Johnny Bananas

Here we go with the latest. Let's jump right into this thing. Last weekend I was busy and had a streak of waking up at 6:00 AM or earlier for 6 straight days. Not cool. I had 2 tests to take on Saturday starting at 7:30. And to start this week off, I've gotten about 4-6 hours of sleep each night, so I'm a machine. One of these days I might just pass out and fall asleep from being in a coma in the middle of me getting my teach on.



After my test on Saturday, I got bored to spend some money. I had my checkbook with me and figured why not. I ended up getting 4 pair of shoes, one K-Swiss and 3 pair of pimpin' shoes. I'm like a chick when it comes to clothes and shoes. I don't need them all, but I guess it doesn't hurt things. This weekend it might be clothes shopping. The weekend after that, I'll probably load up on wrestling DVDs. It's a never ending cycle.

So the Cougs (my old high school) are playing on Thursday, one win away from going to the state tournament. For those who know me, I've been to most of the Cougs game this year except for a few on the road. Now their biggest game of the year is upon us and what are my plans? To play basketball at The Lighthouse that night of course. I've been hearing it from my boys for bailing out on the Cougs, but I'd much rather play ball than watch it anyday of the week. And this weekend it'll be warm enough to play outside ball, awesome. I'm a huge outside ball fan.



Tuesday night was chicks night on American Idol. Some quick impressions? Mandisa, not to be confused with our very own ManDingo, straight messed those other girls up something awful. She tore things up. She's the big chick for those not following along at home. My girl Paris did pretty well and Katharine and her ghetto booty really improved. Everybody's favorite Kellie Pickler has nothing to worry about in advancing for a while. She's not the best singer, but since she's a real hot dumb redneck who plays her character great, she'll sail through as Simon likes to say.

Real World drama? The crew goes to a gay bar so they can give into the gay dude's demand. Johnny Bananas hates it, but gives it time, and then walks out to go to a straight bar. Him and gay boy argue at the house when they get back and Bananas throws him into the pool with his clothes on, good times. Then they're boys later since gay dude understands where Bananas is coming from.. The second big scene is of Anorexic Paula flipping out once again. I'm not sure how I can feel sorry for this chick. She's a total disaster, but won't take any advice or help.. At the end, Janelle finally convinces her to get some help. Next week? Slutlana flips out and cries. What is it with all (well, most anyways) chicks crying over stupid things? It makes for good TV though. Hopefully Johnny Bananas can evolve into a character like CT (the best Real World character ever), Big Bad Brad, and The Miz. That's high stakes though, but we'll see. I might even hate the dude in a few weeks, who knows.



I think I go through those big 100-packs of blank CDs quicker than anyone. Between making stuff for myself and sending a ton out since I'm a nice guy like that, my CD burner doesn't stop. The new song to check out for today? It's the latest from Lil Wayne, Weezy F. Baby, and it's called Hustler Musik.

Wrestling time? Check out the latest cover of Muscle & Fitness. It features 60-year old Vince McMahon all hopped up on roids and he's a beast still. Things are getting closer to WrestleMania as that is April 2nd and a lot of the card is set. Also, we get the return of Saturday Night's Main Event on March 18th at 8:00 PM EST, on NBC. That night will have HBK going man up with Shane McMahon in what I think will be a good one. Shane can go for a non-wrestler. This Sunday is what I'm looking forward to though. This will be the first TNA Pay Per View I've gotten in a while and it is Destination X. The main reason will be to see the Ultimate X Match with Samoa Joe (simply the man) vs. Christopher Daniels vs. AJ Styles. I'm wanting Match of the Year level credentials on this one. I have that much confidence in it succeeding.



3 Quick Thangs:


1. The movie Failure To Launch looks promising. It's of this 35-year old guy who still lives at home and his parents try to set him up with a chick to move him out. That'll be me, so it should be worth it to see. Sarah Jessica Parker is in it though and to me, she's filthy looking.

2. For the thug fans out there who the Real World drama isn't enough for? Try Season 3 of College Hill on BET, the black version of Real World. It's quality.

3. Don't click this if broken bones make you want to throw up, but thanks to Kasher for finding this pic of this guy getting mangled on a skateboard: http://www.thatvideosite.com/view/1722.html

Peanut Butter & Jelly

We have some action to talk about in this post and I know everyone is ready for it. What's the preview of what you are about to receive? American Idol, Real World: Key West, RAW, a ton of new CDs I loaded up on, and a story of a buddy of mine who had their first ever PB&J sandwich at the age of 22, and whatever else I feel is worthy for your eyes to read..



I'll start with the story you're most curious about. That is the sandwich thing. My girl Becky is 22 years old and writes me to tell me something crazy. She had her first ever peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She didn't want me to post that story in here, but I told her it was definitely getting some ink and needed to be heard. I
immediately wrote a lot of my buddies online at the same time and they didn't know what to think on that madness. And the worst part of the story? She didn't even like it! Doh! How can you not like PB&J? First ever one she had. :) Anyways, I told her I'd have to pick on her for that, but she provided me with a great opening story.

Real World is back and off to a hot start. One week is down and this season emerges from Key West. Here's the rundown of the cast as fast as I can do it. There are 3 chicks and 4 dudes. And yes, we have the token gay dude like always. Why do we need that EVERY single season? Try something different. Throw in some rednecks, criminals, midgets, you name it. But nope, they want the gay dude shoved in our faces. The gay guy is Tyler for whatever that's worth. John is another dude, he's 23 and looks to be the party like a rockstar guy of the bunch. My favorite scene of him so far is when he loaded up the dishwasher with soap and after a while, tons of soap overflowed all over the floor. The roomies come in to clean it up and what does John do? He lays on the couch like a bum and watches. Good stuff. Then we have Jose, who is 20 and just got out of a 5+ year relationship. That's mean. He also owns houses and stuff and is in real estate. At 20 years old?? Zach is a 22 year old dirty looking guy from Washington. He has this big fro and is a Jew. He's cracking me up good so far. On the chicks, the first is Janelle, a 22 year old thug that is pretty hot. After her we have Svetlana, a true Russian chick that is smokin' hot. Based on looks and body, she wins hands down easily. Lastly, we have Paula who is going to be a total disaster. Chick is like 75 pounds, is bulemic, and already broke down and went nuts for people telling her she needs to eat. Yes! We got some drama!



Another show I'm hooked on right now is of course American Idol. This week's performances were solid. The girls night, I have to change my rankings around. I'm still rooting for my girl Paris, but I'm dropping her to #2 in the ranks I feel as if they are now. Pickler jumped to the top in my book last night. She can only be halfway decent out there and still have a great shot at winning since she's hot and has the crazy good accent. Can't help but like her. Other chicks I thought did good were Mandisa the Big Chick I put at #3 and Lisa at #4. The dudes? We have a new guy atop those rankings too. Chris is rocking it out something big. He's by himself right now and nobody is close. My boy Taylor Hicks is who I'm rooting for and he's done very well. Elliott was strong this week and I'm glad Bucky got things going. Bucky would fit right in my town at some redneck bar.

I finally got back in the groove of CDs and it's time to give a breakdown of what we rolled with:



Bizzy Bone: Thug's Revenge. I can't keep up with all of the CDs that Bone Thugs put out. And now most of them have been going crazy with solo stuff with the exception of Wish Bone who is my favorite of the bunch. I haven't checked this one out, but I'm usually into Bizzy's stuff. This one just came out in 2006 and he has another that comes out on March 21st, dang.

B-Rich: Born Rich. This is one of those that I have no clue about the rapper. I saw him on a list and figured I'd go after it and see what he had. I haven't done anything with this one though, but we'll see.

Dilated Peoples: 20/20. Here's some conscious rap that speaks true hip hop. You want some intellectual flows with storytelling? These guys have been around and know how to do it. This is a good one.

Jaheim: Ghetto Classics. My favorite of the new group of CDs I loaded up on. For those who don't know Jaheim, you're missing out. He does some awesome pimpin' R&B and is one of the best out there in my opinion. He mixes great with rappers too. Jadakiss and Styles P are on this album. You want a few songs to download off this? Go for the one released with Jada, Everytime I Think About Her, Daddy Thing, and Fiend with Styles.

Mac Dre & Andre Nickatina: Tales Of II Andres. Bay Area rap and it's a great duo here on this CD. Not sure how to hype that up if you're not into Bay Area, but I like this one a lot.

Ne-Yo. In My Own Words. This cat can spit some pimpin' game. You've all heard So Sick that has been released and it's nice. The rest of this album is also nice, gives you a good feel and he's talented.

Spice 1 & MC Eiht: Keep It Gangsta. More Westcoast stuff here. On this one we have Spice 1 hailing from Sactown and Eiht from the rough streets of bullet-infested Compton. CPT! Both of these guys I'm a huge fan of and another I'd recommend.

I was going to write a big thing on wrestling, but my editors told me I've exceeded my word limit for the day. Until next time, carry on folks.



3 Quick Thangs:


1. UNC at Duke, Saturday night at 9:00 PM. It's going to get rowdy down there, should be great stuff to see. Fear Ty Hansbrough.

2. The movie for work tomorrow is going to be Transporter 2. I've seen in it theaters and it's great. I've talked about it in here before, so hopefully the kiddies enjoy it too.

3. The new Kanye video cracks me up, Touch The Sky.

Happy Birthday Ric Flair!

What's happening out there? Same old here, been busy, but nothing really out of the ordinary has went down. We can't let that stop us though from chugging along and producing some more reading action for the fans out there.



Friday at work and what was the big action? Not too much actually. I made a rare bad choice with movies this week. A decent bit of my kids wanted to see The March Of The Penguins. I was a little interested in this from the previews when it came out, so I figured I'd give it a try. We put it in during my first class and little did we know, it's a stupid documentary. Like that's going to keep anyone's attention. So we went with our second option. Another girl had Freaky Friday on her. Yeah, a kid's movie, and Lohan before she got all cracked out, but this was my first time seeing it. I didn't think it was too bad at all. Then my second class comes in and we weren't going to watch penguins strut around like the pimps they are, so in that class, another kid found The Animal. Good choice and it's a funny movie, one I've seen before. This had the kids glued to the TV, even those who had seen it before. My last class was supposed to bring in Mr. & Mrs. Smith, but the chick had it at home, doh! So we go to our next best and we get a movie from a buddy of mine across the hall, and we get Joe Dirt. You kidding me? I'm getting paid to watch Joe Dirt? Awesome stuff, this movie doesn't get old. You get Kid Rock being a horrible actor that it's so bad it's hilarious and Spade is dead on with the redneck mullet guy. One of my favorite movies.

How's American Idol been? It's starting to pick up, so you better jump along for the ride. My boy Corndog is into it and of course most of the chicks I talk to love the show. Anyways, we're down to 20 if I counted right. The guys as a group are a lot better this year than the chicks so far, at least in my opinion. With the chicks, Paris Bennett straight tears the house down when she's out there. She's like midget size and 17, but she brings it. The other chick I'm rooting for is of course, Kellie Pickler. I'm huge into accents as that's one of my big turn-ons, especially a southern one. Add that to a girl who looks good and that's money. On the guy's side, I'm pulling for my boy Taylor Hicks, the gray headed dude. Other guys that I thought have a chance are Chris Daughtry and Sway Dizzle Penala. I was telling my girl Jenn Jenn that Chris looks like her brother except Chris is half his size and not roided out, she agreed. David Radford does some great Sinatra type stuff, but I don't think he goes far.



Sometime this semester, I have to complete an experience in a K-4 classroom, which is the little kids as a way to finish up my Masters. I'll still be at the high school, but an hour every so often, I'll drive to a nearby elementary school just to watch the action go down. I might want to hang myself after that hour and rush back to the high school, 100 miles per hour. Everyone thinks I'm crazy for wanting to teach the older kids, but I don't think you could pay me enough to teach elementary. Not my thing there, a totally different ball game.

WrestleMania is approaching. RAW has been interesting as of late and the storylines leading into Mania should be solid. Vince had 4 of the 5 members of the Spirit Squad take on HBK. Every single one of these guys are talented and come from the OVW ranks. They're in a cheerleader gimmick, but hopefully their talent will shine over their character. The main thing this week was that HHH, RVD, and Big Show were the main event. Good to see RVD out there doing his thing in the main event and I'm a big HHH fan as well. HHH ends up winning to get his shot at the title at the PPV.



Freak was requesting the return of song lyrics. 95% of the time, it's rap. But we got talking about 80s hair bands and we'll roll with this one:

Group: Warrant - Song: Headed For A Heartbreak

Morning came and I was on my way
When you reminded me
I had too soon forgotten
It was you who set me free
Yeah you were here when I came
And you'll be here when I'm gone
So don't be waiting for love
'Cause I'll be waiting to ramble on
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
Darling don't wait up for me
Tonight I won't be home
You've become a stranger
And I just got to be alone
Don't need nobody on my side
To dull the blade I'm on
So don't be waiting for love
'Cause I'll be waiting to ramble on
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
It's no mistake
Don't you think I can feel the pain
I walk away to live again
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
Don't make me hurt you
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
HEADED FOR A HEARTBREAK
Don't you think I feel the pain...

3 Quick Thangs:


1. A little late, but Happy 24th Birthday to my cousin Ozzie who hit that mark on Thursday.

2. February 25th birthdays? Sportscaster Billy Packer is 66. Beatle George Harrison is 63. The man himself, Ric Flair, is 56. Former Laker Kurt Rambis is 48. The Magic Man Don Majkowski goes for 42. Carrot Top is 41, geez!!

3. You might've seen it on SportsCenter earlier in the week, but here is an awesome story that you have to see to believe it. This autistic kid who has been a manager for a high school team was put into the game for the last game of the season. He goes on to torch this team with an array of 3s. It turns into an And1 crowd. Check it out, thanks to our very own Kasher for finding this clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=UBYPaNc57Ik

A Week's Absence

Yes, I know. It's been a week since the last post. No excuses will be made though as that's a lame way to get out of it. Things have been going good here though, but you're wanting to read a few decent stories if I have those in store for you. I'll see what I can do.



Saturday me and Cork were able to watch the #2 ranked UConn Huskies visit Morgantown. Thanks to some free tickets, we were on our way. Tickets to this game were selling for crazy amounts on eBay. We had an extra and sold it to this dirty thug scalper right as we got there. We got a pretty good deal on it since we got them for free anyways. The Coliseum had the 9th largest crowd in it's history, that's good stuff. Most already know that I am not fond of WVU football at all and actually root against them. Yes, I know. But when it comes to WVU basketball, it's a bit different. Same fans, but even for as good as the basketball team has been the past few years, they don't talk about how they can beat any team alive and how they're the greatest ever. Football season is another story, ugh. Anyways, it was a nice game to see and close the entire way. UConn is for real. They have some big time athletes and many future NBA guys. I paid $2.50 for a King Size Snickers. Halftime festivites rocked though as it was frisbee dogs and they were way impressive.

After the game, we figured we'd hit up some food action. We chose CJ Maggie's. I've never been to this place, but it wasn't bad. I loaded up on some prime rib, a salad, and some coleslaw. Nothing out of the ordinary went down there though, but I'll still type about it for the fans reading at home with nothing else to do.



After that was one of my favorite nights of the year. NBA All-Star Saturday Night. Ever since I can remember, I've been pumped to watch the 3 Point Shootout and Dunk Contest. This year was no different. I watched with my boys in #basketball and we had a big crew along for the chat. Dirk Diggler ended up winning the Shootout and I was able to predict that one. Usually my predictions are off, but this one I nailed. Not nailed like a porn star, but you know what I mean. And in the Dunk Contest, Lil Nate Robinson ended up winnning. Dude is 5'7" if he's lucky and he has some crazy hops. I picked Andre Iguodala to win and many fans and myself thought he got robbed. Nate's dunks were great, and bringing in the legendary Spud Webb to help him was also nice. But he tried some of those dunks to what seemed like 54 times a piece. That should take away from the points, but then again, I don't judge. Dre-Iggy's dunk where Iverson tossed the ball on the opposite side of the backboard, Dre grabbing it and bringing it all the way to the outside and cramming it.. Well, that was just nasty and I've never seen that attempted before.

The_Freak mentioned this little gem of a website and I had to post it in here. Maybe some will find it useful, but I find the whole ad hilarious. The intro will have you rolling and I like how they give you 5 reasons to buy the product. What is the product you're asking about? It's the Balltrimmer. Most guys do it anyways, but I just couldn't see me using a little toy like that to get it done. The razor is all you need. Too much information for some reading at home, but that's what you get here in the madhouse, free of charge. Anyways, check out the site: http://www.balltrimmer.com.



Speaking of Morgantown, Cork got a DVD the other day that should be funny to see. Wanting to see the party scene at Morgantown and how rowdy it can get up there? Couches burning, chicks getting naked, tailgate parties, people getting maced, and whatever else you can think of. I haven't seen it yet to give a review, but it'd be hilarious if we see people we know in it. That'd make it worth it. Anyways, another site for you all to check out: http://www.morgantownmayhem.com.

A few new CDs to add to the collection that you might want to know about. What is that you ask?

Brother Lynch Hung & MC Eiht: The New Season. This one is great stuff if you're into Westcoast rap. Lynch is from Sacramento and Eiht is a legend from the city of Compton and they go at it good with their rhymes on this album. No mainstream stuff here, this is true gangsta rap.

Get Rich Or Die Tryin' Soundtrack. I liked this one a lot. 16 tracks of 50 and his boys. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm sure to rent that one when it comes out. Anyways, you get 50, Banks, Buck, MOP, and Mobb Deep on these tracks. Get it.

Ghostface Killah: Shaolin's Finest. For the Wu-Tang fans out there, you should like this. This was released in 2003 and is a Best Of. My favorites are Chercherz Laghost and Never Be The Same Again.



3 Quick Thangs:


1. Let's try the birthdays on President's Day, February 20th. That's Monday. Ivana Trump, Donald's old chick, turns 57. Kelsey Grammer goes for 51. William Baldwin, Happy 43rd. Charles Barkley also is 43 on Monday, nice. Model Cindy Crawford is 40, MILF. Kurt Cobain would've been 39. Andrew Shue of Melrose Place fame is 39. NBA baller Stephon Marbury hits 29. Hottie Jennifer Love Hewitt is my age, 27.

2. At the game on Saturday, I pay and what do they give me in change? A 50-cent piece. You don't see that too often. Or maybe I'm the only one that is intrigued by that one.

3. MySpace fans? http://www.myspace.com/drudown894. Add me.

Pig Vomit

How's it going out there everybody? Not too shabby at all here, but I'm usually in a good mood anyways. So where will I begin this post? Let's start off with MySpace. First of all, everyone and their brother has an account there by now it seems. It bugs me really bad that you can't always login though and that you have to login each and everytime to get in there. Yes, I have the Remember Me clicked, but you still have to click submit constantly. Enough of that. I'm sad to say how much time I spent tonight while I didn't have anything else to do just searching around accounts in my area. It's crazy addicting and you know all of you (well, if not all, most reading this anyways) get too caught up in it too. Then again, I guess I could be doing worse. Hit me up if you aren't already on my list there. You want to find a 6'9" girl that is a terrorist, with one arm, 27 piercings, owns a Porsche, and lives in Montana? You get my point. You can break these searches down to an exact science.



Movies this week? Here we go. Friday at work I got to watch two. The first was one I've been wanting to see and it recently came out on DVD. That one is Underclassman with Nick Cannon. It probably doesn't interest too many out there reading, but I liked the movie. Then again, I watch way too many movies featuring rappers or thugs. And for the Dave Chappelle fans, "Nick Cannon is hillllarrriouuuus!" Then one of my classes that is mostly girls wanted to watch A Walk To Remember. You guys know me by now, I actually own this one. Yeah, let the metro jokes fly, but I admit to liking chick flicks. They're not sports or comedy movies, but they're up on my list. I got the wide variety going. Earlier in the week I finally got around to watching Cinderella Man. I borrowed this one from Cork and it's quality. Long, but worth the watch. Pig Vomit of Howard Stern's Private Parts fame played his role great in this one.

In other news, my parents' 35th anniversary is on Monday. That's some big time stuff there to celebrate. Everyone and their brother now gets a divorce, so it's nice to see my parents rockin' it out for 35 and counting. My parents always laugh and say if they got a divorce after a few arguments like a lot of people do, they would've been divorced a long time ago. They say to those people to suck it up and once you're married, you're married, bottom line. That's straight old school stuff there, it gets my respect.



Clark and any of the other locals out there reading were curious on the charity game at Byrd last week. It was the Harlem Rockets (a travel/comedy team) against the "Clarksburg Dream Team". I expected the Rockets to be trying Globetrotter/And1 type tricks and it'd just be stupid, but it was a legit game with no tricks. This team wasn't that special though. They ended up winning, but I think the Clarksburg team tanked in the 2nd half so these guys could win. Clarksburg was up 17 at one point and was just rolling. Jarrod West of WVU fame and current Notre Dame High School coach was the best on both teams. Some NASTY crossovers that had their guys looking like fools. Guy has serious game. The other team had this 7 footer who was pathetic. He even airballed a foul shot. Chris Weekly of Salem International fame was in a total coma. Dude hit at least 10 threes, it was sick. Right in their eyes, JJ Redick style. This game also allowed me to see my boyhood high school b-ball idol, Billy Childers. Billy was unselfish as usual, but he played great. Those guys didn't expect much defense and Billy was up in their faces all night, pressing full court. Of course they were whining about it. All in all, an entertaining game I thought. Chris Morris was supposed to play, but mangled his ankle. Me and Cork were laughing how we had to be the oldest guys in the gym that didn't bring kids with them. A good chance to see some quality MILFs up there though that looked nice as they were doing their best to be all slutted out for the players.

Just one CD to mention and it's a mixtape. It's the Paid In Full Mixtape: Volume 1 - Money Hungry. This is a compilation for some Bay Area rap, my favorite kind. Not that it would interest anyone reading, but that's what I'm listening to right now if you're keeping track at home.



3 Quick Thangs:


1. I'll go Monday on this one. Birthdays for February 13th? Coach K turns 59. Crazy rocker Henry Rollins is 45. There's a few other minor bums out there, but they're not worthy of a mention in here today. It's weird how few celebs have a birthday on some days and the next day it'll be loaded up.

2. You need to invest in a smart clock. Only about $15 at Wal-Mart. You know, the ones that remember the time automatically, even if the power goes out. Loyal reader, The_Freak recommended that I get one and it's already paying off.

3. NBA All-Star Weekend is coming upon us.. I can barely contain myself!

The Fans Demand It

After the fans have demanded another post, I'm back in action. To me, I won't be able to top the Bird experience from last week. The highpoint in my life has been achieved and it only gets worse from here on out, or maybe not. So what is new in my world for this week? Anything exciting? Strap up and listen to the stories..



First off, a big congrats goes out to one of my long time boys, and fellow comment poster to the Blog, Clark and his wife Carey (I think I spelled it right this time) for them expecting a baby in October. That's good stuff and I know they'll be good parents. Some other people of our crew, we've had to worry about even though they've done just fine, but Clark has his priorities straight. I'll be sure to update everyone on this situation.

Did we have a football game on Sunday? Yep, that we did. It wasn't exciting, but I was glad it was a tight game till the end. I was rooting for the Steelers, but they're not my "team" so to speak. One thing that gets me is how many people who hate the Steelers are crying like little girls on how the refs caused Seattle to lose. Sure, there were some debatable calls, but Seattle played like trashpiles most of the game. Nice pick with Hines Ward getting MVP, he played great. Nobody else on either side was impressive if you ask me though. Both QBs were down and outside of Fast Willie Parker's crazy run, there wasn't a huge advantage in the running game. Pittsburgh's secondary was suspect I thought. Everyone has heard 3435 stories on how Bettis is done and how he won a title in his hometown. I'm just happy that he's a Notre Dame alum, big ups there.

This week at work I get to wake up at 5:30. That'll be interesting, but so far so good. Yesterday we had a 2-hour delay for snow, so that helped Monday go better. I have to be at school around 6:45 for some lovely bus duty. Basically I'm just walking around and talking to the kids in the morning and afternoon to make sure nobody gets some gang violence started. Well, not that extreme, but in case any rumbles go down. Then again, these kids are twice my size with full grown beards and I'm near 30 and can't grow a true beard. I'll just have to eliminate them with some Sweet Chin Music if worse comes to worse, but there's not many fights at my school anyways.



Yes, I admit it. I'm fairly hooked on American Idol this season. The_Freak, another fellow poster to the comment section of my Blog, says I'm a chick for it. I know it's weird, but other than NBA, wrestling, and other sports, I'm watching American Idol, Real World, and the occassional chick flick. Some things you learn from me everyday.

The wrestling paragraph. We're now on the Road to WrestleMania that started last night at RAW. They set up an 8-man tourney in which the winner will get to main event Mania. Our winners last night were RVD over Carlito, Masters over Kane, Triple H over Flair, and Big Show over Shelton Benjamin. HBK was supposed to face Show, but Vince wouldn't have it and said next week they'll have an HBK Retirement Party, even though HBK isn't hearing that. Shane against HBK at Mania? I'm loving this Trish Stratus/Mickie James angle. Imagine that, a chick feud that is actually drawing some interest. These two can both wrestle well and are hot, a nice combo. The main event had Cena and Maria take out Edge and Lita. That setup Cena to pick Mick Foley to be the special guest ref next week as he faces Edge.

A quick schedule note. Next week, RAW will not be on Monday. It's because of the dog show, ugh. We all remember back in the day when RAW was on USA and it had to be pre-empted for the dog show and tennis each year. I guess that's still part of the deal. Anyways, RAW next week will be on Thursday and it should be a stacked show. Also, in the spring, TNA will be moving to primetime, Thursday nights at 8:00 Eastern.



3 Quick Thangs:


1. I'm on an 80s hair band kick as of late. If anyone out there has a copy of Monster Ballads or knows where I can get it at, let me know. No, I'm not wanting to order it off of TV. Yes, I listen to non-rap. It's rare, but I do some.

2. When you're rolling through road work and the dork with the sign that says "SLOW" is there. What would happen if you suddenly went 60 miles per hour through there?

3. Next post will have the talk of the local Clarksburg legends taking on the Harlem Rockets. Stay tuned.

The Baskeball Jesus

For the non-basketball fans, you'll just have to sit through this one and deal with it. On Sunday, I was able to live a lifetime dream. I went to Beckley, 2½ hours south of me, to watch the one and only Larry Bird, The Basketball Jesus, give a speech in front of around 2000 people. I was there almost 4 hours before he spoke and made sure to get a ticket. A friend of the family was able to hook us up big, but more on that later..



I went with my parents who are also big Bird fans and they wouldn't miss it for anything either. He spoke for about an hour I'm guessing. The first 15 minutes or so, he talked about how it amazes him how people look of him as such a big celebrity and he just feels like this regular bum who is still a hick. Then the next 45 minutes or so, he had a Q&A session and that's when the real good stories came out. I'll share a few before I get to the meat and potatoes of my day there.

Someone asked him when was the last time he played a pickup game. He says he still tries to keep in good shape, but as far as playing ball, he hadn't done that in almost 10 years. Anyways, at practice one day while coaching the Pacers, he set up a 4-on-4 game. He teamed up with current coach Rick Carlisle (former Celtic), Derek McKey, and someone else against Big Al Harrington, Jon Bender, Austin Croshere, and I forget their fourth. They played a Best Of 3 Series and it came down to the final game. Remember, Bird is playing with plates and pins in his back after fusions so he's pretty much a mess. Game point and they get it to Bird in the post on Big Al. He puts down the dropstep, fakes Big Al who doesn't know what to think, and busts it for the win. He says he hasn't played any since.



He also talked about Magic, MJ, Bernard King, and the young dudes of today's game that he likes (he's real big on Bosh, Wade, and LeBron). A big thing that impressed me was that he came here for free. I'm sure that's not totally true, but supposedly he donated all of his money they paid him to the mine relief fund.

Yeah, I'm getting around to the actual meeting. A lot of people were curious how that went down. An Italian chick buddy of our family has a big part in the armory in Beckley and we talked to her before coming down. She told me to just get down there and she'd take care of me. I didn't expect much, I would've been happy just to be in the place to hear him and actually say I got to see him. Early in his talk, she comes to my section I was sitting in and told me to come to a place that was very close to where he was talking. Unfortunately, my cam batteries went out, so I didn't get to do much with that. Afterwards, it rocked though like no other. She told me exactly where he was leaving the building at and how I could be in the right place at the right time. On his way out, Bird was going to sign for the workers who did catering, tickets, and whatever else since he appreciated their work for him. That's quality. The chick takes me past this locked gate and tells security guards how it is and to let me through. She's there with me and says to wait in this hallway. A few minutes later, up through the hallway that only about 15-20 of us were in, up strolls The Basketball Jesus himself. I was really surprised how big of a dude he is in person. He's legit 6'9" and then some. He said he weighs 267 now and his playing weight was 230. He didn't look out of shape at all. Anyways, he goes and sits down in this room and tells us to come in. He was never big into giving autographs and taking all of the fame. So you couldn't chit chat and get any pictures, but he owned up to his word that he'd sign for the workers (and me, hah). I got up to him, thanked him for coming, and he signed a 50th Anniversary Bird jersey that I've had and also a program. The jersey is definitely going into a nice frame soon so it'll be preserved. My life won't get any better now, but I'll never forget it. It all goes downhill from here, but that's the ultimate.

I don't have much time to chat about much else, but you'll get a few fast deals. I went bowling on Saturday with quite the crew. There was about 15 of us in all and it was a real good time. I'm an awful bowler, but it's just fun to go and be an idiot. I get a very light ball and sling it down the lane without putting my fingers in the holes. In the 3 games I bowled, I had a 76, 89, and the last game was 95. Horrible, I know, but that's improvement every game, hah. Then we went to Denny's afterwards with the same crew. Pancakes with strawberries and an order of cheesesticks, you know how I roll.



That's about all I'm getting in tonight. I'm going to be crazy busy from here on out for the next few months. In this semester of work, I have to setup big meetings with students, parents, and whoever else. A crazy crazy amount of paper work involved with special education, you have no idea. On top of that, I also have my final 2 classes I'm taking for my Masters. Then there's the time put into fantasy basketball and gearing up for fantasy baseball. I may have a full head of gray hair by summer, hah. But I don't stop.

3 Quick Thangs:


1. Will the groundhog see his shadow tomorrow? I say no.

2. Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.. If paper beats rock, rock beats scissors, and scissors beats paper, what beats all 3 at the same time? Answer: Chuck Norris.

3. Groundhog Day Birthdays? Farrah Fawcett is 60 and I don't feel weird at all saying she still looks good. Christie Brinkley goes for 52, dang. NFL wildman Dexter Manley turns 48.