Day 224

This entry is written from the bitter cold and extremely boring city of Des Moines, Iowa. This is a prime example of a city that now that I live in Cleveland, I can no longer get to direct, no matter what the cost. I'm here for a food show, which is the part of my job I hate the most. Standing all day at a booth and talking about my products is not my idea of fun, not to mention the fact that you walk away smelling like a french fry as everything you can fry is offered at one of these shows. I always feel bad for the person who has to sit next to me on the plane if I fly back that night. So I flew on a 7 AM flight it Minneapolis, had a two hour layover (what did I do before airports had WiFi?, Cleveland Hopkins still doesn't), then boarded a flight to Des Moines. On both flights, there were a TOTAL of 23 people. I got in my rental car and went to the venue to set up my booth, grabbed a quick bite and came back to my hotel and took a much needed 3 hour nap. Boy, have times changed with my eating habits during this diet. I stopped in at Bennigans to watch the second half of the Cavs/Suns game and have lunch. I have always loved the "Turkey O'Toole" sandwich there - A turkey sandwich with melted Swiss and Dijon mustard on a warm pretzel roll. So I look over the menu and I end up ordering Rosemary Chicken. It comes out - two pieces of chicken over mashed potatoes with vegetables on the side. I ended up eating one piece of chicken and all of the vegetables without touching the mashed potatoes. What happened to me?

I've got to tell this great story. My friend and long lost relative Matt Grossman lives in Richmond, Virginia and is a diehard Cleveland sports fan and is raising his 9 year old son Nicholas the same way. They have never had the chance to see Lebron James play live in person. So for Nicholas' 9th birthday, Matt surprised him with tickets to see the Cavaliers play The 76ers in Philadelphia Friday night, a 250 mile drive away from their home. According to Matt, he "broke the bank" to get the best seats he could - two rows behind the Cavs bench - to give Nicholas the best experience he could. So out of nowhere on Friday, word comes down that Lebron is sitting out the game because of a big toe sprain. Matt was more crushed than his son (for Nicholas that is). As he put it to me "It was like going to see the Rolling Stones and finding out Mick Jagger won't be performing." So in the meantime, they were right behind the Cavs bench and Nicholas was decked out in his Cavs jersey and hat. In an email he sent me after the game, Matt said the following: The night got a little worse as the Cavs fell behind early and trailed by 17 at half. Suffice it to say, my idea of a perfect night for Nicholas' birthday had gone a little awry. Nicholas was a pretty good sport, with a few autographs before the game, and a pat or high five from most of the players as they walked onto the court being a pretty good elixir for what ailed him. Yet, things dramatically improved even further in the second half when the Cavs rallied to win. As the Cavs walked off the court victorious, Nicholas was the recipient of a handband from Donyell Marshall (perhaps the sweatiest thing we had ever touched), a really neat wide wrist band with a #4 on it (coincidentally Nicholas' basketball jersey number) from David Wesley, and a "Phillipians 4:13", which is a passage that states "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" for those who are not Bible scholars) wristband from Eric Snow. Its funny to hear all the players and their bible passages. Because those really work. Anyways, the next morning, the story on cbssportsline.com included the picture above, which shows Matt clapping in the background. So in the end, it was all worth it. But talk about bad luck. Lebron never misses games and probably won't miss another the rest of the season. That story sounded like something my father would have done with for MD and me.

Sitting in this hotel room with nothing on TV, I watched the Screen Actors Guild awards, which are the awards given to TV and movies by their peers. While nothing eventful happened, I just do not understand how Jennifer Hudson from Dreamgirls can continues to pick up every award known to man. Not to mention the first thing she said was "first I have to thank God." That is when I change the channel. I didn't see Dreamgirls and probably 90% of the people I know didn't think it was that great. While I love Eddie Murphy, he too won for best supporting male actor in a movie. You can't tell me he was better than Leo DiCaprio in The Departed or Dijom Hounsou in Blood Diamond. That is an insult to those two great roles. Again, 90% of the people I know who saw Dreamgirls found Eddie Murphy annoying. While I love Eddie (nobody was funnier in his prime), he shouldn't be winning awards and neither should this movie.

I have to thank Jessica, who was in town this weekend, for schlepping around with Leah all weekend and getting everything ready for the baby to come. She went over an above with the things she bought us. It was so nice of her. Meanwhile, the baby's room is all done and set up. The furniture is in, carpet is down, and the walls are painted. Its all ready and awaiting the little guy to arrive. Meanwhile this is my last business trip until after the baby is born. Its all happening so soon. Unreal.

Some people will do anything for Super Bowl tickets. As it turns out, this hot Bears fan Sara Spain aka "The Spain Train" put an add up on ebay asking people to bid to have her as their Super Bowl Date in hopes that some sap would give her free tickets. There were several Blog stories about this girl. As it turns out in the end, life is always great when you are a hot chick. There was obviously enough word of mouth out there that the makers of Axe body spray have stepped up and give her two tickets. Think an unattractive woman or a guy could pull this off? Nope. This is another classic case of the power of the Internet and how the world is a whole lot easier when you are a hot looking female.

Song of the Day: "Criminal Minded" by Boogie Down Productions