100 Coolest Things of 2009... #30 to 21

Continuing our list of the absolute 100 coolest things of all 2009...

The 30th Coolest Thing of 2009... Tyler Gets Woked Up
See, now would be a good time to, if you are on Facebook, click over to Clouds in My Coffee so you can see this video.  Its absolutely out of your mind hysterical.  That's Tyler, my brother in law, as the main victim of this senseless travesty of sleep deprivation.



By the way, they set up the entire drumset in the bedroom, all while Tyler was completely asleep.  If there's one thing I've learned from The Lovely Steph Leann, its that those Campbells can sleep anywhere and through anything.

The 29th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Hangover"
In a post entitled "Not Emmy Turnbow Safe" from June 27th, 2009, I explain quite simply at how this movie is... well, not Emmy Turnbow safe. 

From that post:  Simple premise is, three guys take their buddy for a night stay in Vegas for a bachelor party… all three have distinctly different personalities, all three are played to the hilt, and all three react differently when they wake up in their now-trashed hotel room the next morning, a tiger in the bathroom, a baby in the closet, one guy missing a tooth and the groom completely disappeared. None of them can remember a thing about the night, but they start backtracking their steps to find out what happened, and why Mike Tyson ends up in their hotel room. And where the tiger came from. And why one of them is missing a tooth. And why there is a baby in the closet. And why... come to think of it, this sounds like The Lovely Steph Leann's bachelorette party.

This movie had me rolling... I'm not proud of saying that, but there it is. 

The 28th Coolest Thing of 2009... "The Hurt Locker"
From December 7th, where you can also read about what might be the greatest year in film history... "The Hurt Locker" is about a group of solders in Iraq that disarm Improvised Explosive Devices, or IEDs, which are really just like they sound--simply made bombs that are triggered by tripwires, or remotes or whatever, made to kill people, namely American soliders.

There are three main reasons why I thought this film was brilliant... first, the lack of superstars helps this movie quite a bit.  Jeremy Renner, Anthony Mackie and Brian Geraghty have been in other stuff, but you likely won't remember much of it. Taking away this stardom almost makes this feel like its a documentary more than anything else, like what you are seeing on screen is actually happening 5,000 miles and a half-dozen time zones away--maybe because it is.

Secondly, its not preachy. Anyone who has read this site enough will know I'm not into being preached at by films that are supposed to entertain. It doesn't dive into politics, into why we are there, why we are or are not winning or losing the war, or anything else. It just tells its story.

Finally... its just a really good movie. Its a movie about war, so none of the language is Emmy Turnbow Safe, and it does have its bloody moments, but its paced well, it doesn't veer into subplots (much... there is one small one, but it resolves itself quickly) and after its over, you just nod your head and say, "That's a good movie."

The 27th Coolest Thing of 2009... Rebecca Jourdan Samuelson
I think I've told this story before, but I'll tell it again as a reminder.  Back in 1998, I moved to Birmingham.  Back in 1998, I didn't have alot of... well, I really didn't have any friends.  I had begun attending Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and had a few people here and there I had met.  People that, in a dire emergency, I'm sure I could have called upon and expected an answer, though probably more out of Christian fellowshippy obligation than loyalty to me.

Back in October of '98, I worked at Parisian Corporate, back when Parisian still existed and was owned by Saks Fifth Avenue.  Back then, they owned McRae's, Bergners, Yonkers and a few other places, and were a booming department store chain.  Anyway, I worked in the Home Department buying office at the time, and this chick I had met at church was working a few departments down.  Rebecca Jourdan.  We struck up an unlikely friendship, and she, for lack of a better word, "took me under her wing", almost becoming this Big Sister type that I needed.

When my car broke down--and this happened alot--she would drive from Cahaba Heights to Lorna Road (no, not GuadalaHoover, it was closer to the 65 side) to pick me up.  We shared a meal or two, and she'd always buy.  I got behind on rent, she gathered the Sunday School class she'd invited me to, and gotten me to attend, and collected enough money to pay my rent once. 

She was my friend, and I hers.  She even drove me to and from the dentist when I got my wisdom teeth pulled... I think in my possible delirium of being high on Novacaine (or whatever they use) I told her I loved her... or maybe that she loved me... or that I was hungry... or who knows. I was drooling.  And she walked me and helped me pass out on the couch--helping you walk to a couch while your mouth is full of cotton and your shirt is soaked with dripping saliva is a sign of a true friend.

Time went by, and she got closer to the guy she was seeing... and she married... and then moved to Mississippi.  It wasn't like she just up and left and didn't tell anyone, but in a way, that's kind of what happened.  By that time, I had met the guys who would eventually join me in The Deuce, had gotten more involved in Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and our friendship, at least for that season, had kind of run its course. 

Through the years, I asked a few people that knew both of us what had happened to Rebecca... and always got the same answer:  "I dunno".  But one day, the same thing that has happened to a thousand people across the country happened to me--I found her on Facebook.  And emailed her immediately.  She emailed back, and we had re-connected.  We agreed to meet for lunch at Roly Poly, a place I'm not a huge fan of, but if Rebecca had said, "Meet me for lunch at the Dog Poop Cafe", I'd had been there.

I saw her, gave her a huge, huge, huuuuge hug and was so happy I had my friend back.  We chatted over lunch and I was able to tell her truly how God had used her my life,  We talk back and forth every now and again, but I know how to find her now, which I didn't for something like 8 years... thanks Rebecca.  You truly are an angel.

The 26th Coolest Thing of 2009... "My Live Would Suck Without U"
Leave it to Kelly Clarkson to toss out a tune that blows me away.  Not only was she was the 6th coolest thing of 2005, but her song "Behind These Hazel Eyes" was the 25th coolest thing of that same year. 

And this year, she releases a song from her fourth album, "All I Ever Wanted"... and its loud, its booming, its up tempo and its so easy to sing when you are driving 85 down the interstate... "becaaaaause we beeeelooooong tooooogeeethaaaaa now, yeah, forever uniiiiiiiited here somehow, yeah... you got a piece of me... and honestly... my life (MY LIFE!) would suck (WOULD SUCK!) without you...!!!"

Be honest.  You are singing it now, aren't ya?   And like 2005, Kelly Clarkson has the... second... coolest song of the year.

The 25th Coolest Thing of 2009... David & Amanda Tuck
One of the things that The Lovely Steph Leann and I do alot, perhaps well, is socialize.  We love meeting new people and we love "double dates" with othe couples.  We've reached out and established great relationships with people like KT & J Rob (though sadly we don't get to see them nearly as much as we used to, since they moved 42 miles out of town).

We were all in one big class, led by Emmy Turnbow and her hubby Jason, and we ended up meeting David and Amanda Tuck, this 20something couple that hadn't been married too long.  He's kinda country, she's kinda country, they are both down to earth fun people.  You know those kind of couples that are so darn cute, its almost irritating, but you can't be irritated with them at all because they not only are cute, they are so darn sweet?  Yeah, thats the Tucks.

Well, the class got really big... and at one point, the class split like some church classes do.  We moved to the new class, the Tucks remained, so like some other couples that we enjoy (back to KT and J Rob again), we only see them in passing at church... though when we do see them, great hugs and big handshakes ensue.

The Tucks are on our list of couples to spend more time with.   

The 24th Coolest Thing of 2009... Disney With the Family
One of the benefits of The Happiest Place in the Mall is the Most Magical Benefits on Earth.  That means as a cast member, I get to go to Disney World for free... well, free admission, and half-off on stays at the resorts.  One of our great joys is to be able to take people with us as well, and last September, we were able to take The Lovely Steph Leann's sister Angie, and Nephew Benny and Niece Maddie.

As many trips as I have taken to Disney World, I don't end up talking a whole lot about them on the blog, mostly because it might be the same ol, same ol after a while... we rode this, we rode that, we ate here, it was good, and so on.  Much like a billion pictures on Facebook all kind of run together.

This was a special trip, though, because in taking the Sis and kids, we were able to take with us a family that wouldn't normally be able to go, mostly because of the cost.  Let's face it, if it weren't for the benefits of the job, The Lovely Steph Leann and I would only go once a year, maybe once per 18 month period. 

You should check out the trip report, though, from September 27th, called "T-Rex Tired", if for no other reason than to read about an exasperated mother of two do battle with an incomptent waitress...  I wrote:  In case you were wondering, yes we did leave her a tip, which flew in the face of everything I believe in when it comes to tipping. Why? Maybe I felt bad for her. Hell hath no fury like a exhausted, weary, fatigued mom of two exhausted, weary, fatigued, fussy children under 12 who just wants quesadillas with meat and cheese on them. I think that's in Proverbs.

The 23rd Coolest Thing of 2009... Justin Fisher
This guy is just awesome.  First time I remember having a conversation with him, though we might have spoken in passing previous to this, was about the first time I had a real conversation with Hurricane Rhett. 

Several years back, at the wedding of Rad-a-Tad Roose and his wife Gina, The Lovely Steph Leann and I were sitting at a downstairs table at the reception, along with Hurrican Rhett and his wife, Amarylis By Morning (up from San Antone) and JustFish, with his wife Kelly.  The conversation went something like this.

Me: I like that dress (referring to Amarylis By Morning (up from San Antone))
Hurricane Rhett:  I like it too.  Though I like it better when its draped over my headboard.
JustFish (looking at his own wife): Agreed.

Through that exchange, I knew I had found some guys I could relate to. 

JustFish is one of the leaders of our Sunday School Life Connection class that I referred to earlier when discussing The Tucks, and not to slight the other guys that lead, but JustFish is pretty amazing when he's teaching.  He's a teacher of economics by profession (when I want to know some law stuff, I talk to the Clouds in My Coffee Ombudsman Brad Latta... when I want some economic stuff, I go to JustFish) so he's got the lecture skills down. 

He's got a brilliant spiritual mind and is one of those approachable guys you feel like you could sit with and chit chat about light stuff like, "So, pre-destination?  Was I ordained to ask that?" or "Revelation. We win.  But how?"

Anyway, 2009 was really the year I got to know this guy fully, and am pleased and proud to call him my friend. 

The 22nd Coolest Thing of 2009... "It" by Stephen King
I read this book when I was about 15 years old.  "It" was released in 1986, and was a behemoth of a book to tackle.  I vaguely remember it taking me a good week or two to finish it, but I do remember devouring it.  It was a good 1000+ pages, had a ton of characters, but it had something that I liked in books... kids that were close to my age, and I was able to relate.

"It" is the story of a group of kids in the 50s, dubbed "The Losers Club" for their outcast status, who confront a monster, and evil entity that has suddenly (re)awakened under the town of Derry, Maine.  The book also parallels the same kids as grown ups in the 80s, scattered across the globe, all being drawn back to Derry because of the promise they'd make--if it came back, they would too.  And It does.  And they do.  And it has one of the scariest interpretations of a clown, ever.  Pennywise.  Not a fan.  Well, "It" is more of a spirit being, but the clown is the form it takes... I'm sure that makes you feel better.

There's a good lesson to be learned here--never trust anyone who lives in a sewer, especially if its a clown. 

They made a mini-series in 1990, starring John Boy, Jack Tripper, Judge Harry Stone and Seth Green, among others, and if you ever watch it, just remember the first part is awesome, the second part not so much.  Tim Curry plays Pennywise, though, and he, pardon the pun, kills it. 

The Lovely Steph Leann had purchased a hardcover copy of the book for Christmas one year, a gift that I was very pleased with.  The problem was, this book is huge... and heavy.  So I went out and bought a paperback copy of it, one that I could bend up a little, and wouldn't mind if it was a little ragged after I was done.  And I dove right in... and realized how much I had forgotten in the almost 20 years it had been since I'd read "It". 

Because my time is so limited for just sitting and reading, it was hard to get through quickly--it took a month.  I would read the paperback at work, or on the road (I finished in in June, on the way to Disney World while sitting in the passenger seat of St'ray's SUV), but while at home, I would pick up the hardcover, find where I left off and get through a chapter or two before going to sleep. 

"It" is brilliant.  The book tells the story of the kids in the 50s and adults in the 80s side-by-side, one chapter happening then, another happening now.  You gain real empathy for the heroes in the story, while you really hate the bad guys, which go beyond just a creepy clown... and unlike the mini-series, the ending of the book is satisfying, if not making you feel like it ended where it should, without carrying on a little too far. 

There are a select number of books that are consider "masterpieces" by Stephen King--one would be "The Stand", almost a magnus opus.  Another would be "The Dark Tower", though thats a series of seven books that I've heard are both awesome and uneven.  "The Shining" and "'Salem's Lot" are also considered with high regard as early novels.  But there are many books I've flipped through that discuss Kings work, and almost all of them consider "It" to be his overall best work. 

Me?  I considered this to be my favorite of King's work... and still do, though admittedly, having read "'Salem's Lot" three times in three years, its getting close.

(oh, and after I finished writing this post, I was adding links, and I found out that "It" is coming to audiobook in May.  Who's excited?  MeMeMe!!!)

The 21st Coolest Thing of 2009... The Gators Win the Title
Go Gators!  Go Gators!  Go Gators!  Go Gators!  Go Gators!!

Coming up... my favorite blog of the year... my favorite podcast of the year... my favorite Starbucks manager of the year... my favorite book of the year... and more...

The 100 Coolest Things of 2009... 60 to 51

Lest you think I was giving up... we continue with our countdown of what I personally consider to be the 100 Coolest Things of the Year of Our Lord 2009... you might remember reading some of the stuff before, as I did copy some of the previously written thoughts and recaps from posts last year.  Hope you don't mind...

60... Thanksgiving in Ellijay
Vacation is always nice, especially if there's a Campbell Family involved. Explained further on November 29th, 2009, this year The Lovely Steph Leann and I joined Big Daddy Ron (the father in law) and Mama Ruthless (the mom-in-law), Tyler Campbell, and The Lovely Steph Leann's sister & family. We joined up with some family friends, including The Lovely Steph Leann's good friend Jason and his wife, The White Jada, and headed to the mountains of Georgia.

One of the many highlights included a stop over at Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids... how can this be a highlight, you ask? Well, it made for great blog fodder, if nothing else. We also got to spend some time in downtown Dahlonega, walking the shops and antique stores... those are some of the most fun times I think The Lovely Steph Leann and I have together.

And of course, what would a Thanksgiving buffet be without lots and lots of food? And where we ate, there was lots of food... and dessert... here's how I described it on November 30th...

And of course, there is dessert. There is always dessert. After two plates of lunch (though no more crab legs--they were delicious, but crab legs are just too much work), I headed towards the superb dessert spread, gathering up a banana pudding parfait, a piece of pumpkin pie (covered in homemade whipped cream), a piece of pecan pie (covered in homemade whipped cream), a pecan pie brownie (covered in homemade whipped cream), a piece of German chocolate cake... and I think a cookie. And I ate. And I ate some more. And it was awesome. And just when my stomach knocked on my insides and said, "Hey, yo... uh... we're getting kinda packed down here, so you... uh... you may want to ease up, or even stop..." To which I said, "Stomach. Shut up. Its vacation. Its Thanksgiving. You'll speak when you're spoken too. For now, take what I give you." And with that, I took another bite of the chocolate parfait I had just retrieved.

Now THAT is a vacation.

59... "The Proposal"
(From my own Clouds in My Coffee review, where you'll also get my own list of favorite Sandy Bullock movies...)... Right from the get-go, you know exactly how this movie is going to end, but really, it’s a lot of fun to find your way to the moment when Margaret (Sandra) and Andrew (Ryan Reynolds) finally get together.

Margaret Tate is a mean, mean boss, especially taking for granted her hard working, long time, loyal assistant, Andrew Paxton. The predicament is when she, being Canadian and ignoring her call to renew her visa, is threatened with deportation. Her solution? Marry that hard working, long time, taken for granted assistant, and of course, against his will. (Let’s forget that this movie was called “Green Card” when it was released in 1990 and starred Gerard Depardieu and Andie McDowell… because “The Proposal” is a far better film, it gets a pass)

So they travel to Alaska together, to his hometown to meet his family, and… well, hilarity ensues. The supporting characters add much to the fun, including Ramone, who makes a half-dozen appearances, all hilarious, throughout the film. Betty White is the grandma, and has her own issues which are quite funny, Mr. Incredible Coach and Mary Steenburgen are the parents, doing an ample job and worth mentioning is Malin Akerman, who plays Andrew’s former flame Gertrude (really? Gertrude? They couldn't come up with a better name for that?) I only mention Gertrude because while really good looking here, she wasn’t anywhere near this cute as Silk Spectre II in “Watchmen”.

There is a notable scene, heralded in the media and with critics, where both main characters are naked, accidentally running into each other, he covered in sweat after hard work, she wet after just getting out of the shower. All naughty bits are covered and unseen, though, and the scene is very funny. -- June 2009

58... "Harry Potter & the Half-Blood Prince"
I struggled with this film for weeks. In one sense, it was awesome. All the Harry Potter films are awesome, with "Harry Potter & the Order of the Phoenix" not only being my favorite book, but my favorite adaptation... but I struggled as to whether to rank this one high or low on the list of the six films.

There's so much about it to like... Emma Watson has grown into quite the eyecandy, it was great to see Quidditch back onscreen, Jim Broadbent made a great Slughorn and the visuals of the movie were stunning--like usual. But... there was so much to not like. Yeah, yeah, its a movie, its not going to be the same as the book, I get it, that's not the point... I think the biggest miss, more than anything else, was the inexcusable way that the Harry/Ginny hook up was handled.

I think I could have handled the screwed up Dumbledore death scene, I could have dealt with the lack of screen time that the fantastic Dave Legano received as Fenrir Greybeck, I could have forgiven the inclusion of a silly Burrow scene with an attack from the Death Eaters, I could have pushed through the fact one of the most glorious battles in the entire series, the (first) Battle of Hogwarts, was reduced to only a few main characters, I could have overlooked the way Snape was handled as the Half-Blood Prince, but...

...but...

...the way the Harry/Ginny get-togethery was done? Inexcusable. Unforgivable. Dare I say, blasphemous? It would be like George Lucas coming out and saying that the Force, the mysterious, mesmerizing Force that wields so much awesomeness in "Star Wars" is nothing but a bunch of cell-things in the bloodstream of a potential Jedi... waaaaaiitt...

Anyway, this is further spelled out in my own letter to the movie's screenwriter, Steve Kloves. You know, I went back and re-read what I had written, and it reminded me that, while I liked the movie, it made me angry.

You know what? Forget this.

58... KT's Baby and Mindy D'A
KT and J Rob had a baby.  Baby Kaylee.  It was worth a mention, cause really, that baby is preciously cute.  I mean, solid cutetivity going on with that baby.  And Mindy D'A?  She reads Clouds and comments often. She's a friend from college. She lives in Seattle. What can I say, she's pretty cool.  I don't mention either enough.  So there.

57... Lunch at The Swamp
As Lenning, Tyler the Sexy Beast, Trey Cartledge and the 70th Coolest Thing of 2009, Jon Thompson, and myself were returning from a guy's weekend at The Most Magical Place on Earth in October, we were debating on where to eat.

Trey had suggested a trip to Gainesville, which was just off the interstate as we drove up I-75. We didn't actually know where we were going, but we figured once we found the statdium, we'd find a place to eat. We found The Swamp, in all its two national championship and a Heisman in three years glory (I know, I know, y'all got thirteen, yeee-haw!), and started looking around for a place to eat. Driving, I wheeled into a parking lot, spying some co-eds walking nearby.

I casually rolled down the back window where Tyler sat, and honked the horn. They looked over. With a "...what the... dude! why did you do that!" look on his face for a second, he was forced to speak to the girls. "Uh... so, uh... where can we find a good place to eat... uh... you know, around here and... and all...?" he stammered.

I'd love to tell you that the girls saw all the single guys in the car--Tyler, Lenning, Jonny T and Trey--and immediately gave over their phone numbers, but this didn't happen. They pointed us to to a restaurant called The Swamp and that was that.

We drove around the block, parked and walked inside. The place was kinda cool, looking like an older house that had been renovated into a restaurant... you can always tell that when the bathroom door has a little hook on it to lock, like an old fashioned screen door. I mean, the hook part, not the bathroom door being like a screen door, cause that would be weird.

Anyway, lunch was great--I got a burger of some sort. You'd think it would be hard to screw up a burger, but its been done before. Everyone enjoyed their food, Jonny T enjoyed the waitress, Trey enjoyed the atmosphere, Lenning enjoyed the appitizers (don't remember what they were, but I remember liking them too), and Tyler enjoyed the fact he was sitting a football field away from the world famous The Swamp Stadium, being the Go Gators fan he is.

56.... Baha Burger
Speaking of great burgers... ahhh... Baha.

Come hungry, leave full. You can choose one of their "titled" burgers, or you can do what I do, and spend the $7.50 and make your own. Pick the meat... a beef, pork, chicken, turkey, lamb, salmon (my choice), or veggie burger, then pick your bread (I go Kaiser Roll), then pick your sides, including skinny fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, a salad, coleslaw, or melon... cause I don't dig on melons, onion rings, sweet potato fries or salad, the skinny fries are my choice. You can also add on garnishes like peach chutney and chipotle, and I like the mushrooms.

The whole place has a "surfy" theme to it, though its really nothing more than a few surfboards and some beachy-named menu selections, but it still makes the aura friendly and comfortable. On pleasant fall and/or spring days, when the temperature is just rightly so, sitting outside and enjoying a Lamb Burger on a Kaiser Roll, coated in mayo, mustard, ketchup, mushrooms with sharp cheddar (and if I'm feelin' froggy, some Swiss too), with a helping of skinny fries, washing it down with a 22 ounce fountain Coke soaked in great, chippy ice, having great conversation with MZ or Mikey or whoever I'm meeting for lunch... number one, baby, number one. Ah, Baha.

Just a note... after I wrote this, The Lovely Steph Leann and I went to Baha Burger--me for the millionth time, her for the first time.  She ordered the Baha Blend, which is like a chuck roast burger, and the sweet potato fries, and while I normally get the Lamb, I decided to try the Baha Blend.  We split a piece of Key Lime Pie.  She loved it.  Its always great when you convert someone to a place you like to eat at.

55... "State of Play"
Absolutely excellent. The all star cast was just part of it--Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck, Rachel McAdams, Helen Mirren--when many times "all star casts" just don't work, especially in political thrillers (See "Lions for Lambs". Or better yet, don't).

Just kicks off immediately with a couple of deaths that seem unrelated, which of course, you know have to be related somehow... but what drives this movie is Crowe, who is great as a reporter who just wants to dig for the truth, no matter where it takes him, including taking him to his friend, Congressman Collins, played by a surprisingly good Affleck. Rachel McAdams is Della Frye, a blogger for Crowe's newpaper and who resists learning from Crowe--but ends up assisting him all the same. And thankfully, there wasn't a "Peacemaker" ending, that being a pretty good movie ruining by a sudden romantic gesture between its two leads when nothing during the movie was leading to that.

The twists kept coming, the dialogue was sharp, the humor was in-line and the plot, though thick, was very, very good. I always look at The Lovely Steph Leann as the credits begin to roll and ask, "How did you like it?" This time, I looked at her, and said, "I really liked that. How about you?" Rated PG-13 for language and violence. (from a movie review post in April)

54... "Fearless" by Taylor Swift
From the opening title track, through the end, Taylor Swift's sophomore album is full of nothing but awesomocity. What can I say, I like Taylor Swift, and have since her first song, "Tim McGraw", off of her first album.

My favorite of the tracks, "You Belong With Me" (to be featured later in this very list), is full of energy and pep and charm, while there's a bit of maturity, if not a little sappiness, in "Fifteen" and even "White Horse".

53... "Julie & Julia"
Oh, man I loved this movie. It helped quite a bit that it has Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, but Meryl Streep is also fantastic... as always. It tells two stories, one being Julia Childs' beginnings in France as a cook and chef, while paralleling the story of Julie Powell, who is looking for something more in her life, and decides to take on the task of cooking all 524 of Julia Childs' recipes in "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" in a single year... and she blogs about it. And both stories are true, with Julia Childs being... well, Julia Childs, and Julie Powell actually having a real blog telling this adventure.

The movie is great, it moves fast (despite its 2:04 running time) and is fun. The Lovely Steph Leann and I laughed throughout, there were a couple of "awww..." moments when I think The Lovely Steph Leann found the theater to be a little dusty, and I think I can now watch Amy Adams in just about anything. And call me old fashioned, and I guess this was only portrayed in the movie because that's how it was in real life... but I like the fact that Julie and Eric, her significant other, are married. Not just dating and living together, but married. Somehow that means something. Chris Messina is awesome as Eric, who goes through just as much as Julie does, trying to cope with his wife under this massive undertaking.

The main Julie Powell story is based on a book called "Julie & Julia", which I have on audio and look forward to listening to. She also has her own blogsite she still keeps up, which does have a colorful use of the English language, so beware. (from August, 2009)

Since writing that review last summer, Meryl Streep was nominated for an Oscar for this film, something like her 48th nomination lifetime, and months later, I still haven't read the book--but its on my list. I promise. Amy Adams, whom I'm in love with, has been in "Leap Year", a film saved by the prescence of Adams and the Irish countryside, and The Tuch has been nominated for an Academy Award for "The Lovely Bones", an adaptation of a book I was halfway through before I got distracted with other stuff. I'm sure I'll finish it at some point.

52... Lenning on American Idol
From October 15th, 2009, recounting the Disney World trip with me and Tyler & his roommates...

We were working our way to The Sci Fi Cafe for lunch when we passed by The American Idol Experience. One of us piped up to Lenning that he should try out for it. He said no, and another of us said he should, and still he said no, and finally we all pushed him towards the entrance. Of course the Cast Member at the front was trying to convince Lenning as well.

I said, "Okay, okay... if you will try out, I'll try out." Lenning looked at me, still unconvinced. Then I said, "Okay, not only I will try out, TYLER WILL TRY OUT!" This, of course, came as quite a surprise to Tyler, who, after the initial shock, said, "Uh... yeah! I'll try out!"

Essentially, it breaks down like this... you can audition for American Idol in Hollywood Studios. You sing for one of the producers, and if they like you, they send you down the hall to another set of producers. If those producers like you, you become one of three people booked on one of the shows. There are typically seven shows per day, from about 11a, each hour, until about 4p, maybe 5p.

The audience votes on a winner for each show. If you are a show winner, you come back for the daily finale, at 7p. Again, the audience votes, and if you win THAT one, you get a special golden ticket... that golden ticket allows you to go to ANY American Idol audition in the country and go straight to the front of the line and get special VIP treatment for your entire visit.

So, anyway, we went into the AI building, and because I am a Cast Member, not only could I not participate, I could not even audition. Technically, neither could Tyler, being my brother-in-law, but we weren't really that concerned with his winning the show. They could only take one person in the audition room with them, so Tyler took Jon. Jon later said that Tyler sang, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough", complete with hand motions and movements. He didn't make it.

Lenning, on the other hand, took Trey with him. I stood in the lobby talking to a CM for a little while, when I learned that Lenning had made it to the next round. I went out to The Sci Fi Cafe and told them to hold our reservations, because we were with the Next American Idol. Tyler and Jon were sitting outside, waiting on the results of Lenning's second round audition.

Tyler texted Lenning's dad. His text read something like, "YOUR SON IS GOING TO BE ON AMERICAN IDOL". A few minutes later, Tyler gets a text. He reads it, and says, "Crap! Mr. Lenning trumps again!" The text read something like, "IN SOUTH AFRICA. DINNER WITH DISNEY VP."

Lenning made it. He came out wearing a number and a yellow card on a lanyard. We went nuts. The producer came out, and wanted to get some video of him celebrating. They got a great shot of us doing high fives, and Jon chest bumping Lenning. He did some interviews on camera, and finally, an hour and ten minutes after our reservation, we had lunch.

Lenning had to be back at 2:50 for make up, rehearsal and a few other re-show things for the 4pm show. The guys and I had enough time to run and do Star Tours and a couple of other things, then we had to meet up at 3:30p for the VIP door.

The family and friends of the other two that made it were also at the door when we got there, and soon enough, a CM led us to our seats, close to the front on stage-right side of the theater. Each seat has an arm rest with two sets of buttons number 1-10, which you use to vote on your favorites. As we walked in, the first contestant was finishing up his practice song, which was "I Like It" by Tim McGraw. The guy singing, Billy Cox, was a country bumpkin kind of guy, and sounded decent enough.

Lenning was singing "Sweet Home Alabama", which was a blessing and a curse. He sounded great, but I dearly hate that song. Always have. Makes me feel like I should be driving a 4x4 truck, covered in mud, a tennis ball hanging off the long antenna I have and a big Confederate Flag in the back window. Under the gunrack, of course. So, it makes me feel like I'm back in Samson. Yee-haw.

Lastly, Jada Davis, a big sista', got up and sang "Respect". As she sang, I looked and Tyler, who looked back, and we both looked up at Jonathan on stage, who saw us. We all shook our heads. Jada was tearin' it up... and we knew it was over.

The little girl sitting next to me was the daughter of Billy Cox, and she looked up at me and said, "She's really good." I nodded, and said, "You know, if you accidentally hit 2 on your buttons there, instead of 1, then its okay." She smiled and said, "And if you hit 1 by accident, its okay too." I heard Tyler say, "Touche."

The show started, the judges came out--one is like Randy, one is like Paula, and one is like Simon... go figure. Billy Cox sang his song, and again, sounded pretty good. The judges said their stuff, then Lenning got up there... and again, sang well. The Randy-Judge told him that he needed to be more animated, the Paula-Judge said, "You are so cute! You look like you are 12 years old with your fuzzy little legs!" You know those moments when something happens and you just know that this will stick with you for a long, long time, and you are going to hear about it a whole heckuva lot? That was this moment with Jonathan Lenning. Trey, Jon, Tyler and I just about passed out in our seats with laughter.

The Simon-Judge told him that "I once carried some frozen peas and that was slightly interesting than your performance."

And Jada Davis got up, sang awesome, and the judges loved her. The Cox family next to me had a little baby girl who started crying, and the daughter next to me had to take her out, leaving her buttons unattended. So when it came time to vote, I hit "2" for Lenning... then I hit "1" for Billy Cox, cause that is what Cox the Daughter would have done.

Well, Seacrestette stood up finally, and announced the big winner... and to no one's surprise, it wasn't our man Jonathan Lenning. But, for the rest of the day, people were coming up to him, telling him they had voted for him telling him how much they loved him, and I'm sure he got the chick vote easily.

51... The DFC X
What started out as a simple game between 11 friends, picking football game winners, has become a still-simple game, this time between 30+ friends.  The Deuce Football Championships concluded its 10th season in December, with the first ever chick taking the title.

Alas, I tear through the regular season once again, winning my second straight MVP title, but stall and fall in the postseason.  An old school battle was set up for DeuceBowl X, our championship weekend, between Eddy McBroom and Lori Beirne, with almost 1100 victories and 17 years of DFC'ing between the two of them.  I'm still rooting for Big Eddy to win this game, but I gotta give props to Lori for winning it all.  Good job.

Coming up... Moving your hips like yeah... Starbucks gets a new boss... and the political debates rage on...

It's 3 a.m. I Must Be Lonely

"I remember when, I remember, I remember when I lost my mind.  There was something so pleasant about that place.  Even your emotions have an echo in so much space."  Gnarls Barkley

Hale:  "Your out of your mind." 
Deak: "Yeah... ain't it cool?"

Two more days, and the decade is over.  How absolutely crazy is that?

Anyway, not much to discuss... well, that's not true--there's probably a lot to talk about, everything from reviews of "Avatar", "It's Complicated" and "Sherlock Holmes" to what in the world is up with my Go Gators and the Urban Meyer, "I'm resigning cause my heart can't take it no I'm not I'm just taking a leave of absence but is that really the truth maybe I am resigning I'm just saying 'leave of absence' so my recruits will be okay" dance. 

But, as it is, its 217 in the morning... and my iPod is syncing, which is why I'm still up.  Its a blessed problem, really... "blessed problem" being, I have no reason to complain, I'm only whining about my toys and how annoying they can be, and if I sat back and had perspective, I'd know that I not only have 1 iPod, I now have 2 iPods, and those without would look at me and say, "Quit your whining, you big baby."

I opened up iTunes the other day, and nothing was there.  Nothing.  Absolutely nothing.  I sighed, because this has happened before.. my music is right where I left it on my computer, in my music folder, but its as if I had downloaded iTunes for the first time.  This means all my ratings, all my lyrics, all my playcounts gone, all gone... now I'll never know the lyrics to Jason Mraz's "The Remedy (i won't worry)" or know whether I rated Garth Brooks' "Wild Horses" higher than Whitney Houston's "Savin' All My Love For You", now my knowledge of how many times I truly listened to "Party in the USA" by Miley Cyrus or "Steel Bars" by Michael Bolton or "Everything Zen" by Bush was gone!  No more ratings!  No more playlists!  No more 'last played'!  No turkey! No turkey sandwiches! No turkey salad! No turkey gravy! Turkey Hash! Turkey a la King! Or gallons of turkey soup! Gone, ALL GONE!

I guess there are worse things in life... well, I'm pretty sure there are.  Cancer... car wrecks... He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected's Health Care Plan... (random song names.. check... random line from "A Christmas Story"... check... potshot at The President for Brad Latta's sake... check...).

The only upside is that I get to re-organize my music, and for a nerd like me, this is a big deal.  I have one folder, called "Distribute", and anything downloaded goes there.  If I've downloaded the song from a less-than-paid for site, I can do a virus scan on that folder to make sure everything is on the up and up.  If I rip a CD, it goes there, as does any audiobooks I get.  Over time, and because I'm too lazy and forgetful to move stuff when I load it, it builds up. 

This iTunes issue happened last in August of 2008.  In 16 months, my "Distribute" folder had collected 245 different artists worth of stuff.  It took me about three hours to move music and audiobooks out of that folder into their proper places. 

The Lovely Steph Leann did well this year.... she usually does, but this year especially.  I got some great stuff, like some books, my "Mountain Soul II" CD by Patty Loveless that I was hoping for, a cute little Mickey Mouse tie, Super Mario for the Wii (more on that later), and in my stocking, I pulled out some candy (Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are the best, aren't they?), some weird little "put them in water and they grow!" animals that The Lovely Steph Leann got a big kick out of and at the bottom... an iPod Touch. 

I held it, I looked at her, looked back at it, then looked back at her smiling face.  "You... you got me... got me... an iPod Touch?" I stuttered.  Very little leaves me stammering, but this did the trick.  She smiled, and told me that she won it at work in some sort of contest... she was quick to point out that, "Had I not won this, you wouldn't have gotten it.  Just so you know."

I had kinda been wanting an iPhone, but my issue with that was the phone bill per month would be higher... not necessarily the actual phone plan, but the cost of all the bells and whistles that went with it.  An iPod Touch is basically the same thing, just without that pesky phone part.  I can connect to the interweb, download applications, load contact info and so on... in fact, I'm not even sure what I'm capable of with it.  Tomorrow, I'm going to try to launch a cupcake business and tap into the space shuttle interface. 

Its been a learning curve, using both iPods on the same iTunes... yeah, yeah, I know, poor me, pity me and so on.  I'm just telling you how it is.  The Touch is great, though... the screen is really wide, so I've enjoyed watching music videos and TV shows on it... on a weekend trip to Tullahoma, TN, last weekend, I managed to take in Family Guy's "Blue Harvest" and the first episode of "Mad Men", a show I have a feeling I'm about to plunge headfirst into. 

So now, at 253am, I'm reloading my iPod, the 60gig.  Essentially, I have to wait for it to unload 54 gigs of music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts in order to then reload 54 gigs of newly organized music, videos, audiobooks and podcasts.  Whilst I wait, I watch the last few minutes of "Broken Arrow" on Fox Movie Channel, an incredibly bad, incredibly awesome flick starring Christian Slater as Hale and John Travolta as Deak, awaiting my iPod's new sync of my reorganization of iTunes. 

Also got Toy Story Mania for the Wii... it rocks.  I'm killer at the Plate Skeet Shoot.  I tried Super Mario Brothers.  Apparently, there's a glitch in the game that doesn't allow you to go to the first world.  This happens only on certain games, though... I looked it up on the interweb, and seems like lots of folks are having this issue, with the only solution being to call Nintendo directly.

Okay, so I'm going to bed.  Its too early... late... whatever.  "Sweet Thing" by Keith Urban?  Fun song.  Listening to it now on my new iPod Touch (movie just ended).  Why bring up Keith Urban?  Cause its 3am, I must be lonely.  She says baby, well I can't help but be scared but oh sometimes the rain's gonna wash away I believe it... (that may not be the exact lyrics, but I swear that's what Rob Thomas says...)

Ah, the problems of a guy who owns 2 iPods.  I'm going to bed.  Right after this Bob Seger song goes off, that is.

The Smurf Turf

I'm a happy man. The weather has been beautiful, my wife The Lovely Steph Leann is beautiful, I'm sitting in my comfy leather chair and on the screen is college football. Troy wasn't on the television--and if they were I didn't find them--and its okay I didn't see them, because apparently they got blasted by Bowling Green 31-14... I came in from an informal Bible study meeting with Jillip at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) and turned on the tv to see the latter part of South Carolina and NC State, which was won by the Gamecocks, alma mater of DeNick.

Now? Its Boise State and Oregon, and currently, the Broncos lead 10-0 on the Smurf Turf.

THE GO GATORS SCARY RANKING
That scares the be-williez out of me too. Do you know how many teams ranked #1 at the beginning of the season went wire-to-wire and won the title? Four. USC most recently did it in 2004.

The Go Gators were ranked #1 by the widest margin in history, with something like 48,000 votes, while Texas, #2, got what, 0.0005 or something? And that frightens me. This means that there is a good chance the Go Gators will get knocked off. My guess is the October 10th game versus LSU, at LSU, would be the most likely candidate. Hopefully, if they lose, that would the game so they'd have time to rebound and get back to the BCS Championship Game on January 7th.

They are bringing back, like, EVERYONE pretty much, so if they do repeat, it won't be a shock. However, its almost a "too good to be true".

Here's essentially why it scares me... remember the Georgia Bulldogs? They were a heavily hyped #1 in August of 2008. And they finished 13th at 10-3.

This Saturday, they are favored by 73... thats SEVENTY THREE over Charleston Southern. I would feel bad for Chuck South except for the fact they are getting something like $450K for the game, so bring it on.

THINGS I BELIEVE ABOUT TIM TEBOW
First, if Florida beats Ole Miss in 2008, instead of being stunned 31-30, then the Go Gators run the table all the way up to the SEC Championship game, where they get beaten by Alabama by 6. It was that loss to the Rebels that let the Go Gators know, "Hey, Tebow... you aren't invincible." And they go on to win the championship.

Next, if Tim Tebow goes to Alabama, Mike Shula stays the coach for another year or two. They finished 6-6 in 2006, after Tebow goes to Florida (and helps Chris Leak lead the team to the national title). If Tebow comes to Bama, I think the Tide finishes 8-4, maybe 9-3... they still lose the big games, but perhaps beat Arkansas, Mississippi State and possibly Tennessee.



That would be enough to keep Shula employed by the University of Alabama. Nick Saban, unhappy, still leaves Miami Dolphins and goes elsewhere... Notre Dame? Who knows?... but the Tide get someone else, perhaps not as good as Saban, and with Tebow, they continually win 9, 10, maybe 11 games per year--but no national title. Just my theory.

And finally, something someone else believes about Tim Tebow... my buddy Ryan Sherman said it best, spoken like a diehard Tide fan... "You know, I think Tim Tebow is a great guy. Man, you can't hate him, he's a solid guy, a solid Christ Follower, and I think its awesome he wants to do mission work with his life after football. But, you know, I hope in the first game he breaks his leg. Then he can get to mission work faster."

TROY BEING TROY
Ah, the faithful sounds of the T-R (whoop whoop) O-J (whoop whoop) AAAAAA EEENNNN EEESSSS (wooooo!) Trojans football. And tonight, they get blasted by Bowling Green. And next week, they play the Go Gators. People ask me who I root for, and I say, "Troy", mostly because I know there is more of a chance of He Who Must Not Be Re-Elected saying, "I want to give you all some tax cuts" than the Trojans beating the Gators.

MY FANTASY
So, I'm in a Fantasy Football League for the first time. Matta Latta invited me, and I joined up with The Official Clouds in My Coffee Ombudsman Brad Latta, Mikey, Scotty Latta, Drewski Morris and a few others, and we had our draft this past Sunday night.

My team, Manilow's Revenge, is QB'd by Tom Brady, so my season rests on his knees. I've also got DeAngelo Williams at RB, Brandon Marshall as a WR and Jason Elam as my kicker. And... I drafted Mike Vick as a backup QB. Yes, yes, he's not available until Week 3, but still, I think when McNabb goes down (and he will), Vick will come out and be great again. He's got nothing to lose.

How can I like Vick? I don't, necessarily. I thought when we with the Falcons, he was kind of a pud, but he was an amazing athlete. And no, I don't condone what he did. His dog fighting was horrific, and the things he did with those dogs is horrific... but he served his time. Whether I feel it was punishment enough (which I do) isn't the point... the point is, not only did he do his jail time, he's been crucified and hated in the public, and his career is very close to being as ruined as his reputation.

Besides... Plaxico Burress is spending what, a year or more in jail for shooting himself in the leg, something stupid he did to himself... but Donte Stallworth gets drunk, kills someone while driving and only gets 24 days? Don't tell me Vick didn't serve long enough.

RELAXATION, CORONA STYLE
I don't drink. But if I did, I'd want to drink Corona, but only if I'm sitting on a beach, next to The Lovely Steph Leann, in a lounge deck chair on a beach with a cool breeze blowing, small table between us with two long neck bottles filled with cool refreshment, topped with two perfectly sliced pieces of lime.

They make drinking seem nicer than Bud Light, Miller Lite, that German green bottled beer I can't spell and Pabst Blue Ribbon ever do.


This would be typical of The Lovely Steph Leann and I... if we were drinkers

Though Samuel Adams looks like a cool beer to drink. It looks like a beer that me, as a cultured intellectual would drink.

But I don't drink.

d$'s PREDICTIONS
The current AP Top 10 is as follows: 1) The Go Gators... 2) Texas... 3) Oklahoma... 4) USC... 5) Alabama... 6) Ohio State... 7) Virginia Tech... 8) Ole Miss... 9) Oklahoma State... 10) Penn State

Here's how yours truly, d$, predict the season will play out. The final AP top ten will be:
1) Texas (I predict they win the national title)
2) Penn State (I predict Texas blasts Penn State something like 54-10 in the BCS title game)
3) Florida
4) USC
5) Ohio State
6) Boise State
7) TCU
8) Alabama
9) Oklahoma
10) Georgia

Mark it down. Bet on it. I can see the future. Look at this post on January 8th and you'll see for yourself.

THE SMURF TURF (and colleen's song) REIGNS
I've been blogging all along during the game, chatting with The Lovely Steph Leann about who wants to go with us to The Happiest Place on Earth (can you believe we're actually having a little trouble filling that spot?), and doing some random surfing on the interweb.

Tomorrow night, we hang out with Croyle and his wife Britlicious, and new friends Phil & Colleen. Went into Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) Middle School Ministry...

...okay, so "middle school" is the new norm? what was wrong with "junior high"? nothing! junior high ministry works just as well, perhaps better than middle school ministry. whoever changed that is probably responsible for dropping "junior college" from most junior colleges and turning them into "community college". you don't call junior varsity teams "middle varsity" or "community varsity", do you? not yet, anyway.

...and Colleen sang a song that she wrote. It was amazing. With apologies to Factor 7, I've only got one song written and sung by a friend that has anywhere over 2 plays on my iPod, and that's Joel Blount's song "Sunday Afternoon", which currently is in my Top 100 songs (11 plays). If I had Colleen's song, and I don't even know the title, on my iPod, it would rival it, easily. It was that good.

Finally... Go Gators.

Bracketology & Sports Affections

I told The Lovely Steph Leann tonight that I hadn't filled out my bracket, and was in danger of missing it for the first time in at least 20 years.... I've been filling them out ever since I was at home in Samson, Alabama, usually when I walked four houses down to the Samson Public Library and secretly pulled out the thick paper bracket in the middle of the latest Sports Illustrated issue.

Typically, I'm terrible. I never watch college basketball, though somehow, by March Madness time, I'm an expert. Truth of the matter is, when The Lovely Steph Leann and I both fill out a bracket, she beats me. Its happened something like five out of the last six years. I'll probably beat her this time around, though that's more than likely due to the fact I don't know that she'll fill one out by the time the tourney starts in, oh, 13 hours. Especially since she'll be on the road to Pensacola tomorrow morning.

THE MIDWEST
Louisville over Morehead State, Siena over Ohio State, Utah over Arizona, Wake Forest over Cleveland State, West Virginia beats Dayton, Kansas over North Dakota State, Boston College over USC and Michigan State over Robert Morris...

Louisville beats Siena, Wake Forest over Utah, Kansas over West Virginia and Boston College upsets #2 Michigan State

Louisville and Kansas move to the Elite Eight

Personally, I'm a college football fan. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy a good baseball game, cheering for the Baltimore Orioles since 1990. Why? Well, I spent the summer of 1990 in Hampton, VA, visiting my sister and her family, and someone gave me an extremely cool Orioles baseball cap. Thus, an alliegence was born.


This was the logo atop the hat I owned. I wished I still had that hat, but I wore that thing slap out.

Never been a Braves fan... I think its mostly because prior to, what, 91 or 92, NO ONE I knew talked about the Braves, no one I knew wore a Dale Murphy jersey, no one I knew cared anything about them... until they started winning, and then every Braves fan I met said the same thing... "I loved them even when they was crappy an' all! I love the Braves! Go Chipper!"

THE WEST
UConn destroys UT-Chattanooga, BYU over Texas A&M, Purdue over Northern Iowa, and in love offering tossed to The Freckled (re)Becca, I am choosing Mississippi State over #4 Washington. No ye Huskies. Marquette over Utah State, Mizzou over Cornell, Maryland slightly upsets California, and Memphis over CS Northridge.

UConn then edges BYU, and for my boy-oyz Marky Mark and JustFish, Mississippi State upsets Purdue! Dawgs win! Dawgs win! Marquette upsets Mizzou and Memphis knocks out Maryland.

UConn then beats Mississippi State (enjoy what you can get) and Memphis takes out Marquette to advance to the Elite Eight.

I also enjoy basketball, with the two teams I root for being San Antonio Spurs and the Orlando Magic. I was a Spurs fan when I lived in Austin, Texas, from around '80 to 84, but when Orlando got a team in 1989, I was hooked. I actually kept the scores of every single Magic game for the first three years of their existance, writing them down first in a little Orlando Magic pocket guide I had acquired, then just in a notebook... my plan was to have every game written down, and had I continued this particular quest, I'd have quite a journal 21 years later.

Alas, I didn't keep it up. It was easier at first, dork and non-invitee-to-parties that I was in high school, though in 1991, 92 and 93, I just got too busy, first with tennis, then with a few parties I actually was invited to (thanks Beverly Day!) and so on. But I was pumped when Shaq was drafted in 92, then Penny Hardaway was acquired in 93... twas to be good times. Then Penny became the Penny we know now, Shaq went to the Showtime Lakers and all was lost.


I remember the Magic's first game... November of '89, at the O-Rena, I watched on tv as the NJ Nets beat the Magic (I had to look score up, it was 111-106), and a few days later the Magic won their first game, beating the Knicks (118-110, again I had to look it up). I had a limited edition Magic hat, number 502 of 1500. I wore it all the time, after the Orioles hat had worn out. I left it in the backseat of Cyndi Bledsoe's car when she went home for the summer. She told me her car was broken into, and it was stolen. I was heartbroken.

As for the Spurs? My favorite player became David Robinson, and I rooted for him constantly. It became even easier to root for him when Tim Duncan was drafted in 1997, because Robinson and Duncan, The Twin Towers, led the Spurs to the title in 1999... and yes, it was strike-shortened, so it was great to see their championship vindicated in 2003. Then they won two more in the last five years.

What happens when the Spurs play the Magic? I dunno. I seldom watch most of the regular season... like baseball, I start paying attention when the playoffs approach. Like now. I'm watching the Pistons and Rockets.

Next season, though? I think I'm going to totally toss myself into the Spurs and the Magic, especially the latter. Well, after football season is over, anywhere.

THE EAST
Pittsburgh over East Tennessee State, Oklahoma State over Tennessee, #12 Wisconsin over #5 Florida State (it had to happen), Xavier over Portland State, Virginia Commonwealth over UCLA, Villanova over American University, Minnesota over Texas (who I picked to win last year and they were booted in the 2nd round), and The Dookies over the Mighty Bearcats of Binghamton.

Pittsburgh over Oklahoma State (they used to be called Pitt, by the way, which I liked better), Xavier over Wisconsin, V'nova over V'Com, The Dookies over Minnesota (coached by Tubby Smith, who was driven out of town pretty much by the Kentucky Wildcats, who, coincidentally missed the Big Dance for the first time in 18 years...)

Pitt beats Xavier and Villanova beats The Duke Blue Devils to move into the Elite Eight

Which brings us to hockey. Now, this is a sport I only watch during the Stanley Cup Finals, and thats if its a series clinching game in the finals, and thats if its a team I root for, namely, the Colorado Avalanche. I was going to switch to the Atlanta Thrashers or the Nashville Predators, both of which I'd love to see in person, but I've been a 'Lanche fan for quite a while. Actually, I was a Calgary Flames fan early on, but when the Nordiques moved from Quebec to Denver in 1995, I switched a few years later... (I don't claim their 1995 title, but I am part of the 2001 Stanley Cup championship) For whatever reason, two cities I've loved all my life would be Baltimore and Denver. Only been to Baltimore, and that was briefly to the harbor for lunch during a trip to NYC on a 1998 mission trip. Never been to Denver. Want to spend time in both.

Bottom line is, I could really care less about hockey. I don't know how the Avalanche are even doing, but if they make the playoffs, I'll probably pay attention. Somewhat.

THE SOUTH
The Tarheels of North Carolina over Radford, Butler beats LSU, #12 Western Kentucky over #5 Illinois, Gonzaga over Akron, Arizona State over Temple, Syracuse over Stephen F. Austin, Clemson beats Meeeeeechigan and in a rare moment of "I might believe the hype", I'm taking Oklahoma going deep, starting with a win over Morgan State.

UNC beats Butler, Gonzaga beats the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, Syracuse over Arizona Stae, and Oklahoma defeats Clemson

UNC beats Gonzaga... though you have to think that one day, maybe one shining day, the Zags of Gonzaga will actually make a Final Four. Not this year. Anyway, Oklahoma over Syracuse for the Elite Eight.

While I follow baseball and basketball primarily in the playoffs or at the most, the weeks leading up to the playoffs, and I scarcely follow hockey at all, I watch every single game of football I can possibly feast my eyes on. Perhaps its the simple 12-14 game schedule for college, or the 16 game schedule for the NFL, as opposed to the 162 and 82 games for baseball and basketball, respectively. Perhaps I just know more people who get into it more, thereby allowing more conversations to happen, more fun watching games and more debates to occur. Perhaps its the evolution of The DFC, which stands for The Deuce Football Championships, a game devised in 2000 featuring only Yours Truly and 8 friends who just picked the winners of 8 games per week, that has grown into a game entering its 10th season this coming fall, with over 35 people playing--congrats again to The Mighty Mark Gainey for winning his first DFC title.

I dunno. But I loves me some football. Whereas I wouldn't watch a basketball game unless it has meaning (like the Pistons/Rockets, though I'm barely paying attention) and I can't remember the last baseball or hockey game I turned on that didn't feature the words "playoff series", I would watch just about any two teams play football. And I have.

Turn on the Vs channel around 9pm on Saturday night, and heck, who wouldn't want to watch the Idaho Vandals and the Montana Grizzlies slug it out? Flip over to Fox Sports East, and why yes, I'll take in Miami of Ohio in a great battle with Central/Northern/Western/Eastern/Midwestern/South Central Michigan. Love it.

Though there are teams in all sports I like and root for, besides the ones I just mentioned, (the Celtics, the Mavericks, the A's, the Sawks), and there are teams I don't like and root against (the Lakers, the Yankees, the Braves), in the NFL, most teams fall into a "Like" and "Don't Like" catagory--and unlike the other sports, I typically have a reason....

I like the 49ers, being a Montana/Rice/Lott/Young fan back in the day. I don't like the Redskins, because my mom hated them. I like the Dolphins, mostly because I watched them growing up. I don't like the Browns, because they were bitter rivals of the Broncos in the late 80s. I like the Packers, yes, because of Favre, but I don't like the Raiders because they are inept. I like the Pats, the Jags, the Bengals and the Titans. I don't like the Cowboys or the Jets. Everyone else? The Chiefs, the Vikes, the Rams, the Seahawks, the Falcons and so on? I root for them or against them based on my own personal interests at the time. Falcons playing the Cowboys? Go Falcons! The Falcons play the Broncos? Go Broncos!

Like I said, I liked Denver, and Denver sports teams. So add that with one of my favorite players of all time, John Elway, and you've got a life long Denver Broncos fan. I even sent my football card to him to be signed, and it came back signed. Don't know whether he signed it or not, but it was signed by someone. And, in 1997, the Broncos became the first sports team to win a championship during the era I was rooting for them (I've enjoyed similar successes with the Spurs, the 'Lanche and this past season's Gators. I'm still waiting for an Orioles championship, though with the Angelos running the show, it will be a long, long wait).


It seems when a team changes their logo, they win. See "Buccaneers, Tampa Bay" and "Patriots, New England"... and yes, "Broncos, Denver". However, I do miss the Orange Crush logo.

College football opens up a whole new conversation, because instead of 32 teams, there is what, 118? 112? Something like that. Now, I don't have an opinion one way or another on many of them, cause really, what do I have against the Southern Illinois Salukis?

Its no secret I'm a Gators fan. Say what you will, and some of you will, but Go Gators. And, yes, GO TROY! I'll always be a Troy (state) Trojan. And I think its not sacrilege to enjoy other teams besides your own... as long as you are keeping your main team(s) your main team(s). I do root for the Longhorns of Texas... did you know that I almost went to the U of Texas? Seriously. I had every intentions of doing so. Another story, another day.


People asked me who I rooted for when Troy played Florida. Simple. Troy. I rooted for Troy, because thats my alma mater. I'm a Troy Trojans guy. Also, I knew there was no way they were beating the Gators, so that made it a little easier, knowing I was rooting for one team assured of a loss. No pressure. No chance of a mixed emotion feeling.

I root for the North Carolina Tarheels, mostly because they have been bad for so long, there almost isn't any harm in rooting for them. I do root for the Auburn Tigers, and was a Tubby fan, though I can understand the whole "time to move on" mentality. I also cheer for Oregon, cause the unis are worth it. I dig Nebraska and Michigan too, but mostly because of the history of the programs. Have to say, though, I did cheer when Appy State beat Michigan, cause it was awesome. And who doesn't love Boise State? And I cheer for the rise of the U of South Florida Bulls.

Teams I hate? The Ohio State Buckeyes for starters. Texas A&M. The LSU Tigers. The Tennessee Volunteers. The USC Trojans. The Missouri Tigers. I also cannot stand the Duke Blue Devils, but mostly that's a rare basketball opinion, because their football team has been pretty terrible. Can't stand Florida State or Miami.

DAVE'S ELITE EIGHT
Louisville over Kansas, 77-73... Memphis over UConn, 65-63... Pittsburgh over Villanova 70-58... Oklahoma over North Carolina, 91-88, 2 OTs

Which brings us to the University of Alabama. I cheered for Auburn growing up, but I've always respected Alabama. They have something that Auburn doesn't have--one heck of a history. Now, while I would question all 12 of their titles, as I've read various reports about the validity of the Fantastic Dozen, I figure if half of them are bogus, that's still SIX national titles. Most colleges in this country would love to have half of that!

I'm not here to debate Alabama vs. Auburn, and maybe as a Florida fan, it excuses me from the debate. In fact, I found myself kinda rooting for Alabama in the Iron Bowl this year, mostly because I wanted an undefeated Alabama in the SEC Championship game. The Lovely Steph Leann is an Alabama grad, like many of you, and she does it like she wants it... she ONLY watches football when Alabama is playing. Otherwise, she could give a rip.

Bottom line is, I love sports. I just signed up for the Sports Package on DirecTV, which gets me channels like NBA TV, The Horseracing Channel, ESPNU, CBS College Sports, the YES Network, the New England Sports Network, and Fox Sports from every possible direction and area of this country and beyond. I believe somewhere between 690 and 705, I found Fox Sports KT's House. Its all over the place.

Anyway, all I can say is... Go Magic! Go Spurs! Go O's! Go Broncs! Go Gators... and GOOOOOOOOOO TROY!!!!

Oh yeah...

DAVE'S FINAL FOUR
Louisville beats Memphis 81-75... Pittsburgh downs an exhausted Oklahoma 80-66

Did you know that President B. Hussein Obama did his own bracket? All over the news, of course, but he's taking Louisville, Memphis, Pitt and North Carolina, with the Tarheels his pick to win the whole thing. So... his Final Four is one different from mine... though he thinks that Ty Lawson's injury will hurt them, as do I.

And for the record, this whole thing about the President going on the Tonight Show... leaving the White House to go spend time with Jay Leno and all... I think its brilliant. I think its fantastic. I love the whole idea. Now, on the show he's going to try to sell his economic plan, which I am so completely opposed to, but when I'm president in 2016, I will do my best to get on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. And I will totally fill out a bracket on live television.

DAVE'S FINAL... Louisville Cardinals defeats Pittsburgh in an exciting 71-63, which will be a lot more exciting than the final score indicates.

If you want to win your office bracket... study mine. Then do the exact opposite.

Truth In the Eye Black

Perhaps some thought it silly to have the Scripture references on his eye black paint, but I thought it was cool. Personally, in a sport (and a sports culture) that is full of gangsta's and thugs, shoot 'em ups and steroids, smackin' up my ho's and other garrulous violations, I think its kinda cool to have someone that is just a genuinely good guy. There are good guys all over, college and pro, I know, and Tebow gets all the coverage, yes yes, I know that, but still...

Anyway, here's the shot of Google's most searched topics for last night during the game...



Kinda cool, huh?

Scott's SEC Report

After all the recent happenin's in the SEC--Auburn firing Tubby, Florida on the cusp (and winning!!!) another national title, Bama's disaster in the Sugar Bowl--I wanted to hear what columnist and diehard Tider Scott Latta had to say.... we had an email conversation, then he wrote a little blurb on everything...

ME: So, your take on what happened last Friday?

SCOTT: Apparently, Andre Smith was good or something. Who knew? I think Alabama just didn't want to play Utah. I'm not sure, had Andre played, Alabama would have won. Utah just shredded the defense and exposed a whole lot of holes that had been covered up by a dominant running game all season. Whatever. Six months ago, if you had offered me 12-2 with wins over Georgia, Tennessee, LSU and Auburn, I would have laughed and jumped all over it. Plus I keep telling myself that this is the least amount of talent Saban will have from this point forward, and that makes me happy.

ME: Think Saban fueled the fire? Didn't he make some cutting remarks towards Utah? Or do you think that the team just finally gave in, deciding they were done with it all, with the Go Gators ripping their hearts out in Atlanta (hence, who cares about a meaningless bowl game against the freakin' Utes?)

SCOTT: All Saban said was that Alabama was the only team to go undefeated from a true BCS conference. What's not true about that? Utah probably posted that everywhere, but it's like him saying, "I'm the only coach to bring in the top recruiting class last year and then run the table in my conference." People can use anything they want that comes out of his mouth against him.

I think they just gave in. I followed that team, was at all the press conferences, interviewed all the players, all season long, and I think they were just tired. I know I was, and all I had to do was hit record on a voice recorder. The Mobile Register had a report that said after the SEC Championship, one player was overheard in the locker room saying "If we play Utah I might as not even show up." This player, apparently, had a bad game in the Sugar Bowl. (I don't know who it was, but that narrows it down to, oh, about 75 guys.) I think that sums it up. Fourteen games is a lot, and fourteen games under Saban is like 80 games under most other coaches. I think the Florida loss had a whole lot to do with it. It exposed Alabama's lack of a pass rush and showed that you could exploit Saban's vaunted 3-4.

ME: Personally, I've always contended that if Tebow had chosen Alabama, Shula would still be coach, or at least would have been a year longer--long enough that Saban wouldn't have been available. I think that Tebow would have given them just enough wins to warrant keeping Shula, but they'd still only be a 8 or 9 win team, never more.

SCOTT WRITES:

I've wondered that a lot. A whole lot. What if Bear Bryant hadn't died in 1982 and had become athletic director like he had planned? How would the program be different today? What if Mike Price (it's rolling baby-d$) had not been an idiot and instead had become the coach? I think it would make for an interesting book.

----------------------------------

During my freshman year at Alabama, in 2005, we were recruiting Tim Tebow. Mike Shula was the coach, we hadn't won many games, but Tebow was still somehow drawn to Shula's nice-guy persona and the school. I lived in a brand new apartment-style dorm then, and one Sunday afternoon I was told we would have a recruit stop by to be shown around the building, and that he would be coming into our room for a while to look around. It was going to be Tim Tebow, who was in town for his official visit. We, being four recruiting-obsessed college guys, ran around frantically, sweeping and vacuuming and cramming a semester's worth of cleaning into 10 minutes. We turned the Steelers-Bengals game on because we thought he might want to watch. We left our Bibles on the kitchenette table.

Before long, they came. First his mom, then his dad, then him. We shook hands and introduced ourselves. And then it hit me.

Tim Tebow had one of the weakest handshakes I had ever experienced.

I don't know what I was expecting, but I know it wasn't the wet-paper-towel strength of SuperTim's extended hand that I received. I wanted to smile at him and be cool, to let him know that even the Regular Guys at Alabama were worth hanging out with, but all I could do was stare at our clasped hands, my eyebrows furrowed just a bit in confusion, as he looked at the TV.
"Who is that, the Steelers?" he said. All I could do was pull my hand away and confirm. "Yeah," I said. "Playing the Bengals."

We watched for a few minutes. He went in my bedroom and stood with his parents, talking about the school while we all stood in the living room slightly hyperventilating. We talked as a group for a bit about our majors and dorm life. After a while, they left in a van, and Tebow eventually committed to Florida, where he has since won the Heisman Trophy and a pair of national championships, all while circumcising young Philippine boys and cramming half of the New Testament onto his eye black.

It wasn't until later, while watching Tebow jump-pass his way past some SEC also-ran, that I realized something awful. When Tim and I shook hands that day in my living room, I extended first, and I am right handed. He responded dutifully, and it was our right hands that shook. But Tim Tebow is left handed. The wet-linguini handshake I received was a fraud. And, believe me, I wonder every day how things would be different had I instead offered my left hand, letting him know how tuned in Alabama fans were to his life and thereby securing his commitment to our school. No doubt, my left hand would have been turned to gold. I kick myself.

But, there is little that can be done now. Had Tebow committed to Alabama, he would be about to begin his redshirt junior season at tight end, and that actually makes me kind of glad I screwed it all up.

Behold, Chizikistan!
As an Alabama graduate who worked in the athletic department for two years, you can probably imagine my reaction when Auburn hired Gene Chizik. The only thing I can think to compare it to is the N64 kid off YouTube.

Observe...


This is more of my reaction to Chizik's coaching staff. Now, don't get me wrong, I find a lot of humor (and reason for fist pumping) at the combined head coaching records of Chizik and new defensive coordinator Ted Roof, whose 6-45 record accompanies nicely Chizik's 5-19 mark, making for a nice 11-64 combination. But Chizik, to his credit, is piecing together a good staff of quality recruiters, and the Gus Malzahn hire sure is a fun one. When you live and die in a conference that boasts recruiters named Meyer, Richt, Saban, Spurrier, Miles, Nutt and Petrino, you need a good staff.

But do I think Chizik can hold his own in recruiting? Not this year. Too late to the game. On the field, though? As a guy who has experienced more coaching changes than should be federally allowed, I can tell you what it's like having a first-year coach coming off a bad year: you do not win more than seven games. Auburn heads to 2009 with no proven quarterback, no quality receivers, an average offensive line, and some major holes to fill on defense that are going to be patched with anemic recruiting classes. Any coach in the SEC is going to struggle in that situation.

I thought Auburn would beat Vanderbilt last season because, despite their lackluster season, they had better athletes and could out-athlete Vanderbilt to something like a 20-13 win. But that didn't happen, and it became clear to me that average athletes in a good scheme will beat good athletes in no scheme. Auburn heads to 2009 with average athletes in a new scheme. Looks like David Dollar got out while the getting was good. (note--as my allegiences slowly switched from one to the other, Auburn was still good. I just had to be true to myself. This championship, however, I claim -d$)

Andre Smith is Not Dead to Me
Of everything I love about sports, my favorite thing about them is probably when out-of-touch sportswriters develop my opinions for me and then broadcast them to the world. I love this. So you can imagine my excitement when I read columns that proclaim that Andre Smith's Alabama legacy is tarnished forever because of what he did, and that Alabama fans will never forget it.
Who cares?

Honestly, I don't, and I was paralyzed with shock and rendered temporarily speechless at age 12 after Alabama's overtime loss to Michigan in the Orange Bowl. Two questions: 1. What would Alabama have additionally gained by winning the Sugar Bowl over Utah this year? (Nothing.), and 2. Would they have even won with him? (No.)

So Andre Smith is not dead to me. Did his absence on the field make a difference? Uh, yeah. A big one. But Alabama's problems in its last two games went beyond protecting John Parker Wilson's blind side. Alabama had zero pass rush, and opposing quarterbacks had time to let fast receivers outrun the Tide's DB's. Period.

This is not to say I didn't want Alabama to win the Sugar Bowl. I did. But, this time, I wasn't paralyzed at all. In fact, I think I just made a sandwich when it was over. In 1999, Alabama got to the Orange Bowl on the legs of its best running back in school history (Shaun Alexander) and its best left tackle in school history (Chris Samuels), both of whom were seniors. This year, Alabama did it with a bunch of freshmen and a quarterback whose main quality is that he doesn't royally screw things up much anymore. So there is more reason to be encouraged now than there was then.

(Also, as an aside, I should mention that Samuels did not play in Alabama's '99 Orange Bowl loss for the exact reason Smith didn't play against Utah. Do Alabama fans really care now? No.)

One thing became abundantly clear in the Tide's loss to Utah, though: Andre Smith is really freaking good. Without him, Alabama's pass protection was, shall I say, underwhelming. (Meaning: they could have gotten more time for John Parker if Drew Davis had been replaced by a stack of Gatorade coolers with twigs for arms.) Andre will enjoy life in either Detroit, St. Louis or Kansas City next year, and Alabama will move on. Had you offered any Alabama fan 12 wins this year, with wins over Georgia, Tennessee, LSU, and Auburn, he would have hugged you and probably teared up a bit. They'll be fine.

Tim Tebow Will Cure You of Your Iniquities
I do wonder a little bit what things would be like had Tebow committed to Alabama. Mike Shula would probably still be around; Florida definitely wouldn't have two national championships or a Heisman; and things in the Philippines would be a little...different. I like that Tim Tebow is a good guy. I'm sure he'll do fine in the NFL. But it's like I said while watching Florida beat Oklahoma this year for the championship: he's like that guy that always took things way too seriously while playing basketball. You're just jogging the ball up the floor and here he comes sprinting across, stealing it from you and slamming it home. Then he full-court presses you, you to dribble off your foot, and he dunks again. Like, seriously, just stop already. We get it: you like football. Great.

During the game, I actually heard the announcers say about Tim Tebow: "If you spend five minutes with him, your life is better for it," and, after a penalty, "That might be the first wrong thing he's ever done in his life." Those are just annoying statements. Who else would those things be said about? (one more note... even more annoying--did you actually see what the penalty was? He did the Gator Chomp at some guy, and flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. Not even a real penalty. He is perfect. - d$)

Think of everything a solid left-handshake could have changed. I could have saved you from the SuperTim Love-a-ganza that has permeated the United States the last three years. I could have probably given Oklahoma a championship or two. I could have drastically changed life in the Phillippines. Unfortunately, we'll never know.

So consider this my formal apology. And when Tebow comes back next year to cure feline leukemia and eliminate thirst, I'm sorry. I'll do a little more research next time.

Columnist Scott Latta is a recent graduate of Alabama and a WalkAbout drama legend. A member of Dove winning group Factor 7, he ranked #63-A on 2007's 100 Coolest List, and author of 2006's 11th Coolest, the late, great Rammer Jammer Blog, is also the author of "We Got 12 (Coaches): Why Stallings Was Right, Shula Was Wrong, and Every Mistake In Between", and is working on a new book chronicling Saban's first two years. He's also getting married this year. You can read more of his work on his blog "Kangaroo Song" (click the link or just go to d$'s recommended blogs ----> )