So what's new? I have a few weeks left until the big wedding day. That'll be on September 29th for those not keeping track at home. I'm excited for it to get here as it's been a lot of work, but we're ready for it. Who would've guessed when I started the blog a while back that I'd ever be talking about a wedding day? Yep, I'm an old man, but still act like a kid. I'm not fat and bald yet, so I guess that's a plus. It's my Larry Bird year in that I turned 33 in January and getting married in the same time period, not too shabby I say, that has to bring along some good times. After three years, Whitney (@wHippY_C) hasn't ran away from being around me as I'm obsessed with wrestling and sports, that counts for a lot. Deep down, she's turned into a bit of a wrestling fan herself, just ask her for yourself. Then again, for as much as my junk as she watches on TV I'll admit I'm not above watching a lot of her shows and end up getting hooked on some reality stuff that is pointless as well.
This past weekend my wedding party guys treated me to a great baseball weekend in Pittsburgh. I'm low key and if a game is involved, I'm in for sure. I didn't need an elaborate bachelor party and got exactly what I wanted with the sports weekend getaway. Spank and I rolled up on Friday while on Saturday we were joined by Cork (@corkzillaWVU), Ozzie and Posey (@dposey111). If you're looking for a place to stay, the Hyatt Place is pimped out and we were right beside PNC Park making things easy. We had great seats both nights. Section 24 on Friday, six rows from the field on the 3rd base line. This was the game where the Bucs got totally embarrassed. They had SEVEN errors, didn't get a hit until the 5th inning and it was rough. It was one of those games that was so bad that it was good type of thing. After the game we had a fun run-in with a player. Around 2:00 we hit up Primanti Brothers as it was one of few things still opened. We took a taxi back and in the ride with us was Blake Parker of the Cubs. He was a great dude and gave us the question we normally get in Pittsburgh, "You guys aren't from around here are you?" when he noticed our accents. He said the same for him since he's an Arkansas boy. We got some college football chat going as well as about the Bucs game the same night. He was the low man on the totem pole, so at 2:00 in the morning he had to pick up eleven sandwiches for some teammates and take it back to their hotel. Good stuff.
Saturday I got to hang out in my favorite parts of Pittsburgh. One being the Strip District and I could hang in the markets all day and never get tired of that. The other was just a bit outside that area in Bloomfield, which is Little Italy. Saturday's game we were in some of my top seats in the stadium, on the outfield wall, front row. You get some of the best rowdy fans in these sections and it's always a good time. We were in section 138 on this night. For all the games I've been to, I've never caught a foul ball, homer or had one thrown to me. This night our crew was on fire. Ozzie was able to snag two, while Cork and Posey each got one as well, crazy. Ozzie went diving for a third and busted up his knee, but it was a valiant effort that our section was cracking up over. My new Jim McMahon jersey was a hit as the Cubs are one of the best traveled teams in the country. We're all into random conversations with bums, so I got to talk to a good handful of Bears/Notre Dame fans through the weekend. I also got to see Jeff Samardzija deal on Saturday night, Notre Dame grad and he had a complete game win, letting him sling it. Bucs are on a free fall and it's gonna be tough for them to gain, but there's still time left. Also, it wouldn't be a trip without a Waffle House stop on the way home for some good dirty grease. Thanks to the wedding crew for hooking me up for the entire weekend, appreciate it fellas!
It's getting closer and it looks to be the biggest crowd yet. Thanksgiving morning, November 22nd, the Shinnston Turkey Trot will be back in action as Stacia and Jason Talkington have done an awesome job of organizing it each year. Who'd ever guess that little ol' Shinnston would have one of the area's biggest 5K races, but it's true. This year, the streets will be closed down and the run will be on Route 19. That should be fun, as it was on the trail in years past. Chip timing will be implemented this year for the first time and of course the DJ will be in attendance. Turkey Joe? Yep, he'll be there with blazing speed and signing autographs. It's all for a good cause, to benefit the Marie Gaston 4-H Scholarship Fund and sponsored by none other than Mary's Hair Care and Fitness. There is a lot more information on the site and registration has already started up. All levels of runners are there, so show up for a great cause. You can even walk if you choose. Shinnston Turkey Trot Website
It's been over for a while, but the summer softball season was a blast as it always is. A lot of us aren't doing fall ball as we have stuff going on and just wanted a break. Hammer's Market was the big sponsor again, as they were in the fall and props goes out to Bones and Lil Bones (@Hambone818) for getting that going. We didn't do the double champion thing like we did in 2011, but still had fun nonetheless. We had a rough regular season and that has been our deal the past few years, then we seem to crank it up towards the end for playoff time. We finished either in 3rd or 4th, so no trophy to have inside Hammer's Market this year as like last, but it happens. In other sports related news, the infamous Shinnston Flag Football League was retired last season. Bart (@Zak_Bart) did an amazing job of keeping up with the area's knuckleheads and having to be there all day every Sunday. Most people have no clue how much work he put into the league and why he decided to close shop this year.
Most won't care, but time to get some fantasy sports chatter going. I'm a football guy, but as far as fantasy goes, it pales in compares in my opinion to basketball and baseball leagues. I like more hands-on leagues where it's not a once a week thing as far as lineups go. Then again, I'm a rare one it seems that puts basketball and baseball interest in general to myself much higher than football. Minus the smaller leagues such as Pick Ems, Survival, etc, I'm in three big leagues that I concentrate on, two for NFL and one for NCAA. I don't like committing to a zillion leagues like some do because I don't want to be that guy that never checks his teams or never making message board posts. To each his own, but I think a league with a message board that rocks makes things twenty times better. Anyways, enough on that, I'm going to post my rosters and a few little things, but not much else to it.
A#FL: American Football League. This is the Lobstah league where it's 18 teams deep. I LOVE deep fantasy leagues. I was champion of the 2011 season and hope I can continue and not embarrass myself this year. Last year in that same group's baseball league I won it all and in 2012 ended up in last place, go figure. First to worst. Props to Commish Wilbur (@blangfrd) for keeping this league up, takes a lot of work. This is a keeper league where we all keep three players each year and I'll note who they are in my roster.
Cincinnati Celts Roster
QB: Tom Brady *keeper* (New England), Ryan Fitzpatrick (Buffalo)
RB: Matt Forte *keeper* (Chicago), Marshawn Lynch *keeper* (Seattle), Mark Ingram (New Orleans), Bilal Powell (New York Jets)
WR: Dwyane Bowe (Kansas City), Stevie Johnson (Buffalo), Mike Williams (Tampa Bay), Randy Moss (San Francisco), Devin Hester (Chicago), Leonard Hankerson (Washington)
TE: Kellen Davis (Chicago)
K: Matt Prater (Denver)
D: Jacksonville
Shinnston Fantasy Football. This is the local league of our crew, 10-man style. Sweet P does a fantastic job of keeping the machine well oiled and having things organized. Live drafts are always a blast and this one was no different. We ordered the draft board again from my boys at FJ Fantasy Sports, who I've been dealing with since they started up 10 years ago. If you've not done a draft board in person before, I've said it many times, do yourself a favor, it makes a draft tons of fun and more organized. Yep, that's a cheap plug for FJ Fantasy too, but they've treated us well over the years in both basketball and football setups. Last year I was 3rd Place in this league and it's a traditional head-to-head league, non-keeper. Mudcat is the reigning champ from 2011.
E-Town Junkies Roster
QB: Eli Manning (New York Giants), Andrew Luck (Indianapolis), Jake Locker (Tennessee)
RB: Ray Rice (Baltimore), Marshawn Lynch (Seattle), Doug Martin (Tampa Bay), Toby Gerhart (Minnesota), Mike Goodson (Oakland)
WR: Roddy White (Atlanta), Eric Decker (Denver), Stevie Johnson (Buffalo), Pierre Garcon (Washington), Mario Manningham (New York Giants), David Nelson who is about to get cut since he's mangled (Buffalo)
TE: Coby Fleener (Indianapolis), Kellen Davis (Chicago)
K: Stephen Gostkowski (New England), Robbie Gould (Chicago)
D: Philadelphia, Jacksonville
Heisman Trophy Fantasy. This is our Lobstah NCAA keeper league. I'm really surprised NCAA leagues haven't caught on more, especially in the area I live in. We've been doing them for a long time and they're great. Props to Duce (@MikeTsquared) for being the man in charge of this action. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it and he does it well. I've not won this league since 2005. TheAnswer (@TheAnswer310) is reigning champ.
Team Tim Brown
QB: Marqueis Gray (Minnesota), Danny O'Brien (Wisconsin), Ryan Katz (San Diego State), Zac Dysert (Miami Ohio), Corey Robinson (Troy), Casey Pachall (TCU)
RB: Perry Jones (Virginia), Stepfan Taylor (Stanford), James White (Wisconsin), James White (Iowa State), Theo Riddick (Notre Dame), Montel Harris (Temple)
WR: Jared Abbrederis (Wisconsin), Dan Buckner (Arizona), Michael Campanaro (Wake Forest), Emory Blake (Auburn), DeVonte Christopher (Utah), Mark Harrison (Rutgers)
K: Michael Hunnicutt (Oklahoma)
D: South Carolina
How's the video game world treating everybody? The past couple of years, I've not gotten either NCAA Football or Madden. I used to rotate with either of those two games each summer, but been slacking. My problem with the football games is that I'll play them hardcore for a few weeks or a month nonstop and then when Call of Duty comes out, they just end up collecting dust. Speaking of that, November 13th it's time to rock for Black Ops 2! I'll probably be one of those dorks again that will be in line for the midnight release, some things never change, but I could be addicted to worse things. Find me online at Bird33WV on 360.
How's the Lobstah Celebrity Deathpool 2012 shaping up? My ten this year are: Bobby "The Brain" Heenan, Superstar Billy Graham, Scott Hall, Ronnie Biggs, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Scott "Raven" Levy, Abdelbaset Mohmed Ali al-Megrahi, Hosni Mubarak, Tariq Aziz, Jake "The Snake" Roberts, Matt Hardy and Andy Griffith. Of mine, Andy Griffith is my only one in this sick and demeted game for 2012 so far. ManDingo (@waxdingo) is currently leading with 108 points and has Etta James, Gary Carter and Robin Gibb. Corndog (@corndogtaylor) is second with 98 points and Etta James, Joe Paterno, Dick Clark and Robin Gibb.
Bird's Video Moment of the Week: This comes to us from the one and only Corndog as he wanted to take dibs on sending this out for those who haven't seen it. It's been out for a bit, but this is my first time seeing, maybe I'm out of the loop. Corndog has been adding to the blog for years, so why not right? This is Joe's Wisdom Teeth Experience Aftermath. One of my favorite comments is "This is probably Joe every weekend, his mom just doesn't know." Corndog isn't sure if it's fake or not, but he says for a good laugh, go for it:
3 Quick Thangs:
1. What went down in sports history on September 14th? In 1994, baseball owners voted to cancel the rest of the season.. 1991 had Magic Johnson getting married to Cookie.. In 1990, Ken Griffey, Sr and Ken Griffey, Jr hit back-to-back homeruns in the 1st inning.. In 1987, Cal Ripken's streak of 8243 consecutive innings (908 games) ends.. 1968 had Denny McClain get his 30th victory of the season, crazy.. In 1958, the Yankees won their 24th pennant and 9th under Casey Stengel.
2. I put this on Twitter yesterday and stole it from Wes' (@WesCarpenter05) Facebook page. "Nas is your favorite rapper's, favorite rapper."- Common. I'm still a big rap guy, but there's not nearly enough lyrical rappers out there that can tell a story nowadays. Common isn't playing around with that quote, high respect.
3.Time to end with some useless and random facts. Plastic lawn flamingos outnumber real flamingos in the US.. The exact center of the US is Lebanon, Kansas.. A giraffe can go longer without water than a camel can.. Two-thirds of the world's eggplant is grown in New Jersey.. Who knew? Now ya know. Until next time, whenever that may be..
