In no particular order:
When I was in college, my roommate Kevin was a big Michael Jordan fan. This was back before the Bulls under Jordan won all their titles, and Jordan hadn't quite made the mega-stardom levels that he did in the mid-to-late nineties. He was also a fan of Dominique Wilkins, and all the big "dunking" stars.
I, myself, was never a fan of flashy players. I always liked the Grabowskis - the players who got down in the dirt and ground out wins. Hence, I liked the Detroit Pistons of the late 80s and early 90s. The "Bad Boys" were what I wanted to see - a tough, defensive minded team that took no prisoners and shut down the flash in favor of working for a win. So, to combat Kevin's Jordan and Wilkins posters, I threw up my own poster of Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn wearing black and silver Pistons jersies and crushing basketballs in their bare hands.
Kevin HATED it. The Pistons style of play wasn't what basketball was supposed to be about, he'd say. But he left me alone when they won two straight titles in 1989 and 1990. And he'd especially leave me alone when I made the point that Jordan couldn't do anything against Pistons guard Joe Dumars.
Well, Dumars is back, as the director of basketball operations for the Pistons, and he's still finding ways to win. The Pistons throttled the L.A. Lakers for the NBA Championship last night, and I stayed up to watch a pro basketball game for the first time since... possibly 1990. :)
This team was, in many ways, just as exciting as the old Bad Boys were. But in a way, I like them more. They're even less flashy and more hard-nosed than the Bad Boys, but without the propensity for violence. They just get in there and get the job done.
The player who impressed me the most was Ben Wallace. Wallace pulled a horrific duty in having to cover the big man, Shaquille O'Neal, and he did it so well that Shaq was held to ten points less than his career playoff average. And the guy just saw the court and moved to rebound the ball better than just about anyone I've seen in a long time.
I'm never going to be a huge basketball fan, as soccer is my first love sports-wise. I'm not a fan of a sport where you pretty much have to be some sort of genetic freak to play - and basketball players are simply too damn tall. I like sports that anyone can play.
But this team certainly did grind out the win by taking the league's most storied franchise to the hoop and showing them how it's done. My hat is off to the 2003-4 Pistons - NBA Champs.
It's very disappointing to look at the history of Crew Stadium and think about all the great events that have taken place there, and then look at what it's become today. I remember the first season of MLS in Crew Stadium very well - May 15, 1999 was the beginning of what I had hoped would be the rennaissance of soccer in the city I'd adopted as my own.
That night, the Crew played host to the New England Revolution in the first game to be held in the first soccer-specific stadium in the country (I don't include Fort Lauderdale's Lockhart Stadium because it's a high school football stadium). They won, 2-0, in front of a standing-room-only crowd of great soccer fans.
Fast forward to February 28, 2001. Columbus played host to the top-draw game of the World Cup qualifying season when Mexico and the U.S. came to our fair stadium to battle it out. The U.S. won, 2-0, and no fan dared leave early.
Fast forward to later that same year: MLS Cup at Crew Stadium: Los Angeles versus San Jose. A pathetic crowd didn't even come close to filling the stadium that day, but it was argued at the time that because Columbus wasn't in the game, no one in Columbus cared all that much. To that, I say "Feh." A true soccer fan would go just to see the best two teams in the country duke it out for the championship. And it was a very exciting game - went into extra time and won by the 'Quakes on a great Dwayne DeRosario goal.
Now, let's look at the Crew's first championship match in Crew Stadium. Perhaps as a nod to the Crew after screwing them in their FIRST championship match, against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. The game was originally to be held in Virginia Beach, but a hurricane caused the game to be moved. U.S. Soccer, in its infinite lack of wisdom, sent the game to Soldier. Not exactly fair, especially since the game was to be at a neutral site. Anyway, apparently that rule went out the window after that because Columbus held the 2002 U.S. Open Cup final game at Crew Stadium on Oct. 24, 2002. The crowd was pathetic. I had invited my brother, sister, and cousin to the game and despite it being a well-fought match, the crowd was tiny and missed seeing the Crew win its first title ever.
Finally, let's look at last Sunday's World Cup Qualifying match. Less than 10,000 people, a good percentage of them Grenadians, took to the seats of Hunt Park to watch the U.S. open its Germany 2006 against the island that Ronnie Reagan made free. That's less than 50% of capacity, folks. And the U.S. looked good - it's not like this was the 2003 Crew playing, it was the best that U.S. Soccer had to offer, in a game that was the beginning of the team trying to return to the World Cup.
But... should Columbus be ashamed of itself? I say "yes" and "no." Part of the blame has to lie with the Crew Stadium staff, and beyond that, Hunt Sports Group. I've seen ticket agents for the Crew come and go with more frequency than some migrant workers. HSG needs to learn that if you want a good, experienced, and loyal staff, you have to pay for it. The Crew pays their employees very poorly, to the point where the talented people leave.
But Columbus, for all its posturing about being a "soccer town," has proven itself to be nothing more than an event-driven town. If a big thing comes to town, then it's certainly worth going to, at least a couple of times. That was proven by the good crowds in MLS Year One and in 1999 for the opening of Crew Stadium. But now, the soccer fan in Columbus doesn't feel the need to go any more. I call those people fake. If you are a soccer fan, you go watch pro soccer in Crew Stadium. I won't lie, I can totally understand skipping college soccer events - that's some pretty poor soccer and it frustrates me to watch it. But when the U.S. team can't draw 20,000 people from a city of over a million... then that town no longer deserves to call itself a soccer city.
Over the years, we've seen a lot of great internet games, such as the Guess the Dictator or Sitcom Character, or the famous Kevin Bacon Game. But this one may rule them all... Get ready for:
Okay, I don't know how many of you played Dungeons and Dragons when you were younger (or hey, many of you probably do now), but I used to. My sister sent me this link and if you played back then, you so need to watch it. It takes a little while to load, but it's totally worth it.
http://www.cybermoonstudios.com/8bitDandD.html
This is a fun game - sort of reminds me of the old "GeoWar" game on the systems I used to play on at Alma College when I was a kid.
This cracks me up... the funny thing is that I can totally see some impatient driver getting into this situation because they just HAD to have that spot right next to the door of the store they were going into.
I'm a bus rider. I like not having to worry about parking, traffic, stupid drivers, etc. I like having time to just sit on the way to work, read a book or magazine, what have you.
But one thing I can't stand is (I'm sure you've guessed it) rude people.
There's not a lot of room on a bus - they try to make them fit as many people as possible, for obvious reasons. So when I'm sitting in an outside seat and I have to get off, the person sitting on the inside seat should stand up and get out of the way so I can do so, right?
Apparently not. Too often I get stuck with that person who just pulls their knees up or scoots to the side. I'm tempted to brush my ass in their face as I go by sometimes, just so they get the idea.
Well, 'tis a sad day in TV land. Not quite as sad as when Fox cancelled John Doe, but still very sad. Friends is going off the air. And, of course, all people can talk about is what's going to happen with Ross and Rachel.
Am I alone in the world of Friends' fans in that I couldn't care LESS what happens to Ross? I was seriously hoping for Rachel and Joey to get together, or hell, even Rachel and Phoebe. Ross annoys the living piss out of me. If he was someone I ran into at work, I'd probably hate his guts. But no, America's all agog about the possibility of Ross and Rachel getting together finally, and you know that NBC isn't going to do something smart like let Ross get run over by a bus or something.
Well, as much as I'll miss Chandler and Joey, I guess it's okay for Friends to be ending. The show has pretty much done all it can, and they've done it with class, style, and some pretty great comedy.
Now John Doe, on the other hand...
Unfortunately, it's "Oh, Yes, Wyoming" from the Jerry Seinfeld/Superman website.
Read an article on Yahoo this morning from Reuters about the movie Godsend, which is apparently about human cloning. They did a pretty clever marketing technique with the movie's website, in that they created a website for a "Cloning Clinic" with links to the movie's webpage.
The article is here, and the clinic's website is here.
Apparently, there are people calling for this website to be shut down because it's too controversial. Folks, just read what's there and poke around, and you'll discover that it's for the movie! I found eight or so links to the movie on the FRONT PAGE ALONE.
There are also some folks who are upset because they think the site is insensitive to those who've lost a loved one. Well, you know, there are always going to be things that remind us of times of sorrow. The only way to get over such things is to deal with the sorrow and move on. I've had sorrow in my life, and I've dealt with it and moved on. Most people do. If you CAN'T get over it alone, then find help.
Finally - let's look at first amendment rights. There is NOTHING that says people have a right not to be offended. If anything, people specifically do NOT have that right. The right to free speech and freedom of expression precludes that, without a doubt. I may not like to hear some moron ranting about how the environment is fine, but he has the right to say it. I then have the right to point out what an brainless prat he is, naturally.
It's JUST a website for a movie. Deal with it.
Another sign that America is getting too lazy: They actually make briefcases with rollers now - in case your BRIEFCASE is too heavy.
Ladies and gentlemen, the day your briefcase is too heavy is the day you need to head back into the gym or at least do some pushups.
I'll get you started. Order the book "Combat Conditioning" from this guy: Matt Furey. For those of you who want to get REALLY fit, and I'm not just talking lifting weights and getting big, cosmetic muscles, but actually STRONGER, buy this guy's stuff. And follow his program. I'm doing it and I've never felt better.
