Well, it certainly has been awhile since my last update. Almost two months but I guess it is better late than never. Joe Buck Live airs once every three months, so I can do the same. I just won't have Artie Lange to "entertain" my readers.
A lot has changed since that last post. Michael Vick is a free man. Brett Favre has come back, then changed his mind, then set a date to let the Vikings know he is interested in coming back (I guess that's not really a change). I have co-hosted my first and second radio show on 91.7 WKDU, Fridays 11-1. We have seen another all-Williams Wimbledon final and the second greatest Men's Singles Championship Match ever. And former Phillie Lenny Dykstra lost his title of "Financial Guru" on one of the most comical segments I have ever seen on Real Sports.
Speaking of the Phillies, in my hiatius, they played .500 ball basically, then struggled getting swept in back to back series by the Blue Jays and Orioles. Now they are in the middle of a tear that is wrapped around the All Star break, baseball's unofficial mid-season point. Now, they are on an eight game winning streak, taking 12 of their last 13 games. They hold a six and a half game lead over the Atlanta Braves and the Mets are in 4th, nine games out! That is something that makes this so much sweeter. The Phillies dominating this division is wonderful but seeing the Mets struggle might even be sweeter for me.
But still, this team is in a prime position to add one of the games most dominating pitcher, Roy Halladay. We are 11 days from the trading deadline and we know the Phillies are interested. We know the Blue Jays want a ton of prospects, in which the Phillies may not want to give up. Of course, if I were Amaro I would pull the trigger and we would be on our way to our second straight World Championship. But it's not that simple and there are many details we don't know. I understand the difficulty there is in trading a prospect because of the 'what-if' factor. A few years ago, Ed Wade offered an up and coming Ryan Howard to the Pirates for SP Kip Wells. Thank goodness the Pirates are, well, the Pirates. So some of the names getting thrown around could turn out to be like that. But they could also fail. When thinking of Drabek, remember the names of Garrett Stevenson, Brandon Duckworth, Carlton Loewer, Gavin Floyd, hell even Brett Myers was a supposed stud. So before we appoint Drabek the next ace of the staff (which he very well could be), think about now and the players on the roster contributing today. They aren't getting any younger and could possibly be part of a multi-world championship team.
Also in my absence, the NHL and NBA held their respective draft of amateur players. I could go on and on about the NBA but: A. I don't care about it, and B. the Lakers, Celtics, Cavs, Magic and possibly the Nuggets will be the only teams contending for a title. All I really can say is I think Blake Griffin will be a bust. And the NBA shouldn't have allowed Brandon Jennings to pull the shinangans he did.
In the NHL, all I really care about are the Flyers, and they pulled off the steal of the century. I mean, they got their big, physical, brusing defensman that will stop the likes of Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin...won't he? That's what the team hopes and many Flyer fans buy right into that line of thinking, of course. Well I think differently. Yes, Pronger is an upgrade on defense, but that is no reason to start planning a Stanley Cup parade. He will be 35 at the start of the season and is not the same Chris Pronger that won MVP in 2000. Yeah, he played every game last year in the 08-09 season but mid 30s is about the age a physical player like CP starts to break down. So I suspect they may get one really good season - two at most - out of Pronger. By that time, Sbisa could be an all star and Lupul, well you can find forwards like him everywhere - supposedly. Of course, I may be contradicting myself because I would trade for Halladay in a heartbeat, but I don't like this trade one bit. But what do I know, I never have played hockey.
Well, that's about it for right now. With training camps opening soon, an NFL Preview will be up soon. No promises when though. It will before the next Joe Buck Live at least. With or without Artie Lange.
What to watch: The T.O. Show, 10pm on VH1
Monday, July 20, 2009
Thursday, July 9, 2009
The 5 Best Logos in the NHL
5. St. Louis Blues
I've had this conversation with people in real life situations, and whenever I bring up the Blues people can't believe it. This leads me to believe that people don't understand the Blues' nickname and logo, which is one of the best in the league. The team is named after the song "St Louis Blues", a famous blues song that's in the Grammy Hall of Fame. The logo itself is a 64th note, which is a very short musical note that is pretty much featured in the song "St. Louis Blues". It makes a lot more sense than Utah Jazz, anyway.4. Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings have one of the most classic logos in all of sports, but most people have no idea what it is. The logo was once used by a cycling team who spun off into an amateur hockey team. This hockey/biking team was really good, winning a Stanley Cup back when anyone in any league could win it. When the Detroit Falcons were becoming the Detroit Red Wings, they purchased the rights to the logo of the cycling club, paying homage to the Stanely Cup champions. Apparently the logo is magical, because the Red Wings have since then been the stand out club in the NHL.
The Detroit Red Wings have one of the most classic logos in all of sports, but most people have no idea what it is. The logo was once used by a cycling team who spun off into an amateur hockey team. This hockey/biking team was really good, winning a Stanley Cup back when anyone in any league could win it. When the Detroit Falcons were becoming the Detroit Red Wings, they purchased the rights to the logo of the cycling club, paying homage to the Stanely Cup champions. Apparently the logo is magical, because the Red Wings have since then been the stand out club in the NHL.3. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks' logo is the first "modern" era logo on the list; both the Blue and Red Wings' logos are old time classics, while the Sharks weren't even a team until 1991. They've always had a similar logo, but the older one was bad, because the shark was too realistic looking. The new shark is a sleeker looking, more menacing figure, and the guys are a really good touch. Plus, I can blow your mind: the triangle is a shark tooth.
The Sharks' logo is the first "modern" era logo on the list; both the Blue and Red Wings' logos are old time classics, while the Sharks weren't even a team until 1991. They've always had a similar logo, but the older one was bad, because the shark was too realistic looking. The new shark is a sleeker looking, more menacing figure, and the guys are a really good touch. Plus, I can blow your mind: the triangle is a shark tooth.
2. Montreal Canadiens
I asked a lot of people for input on this list, and most of them brought up the Montreal Canadiens as one of the best logos of all times. At first, I just shrugged them off, because this isn't about the most classic logo or the most historic logo, and aesthetically this logo isn't that great; it's just a C ala the Chicago Cubs. However, I really looked at I realized that yeah, this logo not only is historic and nostalgic, but it's also very good. Simple, yet a strong representation of what the Canadiens really are; a team whose fans are permanently behind them and who's history is grossly intertwined with the history of the NHL. After all, what's more hockey than the H in the Canadiens' logo?
While the Red Wings and Canadiens have a lot of history in their logos, and the Blues and Sharks' have a modern era twinge one theirs, nothing comes close to even touching the Wild's logo. The overall logo appears to be a bear or wild cat head, but when you take a closer look the image changes to something else that's absolutely amazing. The mouth of the beast is a river, the ear is a moon, and picture is loaded with trees and a red sky. The best part is the eye of the creature which is the north star, a reference to the last hockey franchise that played in Minnesota. The whole thing is amazing; it's modern, it's got some vintage to it, and it's interesting and flashy, unlike a lot of modern logos which are boring.
1. Minnesota Wild
While the Red Wings and Canadiens have a lot of history in their logos, and the Blues and Sharks' have a modern era twinge one theirs, nothing comes close to even touching the Wild's logo. The overall logo appears to be a bear or wild cat head, but when you take a closer look the image changes to something else that's absolutely amazing. The mouth of the beast is a river, the ear is a moon, and picture is loaded with trees and a red sky. The best part is the eye of the creature which is the north star, a reference to the last hockey franchise that played in Minnesota. The whole thing is amazing; it's modern, it's got some vintage to it, and it's interesting and flashy, unlike a lot of modern logos which are boring.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Pedro "No Respect" Feliz
I feel like Pedro Feliz gets the short end of the stick. I, like a lot of Phillies fans, have really under-rated him in the past year and I feel like it's time for me to come out and say something. It's not our fault; it's just what we're used to. When you look at the Phillies infield, you see Ryan Howard, the slugging, clean home-run hitter; Jimmy Rollins, the face of the franchise who plays hard all the time; Chase Utley, the hustling second baseman who plays the game like it's the 1950s still; and Pedro Feliz...the third baseman.
The thing is, we used to have a third baseman who was going to be the next face of the Phillies. Scott Rolen came around in the late 1990s, the dog days of Veteran's Stadium. Back then there was no Utley or Howard; Rolen was pretty much it. However, for whatever reason, the Phillies management never got anyone to give him any support, instead surrounding him with has-beens like Travis Lee, and eventually, the whole "savior" thing faded.
Once Rolen was gone, we started to get some decent players at other positions, eventually leading to the roster that we have now. But third base has been a pretty empty spot in the Phillies line-up in terms of decent players.
The first person to replace Rolen was Placido Polanco. Polanco was a pretty good player, and since his departure from the Phillies he's done outstanding things at the plate, but during his tenure in Philadelphia, he was only so so. Polanco was more of a second baseman though, and he switched positions after only his first season. He was eventually traded to the Tigers for Ugeth "I Set People On Fire" Urbina.
Polanco was replaced by David Bell. Bell came to us from the Giants, but he spent most of his career as a journeyman bench player. but when he got here, he was suddenly the next big thing; he was going to be the third baseman that would complete out infield. His tenure here was marred with inadequate play and injury. His big contract and underwhelming play made the fans turn on him pretty quickly, and he fell out of favor and left the team.
During this time, there was also Tomas Perez, who was a decent bench player who was basically rotating time with Bell and third base. Tomas was the prankster of the clubhouse and was pretty much kept around to pie the player of the game. Seriously.
Next, the Phillies brought in Wes Helms, an older guy from the Marlins, who I like to call David Bell 2.0. Helms was, once again, supposed to bring the veteran influence to the clubhouse, but he ended up being another lame third baseman. The Phillies were paying him 5.5 million and he never hit more than .260. He also was pretty bad in the field, costing the Phillies a win at least once because of a fielding error.
The Phils also had some auxiliary players, some who are still around; Eric Brunlett, Abraham Nunez, and Gregg Dobbs.
Pedro Feliz had been on the San Fransisco Giants for his entire pre-Phillies carrier. He'd was an under-the-radar player for the Giants, overshadowed by Barry "Wow My Head is HUUUGE" Bonds. When the time came for the Giants to resign him, they let him go, snubbing a .255 hitter and one of the best defensive third basemen in the league.
His arrival in Philadelphia was went pretty much unnoticed, because people saw him as "another" third basemen who wasn't going to get the job done, and at first, it looked like they were right. Pedro only batted .249 and complained about a back injury for a lot of the season. But then the Phillies went on the magical run that was the 2008 playoffs and I started really noticing that Pedro was a really big staple in the line-up. He's solid, he's in a good spot, and he's someone you can count on. He's not one of the flashy names of the Phillies, but he gets the job done and doesn't seem to complain ever.
I started preaching the church of Pedro late last September, but no one believed me until Game 5 when he batted in Eric Bruntlett for the go ahead run; the run that eventually gave us a World Championship. That, my friends, is called a good point.
This year, which is closely approching the half-way point, he's batting .288, a new high for him on the Phillies, and only about 15 points away from his best average of his career. He's only got 38 RBI and 4 HRs, but he's having a career year in OBS.
Also, he's one of the most underrated defensive players on the team. He only has 4 errors, which means he's on pace for another career high.
We, as the Philadelphia Faithful, have spent years waiting for the next big talent at third base. Now, I'm saying that we don't need to worry about that. For the time being, Pedro Feliz is more than good enough; he's pretty damn good, and he deserves more respect than he gets. So next time you're at a game and someone around you goes, "Oh great, Feliz. Here comes out number 3", think about it. He's a lot better than David Bell.
The thing is, we used to have a third baseman who was going to be the next face of the Phillies. Scott Rolen came around in the late 1990s, the dog days of Veteran's Stadium. Back then there was no Utley or Howard; Rolen was pretty much it. However, for whatever reason, the Phillies management never got anyone to give him any support, instead surrounding him with has-beens like Travis Lee, and eventually, the whole "savior" thing faded.
Once Rolen was gone, we started to get some decent players at other positions, eventually leading to the roster that we have now. But third base has been a pretty empty spot in the Phillies line-up in terms of decent players.
The first person to replace Rolen was Placido Polanco. Polanco was a pretty good player, and since his departure from the Phillies he's done outstanding things at the plate, but during his tenure in Philadelphia, he was only so so. Polanco was more of a second baseman though, and he switched positions after only his first season. He was eventually traded to the Tigers for Ugeth "I Set People On Fire" Urbina.
Polanco was replaced by David Bell. Bell came to us from the Giants, but he spent most of his career as a journeyman bench player. but when he got here, he was suddenly the next big thing; he was going to be the third baseman that would complete out infield. His tenure here was marred with inadequate play and injury. His big contract and underwhelming play made the fans turn on him pretty quickly, and he fell out of favor and left the team.
During this time, there was also Tomas Perez, who was a decent bench player who was basically rotating time with Bell and third base. Tomas was the prankster of the clubhouse and was pretty much kept around to pie the player of the game. Seriously.
Next, the Phillies brought in Wes Helms, an older guy from the Marlins, who I like to call David Bell 2.0. Helms was, once again, supposed to bring the veteran influence to the clubhouse, but he ended up being another lame third baseman. The Phillies were paying him 5.5 million and he never hit more than .260. He also was pretty bad in the field, costing the Phillies a win at least once because of a fielding error.
The Phils also had some auxiliary players, some who are still around; Eric Brunlett, Abraham Nunez, and Gregg Dobbs.
Pedro Feliz had been on the San Fransisco Giants for his entire pre-Phillies carrier. He'd was an under-the-radar player for the Giants, overshadowed by Barry "Wow My Head is HUUUGE" Bonds. When the time came for the Giants to resign him, they let him go, snubbing a .255 hitter and one of the best defensive third basemen in the league.
His arrival in Philadelphia was went pretty much unnoticed, because people saw him as "another" third basemen who wasn't going to get the job done, and at first, it looked like they were right. Pedro only batted .249 and complained about a back injury for a lot of the season. But then the Phillies went on the magical run that was the 2008 playoffs and I started really noticing that Pedro was a really big staple in the line-up. He's solid, he's in a good spot, and he's someone you can count on. He's not one of the flashy names of the Phillies, but he gets the job done and doesn't seem to complain ever.
I started preaching the church of Pedro late last September, but no one believed me until Game 5 when he batted in Eric Bruntlett for the go ahead run; the run that eventually gave us a World Championship. That, my friends, is called a good point.
This year, which is closely approching the half-way point, he's batting .288, a new high for him on the Phillies, and only about 15 points away from his best average of his career. He's only got 38 RBI and 4 HRs, but he's having a career year in OBS.
Also, he's one of the most underrated defensive players on the team. He only has 4 errors, which means he's on pace for another career high.
We, as the Philadelphia Faithful, have spent years waiting for the next big talent at third base. Now, I'm saying that we don't need to worry about that. For the time being, Pedro Feliz is more than good enough; he's pretty damn good, and he deserves more respect than he gets. So next time you're at a game and someone around you goes, "Oh great, Feliz. Here comes out number 3", think about it. He's a lot better than David Bell.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Phillies-Mets preview
The Phillies are in the midst of an awesome hot streak, but they also showed signs of slowdown during their latest series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. which resulted in a split and a sudden loss of faith in Brad "Lights Out" Lidge. Before the Dodgers series, they were absolutely amazing sweeping the San Diego Padres and MLB's newest joke squad, the Washington Nationals. They've also won 5 of their last 7 series, losing one to the Florida Marlins and splitting the Dodgers series. The Phillies lead the Mets in the NL East by 3 games right now, so even a sweep would only tie the standings.
The Mets are in a bit of a downward spiral, although the worst is probably already over. They hit rock bottom last week when, during the Phillies amazing run, they were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that hasn't been good in my entire lifetime. Over the weekend they beat the Washington Nationals twice but also lost 7-1 on Saturday. Their disabled list continues to grow, with JJ Putz joining Oliver Perez, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes.
To me, there's no such thing as home field advantage for New York in the series. The Phillies have an incredible road record at 21-8, which is currently the best in the Major Leagues. The Mets are pretty good at home, with a 17-9 record.
The projected starters are also pretty close. JA Happ takes on Johan Santana on Tuesday, which I'll admit makes the Mets the favorites for that game. While JA Happ has been pretty good, he's nowhere near Johan Santana, who is arguably the best stopper in the Nation League.
Wednesday we'll get Cole Hamels against Mike Pelfrey. Hamels started a little shaky this year, but he's definitely starting to hit his stride. Pelfrey has been surprisingly decent this year, and he has the same record as Cole Hamels. Honestly, most of their numbers are pretty comparable, the only exception being strike outs, which Hamels dominates. Honestly though, I believe in Cole Hamels, so the Phils have an advantage in game two.
The last game pits Jamie Moyer against Tim Redding. Both of these pitchers have struggled throughout the year, and honestly their numbers are really close. I'd rather have Moyer, but I'm pretty sure that's just the homer in me rooting for the hometown guy.
Overall, this is the biggest chance the Phillies have this year so far of letting everyone know that the Mets are secondary this year. They just got down playing the best team in the national league and split with them, but they still have trouble with teams they should steamroll, including mostly teams that are in their division. To me, this is a chance for them to prove that the whole will they/won't they thing with the Mets isn't going to happen this year. I'd like a sweep, but that probably won't happen. However, I'll be worried if the Phillies don't win two of three.
The Mets are in a bit of a downward spiral, although the worst is probably already over. They hit rock bottom last week when, during the Phillies amazing run, they were swept by the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team that hasn't been good in my entire lifetime. Over the weekend they beat the Washington Nationals twice but also lost 7-1 on Saturday. Their disabled list continues to grow, with JJ Putz joining Oliver Perez, Carlos Delgado and Jose Reyes.
To me, there's no such thing as home field advantage for New York in the series. The Phillies have an incredible road record at 21-8, which is currently the best in the Major Leagues. The Mets are pretty good at home, with a 17-9 record.
The projected starters are also pretty close. JA Happ takes on Johan Santana on Tuesday, which I'll admit makes the Mets the favorites for that game. While JA Happ has been pretty good, he's nowhere near Johan Santana, who is arguably the best stopper in the Nation League.
Wednesday we'll get Cole Hamels against Mike Pelfrey. Hamels started a little shaky this year, but he's definitely starting to hit his stride. Pelfrey has been surprisingly decent this year, and he has the same record as Cole Hamels. Honestly, most of their numbers are pretty comparable, the only exception being strike outs, which Hamels dominates. Honestly though, I believe in Cole Hamels, so the Phils have an advantage in game two.
The last game pits Jamie Moyer against Tim Redding. Both of these pitchers have struggled throughout the year, and honestly their numbers are really close. I'd rather have Moyer, but I'm pretty sure that's just the homer in me rooting for the hometown guy.
Overall, this is the biggest chance the Phillies have this year so far of letting everyone know that the Mets are secondary this year. They just got down playing the best team in the national league and split with them, but they still have trouble with teams they should steamroll, including mostly teams that are in their division. To me, this is a chance for them to prove that the whole will they/won't they thing with the Mets isn't going to happen this year. I'd like a sweep, but that probably won't happen. However, I'll be worried if the Phillies don't win two of three.
Monday, May 25, 2009
f'Real makes Cookie Dough milkshake?
In 2005, we were introduced to the convenience store chain Wawa serving milk shakes. You have seen these machines, you choose what flavor you want and load it into the metal cup, which then raises into the blender and uses water to make you a cool snack in a quick and easy fashion. You can even choose your thickness (less thick, regular thickness, more thick.) The company that makes these wonderful, technologically advanced machines is called f'Real. I have made many trips to the local Wawa's just for a tasty frozen treat for the past 4 years.
It all started out with the standard Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. The vanilla tastes great, like any vanilla milkshake you would get at a local malt shop. To me, the chocolate is waaaay to chocolatey (not that I'm a big fan of chocolate anyway) and the strawberry is, well, let's just say I would stick with the vanilla. A few years after the initial success of the three normal flavors, f'Real introduced smoothies and frozen cappuccinos. You could get any of three different flavor of fruit smoothies, Strawberry Spin, Wildberry Whirl and Tropical Burst or three different cappuccino flavors, Caramel, Classic Coffee and Mocha. Now, it wouldnt be fair for me to judge any of them because I never really tried them. One time, I had a thirst for coffee and tried one of the frozen cappuccinos and threw it out right after it came out of the machine. I took a sip and remembered I didn't like coffee and threw it out for a real milkshake.
Over the past couple of years, f'Real would release different flavors of milkshakes just to gauge the public's interest in having different flavors. During the holiday season, they used to make an Egg Nog milkshake and it was amazing. This past Christmas time they did not have it for some reason and it felt like there was something missing. A Cookies 'n Cream flavor was available for a limited time only and it was really good. I consider myself somewhat of an ice cream connoisseur, with Cookies 'n Cream being one of my favorites, and this milkshake tasted just like it. It was in demand so much it is now available all the time. Last spring, another limited time flavor was Mint Chocolate Chip. Now, I never was a really big MCC ice cream fan (why does it have to be green?) but the milkshake is great. The cool mint ice cream is very satisfying, especially on a blazing summer day. It even has little chocolate chips that fit up the straw. It is easily the best f'Real milkshake, that is until I made the Cookie Dough discovery on Saturday.
First, a little background story. Saturday I took a trip with Sara to Stone Harbor. There, we got ice cream at a nice little ice cream shoppe. My flavor of choice: chocolate chip cookie dough. We sat down on a bench and I saw a Wawa and thought immediatly about the milkshakes they have there. I said, "Wawa should have Cookie Dough milkshakes." Fast forward to 1130pm that night on my way back home, I stop at a local Wawa and make my way to the f'Real machine. I look into the freezer and see a different color than I normally do. There it is, "Cookie Dough."
It was the first time I have seen the new flavor, which I'm sure is only out for a limited time. It is vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip pieces, much like the Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake, but also has little pieces of cookie dough in it. That's right, there are cookie dough pieces in it that are probably a little less than half an inch that fit right into the straw. No, not those stupid skinny soda cup straws, the 'Regular Straw' that has the yellow and red stripe on it. It was as good as I had hoped and thought it ever could be. I highly recommend trying at least one before they are gone. And once you do, send positive comments to f'Real so they bring it back full time. I'm going to get one right now.
Happy Memorial Day.
It all started out with the standard Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. The vanilla tastes great, like any vanilla milkshake you would get at a local malt shop. To me, the chocolate is waaaay to chocolatey (not that I'm a big fan of chocolate anyway) and the strawberry is, well, let's just say I would stick with the vanilla. A few years after the initial success of the three normal flavors, f'Real introduced smoothies and frozen cappuccinos. You could get any of three different flavor of fruit smoothies, Strawberry Spin, Wildberry Whirl and Tropical Burst or three different cappuccino flavors, Caramel, Classic Coffee and Mocha. Now, it wouldnt be fair for me to judge any of them because I never really tried them. One time, I had a thirst for coffee and tried one of the frozen cappuccinos and threw it out right after it came out of the machine. I took a sip and remembered I didn't like coffee and threw it out for a real milkshake.
Over the past couple of years, f'Real would release different flavors of milkshakes just to gauge the public's interest in having different flavors. During the holiday season, they used to make an Egg Nog milkshake and it was amazing. This past Christmas time they did not have it for some reason and it felt like there was something missing. A Cookies 'n Cream flavor was available for a limited time only and it was really good. I consider myself somewhat of an ice cream connoisseur, with Cookies 'n Cream being one of my favorites, and this milkshake tasted just like it. It was in demand so much it is now available all the time. Last spring, another limited time flavor was Mint Chocolate Chip. Now, I never was a really big MCC ice cream fan (why does it have to be green?) but the milkshake is great. The cool mint ice cream is very satisfying, especially on a blazing summer day. It even has little chocolate chips that fit up the straw. It is easily the best f'Real milkshake, that is until I made the Cookie Dough discovery on Saturday.
First, a little background story. Saturday I took a trip with Sara to Stone Harbor. There, we got ice cream at a nice little ice cream shoppe. My flavor of choice: chocolate chip cookie dough. We sat down on a bench and I saw a Wawa and thought immediatly about the milkshakes they have there. I said, "Wawa should have Cookie Dough milkshakes." Fast forward to 1130pm that night on my way back home, I stop at a local Wawa and make my way to the f'Real machine. I look into the freezer and see a different color than I normally do. There it is, "Cookie Dough."
It was the first time I have seen the new flavor, which I'm sure is only out for a limited time. It is vanilla ice cream with chocolate chip pieces, much like the Mint Chocolate Chip milkshake, but also has little pieces of cookie dough in it. That's right, there are cookie dough pieces in it that are probably a little less than half an inch that fit right into the straw. No, not those stupid skinny soda cup straws, the 'Regular Straw' that has the yellow and red stripe on it. It was as good as I had hoped and thought it ever could be. I highly recommend trying at least one before they are gone. And once you do, send positive comments to f'Real so they bring it back full time. I'm going to get one right now.
Happy Memorial Day.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Stars and Stripes Forever!
Well, Major League Baseball and New Era are at it again! Last year, for just about every patriotic date during the season, every team wore special blue hats with an American Flag imprint of their logo (although the Toronto Blue Jays wore a cap with a Canadian imprint, which is a nice touch). The hats debuted during the Fourth of July series, I believe, and were worn again on Veteran's day and again on 9/11. A portion of all sales went to help returning veterans.
Being the amazing Phillies fan I am, I bought one at a local sneaker store in late July. I really like fitted hats, and it seemed nice because a part of my buy was going to help returning vets. And I told myself, hey, it's not like their doing this every year. And even if they do bring them back, I'll already have one! It'll be perfect.
If only I knew how naive past-Derek was. Recently, Major League Baseball announced that this year, starting on Memorial day, teams would once again be wearing stars and stripes. This time, however, instead of using the same old blue ones from last year, teams will be wearing brand new red caps.
Now I'm in a bit of a pickle over this whole thing. First off, I really like last years hat; it's my second hat for Phillies games, just barely getting outshone by my world series patch hat. It's a solid hat and I have no regrets buying it, let alone wearing it. However, I feel like this year's hat is more "Phillies", if that makes sense. I think the red is a nice touch, but at the same time I don't get it, because I thought the blue of last year's hat was a nod to the formal uniforms of the armed forces.
But the pickle I'm in has nothing to do with the color of the hats. It's the fact that I'm a sucker for these new and exciting hat promotions. I got the blue stars and stripes last summer, and it was my only fitted Phillies hat for a while. Then I got a world series patch hat, another kind of gimmicky hat. It's not that I don't like them, or regret them, because I still wear both, but I don't have any regular Phillies fitted hats, and honestly, I doubt I'll ever get one.
Honestly, I'll probably end up buying one of the red hats, sooner rather than later. And next year, I'll probably get whatever new one they spin out (hopefully it's white, because that would look sick). I'll stop when they bring out camo ones.
As a little afterthought, last year the Cleveland Indian's hat featured their mascot, Chief Wahoo, all done up in the American Flag garb. This year's hat instead features a stylized C that screams "politically correct".
Being the amazing Phillies fan I am, I bought one at a local sneaker store in late July. I really like fitted hats, and it seemed nice because a part of my buy was going to help returning vets. And I told myself, hey, it's not like their doing this every year. And even if they do bring them back, I'll already have one! It'll be perfect.
If only I knew how naive past-Derek was. Recently, Major League Baseball announced that this year, starting on Memorial day, teams would once again be wearing stars and stripes. This time, however, instead of using the same old blue ones from last year, teams will be wearing brand new red caps.
Now I'm in a bit of a pickle over this whole thing. First off, I really like last years hat; it's my second hat for Phillies games, just barely getting outshone by my world series patch hat. It's a solid hat and I have no regrets buying it, let alone wearing it. However, I feel like this year's hat is more "Phillies", if that makes sense. I think the red is a nice touch, but at the same time I don't get it, because I thought the blue of last year's hat was a nod to the formal uniforms of the armed forces.
But the pickle I'm in has nothing to do with the color of the hats. It's the fact that I'm a sucker for these new and exciting hat promotions. I got the blue stars and stripes last summer, and it was my only fitted Phillies hat for a while. Then I got a world series patch hat, another kind of gimmicky hat. It's not that I don't like them, or regret them, because I still wear both, but I don't have any regular Phillies fitted hats, and honestly, I doubt I'll ever get one.
Honestly, I'll probably end up buying one of the red hats, sooner rather than later. And next year, I'll probably get whatever new one they spin out (hopefully it's white, because that would look sick). I'll stop when they bring out camo ones.
As a little afterthought, last year the Cleveland Indian's hat featured their mascot, Chief Wahoo, all done up in the American Flag garb. This year's hat instead features a stylized C that screams "politically correct".
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Book Review: The Best Game Ever by Mark Bowden
This past Christmas, I actually asked for a book for a gift idea from my parents. Yes, yours truly asked for a book. I haven't really been one to read in my life but lately I've been trying to be more scholarly.
The book I received was "The Best Game Ever" written by Mark Bowden. This book takes you through the background of the game that launched modern football, the 1958 NFL Championship Game. It really is a historical documentation of a game that I wasn't around to see and it shows you how both the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants were built into the teams that led into the Best Game Ever.
We get introduced to some of the major characters of each team early in the book, like Johnny U and Raymond Berry. We get to look into the strategy of the Giant offense run by the legendary coach Vince Lombardi before he was legendary and see the innovator of the 4-3 defense, future Cowboys head coach Tom Landry. Many of the players had jobs in the off season at the time of this game, and we get introduced to some of them. We get to see how Raymond Berry was known as a 'different' because he wanted to watch hours and hours of film and workout during the offseason.
Through the middle of the book, we are then shown how the game changed the history of football. The 1958 NFL Championship Game was the first football game ever to go to sudden death overtime, a notion that was just introduced after years of ties with no extra session. The game began in the late afternoon and led into the beginning of prime time as the entire nation watched the game go to overtime. The entire book is interesting in that it tells you a lot about how football has gotten where it was on television today.
There was one story that was extremely interesting: during the Colts winning drive in overtime, the Baltimore fans were jumping onto the field (back in those days, running on the field was okay) and somehow, someone unplugged something making the NBC signal go off the air. So, while the game was being decided, the nation was seeing a black screen. Someone who worked for NBC who's name escapes me right now, ran onto the field and took just enough time for security to catch him for NBC to get their picture back onto the air.
The final chapter follows some of the big players from each team and sits down with them for some commentary on the game and it's affect on the sport. Hopefully I didn't spoil much of the book for you. Like I said, it is a historical look at how the game changed due to this one game. It is a must read for all big football fans.
My next review will be on the book "America's Game" which I am working on reading now. Oh, and thanks to amazon.com for the picture.
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