Party Like Rockstars On Labor Day

What's up since the last time we chatted? Things are going just fine here. I'll do my best to get my latest stories out to you as I normally do. Labor Day Weekend huh? Hopefully everyone has been rocking it out and living it up. With that in mind, nothing changes here, but since it's a holiday weekend, I might as well hype it up.



So I'm back to work and waking up early. The kids started last week, but I already got 3 days of work in. Crazy that teachers are already taking days off. I can't complain though, that's more work for me. Last year I lucked out and landed a long term sub job. This year I'm back to roaming all over the county, but that's fine by me. Less responsibility that way and I'm more of a glorified babysitter. No lesson plans to turn in and that makes things easier. This year, I have my Nintendo DS Lite in my bag and that makes my planning periods much better. Yes, I realize I'm double some of these kids' age and still am not afraid to pimp the DS. If it's good, it's good, no matter the age. It's a great handheld system.

I didn't make it to the Tally Rally this year, but Shinnston made their name up there like they do every year. Dad was talked into getting in the morra tourney this year. He was part of the winning team in the first year of the rally, 1979. I don't think he's been since then. Anyways, he teamed up with Sorine, Rocco, and Zuccio. They made it to the Finals, which meant they were on the big stage and got announced. That's funny in itself. They took on another Shinnston team that featured Mickey Tate, Frankie Tate, Albert Tate, and Matt Fleece, who ended up winning. No fights this year between Shinnston and Clarksburg surprisingly, but Dad said it was rowdy. Cops were in full effect once they knew Shinnston was running things on Friday night. Of course, our guys eat that up every year for some reason, which cracks me up. The average festival attendee probably doesn't know what to think when they're watching the morra tourney and most of the teams are wasted and just screaming and yelling at each other. It's some quality entertainment, trust me.



More festival talk. On Saturday, I hit up the Jackson's Mill Jubilee. I was hooked on this one when I went last year. Most festivals are the same, but this one is a little different. I go for the food alone. You get some homemade stuff that is awesome. I loaded up on a tally sausage sandwich, frittis (fried dough for those who don't know that), and homemade ice cream. It's got the old school vibe there of how they make food and make other things if anyone is into that. And another weird but fun thing is that you get to ride a tractor into the grounds. Yes, only in WV, but you gotta admit you're interested now.

Last Sunday I had my college fantasy football draft. It's the only one of it's kind in my area that I'm aware of anyways. I'm sure others are out there, but I never hear of people being in a fantasy NCAA league, yet we have our keeper league going well. I'm the returning champ of this league, so I have to come strong this year. I have an insane running back crew and also have arguably the best two kickers in the nation. Here's my roster for those interested:



QB: Omar Haugabook, Troy
QB: Josh Padrick, Florida International
QB: Kevin Kolb, Houston
QB: Jeff Rowe, Nevada
QB: John Stocco, Wisconsin
RB: Ray Rice, Rutgers
RB: Darius Walker, Notre Dame
RB: Garrett Wolfe, Northern Illinois
RB: Ryan Bohm, Utah State
WR: Ryan Grice-Mullen, Hawaii
WR: Vincent Marshall, Houston
WR: Michael Thomas, Arizona
WR: Levi Dejohnette, Arkansas State
K: Mason Crosby, Colorado
K: Sam Swank, Wake Forest
--
QB: Sam Kellar, Nebraska (Inactive - Transfer)

College football season is now underway. Saturday was a loaded up day. For me, my Irish squeaked by Georgia Tech. The first half was definitely ugly. But they were able to shut GTech down in the second half if that means anything. It took us a while to get the run game going, but once that happened, we had the momentum. Big Cal Johnson is a beast for GTech though, the best WR in the nation. They need to get him the ball more. Next week it's Penn State, should be a great one. I wasn't too far off in my Marshall/WVU prediction. The final was 42-10 and I said 42-0. I'll refrain from bashing WVU's schedule this week, but if they can't steamroll through these teams all season long, something is wrong.



It's time for new CDs I got in the past week..

Loon: No Friends. This is Loon's first solo project after leaving Bad Boy on terms that weren't so great. He's pretty outspoken in this one if you're interested in his thoughts. Underrated.

Masta Killa: Made In Brooklyn. You can't go wrong with some Wu Tang action. Lyrically, Masta Killa straight up gets it done. He doesn't get the attention that a lot of the other members get, but he's legit. Pick up his stuff, you'll like it if you want some good NYC rap.

Method Man: 4:21... The Day After. Back-to-back Wu Tang CDs. I really liked this one a lot. Some good appearances on this CD too. RZA, Raekwon, Inspectah Deck, Fat Joe, Styles P, Ginuwine, Redman of course, and ODB getting some cuts laid in there. Mef rips into people who said he was getting too mainstream.

Outkast: Idlewild. Here's my deal with Outkast currently. Big Boi doesn't mess around, he keeps his style true to what he's always done. He has some real good raps throughout this CD. Andre though, what's going on with him? He's all whacked out now and seems to be more of a guy that wants to sing instead of rap. Snoop, Birdman, Lil Wayne, Sleepy Brown, Killer Mike, and a few others on this. You get some weird tracks since it's based on the movie, but the ones that are good on this thing are worth checking out.

The Roots: Game Theory. This Philly rap group has been around for a while. They have a style all to their own. Their lyrics are usually right on, but it's more of an intellectual rap that mixes in some old school hip hop style. It's not a must have, but if you're into that style of rap, you'll like it.



Too $hort: Blow The Whistle. The pioneer of pimpin' rap. Over 20 years in the game and he put the Bay Area on the map. He has the same style as he did when he first started, so you have to respect that. You can't go wrong with this one. A true legend.

Young Dro: Best Thang Smokin'. From the Dirty Dirty in Bankhead, this is T.I.'s protege. He's been around since the 90s, but finally got signed to a big label recently with T.I. As he would say, "I can shoulder lean, I dunno how to dance though."

Bird's Dirty Thug Ho of the Week: http://www.myspace.com/somayareece

3 Quick Thangs:

1. Let's go with birthdays for Monday, September 4th: A hot day for golfers as Ray Floyd is 64 and Tom Watson goes for 57. Damon Wayans turns 46. Mike Piazza turns 38. Marvin Gaye's daughter Nona hits 32. It's a day early, but September 5th is none other than Clark Riley's birthday, so be sure to wish him a happy one!

2. The Taster with Redman jamming in the background. These guys are talented: http://youtube.com/watch?v=ksoGda_Z6Bs

3. 52 degrees tonight. Finally, we're getting out of the hot weather. Bring on the snow!