I don’t know what it is – maybe the fact that the NBA standings look something like this:
Or maybe just the fact that this long-suffering hardcore Celtics fan finally has many things to cheer about now that KG is on the team. In any case – this commercial makes me very happy in funny places. Watch and enjoy:
Damn – the music, the images, the message – it all comes together to make a beautiful commercial. Let’s hope the Celtics keep it up…
P.S. Between Wes Welker’s golden interview with Andrea Kremer the other night (Google it) and Garnett’s bon mot last night…
Is it possible Boston is the now the hub of the entertaining sports interview universe, as well?
Oh Jim Caple, just like that heartless ogre Shrek, you have the ability to maim with a zesty bon mot or two. Your words are the metaphorical salt in the deep psychological wounds I have been burdened with as a long-time Boston sports fan…
It might be a terrible movie, but when we actually have reasons to be proud (and not just enthusiastic) of the hometown five…it’s pretty awesome. With that in mind:
This has how far our country’s politicians have fallen. Yes, folks, when pitted against the Republican and Democratic front-runners, a comedian manages to get 13% of the ballot. How pathetic is that? I use the word “pathetic,” and not the word “surprising, ” because it’s eminently obvious that the U.S. federal government (i.e. the federal and legislative branch) have become more of a joke than a late-night news parody could ever be. Awesome.
P.S. In similarly disturbing news, the Fox promo for 24 that just ran during Game 2 of the World Series (Go Sox!) just made it clear that Tony Almeida has not only survived his apparent poisoning, but has come back and turned to the dark side, making him a deadly rival to Jack Bauer. Umm, what? Are you kidding? That’s the most ridiculous plot twist since we learned that Dr. Malcolm Crowe was actually dead. I am officially pissed. Step up your game, Fox – please don’t suck as much as your cousin…
No, not Batman and Robin…Randy Moss and Tom Brady. I know they have only played a handful of games together, but seriously, is this one of the most impressive QB-WR duos of all time?
Thus far this season, Randy Moss has just made every DB covering him look like a middle schooler trying to cover Charlie Tweeder. He is just straight clowning them. The Patriots are just dominant: according to ESPN they have now scored in 36 consecutive quarters. They have scored in every segment of 9 consecutive games – how ridiculous is that? More Patriots analysis to come later…
Also, I don’t know if you heard, but the Red Sox know how to party:
I hope to see a lot more of that in the next month or so…
God no, it smells like, like a used diaper… filled with… Indian food. Oh, excuse me.
So, it was pretty ugly tonight at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots made the whiny Chargers look terrible this evening at the Razor. Rivers, Gates, the man I refuse to call “LT” and the steroid-addled defense of the Chargers stunk up the joint worse than Brian Fantana’s cologne.
Considering the NFL had more people monitoring video and television signals than Fox had at the Emmys, I believe it’s safe to say the Patriots thrashed the Chargers while giving no reason for anyone to believe there were any shenanigans. They are off to an excellent start, and there is no reason fans of the team shouldn’t be anything but optimistic. For now, the best part of the weekend was seeing Brady’s Bunch show the world they are currently the class of the NFL. I’m looking forward to next week…
First off, some cool news. I got an email the other day from an address I didn’t recognize. Turns out that the sender works for a website that makes very Web 2.0ish travel guides for all around the world. The news wasn’t as good as it could have been (i.e. they didn’t want to hire me as a writer) but it was a nice ego stroke. Turns out that when making their guide for Oxford, England, they did a little searching for photos with a Creative Commons license. In other words, they wanted to find photos they could use for free, as long as they attributed them to the original author(s). Apparently, my photo of Trinity College was their favorite for that particular site, and so they published it in their guide. Check it out. (Hold the mouse over the words Trinity College and my picture pops up in the upper right corner). Kind of nice to see, huh?
Since they showed me some love, I will pass it on and do you all a solid. Check out this rather hilarious video – the mock ESPN music is a brilliant touch. The video tails off a bit at the end, but still, a solid all-around performance:
Not much else to report, although it was a fine weekend. On Friday I went to a friend’s coworker’s place for a dinner party that was both classy and fun. After that, we all went to a yacht rock party in Boston. Yes, it was everything you could have imagined and then some. I saw some old friends and it was great to catch up and swap stories and flirt and have fun. After that we headed to a different bar where a friend works and closed it down with him before taking him and a lady friend home. I got in around 4 and then slept until it was time to wake up for the BC game. BC won big, which put everyone in a good mood, and my happiness was multiplied when I heard that both UMass and Cal won, as well. Good day for sports.
I took it easy last night, and then got up bright and early to watch the pre-game shows for opening weekend of the NFL. The Patriots has a tricky opponent today in the Jets, so I wanted to get the scoop. Midway through the morning, my boy Blood called and invited me over to watch the sporting event. As he had a big-screen HDTV and I do not, I accepted the offer. We did the couch thing and watched the Patriots roll over the Jets fairly convincingly. Now it’s Sunday night and I’m contemplating what to do for my last hours of freedom before work tomorrow morning. I’m sure you’ll hear all about whatever I decide on in my next post – until then, have a good night, kids.
Good news for the U.S. National team yesterday: they beat Mexico 2-1 to win the 2007 CONCACAF Gold Cup. This is significant for three reasons:
1. Despite having fans that throw bags of piss and a goalie that tries to slide tackle from behind during a dead ball situation, Mexico clearly doesn’t possess the stuff to beat the U.S. – the U.S. team is 9-2-1 vs. Mexico since 2000. Mexico’s reign at the top has ended – the American 11 must be declared the new Kings of CONCACAF.
2. As the rulers of the region, the U.S. team now gets to compete in the 2009 Confederations Cup, a somewhat prestigious tournament that will also be valuable as a tune-up for the 2010 World Cup.
3. It is quite evident to anyone that watches the games that the U.S. team, unlike most South American and European squads, doesn’t play the beautiful game, but rather,relies upon sheer athleticism to keep them in most contests. Sometimes this stratagem works, sometimes it does not. With that being said, the Americans have shown great improvement in terms of both individual technical skills and the team’s ability to maintain possession and create chances through a build-up, and the game-winning goal marked these developments. The U.S. won a corner after some successful buildup deep in the Mexico end, and the goal that came off the corner was a world-class strike by Benny Feilhaber that was as good as any strike in the Premiership or the Primera Liga. Watch the beauty unfold:
Now that’s a cracking volley – Oswaldo Sanchez might have been too busy eyeing Brian Ching’s ankles to catch up with it, and so the U.S. pulled it out.
There is also significant news to report in American football. This has been getting some good pub in the blogosphere, but I would be lax in not reporting on it, anyhow. Laurence Maroney will be the starting running back for my New England Patriots this upcoming season. In addition to being a stud tailback, he is also apparently a huge fan of powder-based sugary beverages:
Yes, his nickname is “Kool-Aid” and he’s not afraid to represent via massive amounts of bling. He gets a Tommy Point for being unafraid to show some affection for the original big man.
Game-winning goals and diabetes in a glass – it is a fine day to be an American futbol fan, a fine day to be a fan of the Patriots, and a fine day, period – it is gorgeous outside. I’m off to enjoy the sun – have a good day, folks…
Yes, Berkeley is full of hippies. However, that is hardly a bad thing. There is nothing wrong with people who are inordinately friendly and always willing to discuss anything from politics to music to sports. Contrary to what Eric Cartman might believe, these hippies DO have jobs, or else they wouldn’t be able to afford the extravagant rent many of the local landlords are charging them.
Enough sociology talk – let’s get down to brass tacks. Berkeley is beautiful, as always, and I have been spending my time here lazing away the days. I have been soaking up as much sun as I can, eating good meals, doing a lot of reading, and attempting to really nail down the local geography so I can navigate the mean streets of “Bear Territory.” Today’s menu features more reading and walking, with a side of BBQ.
My body may be in California, but my mind never entirely strays from home, and the latest sports related news (besides the Sox being up by 10 games – again) is that the Celtics are making a move for Kevin Garnett – affectionately known as “KG.” Now, I’ll be honest – I like KG as much as anybody who lives outside of Minneapolis. He’s an exceptionally gifted player, a guy who gives it his all every night, and, unlike Micheal Vick, Pacman Jones, or the entire Cincinnati Bengals team (minus Chad and Carson) a guy who will never show up on the front page instead of the sports page – he is morally solid.
That being said, the proposed booty the Celtics are offering is ludicrous. The Celtics aren’t exactly stacked as it is, but the rumors state that they are contemplating giving up everything they have except Paul Pierce. For the love of Red Auerbach, don’t do it, Danny Ainge. Several weeks ago, I wrote a lamentation about the Celtics failing to get a pick that would get either Kevin Durant or Greg Oden, but the #5 pick isn’t chopped liver – Corey Brewer, Al Horford, or Yi Jianlian could all be very good players in the NBA someday. Gerald Green may be terrible on defense, but he is a guy who will have no problem dropping 18-22 points a night for most of his career. Al Jefferson is turning into a beast, and it is no stretch to say he may be one of best big men in the game in a few years – Duncan, Shaq, Garnett, Dirk, and company will all be either retired or on the downside of their careers. Kevin Garnett, on the other hand, will be quite effective for two or three more years, and then either retire or begin to see reduced minutes. If the rumors are correct, he wouldn’t even be on the Celtics at that time, meaning he would essentially be a short-term rental…
The rent a player model really only works in Major League Baseball because trading several unproven minor league prospects for someone who makes a difference down the stretch run. Sometimes, that model doesn’t work – see Larry Anderson for Jeff Bagwell, but oftentimes, both sides benefit from such a deal. This is usually far from true in the NBA, and it seems evident that trading 3 young potential All-Stars (or at the least, difference makers) for one older All-Star is the most foolish sort of gamble. Please, Danny, don’t do it – if you do, one of the 316 remaining Celtics fans will be forced to abandon the team until your reign is concluded.
Enough negative talk – I’m off to enjoy the sun, the breeze coming in off of San Francisco Bay, and some fine eats at the BBQ. Have a good afternoon, friends.
Alex Rodriguez. Let’s discuss. On the one hand, he is a fantastic ballplayer. Dude is almost certain to break the all-time home-run mark, no matter how high Barry “The Cream and Clear” Bonds sets the record. That is something every baseball fan can appreciate, especially considering he has never been suspected of steroid use, which is more than his teammate Juicin’ Giambi and many others can not say. On the other hand, he is, quite frankly, a petulant whiny little bitch.
The last person older than the age of 11 to use such a distraction tactic? This guy:
In case you don’t get the reference, that is Judge Elihu Smails, the supreme jackass from the seminal 1980’s film; Caddyshack. A classic film, and a classic suckbag. He uses every distraction tactic in the book. In fact, perhaps the only man in history to be as nefariously evil as Smails on the golf course is this man:
Again, for those that are not up to speed…that is Auric Goldfinger, one of the all-time great James Bond villains. 007 killed him for cheating on the golf course. (Actually, he killed him because he was attempting to irradiate the United States gold supply at Fort Knox, but that is mainly irrelevant – the primary point is that dirty players ultimately get owned in the end).
The secondary point is that A-Rod is starting to resemble a cross between Smails and Goldfinger, and I don’t mean because all three are both rich beyond comprehension. If A-Rod doesn’t start acting like a 4th grader at recess, it is safe to say that he will go down in history as the greatest crybaby/slugger to ever player Major League Baseball.
