Day 216

I'm sorry for the week off, but I think I deserved a one week blog vacation. The last time I left you, I was on my way to see "We are Marshall." You definitely must go see this movie. We loved it. Great story and great acting. I think it is impossible for anyone to not enjoy it. Its been a pretty relaxing vacation for the most part. Movies, naps, and a lot of eating. I am trying to get it all in now - the eating that is, because as of tomorrow, January 1, I am going back on the starvation diet. Now for the highlight of the vacation.

So as I mentioned a few weeks back, MD's University of Detroit Titans were going to Lawrence to face my Jayhawks. This was MD's first trip to the Fieldhouse and probably my one and only opportunity to sit courtside and have all access. I flew out on a 6:30 flight out of Phoenix and had to connect through Houston (Had a confirmed Trichelle from Real World Las Vegas sighting at the airport - she looked bad. Too thin and was sporting a bad blonde hairdo. Nothing worse than this moron yakking away on her cellphone at 5:30 in the morning crazy loud). I landed in Kansas City and met MD in Lawrence at the hotel around 1:30. We went down Mass street for lunch. I had to take MD to my go to spot for the best delicacy in Lawrence, The Rudy's Pocket Za. We both buried medium's with Pepperoni (dipping it in Ranch is the key). We then took a walk down Mass, got some shirt for his kids, and got back in the car for a little campus tour. I took him through campus and past all of my various apartments where I lived. Other landmarks were included as well on the tour - The old Little Caesars where I used to work and is no longer there, The bar The Crossing - home of the infamous Eric Chenowith incident, and the staircase where Scott Whittaker (may he rest in piece) was arrested. We got back to the room, relaxed for an hour and headed to the Fieldhouse. We arrived a couple hours early so we could soak it all in. We had a parking pass right across from the arena. We walked in together, a moment I had long waited for, and a huge smile came across my face as we headed right onto the floor. As the minutes got closer, the Fieldhouse began to fill. Bob Davis, the longtime voice of the Jayhawks walked over and introduced himself to MD. He was looking for some pronunciation help on the Detroit players. MD introduced him to me and told him I was a KU grad. Next thing I know its 20 minutes later and Bob and I have just had a one on one conversation about the state of the KU program, Royals baseball, and how much he enjoys the city of Cleveland. I got a photo taken with him as well. Great guy.

My friend Sheri was in town visiting her parents and MD got her and her father two tickets - right behind the Detroit bench. Since I couldn't take photos from the scorers table during the game, I had Sheri on photo duty. Just before the game, the referees took the floor, led by the legend himself, Eddie Hightower. MD of course knew him and I made sure to snap a photo of the two of them. Its a classic. As we awaited tip off, the national anthem was sung, followed by the alma mater where the fans sway back and forth shoulder to shoulder. Then comes the Rock Chalk chant. MD loved every minute of it. The game tipped off and the crowd was loud as usual, even without the students there. 16,300 were strong as usual. The game was rather ho-hum, except for the fact that I was sitting so close. Now I have been to many sporting events in my day, but I can honestly say I've never seen anything like this. Early in the second half, out of nowhere, there was a stoppage in play. The ball boys started to clean up what I though at the time was a wet spot on the floor. I look over at Sheri and she gives me the finger down the throat sign. It turns out, Detroit assistant coach Garland Mance threw up on the floor, right in the middle of the game. It was so strange.

After the game ended, MD did a little postgame show and then we packed up his stuff and went into the locker room area for Coach Bill Self's press conference. We sat in the room and listened to him take questions from the media. During it, MD turned to me and said "I have heard all of this bullshit before," to which I replied "shhhhh." I was totally into it. As it ended, we waited outside the door and out walked Coach Self. MD congratulated him and introduced him to me. He gave me a huge smile, shook my hand, looked me right in the eye and said "Hey, Todd, nice to meet you. Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" I said that I always have a great time at the Fieldhouse and he gave me another big smile, said "nice to meet you," shook my hand again, and walked to his office. I can see why high school kids want to come play for him - he is so charismatic and doesn't come off as a phony, the way Roy Williams does. MD and headed back to the floor and took a bunch of photos together. The whole experience was so great and so well worth the travel. MD came through big time and delivered on everything. I saw the Fieldhouse in a way I have never seen it before and sat courtside and listened to my brother call a KU game from the front row.

So in my last blog for the new year, I want to wish you all a very happy and healthy new year. We have big things coming in 2007. I'll be back to my regular Monday/Thursday schedule starting this Thursday. Topics will surely include the execution of Saddam Hussein, New Year's Eve, and getting geared up for the baby. I'm off to see my nephew and niece at the dog park. Should be fun seeing the ex-Mrs MD for the first time in a while. Let the bitterness begin.

Song of the Day: "Busta's Lament" by Q-Tip

DELAY

Sorry for the delay....i will have the blog abot the Lawrence trip soon

Day 215

Merry Christmas to all of you out there. I am live from Scottsdale, Arizona. It is sunny and somewhat chilly here. Since we arrived here on Friday, the temperatures reached about 63 degrees. The sun is always out, but its definitely long sleeve weather most of the time. As I said, we flew out here on Friday. On our plane were my friend Gregg's parents, and the Lepene brothers (and wives), who I went to high school with. I haven't seen Scott in years, and the first thing he said to me was "I was so sorry to hear about your father. He was such a great man." These are the kind of things you don't forget. It happened now two years ago and I probably haven't seen Scott in 8-10 years. What a class act. Because of Leah being 7 and a half months pregnant, we were put in the bulkhead row, which gives us more leg room. It was huge considering I was in a middle seat. That was the good news. The bad news was that the tray-tables in that row come out of the arm of the seat. Poor Leah, she couldn't get her tray-table over her stomach! So we had to share. We brought our DVD player with and watched "Good Night, and Good Luck", the story of Edward R. Murrow's crusade against Senator Joe McCarthy's communist call-out. While it was mildly interesting from a history standpoint, I found it to be pretty boring. I liked it better than Leah did. David Starthairn did a spot on portrayal of Murrow and George Clooney was his usual solid self as producer Fred Friendly.

Yesterday was day #1 of our movie tour - we saw "The Pursuit of Happyness" starring Will Smith and his son Jaden. Not only was this movie pretty much depressing, it was so slow. You figure out exactly what is going to happen in the end right away but getting there seemed to take forever. I'd give it a C. Not the worst movie I ever saw, but I'd tell you to pass. Today, like all good jews do, we are going back to the movies and going out for Chinese food. The selection today is "We Are Marshall" , which I am very much looking forward to seeing. My friend Sheri saw it and said she literally cried the whole time, but it is so good. The rest of the week will most likely consist of a couple more movies, and the Nordstrom Men's sale. Since the pregnancy and the double mortgage have been in full effect, I haven't bought any sort of clothing, shoes, etc. This is usually my one shopping excursion of the year. Thursday I am off to Lawrence, Kansas to meet my brother for the aforementioned Detroit/Kansas game at Allen Fieldhouse.

I will be off the blog until Friday to recap the behind the scenes experience with my brother in Lawrence. I'm just out in Arizona enjoying a relaxing vacation. The highlight thus far was the reunion with Casey. I cannot tell you how good it was to have her back. She has been an all star since the minute we got here.

In case you didn't hear, one of the alltime music legends, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown, died this morning from complications from Pneumonia. Brown was only 73. I was a fan of his music and his style. Nobody out on a better stage show in his day than "Mr. Excitement, Mr. Dynamite, and the hardest working man in show business."

My condolences go out to Melissa and Bobby Melsher on the lost of Melissa's father last week.

Two sports related items:

• Over the past couple of months, I began to strike up an email friendship with Pistons GM Joe Dumars. Essentially it started as some political discussions between Joe and my brother and MD brought me into it. Next thing I know, Joe and I are one on one with emails weekly. He literally couldn't be a better guy. He is such a smart man, not just with his moves running the Pistons, which he does brilliantly by the way. So this past Thursday, the Cavs played the Pistons in Cleveland. Jared took me in his seats. Joe and I planned to meet for to face for the first time and we did towards the end of the Pistons blowout win. Again, he couldn't have been nicer. I know it sounds strange - why would he bother with me, but we just seem to get along well and share many of the same views on the world.


• Nice showing by the Browns yesterday. Its just one disgraceful performance after another these days. Can it get any worse? What I don't get is that they still pulled over 55,000 fans at yesterday's 22-7 loss to 4-11 Tampa Bay. Romeo Crennel decided to bench big-mouth Braylon Edwards for "undisclosed reasons." Where was this weeks ago when it mattered? Edwards allegedly missed a team meeting Friday because his power went out. Funny thing is, our power went out Thursday night as well. Not that I am defending him because I think he is an absolute clown (I saw him at the Cavs game Thursday night with his boys wearing a leather Fedora tilted to the side). Every time I think we have hit rock bottom, we go a rung lower.

Song of the Day: "Hot Pants" by James Brown - the trumpet breakdown in the middle of the song is the best.

Day 214

Well you have waited and here it is. The Best and Worst of 2006. The year that was in the world of entertainment. I have been told that I watch more TV than the average person, and last year's list was so well received, that I am back for year two. Feel free to leave any comments in the comment section at the bottom. The rules of eligibility are if I watched it in 2006 and it came out or was aired over a 18 month period. Here we go....

Movies: 2005 was a pathetic year at the box office, and overall the decline in quality movies has continued in 2006. I'm not proud to admit I saw Artie Lange's Beer League in the theatre. But I did. And it was below average.

Best Comedy: "Borat" - I described it on the blog as a movie like none other I've ever seen. It pushed so many boundaries and has to be seen to be believed. I can honestly say I have never laughed as hard and for as long in the theatre as I did during this movie. The scene where he sings the Kazakhstan national anthem at the rodeo was unreal. You must rent it when it comes out if you haven't seen it.

Best Drama: "The Departed" - Leonardo DiCaprio proves yet again that he may be the best actor of my generation. He is not just a pretty face. This guy is a serious talent. His performance of an undercover cop in the mob world run by the villain, played brilliantly by Jack Nicholson, should earn him an Oscar. Matt Damon was great as well as the co-lead with DiCaprio. Alec Baldwin, Martin Sheen, and Mark Wahlberg were all sensational. Hands-down the best movie I have seen in the past 3-4 years.

Worst Movie: "Firewall" - Harrison Ford is a bank executive who's family gets kidnapped in order for these people to rob the bank of millions. Seriously, Ford has to be in his 60's, seeing him get beaten up and doing stunts at his age, yet having zero scratches on him is a joke and completely not believable. Not only that, the story was so far-fetched and ridiculously unrealistic. I almost walked out. In a word - garbage.

Most Overrated: "Talladega Nights" - Memo to Will Ferrell, you should have stopped after Anchorman. This movie got more hype and I literally didn't laugh once. The script couldn't have been less funny if it tried. Can we stop with the commercials for the DVD already? Anyone who buys it needs their head examined. Honorable Mention: "The Devil Wears Prada." Another overhyped movie that was a snoozer.

Most Underrated: "The Holiday" - I wrote about this earlier this week but as far as romantic comedies go, this movie very entertaining. Cameron Diaz normally doesn't do it for me (I have seen all of the online photos of her without makeup), but she looked good in this movie. Kate Winslet's character was very likable and for the first time since The School of Rock, I really enjoyed Jack Black.

Movies I Wish I Had Seen and Will have to Rent: "Little Miss Sunshine," "United 93," "An Inconvenient Truth."

I Want My Money Back: "The Break-Up" - slow, boring, and Jennifer Aniston is just so uninteresting to me. Is Vince Vaughn the same character in every movie or what?

Television: The landscape of TV has been taken over by bad sitcoms, bad reality TV, and now the re-emergence of game shows. Thanks goodness for Tivo as I never watch anything live. The shows that are appointment TV are becoming few and far between.

Best TV Show, Comedy: "Entourage" - This is more by default than anything. Not too many good comedies anymore. For the second year in a row, the boys from Queens rule this category. Predictably, the third season was not as crisp as the first two - we could have done without the Dom story line - but it all came together in the end. Highlight of the season was when Johnny Drama goes to Las Vegas and showers his male masseuse with attention.

Best TV Show, Drama: "Friday Night Lights" - In a mild upset over Grey's Anatomy, Lights is the best show that nobody is watching. It is very well done and not just about football. In fact, the football is secondary. Kyle Chandler is great as the football coach surrounded by sky-high expectations of the locals (Buddy Garrity), egotistical players (Smash), a daughter who now dates "QB-1," and a hot wife who is the guidance counsellor. The head cheerleader, the great Lila Garrity may be the hottest girl on TV right now.

Best TV Show, Reality: "Big Brother All Stars" - Going the all-star route usually means you have lost your steam. the is probably the case, but all of our favorite (Dr. Will, Janelle, Kaysar) and least favorite (Danielle, Jase) BB cast mates were holed this past summer and made for some quality television watching. Nothing better than watching eventual winner Mike Boogie hooking up with Erika one minute and calling her a slut to the cameras the next. Its on three nights a week and thanks to Tivo, I never missed an episode.

Worst TV Show, Comedy: "Lucky Louie" - You are probably saying to yourself, what is this show? Exactly. HBO made its first foray into the sitcom world and failed miserably. It was so crass that it made the show unappealing even to the Howard Stern-loving crowd like me. Simply put - not funny in the least bit. It was cancelled before the season even ended.

Worst TV Show, Drama: "The O.C." - I watched one episode of this show this season and I was done. The first two seasons were great. Last season almost lost me, and not surprisingly it is on the verge of getting cancelled. How bad has it gotten? Case in point - in the first season, the best looking girl in school, Summer, was classically bitchy, all the guys were in love with her, wasn't a good student, and would freak if she broke a nail. Fast forward to season four, she is at Brown University, became a hippy, and is the nicest person around. So cliche.

Worst TV Show, Reality: "The Hills" - This Laguna Beach spin-off followed the great "L.C" as she went to fashion school and worked at Teen Vogue in LA. (p.s. Am I a real man or what?) The worst part of the show was her on-again, off-again relationship with her boyfriend Jason, who happens to be the biggest poser out there (he was arrested in the middle of Time Square earlier this year with coke in his pocket). After every episode, I'd turn to Leah and say "I am never watching this crap again." Honorable Mention: Laguna Beach, season 3.

Most Underrated TV Show: "Big Love" - Other than Rafal, I know nobody watching this show about a likable polygamist and his problems. Bill Paxton is brilliant in his role as the sole provider for his three wives (Jeanne Tripplehorn, Chloe Sevigny, and Ginnifer Goodwin) and numerous children, all while battling the outside pressures of the illegality of polygamy, his business (Hendrickson Home Place), and his silent partner and father in law Roman, played by Harry Dean Stanton. Nothing is easy for Hendrickson's. It sounds confusing, but you should all climb aboard for season two. Honorable Mention: "What About Brian."

Most Overrated Show: "Studio 60" - I gave this show a chance. The pilot episode was brilliant and I thought it was destined for greatness. Week after Week the hype was still there, but the content was lacking. The show is centered around the inner-workings of a Saturday Night Live type show. Writer Aaron Sorkin essentially does nothing but push his liberal agenda on all of his viewers and it doesn't come off well at all. Amanda Peet is playing a supposedly likable character, yet as usual it doesn't work for her. Honorable Mention: "The Office." - I just don't get it.

Sports: Again, I watch too many sports, but with the baby coming, 2006 will probably be the last year for a long while that I watch the amount of games I normally do. And the envelopes please....

Game of the Year: Texas 41 USC 38 - On January 4, 2006, the legend of Vince Young was cemented. The Texas QB put on maybe the greatest single game performance on college football history, single-handedly willing his Longhorns to the National Championship against a USC team seeking a three-peat. USC had more talent than the Longhorns, two Heisman Trophy winners in Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush, a horse power back in Lendale White, and first round picks all over the Defense. Yet, Young picked them apart with his arm and his legs. It was truly a pleasure to witness.

Team of the Year: Ohio State Buckeyes - I know the season has yet to be complete, but in a year where the World Series champs (St. Louis) may be the worst title holder in baseball history, The Super Bowl champs (Pittsburgh) needed a miracle tackle (vs Indy) and a ton of help from the refs (vs. Seattle) to win it all, The NBA Finals champs essentially didn't turn it on until the playoffs (Miami), and the college hoops champs (Florida) were underwhelming, only the Buckeyes were dominant from start to finish. They were #1 in August and still are #1 and blew everyone away in the process.

Performance of the Year: Vince Young 267 yards passing, 200 yards rushing, 3 TD's in the National Championship game - See above. I have seen a lot of football, but I have never been wowed the way I was that night. It was Jordan-esque.

Goat of the year: Terrell Owens - What a jackass. I despise this attention whore. He is nothing but a problem for every team he plays for. He faked a hamstring injury so he didn't have to practice during training camp. He talks incessantly just to make sure he stays in the press. When nobody was talking about him, he allegedly tried to kill himself by overdosing on pills, then had a news conference the next day to say it wasn't true. The latest is T.O. spitting in the face of Atlanta's DeAngelo Hall, admitting it, then denying it the next day. I wish he would just go away.

Tribe Moment of the Year: Kevin Kouzmanoff's Grand Slam on his first career at-bat - There wasn't a lot to cheer about at the Jake this past season, but this deserves mention. Pretty amazing for the Tribe prospect to step up to the plate for the first time and belt a grand slam on the first pitch he sees in Texas. His reward? Kouzmanoff was traded this offseason for 2B Josh Barfield.

Kansas Basketball Moment of the Year: KU knocks off Texas 80-68 to win the Big 12 tournament in Dallas: in front of a pro-Texas crowd, the young Jayhawks, with three Freshman and Two Sophomores starting, dominated the highly ranked Longhorns. they were flying high and finished the regular season winning 15 of 16 games. Unfortunately, that momentum didn't carry over to the NCAA Tournament.

Cavaliers Moment of the Year: Lebron James Leads the Cavaliers to a 3-2 lead in the conference Semifinals against Detroit - Watching the comeback in game 5 on the road brought me back to the days of Nance, Price, Daughrety, and Harper. Only a missed rebound kept the Cavs from winning this series. Honorable Mention: Damon Jones's last second three knocks the Washington Wizards out of the playoffs in game 6. Nothing like a guy who hasn't played all game, coming off the bench cold, down two, and knocking down a three to win the game and end the series.

Browns Moment of the Year: Derek Anderson comes off the bench to lead a 14 point comeback win against Kansas City 31-28 - There really isn't a moment other than this. The Browns are a joke. But this game was like old times down at the lakefront. For more
read this.

Day 213

First things first. Happy Hannukah everyone. Everyone loves 8 days of gifts. Too bad we don't follow that. But nevertheless, Happy Hannukah. More exciting news in Robuck family. My brother in law Scott got engaged to his long time girlfriend Lauren on Friday night in Scottsdale. Lauren's family lives in California and she was headed back there for her birthday (she left yesterday), so Scott said he was going to take her out. They went to dinner and he gave her a necklace for a gift. As they got back to their condo, their was a trail of rose petals leading up the stairs and into their living room where Scott had a box for her. She opened it up and their was a velour sweatsuit that said "Scott's bride" on the back of it, he got down on one knee and proposed. She said yes. No date has been set for the wedding, but it will assuredly be a long engagement. Probably shooting for summer of 2008. Probably before Dave and Sara. hahahaha. Its crazy to me that Scott is engaged. I was at the kid's bar mitzvah and now he is getting married. I guess I have been around the Robuck family a long time. I couldn't be happier for the both of them and Lauren will make a great addition to our family. What's crazier is that when they get married, I'll and a one and a half year old. Yikes! Congrats to them both. Lastly, in classic Scott fashion, at his engagement meal with my in-laws and Lauren's family who came in for the engagement, he ordered the special which was by far the most expensive thing on the menu. hahahahahaha.

Quick Movie Review: Leah and I saw The Holiday Friday night. We are trying to get in as many movies as we can now, since the entire free world tells us we will never go to the movies again once our son is born. Anyways, I was somewhat reluctant to see this movie as I thought it would be a chick flick. But like last year at this time with The Family Stone, I was pleasantly surprised. This romantic comedy is set in LA and a small village in England. Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet are both great as characters who switch houses and parts of the world for two weeks tto get away from their troubles. I'd give it a strong B+. Eli Wallach is brilliant as well.

Saturday Leah and I went to Detroit to see Matt. We haven't been there in a while and probably won't have a chance to get their again before the baby is born, so we drove up for the thrilling (or not) Detroit/Canisius game. We then went to dinner at the Melting Pot. It was good to see the Deez as always. We were back by 1 yesterday and watched another sad performance by the Browns and an even worse performance by my fantasy football team. Pretty much nobody on my team showed up in the week that really mattered. I'm down a manageable 16 point with Bengals QB Carson Palmer and K Shayne Graham, but Sean, my opponent, still has Bengals RB Rudi Johnson. Anything is possible, but its likely my season will come to an end at midnight tonight. We did go to Aunt Nancy and Uncle Keith's for a Hannukah Party last night. The food was solid. Aunt Lisa's artichoke dip is the whup and as usual I filled up on it. I did manage to bury some brisket and chocolate covered pretzels for desert. All of that equalled up to a solid stomach ache last night. Fun was had by all.

I'm sure by now you all caught the big Knicks/Nuggets fight Saturday night in New York where the Knicks G Mardy Collins clobbered Nuggets G J.R. Smith and a melee ensued. The Nuggets had four starters on the floor with a minute left and a 20 point lead; definitely a low class move by George Karl. Knicks Coach/GM/laughingstock of the NBA Isiah Thomas was seen to caught by cameras saying to Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony "I wouldn't go into the lane if I were you," essentially telling him someone was going to get hurt. Be that as it may, this fight was escalated by one man, Anthony. His low class move running into the fray started the first wave of punches, and just when things seemed to calm down, he sucker-punched Collins in the face and back peddled like a coward. Today's news is that the NBA laid down stiff penalties, including 15 games for Anthony, the NBA's leading scorer and one of its top stars. Both teams were fined $500,000 as well. Bottom line, Carmelo Anthony is supposed to be one of the faces of the new, young, NBA. Instead, Saturday with one cowardly sucker-punch, he is just another NBA thug. the league has a major image problem and episodes like this just affirm it. But Anthony of all people should be smarter than that. You think fellow stars from his draft Dwyane Wade and Lebron James would have done something like this? Of course not. Either way, Carmelo deserves 15 games. Rumor has it that George Karl was taking up for his Carolina-buddy and ousted Knicks coach Larry Brown by running it up on the Knicks. That too is a jackass move. But worst of all is Isiah. How many more times can one man disgrace himself and still keep his job?

Its the end of the year and on Thursday I will unveil my best and worst in TV, Movies, and sports. But has anyone had a worse year than our President and reigning two faced hypocrite #1 George W. Bush? Lets look at his scorecard. The war that he foolishly dragged us into is a huge embarrassing disaster that gets worse every day. Iraq is in shambles with warring factions Still not under control. His approval ratings are lower than any President in history. He is despised around the world. He vowed that Vice=President Dick Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld would stay throughout the term of his presidency. Two days later, he and his right-wing buddies lost control of the House and the Senate. Two days after that, Rumsfeld quit with his tail between his legs. Now, W is back-tracking and talking about the need for bipartisanship. Funny how his tune has changed since he has no legs to stand on. Is it too late to recount again for the 2000 election?

I hope you were able to catch my schtick on More Sports and Les Levine last Thursday. Nothing like an hour of talking Cleveland sports. I told Leah I could have done it for three hours. It was so much fun and i can understand why my dad loved doing his sports professional spots. I am working on getting parts of it putting on youtube.com for the out of towners to peep. Between this and my columns for The Cleveland Fan website, I've got a nice little side hobby going on. Too bad I have yet to make one cent doing so. Oh well.

Song of the Day: "It Ain't Over Till it's Over" by Lenny Kravitz

Day 212

I'm finally home for a few days in a row (thank goodness) and no more real travel until Arizona. Wanted to give all of you local readers an FYI. Tonight, in the tradition and honor of my father, I will be a panelist on More Sports and Les Levine on Time Warner Cable channel 15 and 6 PM EST, with a replay at 11. Dad used to a regular be on a panel called "The Sports Professionals" in which big Cleveland Sports Fans and season ticket holders (usually three people) shared their views on the three local teams. Les asked me to take my dad's slot after he passed away, but I was never able to because I lived in Chicago. Now that I am back here, he gave me the call and tonight I am making my debut. Should be pretty funny.

In trying to get as many things in as I can before the baby comes, my December sports month has been pretty full thus far. Check this schedule out:
Dec 2 KU/Depaul in Chicago
Dec 3 Browns/Chiefs in Cleveland
Dec 6 Maple Leafs/Thrashers in Toronto
Dec 11 Bears/Rams in St. Louis
Dec 13 Bobcats/Cavs in Cleveland

I've still got a KU game in Lawrence where I'll be sitting courtside with MD as his University of Detroit take on the Jayhawks. This is a bit that MD says it the oldest going, but it bears repeating. I went to Kansas for four and a half years. During the first four, KU was a top 5 team the entire time. We were a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament three times and a #2 seed twice. We were 58-0 at home. No joke. Yet MD, a huge college basketball fan, NEVER VISITED FOR A GAME. I've been killing him over it for years. I blame the ex-Mrs MD. If not for her, he would have come with me at least once to a game. I go every year. Most years twice. In the meantime, we are finally getting to go together and will be sitting at the scorer's table. I went with him to Duke a few years back and that was a great experience. I'm so excited that I get to be with MD for his first Allen Fieldhouse experience. It couldn't be any other way. But this is way over due. Dad came in for a few games in when I was college. Wilt Chamberlain was his alltime favorite player. He went to KU and my Senior year, Wilt's jersey was retired. Dad said he had to be there, so we were able to finagle some great seats. He loved every minute of it. Just another great experience with him. Nothing better to me than a big game at Allen Fieldhouse. the place is electric.

Speaking of crazy sports experiences, I have to tell you about my Monday Night in St. Louis with my boss and two clients. Ive never seen so many opposing fans in my life. So my boss was in rare form. You know when you see "that guy" at a game? I was with "that guy" Monday night. He had been there all day - the clients and I met him around 5 at a bar by the dome. He was so tanked by the middle of the game. At the end of the game, he began to high five every Bears fan coming up the aisle. All we heard was "Hey Bear fan! good job tonight." This went on for 10 minutes. A guy with a full Bear costume came up the aisle. My boss was all over him, grabbed the Bear head and put it on. He started high fiving everyone. The poor guy stood there and all he wanted was his bear head back. So walking in the concourse, it all continued. "Hey Bear fan!" every person that walked by. Then we are in the stairs area and he is going "Lets go Irish!" Now we are on the street and he is crazy with the "hey Bear fan!" He has a Rams free t-shirt over his shoulder - one guy goes "you aren't a Bears fan, you have a Rams shirt." He throws the shirt to the ground and says "NOT ANYMORE I DON'T!" So we get to the lot and there was probably 5 young, low class Bear fans playing their stereo loud. He walks over to them and starts high fiving everyone, then starts dancing with them, and then I see him chest-bump a guy. The whole thing was unreal. Top five funniest things I've ever seen. The best since Buatch getting whipped with a belt in Lawrence. We were all dying laughing.

I know its a lot of sports talk, but last night was the first Cavs game I had been to in Cleveland in more than two years. I had heard about the changes made at the Q, but talk didn't do them justice. The NBA has become an entertainment experience, its no longer about the product on the floor; probably because they product has never been worse. Take Lebron James out of this organization and nobody cares, nobody is there, and the team is a total bore. At every timeout there is some sort of game or contest. The music is on full blast. They have a DJ spinning hip hop all pre-game. You walk through the concourse before the game and they have some bad band playing so loud you can't talk to who you are with. They had a very cool opening video before announcing the starters. While the video was playing and the lights were down, I look down and I see Cavs guard Sasha Pavlovic with his hands over his ears. As I wonder to myself why he is doing that, I am startled by what sounds like a gunshot. Flames come firing out of the top of the scoreboard. It was crazy. All I could think about was if I had a little kid, he'd be freaking. My friend Shaw said when he takes his son, they show up after the intros by design. I have to give ownership credit, they have done a great job of incorporating the fans and keeping them interested in being there. Plus, the Panini sandwiches at the Q are the whup. I have to thank my father's good friend Eddie for inviting me last night. We had sweet seats - 8th row mid-court lower level. I had a great time, but the NBA is a total ripoff. Face value for my seats was $140. That is why I will never be a season ticket holder.

Coming up next week will be my annual Best and Worst of TV and Movies for 2006.

Song of the Day: "Microphone Fiend" by Eric B and Rakim

Day 211

Ive got a lot of good stuff for you so lets start off with the most important. THE CONDO HAS BEEN SOLD!!! Yes, it is true. Exactly one week with the new realtor, we got an offer. We countered and they accepted. The buyer is a single guy with a part-time realtor, who obviously didn't do their homework, because the could have squeezed more out if us probably. Either way, we are thrilled. I've got to give my guy some props - Anyone who is a home owner in the city of Chicago and looking to sell, use Phil Byers. The guy is a miracle worker. He told us he'd sell right away and he came through. We actually had two more second showings scheduled after the offer was made. The whole thing is unreal. We are closing in mid-January. Only one more month of double mortgage. It feels like the 8000 pound gorilla has been lifted off my back. So what do you all think - should I call our old Realtors and tell them it took them one whole week to sell our place, the same place they had for 5 months and didn't get one offer? Those two frauds need to be exposed. All they did was give us excuses. I'm actually glad they didn't sell it - they don't deserve the money. The photo attached is of my lawyer representing us in the closing. Also known as Grundel.

I was out in LA for work last Thursday and Friday. It turned out that I was able to have dinner and drinks with friends Thursday night. It was a long day to say the least, but I was able to catch my second wind. I loved Chicago and could see how people live there. LA - I don't get. Great place to visit, but talk about a city that is spread out and tough to get around. My meetings were in Downey, which was 23 miles away from where I was meeting Fritzer Friedman himself. The Browns were playing the Steelers Thursday night at 5 PM PST. I knew there would be traffic and would miss some of the game as my meeting let out around 5:15. I had Sirius radio in my rental car so I was able to listen to the game. It literally took my an hour and 45 minutes to go 23 miles. I arrived in the third quarter. Luckily, I had Sirius to get me through the drive and believe it or not, I remained pretty calm. Nothing I could do, but that traffic was horrible. Another old friend from high school, Billy, who I hadn't seen in a few years, met us. He was my old doubles partner on the Tennis team and a good friend of mine. It was great to hang with him again. The three of us, met my friend Beej for dinner at Koi. Koi is a big time celeb hangout that you always see on these gossip websites. Beej's wife Megan is #2 there, so with a phone call, we were right in. Rick Fox, former NBA player, walked out as we walked in. As we were waiting for our table, Jamie Foxx walked right passed us. Sitting at his table later in the evening when we were there was the great K-Fed, Fed-Ex, Kevin Federline. David Spade was also spotted by Billy outside. As for the food, this place gets a ton of hype and I will say it lived up to all of it. Beej and Fritzer both eat there regularly, so they ordered for the table. Everything they brought out was amazing. Clearly the best Sushi I've ever had. Megan hooked us up as well with a bunch of sampler teasers and deserts as well. It was solid. Great dining experience over all. Great food, great company. As great as the short trip was, flying back from the west coast is a chore. It literally wastes a full day. I left LA at 7 AM and arrived in C-Town at 5 PM.

Friday night, we took it easy and grabbed some Geraci's pizza and went shopping for our niece and nephew's Hanukkah gifts. Saturday, our friend Jen was in town so we went to brunch with her and then hung out at the house. I had my eye on another pathetic performance from my Jayhawks who sleep-walked through another win against Toledo. It was great to see Jen as always. Saturday night we went on a triple date with the Miller's and Abrams. We went to this new Mexican restaurant in Ohio City. The food was C-. The drinks however were flowing. Both couples have two kids each and were definitely taking advantage of their night out. We all got pretty wasted and luckily we had a designated river in Leah, because we definitely needed one.

My crazy month of December roles on as I am leaving for St. Louis in about an hour. I will be at the Bears/Rams game tonight. Should be a good time. My live sports schedule in the last 10 days has been legit - KU/Depaul in Chicago last Saturday, Chiefs/Browns last Sunday, Thrashers/Maple Leafs hockey game in Toronto Tuesday, and Bears/Rams tonight. Solid.

In a sad note, there was another shooting in Chicago last week where unfortunately, someone we know suffered a tragedy. For the second time in three months, a girl we went to school with, Annette, lost her father in a shooting in a downtown Chicago office building. It was a disgruntled former client of this law firm who came in and started shooting. Nice world we love in. My deepest sympathies go out to Annette and her family.

Song of the Day: "To Live and Die in LA" by 2PAC

Day 210

Its only Thursday of what has been a long week for me. So as you know, this was a big travel week for me. This blog entry is written on my flight out to the sunny west coast. Los Angeles is where I am headed for a short visit. I’ve got a big sales meeting and dinner out here and come right back tomorrow morning, which turns into traveling all day to get back east due to the time zones. Monday night and into Tuesday morning in C-Town there was a snow storm and I was scheduled to leave for Toronto on a 7:45 am flight. Due to hitting snooze too many times and bad road conditions that time of the morning, I arrived at the airport a solid 25 minutes before the plane was scheduled to take off. I ran to check in and had to beg my way to get my boarding pass as you are supposed to check in an hour before for any international flight. I played the weather card and got through. I now had about 20 minutes to get through security and to the gate, for Cleveland, it’s not usually a problem. I got right through and discovered I once again was in the D concourse. For those familiar with the Cleveland airport, walking to the D concourse is like walking to China. They built it so poorly that you literally have to walk in a giant square and under the runways to get out there. I pulled an OJ (no, not killing my wife) and I ran to the gate with my bag. About half way there, the out of shape man I am, pulled up lame and had to walk the rest of the way. I made it as they were boarding, so now I’m all good right? Wrong. I get on the plane about 7:40 and we sit there. We pull away from the gate and they tell us they need to de-ice the plane and we are 5^th in line. Should be a half hour. 30 minutes go by. Nothing. Another 30 minutes go by and they tell us that while we were in line to get de-iced, the de-icing machine broke and they only had two available. Nobody in our line had been de-iced. Another 30 minutes go by, still nothing. You know Mr. Patient was handling it pretty well. Actually for once, I was relaxed. But after almost three hours without moving and already missing my first appointment, I was a tad perturbed. We ended up taking off 2 hours and 24 minutes after we were scheduled. How solid is that?

In the meantime, Toronto was great. I had several productive calls made and Tuesday night attended my first ever Canadian Hockey experience. My broker and I went to the Air Canada Center and saw the Maple Leafs play the Atlanta Thrashers. I was taken aback by several things. First off, the arena, I think about 3 years old or so, was the nicest I had ever been in. Unlike most of the newer arenas, this held 20,000 people but felt cozy. The concourse was like walking through a mall. They had stores, a brewery, three different sponsored bars, and held their studio show from right there. I think I saw more jerseys of the home team Maple Leafs than any other sporting event I have ever attended. Men and Woman, boys and girls, everyone had a jersey on it seemed. I expected a rowdy, beer drinking crowd. I got the beer drinking part right. I cannot even imagine how many beers were sold at this game. Everyone had a cold Molson Canadian in their hand, including myself. John, my broker, told me before the game that in the first period, the crowd is quiet, the second period they perk up a little, and the third they are loud. Sure enough, during the first period, you could hear a pin drop in there. My brother told me that Canadian hockey fans just want to watch their game. He wasn’t kidding. The second period was also pretty quiet except for a couple of times when the crowd started the lame “Go Leafs Go” chant, which I found odd. The third period may have been a little louder, but overall from an enthusiasm standpoint, I give the crowd a D+. I’ve heard louder crowds at high school basketball games. As for the game, Hockey really is a different game in person. The speed and puck-handling is pretty amazing. That all said I just couldn’t really get into it. I know guys like my boy Beej in LA are die-hard hockey fans, but give me college hoops, football, and baseball all day.

That brings us to today. We were delayed by an hour because of snow and de-icing (I know, again), but I’m in the air and eagerly anticipating 75 and sunny. Good thing two weeks ago it was 60. Last week it was in the 30’s, now we are in the 20’s and I’m headed to LA. Between the weather changes and Leah’s brutal cold that she cannot seem to shake (she can’t take medicine because of the pregnancy), I am such a lock to get sick. The movie on the plane is Pirates of The Caribbean 2. I’ve chosen to pass. Why is it that 90% of the time you get a movie on the plane it is lame? On the way home it’s the Lake House? Come on with that.

Browns/Steelers tonight. Good thing I probably won’t see any of the game thanks to the bogus NFL Network which nobody carries and the fact that my sales meeting ends at 6 and the game starts at 5 PST. Lets see how QB Derek Anderson responds to the 4 quarters of blitzing by the Steelers. I think we get smoked. 21-3 Steelers.

This is the last week of our fantasy football regular season. I haven’t mentioned it much because I’m sure you don’t care. But I have locked up the #2 seed in my division and the playoffs start for me next week. The good news is that the power team in my league, winners of 9 in a row and a record of 12-1 is in my division and the way things work, we can’t meet until the Super Bowl. So keep your eyes on my key guys – Larry Johnson, Shaun Alexander, Carson Palmer, and Torry Holt over the next few weeks. Winner gets $2000 in my league and this year more than any, I could use the money. That can cover a month of my Chicago mortgage that I still pay!

Speaking of which, my policy is not to talk about the condo until something happens. Well, we haven’t sold it unfortunately, but we fired our real estate agent and hired a guy with great success in selling our neighborhood, and our building in particular. We met with him last weekend and he is sharp, focused, and has a plan, unlike our last realtors who did nothing but get us no offers and come back with a lot of excuses.

I know I mentioned this a while back, but I am still reading the Barack Obama book, The Audacity of Hope. I pretty much only read when I travel and this book is taking longer than any book I’ve ever read. But it is just so interesting. Mark P was right when he said you find yourself re-reading paragraphs to make sure you understand what he is putting across. I’ve got about 120 pages left. That should take me another month at this pace. Hahahaha.

The Tribe in their never ending quest to sign old/injured pitchers or cheap position players, has strengthened their bullpen over the last week by signing RHP Roberto Hernandez, LHP Aaron Fultz, and Closer Joe Borowski. Combined, these guys are about 120 years old. Seriously, the only reason we were able to sign Borowski was because he failed his physical with Philadelphia due to shoulder damage. Classic Tribe signing right there – risk vs. reward. But the way things are in baseball, we have no choice but to do things on the cheap. My favorite was in the paper this morning it said we were very interested in another reliever coming off elbow surgery, Octavio Dotel. It said the Devil Rays and Royals are interested in him as well. Tells you all you need to know.

Song of the Day: “Los Angeles Times” by Xzibit

Day 209

I have to say this right off the bat - after months in Cleveland and a weekend in Chicago, my feelings have been re-confirmed. While I love that city, it was time for me to go. The things that used to not bother me - the traffic (ok, this bothered me, but I knew it was part of the deal), the lack of parking, the crowds, etc, no officially bother me. Leah and Jessica were down on Michigan Ave Saturday and came back saying it was unbearably crowded. That is to be expected at holiday time. Prime example on my end - Teddy was late picking me up to go to the Kansas/Depaul game, which was out by O'Hare in Rosemont. Even still, we left at 11:35 for a 1:00 start. It took us 25 minutes just to get to the expressway. Then the expressway was bumper to bumper the entire way. We didn't walk into the arena until 1:05. I don't want you to think Rosemont is that far away. Maybe 15-20 miles tops. It was beyond aggravating. And then there was the game......

So you all know of my love for my Jayhawk Basketball team. This is one of those years where coming in, all of the experts loved us, picked us to go to the Final Four and some, including Sports Illustrated, picked us to win it all. We have about as much talent as I have seen since the 96-97 team. Or at least I thought. I came to Chicago this past weekend partly for work, but mostly to see the game. I showed up. 5,000 of my closest Jayhawk brethren showed up. The team didn't. In as pathetic an uninspired of a performance as I can ever remember, we lost to a sad sack Depaul team 64-57. As bad as they played, the game was easily in hand. KU blew a 14 point second half lead. We were up eight points with four minutes to go and Depaul hit us with 14 straight points. We couldn't score or defend. The crowd turned on us. We were getting taunted left and right. The whole thing was an embarrassment. How can a team look like world-beater one week earlier in beating the #1 team in the country and be this bad against a much lesser opponent? I don't know, but for coach Bill Self who's angered the spoiled fan base with his wildly inconsistent coaching, losses like this don't help his job security - Even if he just signed a contract extension. I'll tell you one thing that was great - seeing all of the randoms from college at the game.

Rewind to Thursday night - they were predicting the storm of the century. Everything was shutting down. Leah and I flew in earlier so we would make it. We were 45 minutes later taking off and then we landed and sat on the runway for an hour and a half because there was a ground stop at Midway and a plane was at our gate. That was legit. Leah was in full freak-out mode. We stayed at a hotel by the airport. The next morning, we fully expected to see terrible conditions and a blizzard. There wasn't. Was it bitter cold and windy? Yes. But turning on the news, it was like the city was shut down. Like Ags said, a snow like this in Cleveland and the people wouldn't even had batted an eye. Chicago on the other hand had a ton of school closings, people not showing for work, etc. I waited until about 9 AM Friday morning and drove Leah over to cousin Jamie's. I haven't seen the expressways at that time of day that empty probably ever. It zoomed right into the city, dropped her off, and then went out to the clients. Again, nobody on the roads. The city seemed to shut down prematurely for no reason.

I have said in this space how much I miss my friends, but this weekend re-affirmed that fact and reminded me just how many friends were there and how few good friends I have here. Not that there is anything wrong with it, but its the facts. Friday night was so much fun. We had a crew of 12 at Hacienda, one of our favorite spots. The food is overpriced and average Mexican, but it the drinks are great and it is such a festive spot for a big group. You always wait an hour and get loaded on the margaritas. By the time you get to the table, you load on on chips and salsa and never touch your meal. This time more than any though, I really appreciated the friendships I've made with this group. It was a mix of my college boys with their wives (Sean, Teddy, The Buatch), Dave, Sara, and Mark P. Jessica joined us as well. The meal had it all - making fun of each other, old stories, and the usual Buatch inappropriate comment. Fun was had by all. Saturday after the game I went over to Gregg's and hung out with his daughter Samantha, who put on a solid performance. My favorite is when he said "wanna see how she loves rap music" and put on some tunes. All of a sudden, she started head-bobbing to the music and smiling. It was hysterical. Saturday night we went to Wildfire with Jaimo - who looks as beautiful as ever pregnant - Steve, and Ags (I buried a full slab of Ribs). Again, we had a great time and ate great food. I left early Sunday morning and Leah stayed behind to see all of her friends and flew home last night. It was such a short period of time, but we were able to squeeze in a lot of see a ton of people. We miss everyone terribly, but Chicago isn't that far away and it makes getting together with everyone more special.

As I said, I flew home early yesterday morning so I could go to the Browns/Chiefs game with my Mom in a luxury box. (In C-Town, they are referred to as "Loges," but as we talked about the other night, the term isn't used anywhere outside of this city and is lame, therefore, I refuse to it.) It was freezing and to be honest, with the way our team is playing, no way we go to this game unless we were in the box. It was great - we sat outside under heaters all game long and the Browns, for the first time in ages, actually played solid football. After being disgraced by the Bengals last Sunday, a week of turmoil and finger-pointing ensued. Yet, somehow, they came out and played their best game of the season, beating the playoff-bound Chiefs 31-28 in OT. Unlike previous games, Mom and I stayed until the bitter end. Backup QB Derek Anderson, playing for the injured Charlie Frye, led two huge fourth quarter touchdown drives as the Browns forced OT and won it on an Anderson 33 yard run and a Phil Dawson field goal. Anderson is a 6'6 strong-armed QB who looked good. It said more about how average Frye is than how good Anderson is. Mom and I haven't had that much fun at a game in I don't know how long. It was actually worth flying home for. This Thursday, The Browns play the Steelers on the NFL Network, which nobody gets. I'm going to be in LA at a sales meeting and at best, will get to see the second half at a bar of I can. 5 PM start time out west and my meeting is from 2:30-6.

This is the beginning of a crazy two weeks of travel for me. Tomorrow morning I leave for two days in Toronto. I come back Wednesday night and leave Thursday morning for LA where I have meetings. I come back Friday. Monday I go to St. Louis for essentially 24 hours (including the Bears/Rams Monday night game), and then Chicago on that Friday. I've got to get it all in before the baby comes. Speaking of which, Leah is getting more and more uncomfortable but she is a trooper as usual. The problem now is that she has a really bad cold and can't take any medicine. My poor wife. She still got up and went to work today.

Props and a belated happy B-day (yesterday) to my cousin Julie who ran in her first marathon in California yesterday. I have unbelievable respect for her for being able to pull this off. I couldn't even run six miles, let alone 26.1 miles. She is an amazing woman and I am so proud of her.

Song of the Day: "Band on the Run" by Paul McCartney and Wings