Slumpbusters

I know you will not be proud to admit it, but I guarantee everyone reading this knew (knows) of their college's slumpbuster(s) (seriously, 50% of my college would have been considered slumpbusters at other schools). Do not play dumb with me and pretend you do not know what I am talking about. So you hit a little bit of a dry spell; your confidence was shaken; you just needed to get back in the game. So you lowered your standards a little bit, ran into someone at a kegger on Saturday night who looked "good" (beer goggles anyone?), and "busted" out of your proverbial "slump". Look, it happens to the best of us (Editor's Note: not me; unless you count my Better Half as my slumpbuster of bad relationships), and, assuming your slumpbuster had some redeeming qualities, you have nothing to be ashamed of (just ignore your friends laughing at you; their turn will come).

But there are other slumps out there that need busting too. The Los Angeles Dodgers were in one of those slumps. Since the Dodgers last won the World Series in 1988, they had won exactly one (1) playoff game in twenty years (a gem of a performance by Jose "Lima Time" in 2004 versus the St. Louis Cardinals). In a city where success is defined by championships, that is a slump. So the Dodgers did what any person in a slump does: go looking for a slumpbuster. They found theirs, however, in the most unlikely of places: Boston. The Boston Red Sox were willing to give up Manny Ramierez for free . . . nothing . . . zilch . . . nada (if you've got an extra half an hour after reading the rest of this, check out Bill Simmons' in depth look at the real villain of the Manny-t0-L.A.-for-nothing deal). Now the Dodgers have a 2-0 lead in their NLDS against the Chicago Cubs (talk about a slump . . .) and are one win away from their first series victory since, well, 1988. It is fun to be a baseball fan again in Los Angeles (and I'm talking about the real Los Angeles, not that fictional Los Angeles in Anaheim).

Well, rest assured that GameTime, TBD© will never find itself in a slump. That is because you, my avid readers, will always be in need of a little Friday afternoon distraction. So, to do just that, here are some things you might have missed:

• With the Yankees and Mets out of the playoffs, the New York Times fills its baseball writing quota with . . . wait for it . . . mowing patterns in major league stadiums.
• Fukudome is not so popular amongst Cubs fans or school administrators.
• Apparently I am not the only one who thought referring to Rays' third-baseman Evan Longoria as Eva Longoria was funny. Unfortunately, Eva Longoria does not find it funny.
• "Hey baby, I'm just calling to let you know that the Restraining Order you got against me just went through about 20 minutes ago."
• I guess it was only a matter of time before fantasy football scoring pushed someone over the edge.
• It is good to see Shanahan finally joking about his long standing feud with Al Davis. But did he really count all of the days? I am not positive, but I am pretty sure the Broncos have a game this weekend. Can anyone confirm that for me?
• "Luongo to lead the way from the rear." Sometimes these things write themselves.
• Apparently, newspaper are cutting back on their coverage of local hockey teams. Those of us who have read articles written by those who cover the Los Angeles Kings think this might be a good thing.
• I think I will parlay "AFC winning the coin toss" with "Born to Run" for this year's Super Bowl.
• While some were sad to learn the Golden State Warriors had to fire their mascot (thanks to the Seattle Supersonics . . . wait, they moved? To Oklahoma City? When? Huh, who knew?), this guy is clearly not one of them.

Seriously though, that last guy has some unresolved anger issues he needs to take care of before things spiral out of control for him. Maybe he needs to go find dad and let him know he understands and he forgives him. Or, maybe these three videos I have selected for your weekly viewing pleasure would help:

• Carey Price obviously took the red pill.
• Gravity 1, Roof Surfer 0: gravity's best punchline in years.
• Even with all of this economic turmoil, apparently it still feels good to be a banker. How good you ask? Damn good.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Ringing In My Ears

Trivia Question: What was the first compact disc manufactured in the United States for commercial release?

To answer that question, my dear readers, I must also ask: how did you spend your Tuesday night? I would imagine most people did not do anything too exciting last night; it is early in the week, you are probably still a little tired from the past weekend, you are already longing for the upcoming weekend to get here, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I think our general consensus is that your Tuesday night probably sucked. That, my friends, is why you need to go out there and find yourself an amazingly-awesome (awesomely-amazing?) Better Half.

Allow me to provide you with twenty-five reasons why my Better Half is (1) amazingly-awesome, and (b) better than your better half:

1. Thunder Road
2. Radio Nowhere
3. Lonesome Day
4. Gypsy Biker
5. Murder Incorporated
6. Magic
7. Atlantic City
8. Candy's Room
9. Reason to Believe
10. Prove It All Night
11. Because the Night
12. She's the One
13. Livin' in the Future
14. The Promised Land
15. Brilliant Disguise
16. The Ghost of Tom Joad
17. Last to Die
18. Long Walk Home
19. Badlands
20. Out in the Streets
21. Meeting Across the River
22. Jungleland
23. Born to Run
24. Dancing in the Dark
25. American Land

Confused? You should not be. If I asked you to name the only two great things that have come from New Jersey (besides those friends of mine who are from there . . . don't want to have Nosh whining in the comments section), what would they be? Bon Jovi (DING!). The Boss (DING!). Now, as you review the twenty-five reasons why my Better Half is amazingly-awesome (awesomely-amazing?), you may begin to notice that they look eerily similar to the set list from last night's Bruce Springsteen concert at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Although she is not the biggest Springsteen (wait, what? I might have to start rethinking this whole "til death do us part" thing . . .), my Better Half went out of her way to get me two tickets for Christmas this past December.

Some find it hard to believe that I am such a big Springsteen fan, considering his first album of commercial success, Born to Run, was released five years before I was born. In fact, my Better Half and I were probably the youngest people at the show, surrounded by people at least ten years our senior (not to mention some fabulously-awesome [awesomely-fabulous?] jean jackets). But when you love music as much as I do, I do not know how anybody would be surprised by this. I mean, sure we might not see eye-to-eye politically, and I might not be able to relate to the plight of the blue collar worker, but this is a man who has been musically relevant for over thirty years. He has had eight number one albums over his career (though, surprisingly, he has never had a No. 1 single on the Billboard charts), won eighteen Grammys, and he has even won an Academy Award.

As you can tell from the set list, the show mostly revolved around his most recent album, Magic. While I was not overly impressed with the album, the live versions did not disappoint. Sprinkle in some of his classic hits and a cameo from Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine/Audioslave fame) for "The Ghost of Tom Joad", and you have all the makings of a great show.

While it is hard to compare this show to the first time I saw The Boss in 2002, I will say this, I definitely enjoyed the company more (sorry Agman, I hope you understand). There are few things in this world I enjoy more than being able to share some of my favorites things with my Better Half. Who knows, maybe we will complete the "New Jersey Doubleheader" by catching Bon Jovi at Staples Center tonight.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot . . .

Trivia Answer: Born in the U.S.A.

Working Towards the Weekend

As the clock quickly works its way towards the end of the week and "Selection Sunday", three things are apparent: (1) I am uber-excited for this years tournament (is that really any different from previous years?); (b) only an absolute hose job by the selection committee will keep UCLA from a number 1 seed out west; and (iii) Elliot Spitzer has a lot more time now to share with his high-price "escorts" (ba-zing!).

In any other year, I would say that this Sunday kicks off the best three-week stretch of the year, but I am getting married in August and spending two weeks in Tahiti on my honeymoon. So, for 2008, March Madness will have to settle for the second-best three-week stretch of the year (read: my Better Half is the most devoted GameTime, TBD© reader and I value my life). Or if I was smart, which I clearly am, I would simply add the Pac-10 Tournament into the March Madness mix and call it the best four-week stretch of the year, leaving my wedding/honeymoon to run unopposed in the "Best Three-Week Stretch of the Year" category. Everyone is a winner here at GameTime, TBD©.

With my Better Half spending St. Patrick's Day weekend in Vegas for a bachelorette party (not hers), I have plans for a weekend packed full of basketball, green beer, a fantasy baseball draft, and brackets (apparently I am also supposed to clean the apartment and put together that bookcase we bought two weeks ago, but that doesn't sound quite as enjoyable). To help you get to your weekend plans a little sooner, here are somethings you might have missed:

• CBS would like you to enjoy Billy Packer for the 34th consecutive year . . . proving once again that CBS has no clue what their viewers want (read: give us more Gus Johnson).
• And what fun would March Madness be without Joakim Noah making a fool of himself?
• If you missed out on the Rookie of the Year and MVP awards twenty-plus years ago and are still bitter, please raise your hand.
• Dear Mr. Costas, we here at GameTime, TBD© are extremely insulted by your comments. How dare you lump us together with people from Albuquerque.
  
• Bud Selig is living proof that it pays (well) to run baseball into the ground.
• She better feel obligated to put out on their first date; that is way nicer than a dinner at Chili's. [editor's note: we here at GameTime, TBD© do not believe a woman should ever feel obligated to "put out" . . . on the first date . . . but it sure is nice when you do.]
• Woman shows "de facto husband" who The Boss is by stabbing him to death because he hates Springsteen. [editor's note: she won't be putting out on any first dates for a while.]
• Abraham and his amazing, Technicolor $5 bill.
• If you are one of the people out there who think this mother put her child in danger, GameTime, TBD© is officially revoking your right to think. [editor's note: we here at GameTime, TBD© do not actually believe we have the power to revoke your right to think, we're just drunk on the power of the "editor's note" today.]

While I normally do my best to have a theme for the video clips, today I bring you two totally unrelated videos for your viewing pleasure:

• When dance-offs go horribly wrong . . . with mascots.
• Only in Canada.

Have a great weekend everyone!

It's Been One of Those Weeks...

Friday is finally here, and it did not come fast enough. Over the course of the last 24 to 48 hours I have started feeling pretty crappy. It is either a really, REALLY bad cold or, more likely, a case of bronchitis. I love me some bronchitis. I think I am due for a 15 round (we're going old-school, none of this wussy 12-round action boxers do now-a-days), knock down, drag out fight with bronchitis. It has been a couple years since our previous match-up, and that is about par for the course. If all goes like usual, I will take a couple heavy blows in the first few rounds (god, bronchitis loves his body blows), but I am all about stamina and will save my haymakers for the later rounds when I am likely to score the knockout.

To top the week off, it has been pretty slow in the news department. I mean, there were the obvious topics (Super Tuesday and the New York Giants), but you know I am not trying to find you the obvious. I am looking for the fun and obscure news articles. Besides, no one is surprised that ESPN is serving as Patriots apologists; after all, they spent the week leading up to the Super Bowl declaring the Patriots the best team ever (oh, and Kirk Herbstreit would like us all to know that Les Miles is the Michigan head coach). So, I have traveled to the ends of the internet and back again and I think I have come up with some good stuff. Enjoy!

• This is not really an article, but rather a link to some pictures of Marisa Miller attending the Sports Illustrated Super Bowl party. When you are feeling sick, a little Marisa Miller never hurts. Also, if you are not reading With Leather, you should. It is a great sports blog. Also, ladies, as noted in the post, matching your shoes to your underwear is awesome (and subtly suggestive).
• Now that I have sufficiently insulted most of my female audience (and I'm sure a phone call from my Better Half is forthcoming), I would like to alienate my South Korean readers, a country whose soccer players take dodging the military draft very seriously.
• Headline: "Ref almost blew whistle on Manning." Article: "never close to whistling the play dead." God bless solid journalism.
• Top-ranked high school running back signs with Colorado, where his uncle is a sophomore . . . just let that sink in for a moment . . . there you go.
• Speaking of Colorado, a Congressional representative is now taking a little heat because he stated the obvious . . . derogatory terms are usually not the best way to go though.
• Remember when Ronald Regan chose "Born in the U.S.A." as his campaign song without talking to The Boss or knowing what the song was about? This is kinda the same.
• Two galaxies are giving the Milky Way a gassy UFIA . . . I hate when our UFIA gets gassy.
• The United States is going to try a minor, for actions he committed when he was 15 year sold, for war crimes in Guantanamo Bay. . . this can only end well for us.
• I am sure you have all already read, heard, or seen this story, but it still amazes me every time I look at it. The picture is crazy.

I realize that I may have gotten a little loose with my humor this week. If I offended anyone, I do sincerely apologize (though it REALLY is awesome). I hope to make it up to you with these two clips for your viewing pleasure:

• I know Super Tuesday has come and gone, but the fellas over at Funny or Die would like you to know just how seriously the porn industry takes politics.
• The guy in this video is the whinny kid from Jurassic Park who says the velociraptor skeleton looks like a giant turkey. Seriously. Now imagine Bill Belichick saying that.

Have a great weekend everyone!