Unfortunately, my dear readers, I have to a "Life Day" today. It is a little different than a personal day, because were I to be home sick, I still would be willing to provide you with your weekly dose of entertainment, more commonly referred to a Link Dump. However, today is a Life Day because I will traveling next week for work and have a lot of stuff to get done before I go. I am hoping to be able to provide you with at least some entertainment next week from the road, as I also have a family vacation coming up that will prevent me from tending to my duties.
But I do not want you leave totally empty-handed, so I would like to leave you with a small question I have been debating with myself all week. I am sure you are all familiar with "The Most Interesting Man in the World" ad campaign for Dos Equis beer. Admittedly, I think they do a pretty good job with them. The actor looks like a pretty interesting guy and I usually find his various "feats" pretty entertaining. But after hearing one of the commercials on my drive into work on Monday morning, some struck me as odd. The tag line of the commercials, as I am sure you know, is "I don't always drink beer, but when I do, I prefer Dos Equis." Read that one more time and see if anything strikes you as odd . . . [tick, tock, tick, tock] . . .
Okay, so here is the thing, he does not always drink beer (totally understandable, I see the Most Interesting Man in the World as more of a $300 bottle of wine, 18 year old Scotch, or maybe even a Courvoiser type of guy). But when he does drink beer, he only prefers Dos Equis. So that means, when he decides to drink beer, he only prefers to drink it, but does not drink it all the time. So what am I supposed to think of Dos Equis now? They have these entertaining commercials about a cool guy, and they can not even say that whenever he drinks beer, it is always Dos Equis? I thought when you advertise your product you are supposed to make it seem like the best, no? Admittedly, I enjoy a Dos Equis every now and then (usually of the Amber variety), but now I am thinking maybe I should go a different direction. I mean, if the company that sells the beer can not even have the character it created (again, dubbed The Most Interesting Man in the World) always drink the beer, should I be concerned?
Anyways, that is what has been keeping me up late at night this week. Sorry we do not have more for you this week. We will back in full swing as soon as possible.
Oh, and just because I can not see it enough, here is DeWayne Wise's perfect-game-saving catch from yesterday afternoon.
Have a great weekend everyone!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
It Is Just One of Those Days
As I was finishing getting ready for work this morning, my Better Half said: "I'm sorry for making you get that growth removed." While I am by no means upset with her, the truth of the matter is I have been very frustrated for the past few weeks now. Please, allow me to explain.
I had a mass on my upper left chest biopsied last summer before my wedding. I had always joked that it was just my third nipple, but the truth of the matter is I did not want to get it checked out in case it was something bad. But I finally went through with it and it turned out it was just some scar tissue expanding because it was being directly fed by a blood vessel. Well, it grew back over the course of the year, and I finally had it completely removed in mid-June (if this seems like a massive over-share, please feel free to skip to the good stuff below). It was a quick procedure. Ten minutes, one running stitch, and three regular stitches later and I was good to go. Doc said it was stitches for two weeks and back to normal. Well, if you know me, it is never normal when it comes to medical stuff.
The stitches came out on July 3rd. By July 9th, I was back at the good doc's office because the scar had not stayed a scar so much as become a massive open wound (again, feel free to skip ahead). So now I am week-to-week, getting it checked out every week to see how it is progressing and they are using sterile suture strips to keep it from expanding too fast. I tell you all this because I have not been sleeping well lately (have to sleep on my back), and I can not do any of the activities I enjoy and do not know when I will get back to them. I have not been able to swing a golf club for a month (I can neither confirm nor deny reports that I have taken a few swings at one point during the recovery), I have not been able to train for the triathlon I am signed up for because I can not swim, and I have been told to generally limit the use of my left arm. Have I ever mentioned I am left-handed?
So, the long and short of it is that I have been pretty frustrated over the past few weeks, and kind of depressed. But I was even more bummed out that my Better Half thought it was her fault. While she encouraged me to do it, I still made the decision myself. And I will live with it, get through it, and move on . . . eventually. For the time being, however, I get the joy of providing you all with your weekly dose of entertainment, sports style. So, here are some things you might have missed:
I had a mass on my upper left chest biopsied last summer before my wedding. I had always joked that it was just my third nipple, but the truth of the matter is I did not want to get it checked out in case it was something bad. But I finally went through with it and it turned out it was just some scar tissue expanding because it was being directly fed by a blood vessel. Well, it grew back over the course of the year, and I finally had it completely removed in mid-June (if this seems like a massive over-share, please feel free to skip to the good stuff below). It was a quick procedure. Ten minutes, one running stitch, and three regular stitches later and I was good to go. Doc said it was stitches for two weeks and back to normal. Well, if you know me, it is never normal when it comes to medical stuff.
The stitches came out on July 3rd. By July 9th, I was back at the good doc's office because the scar had not stayed a scar so much as become a massive open wound (again, feel free to skip ahead). So now I am week-to-week, getting it checked out every week to see how it is progressing and they are using sterile suture strips to keep it from expanding too fast. I tell you all this because I have not been sleeping well lately (have to sleep on my back), and I can not do any of the activities I enjoy and do not know when I will get back to them. I have not been able to swing a golf club for a month (I can neither confirm nor deny reports that I have taken a few swings at one point during the recovery), I have not been able to train for the triathlon I am signed up for because I can not swim, and I have been told to generally limit the use of my left arm. Have I ever mentioned I am left-handed?
So, the long and short of it is that I have been pretty frustrated over the past few weeks, and kind of depressed. But I was even more bummed out that my Better Half thought it was her fault. While she encouraged me to do it, I still made the decision myself. And I will live with it, get through it, and move on . . . eventually. For the time being, however, I get the joy of providing you all with your weekly dose of entertainment, sports style. So, here are some things you might have missed:
- God bless the person at UK's GQ magazine who thought it would be a good idea to put Marisa Miller in a bath tub. [Editor's note: borderline NSFW]
- It is nice to see the NCAA is finally mandating health insurance for college athletes . . . in the cryptic, completely unintelligible way that only the NCAA can do.
- Boy, it is really nice of the Detroit Lions to offer us the opportunity to relive the 2008 season . . .
- Someone should have told Steve McNair about LegalZoom.com.
- I was shocked, SHOCKED, to discover the NFL is not a fan of sports betting.
- The headline says it all: "Coach Fired After Parents Drink Beers". Yup, you read that right.
- No surprise here, it turns out the Cubs' failure extends beyond the field.
- Turns out his name was Bob Johnson and he was 30 years old.
- Minor league teams keep trying to one-up each other with promotions. Do we have a new leader in the clubhouse?
- This guy was "forced to open a brothel". Right, I am sure he really hemmed-and-hawed over that one.
- "It's good for business, it's good for the environment - and it's good for the girls."
- Ah, the old "inadvertent contamination in a nightclub" defense. Works every time!
- Your stupid criminal of the week story is sponsored by Great Britain.
- Congrats to Phil Ivey for finally making the final table at the WSOP Main Event. Go get 'em Phil!
- I was most impressed with the Rubik's Cube, clapping, and cup stacking.
- You could set any video to the Requiem For a Dream theme and I am sure I would like it. Basketball trick shots? Sure, why not?
- Lay out for it!
- Okay Brazilians, we get it, you are good at soccer (and at removing "unwanted" hair . . . ba-ZING!).
- Romosexuals of the world put on suicide watch as it is revealed Tony is just not that funny.
- Alright Hitler, I do not mind that you are siding with Jessica Simpson on this one. But calling Megan Fox overrated? That is where I draw the line.
- I forgot to keep you all in the Tweet Boxx loop. Here are episodes two, three, and four.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Get Over Yourself
[Editor's Note: sorry there was nothing up last Friday. Apparently the "save now" button is different from the "publish post" button . . . who knew? So I had a nice little 4th of July post featuring Lou Gehrig's "luckiest man on the face of the Earth" speech given on July 4, 1939 that went totally unpublished. My bad.]
There is a little phrase in the "business" that you might have heard: burying the lead. It refers usually to an article or segment in which the author bores the reader for a while before dropping the bomb. That is not our style here at GameTime, TBD©, especially when the story is one we feel is deserving of comment. It is very likely that most of you have already heard about the college kid who dunked on LeBron and Nike's subsequent pitiful attempt at justifying a cover-up. Too bad for them, Ryan Miller (no relation to Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres goalie) knows how to read. Go figure.
Before I get to my point, a little disclaimer: I have know idea what it is like to be a world-wide superstar (as far as you know . . .). It is sad to me that Nike, which has gone out of its way to make brands out of the likes of LeBron James and Tiger Woods, attempts to control every aspect of these peoples, which usually ends up making things worse. They are so concerned about image, that they forget these are people. I have had two opportunities to be in close proximity to Tiger; once when he was by himself and once when his Nike handler was present. During the latter encounter, it was like Tiger's less-personable, not as fun twin brother had showed up. I get it Nike, you have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in this guy. However, last time I checked, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. I do not think you have to worry about Tiger doing something to tarnish your image, unless you think winning every tournament he enters will tarnish your image, or hitting shots that are a Nike advertisement in-and-of-themselves (though, he could use a few "high-fiving" lessons).
So, instead of dehumanizing these people who are making you millions of dollars in profit, why not humanize them instead? I get it, you think LeBron is the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread; and no one will deny that he is an amazing basketball player. And now some college kid has gone out there and dunked on him. Oh no, stop the press, Armageddon is upon us. I am not positive but I think I once read about Nostradamus predicting such an event will result in Earth's gravitational forces being pulled out of whack, thus resulting in the end of human life as we know. Or, at least, that is what all your actions seem to indicate is going to happen. He got dunked on, big deal. Poor Frederic Weis has to live with this for the rest of his life, but something tells me he will survive. Let Jordan Crawford have his fifteen minutes of fame, even if it is at LeBron's expense. From what I hear, the kid was even wearing LeBron's shoes. So why would you not want that out there? I would not think less of LeBron because of it, and I am pretty sure most everyone else out there feels the same way. I would even go so far as to say that letting LeBron make fun of himself with this might make him even more appealable.
Nike, it is time to get over yourself. Oh, an it is also time to learn that it is okay to let Tiger sign more than five autographs at a time. He does not have to sign one for me, but I saw more than a few kids out there who think Tiger stiffed them on an autograph when really it was his handler moving him along. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I think it is time I go burn all my Nike golf gear and replace it with Adidas gear . . . er . . . maybe I should think about it for a while first. So, while I consider the pros and cons of that, here are some things you might have missed:
There is a little phrase in the "business" that you might have heard: burying the lead. It refers usually to an article or segment in which the author bores the reader for a while before dropping the bomb. That is not our style here at GameTime, TBD©, especially when the story is one we feel is deserving of comment. It is very likely that most of you have already heard about the college kid who dunked on LeBron and Nike's subsequent pitiful attempt at justifying a cover-up. Too bad for them, Ryan Miller (no relation to Ryan Miller, Buffalo Sabres goalie) knows how to read. Go figure.
Before I get to my point, a little disclaimer: I have know idea what it is like to be a world-wide superstar (as far as you know . . .). It is sad to me that Nike, which has gone out of its way to make brands out of the likes of LeBron James and Tiger Woods, attempts to control every aspect of these peoples, which usually ends up making things worse. They are so concerned about image, that they forget these are people. I have had two opportunities to be in close proximity to Tiger; once when he was by himself and once when his Nike handler was present. During the latter encounter, it was like Tiger's less-personable, not as fun twin brother had showed up. I get it Nike, you have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in this guy. However, last time I checked, the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery. I do not think you have to worry about Tiger doing something to tarnish your image, unless you think winning every tournament he enters will tarnish your image, or hitting shots that are a Nike advertisement in-and-of-themselves (though, he could use a few "high-fiving" lessons).
So, instead of dehumanizing these people who are making you millions of dollars in profit, why not humanize them instead? I get it, you think LeBron is the greatest thing to come along since sliced bread; and no one will deny that he is an amazing basketball player. And now some college kid has gone out there and dunked on him. Oh no, stop the press, Armageddon is upon us. I am not positive but I think I once read about Nostradamus predicting such an event will result in Earth's gravitational forces being pulled out of whack, thus resulting in the end of human life as we know. Or, at least, that is what all your actions seem to indicate is going to happen. He got dunked on, big deal. Poor Frederic Weis has to live with this for the rest of his life, but something tells me he will survive. Let Jordan Crawford have his fifteen minutes of fame, even if it is at LeBron's expense. From what I hear, the kid was even wearing LeBron's shoes. So why would you not want that out there? I would not think less of LeBron because of it, and I am pretty sure most everyone else out there feels the same way. I would even go so far as to say that letting LeBron make fun of himself with this might make him even more appealable.
Nike, it is time to get over yourself. Oh, an it is also time to learn that it is okay to let Tiger sign more than five autographs at a time. He does not have to sign one for me, but I saw more than a few kids out there who think Tiger stiffed them on an autograph when really it was his handler moving him along. Now that I have gotten that off my chest, I think it is time I go burn all my Nike golf gear and replace it with Adidas gear . . . er . . . maybe I should think about it for a while first. So, while I consider the pros and cons of that, here are some things you might have missed:
- I had such high hopes for this "Best Bikini Body" bracket, but then I saw they had Marisa Miller as an 11-seed in a bracket with Jennifer Aniston as a 1-seed. You are telling me this is ten seeds better than this? I must still be drunk from last night.
- Our thoughts and prayers go out to Phil Mickelson yet again. That guy can not catch a break (though he still has no problem catching a donut or two . . . too soon?).
- Monty 1, Pirates (not of Pittsburgh) 0.
- SI wrote a timely piece on PEDs in sports . . . 40 years ago.
- I am sure the government will help Lenny Dykstra blow through bankruptcy just like it did GM.
- I am sure the people of Florida will have no problem footing the $2.4 billion (yes, with a "b") bill for the Marlins' new stadium, what with our booming economy and all.
- I caught a foul ball once (if by caught you mean garbing it after it bounced of my Brother-in-Law and landed in my Dad's lap while he hid like a little girl) and gave it to my Grandma for free. And somehow I think that relates to this.
- When the hearings for my Supreme Court nomination begin, you better believe David Cone will be on my witness list. Wait, what?
- It is good to see Ochocinco and the NFL getting along so well.
- The United Football League wants you to get excited about their "enhancements".
- I am at a loss for words right now. These people wanted to lose their money in Vegas and Vegas said no thanks?
- This story is from Georgia . . . enough said.
- And this story is from Rick Reilly . . . too much said.
- If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball. A tree branch, however, is a whole different story.
- A word of warning for anyone traveling to Australia anytime soon: they take their pooping in hotel hallways very seriously over there.
- "Taking some punishment" (that is not a euphemism).
- This girl can handle my driver anytime she wants (that may or may not be . . . you decide).
- Le Tour de France is back, time for a video of a professional biker and a corner.
- Looks like I will have to find a new place to get my tiny guitars and novelty sombreros. Thankfully, however, Vegas already has the three-foot plastic margarita glasses. [Editor's Note: language is borderline NSFW . . . if people speak Spanish.]
- Bruno comes out today and . . . would you look at that . . . Bruno did the Top 10 List on last night's Letterman.
- Something tells me this is not real; but I will let you be the judge.
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