that is great stuff." Turns out we are up in each of the sic distributions centers and overall we are up 19 % in cases and 13% in dollars. My distribution center, Chicago, led the way with 23% in cases and 16% in dollars. The meeting went really well and my clients again told my boss that they are very happy with my service levels. I think that now that he has seen the numbers and heard things are going well with my service, I may strike while the iron is hot on ask about moving. We have had conversations in the past about it, but never anything serious. I am so nervous about asking, but I am very confident he will allow me to move. Keep your fingers crossed.

My man Andy "its Andrew" Rafal showed me a real sweet website that everyone should check out. Its http://www.zillow.com . You can type in any address of any house, condo, etc, in the country and it gives you a satellite photo of the house, the specs on it, and how much the market says it costs. Its very cool and worth a look.

The other day on Howard Stern, Howard revealed that he had received a copy of Brokeback Mountain on DVD, an Oscar screeners version. He said he started it before bed and couldn't turn it off. He then went on to say it was one of the best movies he had ever seen, after spending weeks trashing it and saying he would never see it. Go figure. Other than my mom (who didn't like it), I don't know anyone else who has seen it. I have no interest in seeing it, but I am curious to hear what others think.

Today I went to a meeting with a Don sales rep at Medinah Country Club. This rep is 78 years old. 78. He still is an Edward Don street salesmen and according to people at Don, he is still pulling in top numbers for them. I would never be a street salesmen like these guys at Sysco, Edward Don, etc. It is a 7 day a week job and it is your life. All I know is if I am 78 and had to be a street sales rep, just put a bullet in my head and end it for me.

Song of the Day: "Rough Ryders Anthem" by DMX

Day 106

I honestly had nothing to say yesterday. Had a ton of work to do and finally sat down yesterday last afternoon to write and I was thinking to myself, why force it when there is nothing to say? Today is Wednesday already. Fast week thus far. I am eagerly anticipating the run of great weekends continuing. Friday, after going to vendor Friday at my client, I head straight to Midway to catch a Southwest flight to Kansas City. A short 45 minute jaunt to Lawrence is next for Sean's bachelor party. Odds are I won't be able to blog this weekend at all, maybe one day tops, Sunday night for sure I will be able to hook up a recap. On the agenda this weekend besides heavy amounts of alcohol consumption is a steak dinner, the Iowa State/Kansas game, and watching the Buatch make an ass out of himself. Should be a great time. I was with Mark P on Sunday and Buatch called me. P told me to ask Buatch if he was going to get crazy this weekend in Lawrence and his response was "Tell P he doesn't have anything f'ing to worry about."

Two things of interest I watched last night that bear discussion. While I was doing some work, Leah had on the Bachelor that she had tivo'd the night before. I have been off this show for a while because I think it is the ultimate in garbage tv, but it is almost like a car crash, you have to slow down a look sometimes. This show is amazing to me. These hot woman fight and throw themselves at a good looking successful guy and within 4 days, they are already in love. Last night was a classic because one of these woman is a wanna be actress who wants to move to LA and she is so phony. She keeps telling the guy how she "can feel herself falling in love" with him. Then another one of these girls tells her mother how she feels as though she fells as though she "has known him forever." They leave these taped messages for him at the end before he makes his decision and a third girl is balling crying on the tape saying how she is "forever changed for knowing" him and that she "never knew she could feel this way about another person." It is beyond laughable and pathetic. Next Monday is KU/Oklahoma State so I won't be watching with Leah, but I have to admit, I may have to Tivo it.

The other thing I watched last night was Duke/North Carolina on ESPN. This is the best rivalry in college sports, maybe even in all of sports, and their games never disappoint. Again last night, the #1 Duke team rushed out to an early lead and UNC stayed within 5 points at Halftime. In the second half, Duke looked as though they were going to run away with it. They went up 15 points with about 12 minutes left. But as always in this rivalry, the team trailing, UNC, came rushing back. Carolina coach Roy Williams did one of his classic moves, benching all 5 of his starters and they bench guys gave an inspired effort and started the comeback. The starters came back in and UNC took the lead. That is when Duke All-American J.J. Redick decided to take the game over. Everytime UNC would take the lead, he would hit a three, draw a foul and sink two free throws, or create an a UNC turnover. He single-handedly won the game for Duke, but it came down to the end again. The only bad thing about last night was having to listen to Dick Vitale spout out his love for UNC and Duke for 2 hours. His act is so tired and so old. How many more games do I have to hear him say "Do you believe they pay me to do this? I'm stealin money baby!" The one thing I admire about him is his passion for college hoops, because there aren't too many of us left out there who love the college game.

Congrats to one of my favorite TV personalities, Tony Kornheiser from Pardon the Interruption. It was announced today that he is part of the new three man Monday Night Football on ESPN with Mike Tirico and Joe Theismann. He and Michael Wilbon will also be doing PTI every Monday from the site of the game. I am just wondering how he is going to travel, as he is deathly afraid of flying and never goes to any sporting events out of town anymore for that very reason.

Song of the Day: "Mercy, Mercy, Me" by Marvin Gaye

Day 105

So last night was the Super Bowl. The Steelers won, big deal, nice for Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis, two of the classiest men in all of sports. What is sad to me is how this game has become the most commercialized event in the world. I have two friends from Pittsburgh, Doug and Brian. Both of them are die hard Steeler fans and wanted to go to the game. For two weeks, they did everything they could to get seats. My brother tried to help them out with his connections to no avail. Face Value for the worst seats in the house was $600 a ticket which is insane to me. While they both ended up getting seats, they had to pay through the nose for them. I haven't heard anything less than $2700 a ticket as the going rate to get in. The real fans have no shot unless they want to take out a second mortgage if they want to see their team in the Super Bowl. Yet, the cast of Lost was probably sitting at the 50 yard line.

I remember the 86 and 87 Browns when they were in the AFC Title game. Both years dad had said we would go to the Super Bowl if the Browns made it. Back then, it would have been pricey, but it was doable. I look now and say to myself, if the Browns made it, I would love to go, but I'm not spending $5000 on a weekend to sit in the nose bleeds. Face value, maybe, but its impossible to even get face value at this point. All the tickets go to the big corporations. I know what you are thinking right now - "I wouldn't worry about the Browns ever making it to a Super Bowl" and you are probably right.

Then lets move over to the Rolling Stones. I'm sorry, but that halftime show was some of the worst crap I've ever listened to. What's worse was watching 60 plus year old Mick Jagger, disturbing to look, prancing around the stage like a fool in a belly shirt. They sounded bad, looked old and tired, and have nothing to do with the city of Detroit. Why not Stevie Wonder at halftime? He is Motown sound. Now I am a Beatles guy, not a Stones guy, but I dare any Stones fan to tell me that their performance was good. Last year, Paul McCartney was so amazing live and sounded so good that I couldn't wait for him to go on tour so I could go see him. The Stones on the other hand need to hang it up.

The real Super Bowl yesterday for me was the Oklahoma/Kansas game. Down 16 in the second half and left for dead, my Jayhawks slapped on the full court pressure, came all the way back, and finished the game on a 19-3 run to win a huge game. One of the more exciting KU regular season games I've watched in years. We have won 5 straight, 12 of 14, and are peaking at the right time. The best part is we start three freshman and two sophomores and are still under the radar nationally. I smell the improbable deep tournament run baby!

Special thanks go out to my cousins Julie and Steve and his girlfriend Julia, as well as MD. Had a great weekend with all of you. Friday night was a night for the ages and I'm glad you could be there to help me celebrate.

Song of the Day: "Party Time" by Damien Jr. Gong Marley

Day 104

Lets first start of by saying that my wife is unbelievable and amazing, and you are all great liars. Last night with my cousins Steve (with girlfriend Julia) and Julie and MD in town, we had planned to go to Piece for dinner, a cool pizza place and brewery with Ags and his Julie. In essence it was dinner with two Julie's and a Julia. Anyways, MD, Julie, Leah and I got in a cab and headed to Piece. When we walked in it was wall to wall people and I immediately said to Leah "I told Ags we should have called ahead, we will never get a table for 8 here" Leah said, "Ags is over there" and we walked towards this level down private area where I looked down to see a sea of familiar faces. From Eric and Chari Schwartz coming all the way from Long Grove in the burbs, to Podo and Arnie (in from Milwaukee), to My mother in law (in town for a shower), there were a ton of people saying "SURPRISE!!!" I was absolutely floored. I had zero clue that Leah had anything planned. My 30th birthday isn't for a month but we are so busy over the next month and the weekend of my birthday is Jessica's shower and bachelorette party, so that was out. All week I was so looking forward to Friday night because everyone was in town and I was trying to get everyone to meet out for drinks after dinner. I never put two in two together when Dave cancelled on me on Thursday, Mark P was supposed to meet us out, but I never heard back from him all day, Jaimo said her mom was in town, Melsh sent me an email saying his wife wouldn't let him go out, Gregg told me Rebecca was sick, and K sent me a text saying he was out as well. Crazy how I never put this together. I'm glad I didn't, it would have ruined an amazing surprise.

We had a huge crew. We had teasers, pitchers of beer, pizza, and a cake. The more the night progressed, the more I drank. I had a few beers to start then the shots started and I switched to Vodka. I tried my best to talk to everyone for as much as I could, but it was tough with such a big crowd. I wanted to spend as much time as I could with my brother. This night, to me, originally was for him. With everything he is going through, I wanted him to have a great time, get "all banged up" with me and my friends and let off some much needed steam. In being with him most of the day today, I am happy to report he had a blast. I am hoping everyone did.

After the party I'd say 20 of us moved to a different bar in Bucktown, Nick's. We kind of took over the back room area. Immediately, Melsh, MD, Arnie, Podo, Julie, and I threw down a Jaeger bomb. About 10 minutes later Mark P came in demanding we do another one. At this point I was pretty well taken care of. The rest of what happened at Nick's comes in bits and pieces to me. I remember taking a 4th shot at the bar with Steve and Mark P and almost losing it. I remember the bouncer threatening to throw Steve out if he didn't put his shirt back on. I remembered some weird conversation involving why K and Francesca aren't engaged yet. Next thing I knew it was 1 AM and we were walking to Flash Taco and I was ordering a Burrito. Dave walked into Flash with the "30" balloons Leah brought from the party. Singer was still trying to work my brother. Julie was burying a chicken burrito. P was being P. It was legit. I needed that burrito badly. Had I gone home and tried to go to bed at that point, trouble may have ensued in my stomach. The night couldn't have been more perfect or more fun.

When you out them all in one room, I never realized how many good friends I truly have. Looking back it makes me realize how lucky I am. All of you who were there and who read this blog, I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for being there. My wonderful and loving sister in law Jessica deserves special mention for being a help to Leah plan this surprise. And to Leah, what more can I say about her. I think everyone agrees that I am beyond lucky to have her in my life. For her to organize such a great party and keep this a secret without me having any inclination about it is pretty amazing. She deserves all the accolades that she got last night. Thank you my dear, for making last night one of the best nights of my life.

Song of the Day: "Award Tour" by A Tribe Called Quest

Day 103

So last night I had dinner and a drink with Cousin Steve, and girlfriend Julia, and Ags. Early reports give Julia the big thumbs up. She is a sweetheart. We went over to Riverview Tavern over by me. It was classic Dery conversation in that there were 4 people at the table and we would start one conversation, the other three people who cut that person off and go into another story and the cycle would repeat. Ags knows what it is because essentially he is a Dery in everyone in our families eyes. So the conversations covered everything from Steve's health to my father's rug. Speaking of which, we were watching the Cavs/Heat game on TNT and they showed Marv Albert and I said "look at Marv's rug. Who's rug is worse, Marv's or my dad's?" Ags said "definitely your dad's." Now it was one of the worst kept secrets ever that my pops wore a toupee. I never thought it looked that bad. To me, it looked kind of normal. Yes, his hair was always perfect, I saw him use a truckload of hair spray in his life, and the front of it stuck out a little where you could see the hair wasn't coming directly out of his head. But the bottom line is that it made him feel better about himself. My mom liked him better this way as well.

Some funny stories about dad and his rug: Once when I'd say I was in 10th grade, my friend Pav stopped by my house late night on a Friday and he wanted to see if I was home, so he came around the back. In my house going around the back means you can see into the family room and the chairs facing the TV where my dad always sat in his robe. So Pav came around, saw my dad's bald head, freaked out and left. The next day he called me and said the worst kept secret in the Dery household had now been confirmed, my dad wore a rug. The cutest was for i'd say 4-5 years, dad never took his rug off in front of Leah. I kept teasing her about it and she said she was borderline scared to see him that way. So once we were sitting in the family room late night and dad turned to her and said "you know what Leah, I think its time" and she said "no!" as dad started to take the rug off. She then thought he looked so cute this way and has always maintained he should have gone sans rug all of the time. Very funny. The best is that he had two different ones, one for when he was playing golf or going to a baseball game where he would be wearing a hat over it, and his everyday piece. Just another classic piece of info on the legend himself, my father. Makes me smile. I miss him every single day.

Song of the Day: "Cher Chez La Ghost" by Ghostface Killah

Day 102

Well Cousin Steve and his lady Julia make it in tonight. Ags and I will be having dinner with them somewhere where we can watch the Cavs/Heat game on TNT. Looking forward to it. Speaking of basketball, I watched the Duke/Boston College game last night on ESPN. First off, it was a great game won by Duke 85-83. The atmosphere at the Conti Forum in Boston was great. Everyone in the crowd had on Gold t-shirts, the BC players fed off of the crowd and the Duke players relished in it. I've said this before, but it bears repeating. How can anyone say the NBA is a better watch than college basketball? Regular season NBA games are about as exciting as watching the grass grow if you don't have Lebron James or Kobe Bryant on your team. I can watch Cavs games because of Lebron, but the years leading up to the Lebron era were unwatchable. Dan McNeil, the #1 sports talk host in Chicago said last week that the NBA "is like watching the Senior PGA Tour." I think that is a great analogy. Who is watching a Golden State/Denver game on Friday night on ESPN? You can say the same thing about major league baseball, but baseball has the history and thousands of Americans play fantasy baseball keeping interest throughout the league. Why would anyone want to go to a Tuesday night NBA regular season game when any good seat is $75 and up? A Family of four can go to a baseball game for $100 and sit in good seats in most ballparks. Plus its the summertime, people love being outside in the summer for a ball game. Moving back to college hoops, the tickets are affordable, the fan base for the programs are rabid, and the kids are still coachable. I read in the Sporting News this morning how Atlanta Hawks G Salim Stoudamire was benched for 2 games because after he was removed during a game, he threw his towel and inhaler at the coaches after sitting down. Vintage NBA bullshit right there. You do that to your college coach and you are done. Give me KU/Missouri over a Cavs/Heat game all day long.

Anyone out there who can help Leah get a new job, let us know. They changed her role around at work and this just isn't going to fit what she can do. They have laid off 20 people from her team and are jagging her around with this new role. Add in her horrible commute and you have a recipe for a new job. Anyone who can help email me. I have her resume ready!

Sorry to be so short today, but I am swamped here with work.

Song of the Day: "Tired of Bein Alone" by Al Green

Day 101

One of my faithful readers (who shall remain nameless) told me that I was being too harsh on Oprah in yesterday's entry. It is what it is. As they say, sometimes the truth hurts. Speaking of the Oprah/James Frey, my main man Mark P's letter to the editor, posted on this blog first last Friday, was published in today's Chicago Tribune in section 1, page 20. Props out to P. I'm sure Elaine and Stu are busting today.

I wanted to just drop a little comment on all of you to update you all on the progress of my brother. Everyone knows that MD is my best friend. There is nothing I wouldn't do for him and I talk to him everyday. Its no secret now that he is going through a divorce. On top of the fact that when he is actually in town he has to do sports updates at the station, it is his busiest time of the year with the Pistons season in full swing as well as the University of Detroit play by play gig having him out of town almost every week. He is seeing his kids as much as he can and being the best father he possibly can be. Between his multiple jobs and keeping up with the kids, he is exhausted. I feel for him every single day. I wish there was a magic button I could push to make this all easier for him. As hard as this is for him, the growth I have seen in him has been astounding. Nothing phases him anymore. He knows how to handle the situation 1000 times better than he used to. He is Mr. High Road. Like he said to me in an email this morning: "I have taken so many punches and I am not only standing, I am dancing around the ring." My mom is in town this week helping Matt with the kids while their mother is out of town. Its good for both of them. My mom loves seeing the kids and Matt can get some much needed rest. Although, MD told he they were up at 4:45am with Reese this morning and he had to work the morning shift. I'm real excited to for MD to come in this weekend for his Saturday game. Friday night will be the first time he will really be able to let loose without any responsibilities for a long time. We've got the three Dery grandsons in the same city - look out Chicago.....

Song of the Day: At MD's request "Hate it or Love it" by The Game