Blogging About Blogging

Whenever I head to aol.com to check my email (or many times in my case, thousands of messages to increase penis size...no comments, please), there's always some pretty interesting story popping up at the top of the site. Whether it's some top 10 list or story about home prices dropping (I think my place went from being a small fortune to being worth about a 6-pack of Nattie Light), I always feel the need to click and check out all the "important" news items out there.





This morning, there was this story about Jessica Cutler. Cutler was a staff assistant in Washington, who made her sexual exploits with various Capitol Hill powerbrokers public on her blogs. Now, the case is going to court.





It's absurd this is even considered as a case. She kept the names out her blog and has the right to write or speak as she pleases. Robert Steinbuch, one of several men with whom she played "Hide the Bacon", found the wrong woman to trust and is paying the price. Too bad.





Nice job by Jason Taylor. The guy is right on here. There should be a rule in the NFL to prevent someone from winning such an award after a failed drug test. As a pro athlete you should know EVERYTHING that goes into your system. No "I didn't know what the ingredients were" excuses anymore.





And the same should apply for holding a high office in this country. Use drugs, no presidency. Sounds like a good idea. I'm sure about 2,800 families of soldiers who lost their lives in Iraq would have had a much happier holiday season.

With the passing of Gerald Ford, I remember back to this skit from Sat. Night Live and one of my all-time heroes....Dana Carvey....doing a little Brokaw. Enjoy Robert Smigel, the creator of Triumph, the Comic Insult Dog and numerous other hilarious bits, with the background voiceover. Thanks to Frey for finding this.

Cheer up Caroll Gymnastics....3 more months till the cruise!

Greatest Moments of the Year

The year is coming to a close and overall, it was a joyous year...ranking somewhere near the top middle probably between 1983 when I received my first He-Man figure and 1984 (something about the Summer Olympics in the U.S. got me excited that year....maybe the whole George Orwell theme thing put that near the top of the list). As I sit home with a cold that has me stuck in bed, what better way to recap the year than the top things that happened to me in 2006 (like any of you really care):

Here are my top moments of 2006.

10. Angles at Yankees, August 14th.
I headed into the city with Joe Pendleton to catch this game. This one started off on a downnote with our train out of Metropark over an hour late. As we comtemplated just heading back to a bar or my place to watch the game, the train showed up and we were on our way. One of the thoughts that came through our minds was the family of four standing next to us who probably were throwing down about $200 on tickets, transporation, food, etc. Lunacy for a baseball game. Thank God for free tickets. We met up with Jorg and another cat at the game. The much maligned ARod got a sac fly to push the Yanks ahead 3-2 and help Randy Johnson win his 13th by a 7-2 final. The Big Unit also fanned Tim Salmon for his 4,500th K of his career. Was it the game that was exciting or watching Tim Salmon's final appearance at Yankee Stadium that did it for me? Maybe it was the 13 Coke lids I was able to accumulate towards my current total of 1,775 points.

9. Carino Memorial Day Shindig, May 28th.

I've been to Memorial Day parties before. It's the run-of-the-mill sit outside and drink type of deal. This party went beyond that. There was a good showing from the journalist crowd including the Sandman and that always makes it enjoyable. However, I don't think I have ever seen a certain Italian journalist as intoxicated as I did at his own party. Looking at his Dontrelle Willis-like state, I think the man would have cleaned out liquor stores in some small European countries. The highlight came when he was spotted urinating on his OWN lawn. I don't think it was a good idea to take a child's toy and jam his arse with it around 8 bells. He proceded to chase me around the yard for about 20 minutes. About 10 years and 90 lbs again, he would have had me...easily. But I was able to elude him and depart with 9 coke lids and my spleen intact.

8. Dr. Nazz's Bachelor Party in Vegas, June 22-24.
A trip to Vegas HAS to be in the top 5, right? I had a great time, but the only thing that's keeping it out of the elite moments was the fact I had to depart early and miss the REAL "festivities." Some highlights: running into boxer Winky Wright in the Mandalay Bay and Alan Thicke in the rumjungle night club and doing shtick in a cabana outside the pool at the Mandalay Bay.

7. Lifer/Staff Softball Game, July 14th.
The first of hopefully many softball games between the more and less experienced staff members at my summer camp was a resounding success. Between the pre-game build up to the jerseys created by Eric Program and associates, this was going to be a game for the ages (or in many of our cases, the aged).

The game was under the lights in Somerville and only the forecast of rain would be the only downside to one of the greatest nights in my softball life (then again, how many times have I played night softball in my life.....1? 2?). With the bases loaded, I stepped up and lined a shot to right field that rolled past the rightfielder. I was able to leg it out to a triple and eliminate past ghosts of Little League. Those were the days when I would try and crouch as low as I could to get a base on balls. I don't look at it as being fearful of the pitcher at 11 years old, but rather being a headsy leadoff hitter......too bad I was hitting 9th in the lineup. We won the camp game 21-2 and I'd like to think my hit was the one that opened it up for us. I'd also like to think I have a shot at People Magazine's Sexiest Men Alive of 2007 but I don't want to get too carried away.

6. Colorado Trip with E, November 3rd-5th.

My girlfriend and I went West to see the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. VFR. Another short trip but a good time was had by all. Between the wedding and walking/shopping in Denver, I had a chance to spend time with E...something I don't get to do much with her a state away. We also went to Columbine High School and revisted one of the most tragic events in our nation's history.

5. First Anniversary Outing, August 20th.
Although the anniversary wasn't until the 21st, I went to the city the weekend prior to the date with my girlfriend went to have lunch at Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde's (something I was really excited about) and watch the off-broadway show Stomp (something I wasn't AS excited about). To make this short and sweet, the lunch sucked but the show was awesome. I had a great time in, as Local Shill would say, the "filthy city," and I think the girlfriend enjoyed herself too.

4. Saints at Steelers trip, November 11-12th.
There are few things in life more difficult to aquire than Steelers tickets at a low price. Every May, the Steelers hold a lottery and give out some extra tickets to some of their home games. I wanted to give the tickets to my brother as an early birthday gift (REALLY early....his bday is in January). Figuring I had a shot at some of the more meaningless games, I threw a $220 check into the envelope and went after the Saints and Bucs games. To quote Rutgers radio announcer Bruce Johnson, I was "waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting...."

3. Valentine's Day, Feburary 14th.
When I ranked holidays as a kid and young adult, this one ranked at or near the bottom (right around Yom Kippur and Christmas.....the latter for obvious reasons....for those who weren't aware the "A" is a very jewish last name)
This past one was a different story. I LOVE surprising people and I got to shock the girlfriend in a large way. Complete with a delivery of roses and an evening drive south to Delaware, I waltzed into the girlfriend's apartment complex and surprised her beyond belief. Red face...big smile....one of my best arrangements in history. And a big thank you goes out to JDogg for helping set the thing up.
We went to a restaurant in Wilmington called Deep Blue. Despite almost burning my tongue off with a Chipolte Shrimp appetizer, the food was very delicious. Overall, a very enjoyable evening and definitely worth the trip.

2. Rutgers football defeats Louisville, November 9th.
I went to Rutgers during four of the darkest years in its sports history. The football team had more to laugh about than the comics at the nearby Stress Factory. I had never experienced an atmosphere quite like the Louisville game. Ran into some of some old acquiantances and got to see a 28-25 RU victory that ranks as arguably the best win since the fencing team won a co-national championship over 50 years ago (yeah, that's a close one).

1. My Surprise BDay Party, April 14th.
Although the organizers told me it was a party for my then-2-year-old Nephew, I admit, I had an inkling something was up. Maybe it was the comments made by my family during breakfast where they asked my girlfriend if she was "going to Todd A's birthday party" later that day. Or the weird way my brother ushered me into the house. Either way, I had a great time. It's not so much the surprise element as the people who actually attended. Joe Pendleton and Mrs. Pendleton, Local Shill, plenty of my camp cronies including the girlfriend, and F Squad.

Honorable mention: Cavs at Nets tilt with No 1 Dooshbag, Local and future Mrs. Shill engagement party, Dinner at Ruths Chris with the girlfriend, Multitude of weddings that I don't want to single out for fear of pissing off some people, Yankees tilt with Yorg and Joe Pendleton, Counting Crows with the Billaz, Live Concert with my brother.

Here's to a great 2007!

Is THIS the low point?

Can it get any worse?





A basketball team in the world's largest sports city should be a title contender year in and year out, right?





Not when you have a clown running the organization. Yes, I know James Dolan wasn't on the court when the New York Knicks played the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night, but this is the same guy who hired Isiah Thomas and turned this franchise into a laughingstock. Thomas never had success running a team, wasn't this the same guy who ran the CBA into the dumps?





That's more reason to hate Cablevision.





I like how the NY Knicks website had the headline "Knicks Overcome by Nuggets" on the Knicks homepage following the contest. Overcome? Wasn't there a bigger story here? Like the right hand from Carmelo embedded into Mardy Collins face? If you listen to the radio broadcast of the fight, it almost sounds like the crowd is at a heavyweight fight. Maybe MSG should just shutdown the hoops season and host boxing for the rest of the season.





I think the NBA is a mess right now. I can't watch the games not only because my team is awful but also due to the fact that the players come off more as thugs than anything else. Does it say anything that both of the league's top points scorers (Melo and AI) will be missing a slew of games not due to injury, but as a result of their own inflated egos?





Nice work by you. All that surfing for porn has finally paid off.





Thanks to Edgerrin Becht for finding this.....I guess this woman will be staying away from the chili from this point forward.

You always see Christmas in July parties over the summer. Well, I think more effort should be made for July 4th in December parties. Just a thought.

Happy Holidays to all. 60 degree weather....It definitely feels like Christmas in the air.

Ohio State for Natl Champs

I wasn't planning on posting tonight but the more I hear people discussing the need for a playoff system, the more I get irritated that college football lets money and corporate domination take over in lieu of allowing these teams to settle it on the field.

In my opinion, Florida should be in the title game, because they won the conference crown and played in the toughest conference in the country (two things Michigan did not). Oh, and they didn't lose to Ohio State late in the year (one thing Michigan did).

BUT If we can't have a playoff and TRULY decide which team is the best in college football, I say forget the championship game. Just name Ohio State champion and end it there.

Sure we'd lose out on the title game and all the excitement it would cause, but isn't it clear that OSU is the best team in the country? The Buckeyes have played a BCS league schedule and went unblemished. No other team can say that.

Why not turn the BIG game into a Florida/Michigan matchup? The Battle for Second Place. The Struggle for the Silver. The Gatorines Game. Ok..maybe that's a stretch.

That might not solve EVERYTHING, but it seems like these two teams are the only ones most people feel should be ranked number 2 in the country.

And the consenus remains that OSU is number 1. I'm sure Jersey Girl won't have a problem with that.

Oh....Thank you, Greg.