bright eyed

so today is the 2nd to last day of my adventures in Cincinnati. By this time tomorrow I will be packing up a Uhaul truck (ok actually it's a Penske) and officially head back to the real C-town. No time to reflect this morning though as I get to co-host a twitter morning show, head to Bed, Bath and Beyond for replacement kitchen things, obtain one last loan check from Xavier (oh the joy of fake money), and pack up the contents of my life into nice brown boxes. All before noon. Go me.


After the noon o clock hour I'll begin patiently waiting for my brother and pops who graciously have said they'd come down and help me move out. Perhaps a run will occur in there somewhere but once they arrive it will almost certainly be dinner and the casino. (we are a gambling family)

During my time in the 'Natti I've met some amazing people, some that weren't so amazing, and had a great deal of memorable moments through out. I'll go into greater detail later but I think what's interesting is how life can never cease to surprise me. I spent roughly 10 months down here and I never thought I'd feel anything when I was leaving. (Lesson here is never expect apathy) Rather, this whole moving out thing happened so abruptly that nostalgia was thrust into my life without me even realizing it. All the things that had become familiar over the last year will fade into my new life (hopefully one where I'm working very soon). Three major life adjustments in three years is difficult to do. This must be what those people feel like who change their college majors 7 times during their eventual 6-ish year stay.

I know where I've been, I know where I am, but I have no idea where I'm going... and that's all part of the fun.

more to come.



best man out.

all over the map

trying to play catch up...

For once, I haven't stopped writing because of lack of motivation but rather from a lack of time. Ironically, I'm writing this post because i can't motivate myself to work on a school project. Might as well get something done. Ok, lots to discuss (as always, discuss being I write, you choose whether or not to read.)

Let's start with the NFL draft...

After weeks of speculation the Browns took the corner back who was without a doubt the best in the nation at the end of the season and then get scrutinized for it. Correct me if I'm wrong but I thought football was played on the field, not at a combine. Great pick in my mind. Speed doesn't matter if he keeps the wide receiver from getting off the line. They address multiple needs and got what everyone assumes will be a franchise quarterback at the end of the 3rd round on the cheap. If nothing else Colt will almost certainly replace Brady Quinn in the local Subway adds and (hopefuly) a new myoplex "now I'm done" commercial. Not to mention he'll be worth more in jersey's sold to Cleveland females then we'll be paying him anyway. (Seriously is it a rule that the Browns have to have an "attractive" QB on the bench for CBS to show 13 times a quarter now?) All this and Kiper gives the draft a C grade? I'm impressed that he can tell us years in advance how our players are going to be. get a hair cut mel. Let McShay do the work. Go back to This Week In Baseball.
I'm happy with the picks. Now let's all forget about football til August please.


On to the NBA playoffs. I love how they last so long that the league doesn't even try to hide it. They instead market it as "the 2nd season". Someone deserves a raise for that idea. Everyone says how much stronger the West is and while 1-8 I agree, at this point it doesn't matter. The safe bet is that chalk will be walking into round 2 for the East. As for the West well it's anyone's game. The Karlless Nuggets look lost, the Mavs remembered just in time for round one that they're the Mavs, and Pheonix has looked shaky against a Portland team who center is their FIFTH this year. Juwan Howard? Seriously? He was a member of the fab five... which makes him not so young. Do I think the Lakers will lose a 3 game series with 2 at home to a team of kids who can barely legally drink? No, but strange things happen from time to time... just ask those Mavs. Honestly, I only care about the Cavs. If they lose I won't watch another playoff game but just for fun... if the Lakers do lose Max will be shaving much sooner than either of us thought possible.

Ah Major League Baseball-
Being away from Cleveland for the first spring ever has been tough on me. Thank god my itouch has MLB at bat. Best 15 dollar investment ever. Thus far the Indians have played better then I thought they would.. 8-10 ain't too shabby considering their current roadie is the Twins, and two talented west coast teams. Their pitching staff seems to think they're the mid 90s Braves led by Fausto (I said before the year started he'd win 20 games). If they can keep this up and get any offense they might actually contend for a .500 record. That's not a misprint. A few other Indians notes: Our current catchers are absolute dog piss. Expect Santana by June. And for the first time since the 80's the Indians had less then 11,000 fans at a game... it happened 3 straight games. Let's go people. The deals are cheap and the ball park is gorgeous. Show up and support your currently overachieving, almost decent tribe!
Some other MLB notes- In case you're not a big fan remember the name JASON HEYWARD. He'll be the best player in the league for a decade. That is unless Pujols continues to make everyone believe the ESPN machine commercials are actually real. Also, Matt Kemp is absolutely a legit star. The kid is a freak. oh and dating Rihanna. Jealous.


Off of the sports... onto movies

As everyone on the planet is aware AVATAR came out last Thursday on DVD. CELEBRATE EARTH DAY BY WISHING YOU LIVED ON ANOTHER PLANET! Call me snobby but if it's not on an IMAX screen I have no interest in seeing it again. I think this is going to be a real problem for movies in the future. They'll make a killing in the theatre but until TV technology catches up with movie technology (and it's starting already) I don't see DVD sales being stellar. Of course, AVATAR will be an exception but don't be shocked when Clash of the Titans or Alice under perform. I had an EXPERIENCE seeing them the first time, why should I settle for just a viewing the 2nd go around?

In other movie news, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus comes out on DVD Tuesday and I could not be more excited. This was Heath Ledger's final performance and for all the hype that "The Dark Knight" received, I believe this was his best work. It didn't get the fanfare it deserved but if you check it out I promise you will not be disappointed. In my opinion it's the best movie of the year thus far. Oh and a short note to HBO- can you please stop playing Kung Fu Panda and Kindergarten Cop on repeat? I've had enough.

Some musical shout outs-
If you haven't heard of them yet PLEASE check out Mumford&Sons. This is courtesy of my brother-in-law who knows music like no other. They're from England and their debut album might be the best top to bottom I've heard in five years.

FUN is starting to catch on... don't miss it. Debut album: Aim and Ignite is fantastic.

PAINKILLER BY Pendulum and Flag Waivin by K'NAAN might be the best running songs of all time.

some humorous shorts-

I had some girl in my bar the other night come up and complain about the music. The song was Tambourine Man by Bob Dylan. Am I old or does her musical taste just suck?

While running today (in the pouring rain) I had some 70-80 year old guy swear at me for running WHILE I HAD A WALK SIGN. Yes that's right, I had the right of way in the pouring rain while HE WAS SITTING AT A RED LIGHT and he swore at me for being in the middle of the road. He should definitely still have his license. Really great member of Society.

Don't take allergy medicine and then have caffeine. I think that warning should be more prevalent then the whole no medicine and alcohol one. I've felt like I've been floating this whole time.

I apologize for the Simmons-esque length and horrible grammar. They'll be shorter and more frequent from here on out. The grammar will still be lacking.

ONE LAST THING.
My P.I.C. is officially big time... Please check out her latest work on www.doinvegas.com.
Jump on that bandwagon now so she'll remember us little people when she's running sin city.


best man out.

cartoons of yesteryear

I apologize for the long layoff but with the semester winding down a bit and the weather turning for the better it's becoming difficult to justify sitting in front of a computer if I'm not doing actual work. I'll do my best to improve the frequency. I also apologize because this post will probably seem a little bit like a rant but I promise it will be entertaining. My friends and I have been on an old school movie kick as of late and because of this we've been watching and discussing films that we grew up on and how they are much more traumatic then we remembered. In this day of political correctness where "everyone wins, everyone gets a blue ribbon" it's rare to see kids movies offering anything other than a happy ending and terrible songs. Back in the day this couldn't be further from the truth. Everything from death and disease to drinking and terrifying villains was fair game and no I'm not just talking about Mufasa dying. Let's all take a trip down memory lane.

This has been the most recent movie discussed so I figured I should stare here... The Brave Little Toaster. The movie, as a whole, has very dark tones but this scene might just take the cake. Upon doing some research you'll discover that this scene is literally the Air Conditioner committing suicide... (remember- kids movie) Brave Little Toaster

Tell me as a kid you were ready to deal with that kind of issue... I can't even talk about it now. Yet this remains one of my favorite movies from our childhood and I wouldn't think twice about playing it for my kids some day.

Next up let's take a look at The Land Before Time (THE ORIGINAL ONE....not the 19 sequels that followed) This scene is where Little Foot's mother is about to die. This is where, as basically a toddler, Little Foot finds out he'd be in charge of escaping a giant T-rex, leading a bunch of other dino kids, and attempting to save the future of his family. Pretty tall task for the long neck. Land Before Time.

If you can get through that scene without getting choke up it's not that you're a bad person, just that you have no heart.

Now we move on to Fievel: An American Tale, remembered by most as, "That movie with Somewhere Out There" in it. The story is about a Russian, Jewish mouse family (so far, so good) who make the trip to America to start a better life. Early on Fievel gets lost and is forced to survive on his own. Now the story of basically another toddler trying to survive would be hard enough, (I'm seeing a theme) but the whole movie is just dark and terrifying. This is a short scene featuring The Giant Mouse of Minsk and despite it being a helpful tool for Fievel, it still scares the crap out of me. I can't stress this enough, please remember that this is a KID'S movie. Fievel: An American Tale

The next movie I want to talk about is The Last Unicorn. If you take the time to watch this film pretty much everything is scary in it from the ridiculous harpie to the insane red bull who kills off all the unicorns. The one character, however, that sticks in my mind is the skeleton in the grandfather clock. I remember him acting incredibly odd and laughing at everything when I was a kid and I never understood why until now... He was drunk. Absolutely smashed. If you watch the movie he's crushing a bottle of wine the whole time. Seriously, they put a wino skeleton who offers advice in this movie. How are any of us normal? The Last Unicorn.

Again, this is just a small sampling of the movies that we watched growing up. When you couple this with basically every Disney movie before Aladdin and Henson classics The Labrynth and the Dark Crystal it's amazing to consider what will never be shown to kids again. All of this isn't even mentioning shows like Are you afraid of the Dark which still haunts my dreams.

I hope you enjoyed this little trip down the creepy memory lane that we all experienced. If you have any movies or shows you used to watch along these lines please feel free to post a comment or a clip.

Enjoy the beautiful weather and have a happy Easter.

Na zdravie!

stuck in the middle

I'm sitting here in my "Legal and Ethical Issues in Sport" class trying my best to pay attention and it's just not working (sorry mom and dad...) so I figured I'd try to do something semi-productive. I tried doing research for a project in said law class but that didn't go over so well. Therefore... on to blogging. After reading a couple of pretty good blogs (shout outs to come later) I realized that they were all writing about the same things. How and where would they be content. One moved to Chi-town with her friends and came back home, another is contemplating a move to the bright lights of Vegas, and the 3rd discuses the positives of being home. I've been mulling the big question of, "Where am I supposed to be in life?" and reading these three blogs didn't exactly clear anything up for me but they did provide some perspective.

It seems that my feelings of where I want to be vary greatly depending on my emotions and the goings on of the day. Ask me lately where I want to end up and I'll tell you Cleveland. The reasons being I haven't seen my family in forever and I miss them...incredibly. In the last month I've missed three birthdays, my nephew rolling over for the first time, and sadly, a death in the extended family. Missing these things would be hard for anyone but especially someone who talks to their family just about every day. My family truly are my best friends and it's so hard not seeing them on a consistent basic. My apartment basically being a shrine of family pictures doesn't exactly lessen the homesickness. (thank you, Alex) It's hard because lately all I want to do is spend Sunday afternoons at my parents house with the family eating way too much food and pretending to still be little kids... while playing with little kids.

That being said, if you asked me where I think I should live after talking to Goose or coming back from Vegas I'd say a big city. I get the feeling from time to time that I'd prefer not to be a big fish in a small pond but rather try to become an ample fish in a gigantic pond. From time to time I want the challenge to see if I could do more then survive but rather thrive in places where the lights shine the brightest. However, after a few days this will start to fade and I'll realize that maybe the size of the pond doesn't matter much so long as you just keep swimming.

Thus we reach my current situation: Cincinnati. I choose Xavier because it has a great Sports Administration program but, honestly, I also ended up here because IT WAS a little further from home. I needed the challenge. To move some where that I knew absolutely no one and start from scratch. I've created a great circle of friends, obtained a job and an internship, and, thus far, I'm staying afloat in my classes. The weather is decent (still get all four seasons), the area is very interesting, and I've networked enough to possibly obtain a job when I'm finished with the program. All of these positives and yet I hesitate to call this place home past December. Perhaps it's all the Bengals fans and everyone saying, "Y'all" but I digress. I continue to find myself quite literally stuck in the middle. I don't know if I want to be close to home, in a big city, or somewhere in between.

After all this contemplating and reading my close friends thoughts I came up with absolutely nothing. The point, though, is that might not be such a bad thing. The biggest thing to remeber when making a move or a "big change" is that it doesn't have to be permanent. Life is about the journey and all that jazz. In my circumstance my family will always be my family and we'll remain close regardless of if I live 20 minutes or 20 hours away. I have no idea what the future holds after next winter. Here's what I do know... I get to see my family Easter weekend, Baseball and the World Cup start soon, and I'll be here until at least December. The rest if completely up in the air but I'm learning that that too, is ok.

You're on your own, and you know what you know. And you will be the guy who'll decide where you'll go. Oh the places you'll go.

~Dr. Seuss~

Special thanks to Goose, Jay, and Emily for the inspiration.

Check them out at allegedlyfff.blogspot.com (Goose), socksnotfamous.blogspot.com (Jay) and girlinamansworld.blogspot.com (Emily)

Thanks again guys!

adam.

Beat the drum, hold the phone...

The sun came out today!

65 degree days, spring training in full swing, being one of the 1800 people who ran outside around Hyde Park yesterday. All of this can only mean one thing: Spring has arrived. The last few days here in Cincinnati have been absolutely gorgeous and while I'm aware that it's going to rain for the next 8 days and that old man winter will probably hit us with one last jab in the mouth, it is undeniable that spring is in the air.

Here's the thing: In Daniel Tosh's stand up special he says that he, "Loves seasons. That's why he lives in a place that skips the crappy ones." Funny? Yes. I, however, disagree. I used to tell everyone that I flat out loved winter. Truthfully, I am happiest when it's grey and miserable outside. Always have been. I think it's something about other people being unhappy that brings me joy. What I've discovered recently, though, is that I just really love every season. By the time the end of one season rolls around I'm definitely ready for the next and so while this fall I was ready for snow and cold, now I'm definitely ready for some warmth.

I'm aware that for the next week or so we'll probably need an ark to get around but that doesn't bother me because strange weather is what Ohio spring is all about. Don't believe me? Think about the fact that in any particular week in March or April around here you can have a day that's 70 and sunny, one that's 50 and rainy, and one that's 23 and snowing. Back at JCU we had one DAY that was 70 at noon and snowing by midnight. Try being a college baseball player in this climate. We tarped and untarped our field 3 times a day. The Cleveland Indians ground crew should have a feeder system through the Blue Streaks. I don't mind the strange weather though because I know that all it really means is soon enough I'll be golfing, grilling out, and playing sand volleyball...with my shirt off of course.

~It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade~

-Charles Dickens-

best man out.

he said/ she said... my take on fashion... yikes

I think Goose and Meathead need to write a co blog on how men feel about fashion pitfalls like muffin tops and ridiculously faux handbags...the man's perspective and the fashionistas perspective...
-StoveTop

Alright Goose, I really think your readers enjoy making me look like a fool by having us write about things I know nothing about. Come on guys, I can make myself look stupid!!! In the interest of humor and debate I'll try my best. I make zero promises.

When it comes to fashion I pretend to have a little bit of an idea on how to dress but really it just boils down to two things for me: 1.) I wear what I think looks good and 2.) I tend to find things that stand out. I love thermals. Be they of the hoodie variety or half button, they're a major weapon in my arsenal. (He thinks they make him look muscle-y) I also love my scarves (duh) and my fantastic hat collection. I'm seriously like the kid from Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium. (For the 3 people who get that joke, you're welcome). Also, bright colors tend to show up rather often. I think I have a respectable wardrobe but it's almost entirely based on the fashion skills of my mother and girlfriend... honestly. When it comes to women's fashion I'll be honest, I don't understand most of what's popular. Thankfully I have Goose. I can't imagine dropping near 4 digits on a bag; Goose helps me understand the value of such a thought. I think Ugg boots are a complete joke and every time someone wears them I want to kick them in the face...with my real boots. The worst thing in my mind though is girls who wear outfits that are completely unflattering but I'll let Goose jump in before I start to ramble...

Oh, Meathead, as usual you were distracted by your glorious “trendy hat” collection and muscle henleys. Let’s try and focus your creative juices. You have already given your opinion on UGG boots. As much as it pains me to agree (because they are so damn comfortable), they are far from stylish. I will say that I continue to wear mine to and from the gym and on occasion to the dog park. In my defense, it’s Cleveland and it’s cold. I would like to get your opinion on some other fashion “issues”. Let’s get a gentleman’s perspective on…

Leggings and the new “jeggings” (jean leggings)
Fake purses/expensive designers
Muffin Tops (do you really notice?)
Chains and studs that have made appearances as of late
These glorious Chanel tattoos that FashionFace and I will be sporting...
http://www.chanel.com/en_US/fragrance-beauty/Makeup-Accessories-LES-TROMPE-L%27OEIL-DE-CHANEL-89753


So much pressure here. Speaking for men everywhere is not easy. I knew I was getting off track. Thank you for reeling me back in. Let's see here…

Leggings- Personally, not a fan. This isn't 1982 and for an extra ten bucks you could've bought the rest of the pants. I'm guessing the reasoning is people want to wear skirts and such in the winter? Yes/no? If so, guess what... the winter isn't skirt season. Wear some pants and wait till spring.

Purses- ok, I'll admit that they're a necessary evil. I'll never understand why they have to be so expensive and they seem to be getting bigger and bigger but I have seen ones I don't mind. That being said, there are far too many gaudy and hideous ones out there and I do agree about the fake ones. If you can't afford an $800 purse that's ok, but you don't need to pretend like you can. Shopping for deals is a skill, not something to be ashamed of. If you got something awesome from Kohl's then don't shy away from that.

Muffin tops- I do notice. If you want to wear something tight, work out. Get in shape. A little vanity is ok. I like wearing tight shirts now and then so guess what I do... Go to the gym. I know I probably sound like a jerk but it is what it is. No one wants to see you wearing a tube top or showing off your midriff if it's doing just that... drifting. In fact, why not use the small clothes you want to wear as motivation? I know tons of girls who say, "I'm going to get into blah blah blah swimsuit this year" and so they bust their butts to do so. To those girls I say kudos and keep on keepin on.

Be more specific for "Chains and studs" please...remember I'm very uncool so I don't know what it means.

The tattoo one is interesting. As a big fan of tattoos, having two with a few more possibly in mind, I think they're pretty cool. Some people say their body is a temple. Mine's more of a template. I like how you can express things using ink. That being said, fashion is fleeting so putting something permanent on your body for the "spring season" is a bit unintelligent so I say good decision Goose. I think you'll pull it off well. This is hard... I feel like I'm taking a standardized test with no right answers. Ok what's next?


Some fashionistas would argue that leggings are the new denim… so, in essence, they would be wearing pants. Thoughts?

Studs:




Untitled by allegedlyfff featuring Prada bags


You’re doing fine so far…

What about shoes? The higher the better or for comfort first and foremost?


No... In essence they're wearing over the top knee high socks. I'm sure that came out wrong. Also denim is denim. This whole "Blank is the new Blank" thing needs to stop. 40s the new 30... No 30 is still 30, 40 is still 40.

Studs- Ok I see what you mean now. I guess they're ok. Nothing wrong with a little bling. SO are studs the new rhinestones? See what I did there. It's called a joke, just not a very good one.

Shoes- Again, I'm going to take a beating for this but I've got a story for every girl out there. I have a beautiful girlfriend who happens to be around 5'11 or roughly a half inch shorter then I am. This means she doesn’t get to wear heals very often because she feels awkward for being taller than me. I blame DNA. While in Vegas she decided she was going to get "super cute" shoes for the whole weekend which I completely respect. The first day she wore shoes that were just a bit too big and ended up with blisters and painful feet. Then on our 2nd night she wore heals to a concert. They weren't huge but heals nonetheless. By the end of the night her feet hurt so bad that she was walking barefoot in our hotel back to the room. Granted some drinks were involved but my question is what good is a shoe if it's going to debilitate you, regardless of how cute they are? I could write a book on how I'll never understand women's shoe choices. I honestly do get the appeal and if you can deal with it then awesome but at the end of the day I just felt bad for her because she clearly was not comfortable. All that being said a girl at the concert did tell her how cute the shoes were so I suppose it's all worth it? Ugh I'm such a boy...


At least she didn’t take them off. I have a very strict policy regarding stilettos… if you are going to wear big-girl shoes then you need to be a big girl and keep them on all night.

What about the bootie/cuffed sandal trend?

What the hell is a bootie sandal? Picture please



Untitled by allegedlyfff featuring Camilla Skovgaard shoes


THAT is not a boot. Or a bootie. Or a sandal for that matter. That looks like a ridiculously uncomfortable shoe. It's not even nice looking. Are they all like that because if so that's terrible and has no place on anyone’s foot ever.


Can you think of anything women’s fashion-wise that you would like to cover?

Earrings are kind of annoying but not nearly as thought provoking as the others... and just how long women can take to get ready but I’d get yelled at discussing that so I think we're good for now

I apologize for my complete lack of knowledge in the area. For a a much more informed fashion opinion and so much more check out goose at allegedlyfff.blogspot.com and find us on twitter!

we out!

nothin but a G thang... Meg, The real original No G

To the fifteen-ish people I’ve already told this to, I apologize. It’s quickly becoming a tradition that as a mini-bonding ritual I’ve been giving up Gluten for Lent. I started last year and have again taken on the challenge this spring. I do it for my sister Meg who was diagnosed with Celiac a couple years ago. For those of you who don’t understand those first few sentences, it’s ok. You’re part of a majority in this country. Celiac is a food allergy which causes an inability to digest gluten properly. It causes major stomach issues and, if left unchecked, can lead to stomach cancer. You’re follow up question is probably, “Wow that sounds unfortunate, but what’s Gluten? It can’t be THAT bad.” Well, it is. Gluten is basically any carb that isn’t rice or potatoes. That means no bread products, no pastas, no pizza, and no beer. (tear…)

If you’re thinking that it doesn’t sound that difficult stop and think about what you eat on a day to day basis. Say you have cereal for breakfast. Unless it’s Rice Chex (terrible by the way) you’re pretty much screwed. So that goes out the door. Oh and forget about pancakes, waffles, or toast. Lunch? Maybe you go to Subway or get fast food. Try again… No bread products or anything breaded. Snack time- Maybe you like pretzels… No. Granola? Also a no. Dinner? Well good luck because you can’t have regular pasta so I hope you don’t like Italian. Basically everything needs to be made from scratch or else odds are its got gluten in it.

If you still don’t think it sounds too difficult then let’s talk money. If you shop for yourself you know regular pastas costs roughly a dollar for a box. Gluten free products can cost up to five times as much for just about everything. Gluten free pastas, baking products, and breads do exist but they’re pricey and usually not as good. (Unless it’s Meg’s cookies…those rock!) Not to mention the fact that trying to make Gluten-free food takes so long that most nights my sister just eats rice and plain chicken. Real exciting. One good thing about doing the Gluten free diet during Lent is it almost forces you to lose weight. You really can’t help it.

I’m not asking anyone to feel sorry for me and I’m certainly not complaining. I love doing this for my sister but the fact is so few people understand what celiac is and just how much of daily life it effects. It’s not just the difficulty in finding the food that’s rough. Cross contamination is probably the most difficult part of dealing with Celiac. For example: If I use a pan to cook breaded chicken then my sister can’t use that pan because the gluten is on it. My parents always have two different butters, peanut butters, and cream cheeses because she can’t use regular ones once a knife has been used to butter bread or anything like it. It’s quite comical because everything is marked “GF”. Some restaurants have Gluten-free menus but Meg can’t even really eat there because they use the same pots and pans to cook the food. This means she usually ends up bringing her own food to restaurants if anyone ever eats out. Guess what she brings… yep, chicken and rice. Not to mention that she has to buy special make-ups and things of that nature because, they too, contain gluten.

In the end, I suppose this is more of a PSA then anything else. If you know someone who has Celiac then try to do the diet with them if only for a few days. You’ll really gain a new respect for just how much they have to adjust to this disease. Thus concludes quite possibly the first educational blog I’ve ever written. Have a great day and GO GLUTEN FREE!!!

best man out!

a sneaky super sunday

The SuperBowl, Championship Sunday, the beginning of March Madness, opening day for the MLB. These are all days that, as an avid sports fan, I get amped up for weeks in advance. We throw watch parties for these days, skip work for these days, and enter in office pools to up the ante just that much more. These are the days that fans simply cannot wait for and that's what made Sunday such a special day. It was completely unexpected. Confused? If you're not the biggest sports fan in the world you probably are and that's ok. What I want to do now though is break down just how fantastic of a sports day you may have missed. In fact, if you planned this out right and had enough food and drink, you could've managed to never leave your lay-z-boy from noon until midnight.

12:00 pm (Eastern standard): BASKETBALL: Ohio State AT Michigan State. CBS. Huge Big Ten implications. Two stars destined for the NBA. Oh and not to mention the fact that both teams are vying for a possible 1 seed.

1:00 pm BASKETBALL: Cleveland Cavaliers AT Orlando Magic. ABC. Taking away the fact that I'm a gigantic Cleveland fan this game is one any NBA fan would want to see. Rematch from the playoffs last year. Lebron. Superman V. Superman. New pieces trying to mesh. So many great story lines. The only problem is that the Van Gundy announcing team was doing the game for ABC.

I spent from 1:00 until just after 4:00 flipping between these two games and then focusing on the Cavs. Yes they lost and the Bucks won but this isn't about my teams, it's about the day. So far, so good.

Around 4:00 pm (HOCKEY) Russia V Czech Republic. USA network. Ok, so maybe your not a basketball fan. Hell, I'm not really a hockey fan but the Olympics bring something a little special. We watch sports we wouldn't normal and learn to love them (Looking at you, Curling) and hockey has become one of those sports for me. Combine the pageantry of the Olympics with two traditional hockey powers, not to mention one of the two players any one's actually heard of (OVEY) and you've got the makings of some thrilling television. Russia takes it. Go rusky go.

Roughly 4:30 pm (BASKETBALL) Boston Celtics at Denver Nuggets. ABC. Two more title contenders. Some of the biggest names in the sport. A Denver team who is quietly under the radar. Very compelling game. The Nuggets gave up a 20 point lead only to hold on for the victory.

7:45 pm (HOCKEY) U.S.A. AT Canada. MSNBC. In my eyes the absolute main event of the day. They sold the whole 30 years since the Miracle on Ice so well that everyone in our bar had chills watching the promos. Huge underdog USA team, insanely talented Canadian team, IN CANADA... can we get some magic? Yes we can. Amazing game and, as you're probably aware, USA pulled off a gigantic upset.

A lot of people have complained that the game wasn't on NBC but they couldn't be more wrong. Ice dancing was on NBC and while males will be annoyed with this, women run households and they love them some skating. It drew a 16 share...which is insane. The hockey game being on MSNBC meant no commercials, a pre and post game show and no interruptions from other sport updates. People were going nuts. It was great.


Had the day ended here I would've been content; but it didn't. Around 10:30 pm ESPN showed the Portland Trail Blazers hosting the Utah Jazz in what ended up being a very good game as well. Also, around midnight Sweden played their rivals Finland in more Olympic Hockey. If you add all this into a full day of Olympic coverage of Alpine (Bode Miller American hero?) you've got one amazing day.

I woke up knowing I'd be watching the Cavs and America. The far less expected team won but I'm certainly not complaining. I had no idea that the entire day would be magical. If you're a fan at all I truly hope you were near a television yesterday, because if not you missed something super.

a little bit o this, a little bit o that

Apologies to Jay for thieving but there's no better blog name when you're all over the place.
Let's discuss some of the things I've noticed over the last couple of days. By discuss I mean I'll write them down, you can read them...

First and foremost:
I was running on the treadmill at the gym this week and Ellen was on. (She's awesome, shut up) Anyway, the sound was on but the closed caption was also running and for the first time ever I realized how little consideration deaf people get. Have you ever paid attention to the closed captioning? It's absolutely horrible. First of all they are at minimum two minutes behind the actual spoken word. Then when a commercial comes it just cuts off, leaving them completely clueless as to how any conversation ends. The worst part is whenever music is being played on the screen all they show is little music notes. This basically says, "Hey deaf people, we're playing music right now. It's beautiful, but you'll never know what it sounds like." It's so incredibly insulting. In this day and age where technology is advancing so quickly how has C.C. not been improved upon yet? There are gadgets that will read your emails to you while you're in the car; you can't tell me advances can't be made to improve the television watching experience for the dead. Don't believe me? Try watching even one show with the C.C. on. It's impossible to really understand what's going on.


- If they can create Neapolitan ice cream can't they do the same for protein powder? I'm so tired of having 25 straight vanilla milkshakes before I get to switch things up.

-As I've been telling my friends all week, Download music by the band Fun. They're absolutely amazing.

-If you want to have some good old fashion fun I recommend going to a minor league hockey game. It's like being back in high school. You get to heckle the other teams goalie, cheer on the little kids at intermission, and yell way too loudly for a three dollar t-shirt shot out of a gun that looks like it should be in Megaman X.

-Antwan Jamison went 0-12 in his Cavaliers debut... Has it been thirty days yet? I want to hear Z say, "What's up Lebronnnnnn" again :(.

-Has anyone else ever realized how hard it is to clean a flask? It's literally next to impossible. I'm terrified to put soap in it because you can't see inside. I envision making a rum and coke....and dial. Not as tasty as it sounds.

-I challenge anyone to watch an Olympic Curling match and not become a fan. Well, I challenge anyone to watch it with my group of friends down here in Cincy and not become a fan. In related news, we're starting a Curling team but those 42 pound stones are around $500 bucks a piece. That being said, we're now accepting sponsorships for our curling team!


Huge shout out to my best friend and original bromance Joe Bott and his new fiancee' Lindsay Yost! Congrats guys! I'm pumped and honored to a part of all the festivities!


Enjoy your weekend everyone... Have some Gluten for meg and I!

Best man out.

Pitchers and Catchers report

...Possibly the best four word phrase in the English language. I apologize for the lengthy hiatus but with the terrible weather and my trip to Vegas my schedule has been all out of whack. As for the Vegas trip- I could write about that but I'm guessing my part-time PIC is going to want to discuss that after her trip which is quickly approaching. So for now we'll put that on the back burner. Let's talk baseball.

Ask any of my friends or even partial acquaintances down here in Cincy and they'll all agree that my passion for Cleveland sports is, sadly, unrivaled. If the Browns lost on a Sunday (and they often did) I'd be in a bad mood all day. When a Cavs game is on I'm basically another person. While bar tending during the Cavs-Lakers game, I refused to serve drinks unless it was a time out. When the playoffs come my friend (who is a Boston fan) and I have agreed that it'd be best that we don't watch games together if there's a Celts-Cavs series. It just wouldn't be safe.

None of this compares to my love for the Indians though. I'm a baseball guy. My brother calls me a purist even. I can sit for hours at a time watching pitcher's duels. I don't need home runs to get excited (although hitting them was my favorite thing to do). I love every facet of baseball. I can watch it at home, at a bar, or live and enjoy it just the same.

It's tough being a Cleveland fan what with the Browns constant clusterf*&% and the unnerving talks of Lebron leaving our town, which would render the Cavs insignificant again, but one could argue that the Indians are the best at breaking our hearts. They are good once every four years but that year they're REALLY good. Just not the best. Then all off season we fans get excited because hey, "There's always next year!" That next year turns into a debacle and it hurts even worse because we expected to be good. Dumb idea I know. When you couple all this with the fact that our division is pretty mediocre and, thus, even a decent team has a shot of making the playoffs it creates the perfect storm of pain. That's why, despite a depleted pitching staff and no real power threats in our line-up I'm predicting the Tribe finds a way to finish over .500 and just miss the playoffs, all while managing to suck the fans in and cut us even deeper.

While I love winter, this recent barrage of snow storms has been difficult to handle for just about everyone. It took me a little over 5 hours to get from Lorain to Cincy, a trip that should take around 3 and 1/2. So while you're traveling in the snow these next few days and hating everyone in front of you for going 9 miles an hour just think of these few words and you'll start to think of spring...
Pitchers and Catchers report.


People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare
out the window and wait for spring.
-Rogers Hornsby

marriage...marriage is what brings us together today

Goose and Meathead,

I'm planning on proposing to my girlfriend soon and I need some legit advice on this one. I want to spend the rest of my life with her but I know the start of our life together is very important. I'm going on a vacation with her soon and so I want to know, with Valentine's Day coming up... Should I propose then, on vacation, or some other time? Thanks guys

-anon-

Dear God do not propose on Valentine’s Day. I’m not saying that just because of my feelings on the holiday (see previous post), but mostly because it is tacky and impersonal. Not to mention if you plan on proposing in a restaurant on Valentine’s Day you will probably be at least the 5^th one to do it that night. Unless you first met/dated/kissed on Valentine’s Day it is probably not a good idea.

Vacation is a pretty safe bet if you are going somewhere of importance to both of you… actually it really only has to be important to her. The only downside to that is you’ll have to wait to get home to spread the news. If you are going with friends though then it’s the perfect time because the celebrating can commence immediately!

Other solid places to propose would be where you first met/had your first date/first kissed, but the key with those is you have to be super creative. For example, Mama confided in me that since her first date was at the Zoo she would want her would-be-fiancé to create a scavenger hunt throughout the zoo including her family and friends until it finally led her to him, where he would then propose.

Meathead, when you decide to grow up, how do you plan on asking?

Marriage... (shudder)

I'm siding with Goose on the whole do not do it on Valentine's Day thing. It's cheesy pretty much regardless of the scenario. Personally I think anywhere in the public eye is a bit lame. (well you’re lame) I never understood why people feel the need to propose in a restaurant in front of complete strangers. Are you that attention starved? Another thing I can't figure out for the life of me is why guys do it at stadiums or arenas. Yes, it works for Colt McCoy but he has just a bit more history at Texas stadium. Colt-good, anyone else- bad. When it comes to wedding proposals I think it's starting to get out of hand. Every guy is trying to top whatever someone else did and it's getting a little ridiculous. A vacation is alright I suppose, but I think it's more romantic to do it when you get back from the vacation and you're just hanging out together, alone.

Whenever it is my time I'll most likely go the traditional route. Secretly go talk to proposee's father and ask for his permission. Then I'm thinking just getting down on one knee in my apartment after having a nice meal together. This is surely one of the topics we'll differ on though so Goose, being a bit more extravagant then me, what would be your perfect place to get proposed to?

Oh my God! I can’t believe I forgot to say that!! Nice catch Meathead! Please gentlemen, ask her father for her hand. I cannot stress how important this is to most girls. It just shows such respect for her family. I would have to say “no” to any man if he did not get the okay from Papa J first. Not to mention what Papa J would then do to you...

Oh the perfect proposal… well, and I am probably standing alone among women with this one, but I would have to say in front of the Bellagio water show on the Vegas strip surrounded by friends and family. To me, it’s just magical.

Goose, I'd LOVE to say that this surprises me but honestly I can't say it does. I could see that being pretty cool, especially because in Vegas you see interesting stuff basically every second so it wouldn't turn into a huge embarrassing ordeal but I'm still going traditional. However, I'm definitely pulling an Ashton from that new terrible looking V-day movie and yelling "SHE SAID YES!!" out my window after the fact... ya know, if in fact, she said yes.

You could probably sweeten your odds by giving her one of these...

For more from Goose go to http://allegedlyfff.blogspot.com/

The smartest dumb person

Being in Grad school isn't much different from college. Subtle changes include most classes being at night, most of us in the program work or go to an internship during the day and the fact that my classmates and I tend to feel old, what with being on a college campus and all. Much like college we've all chosen a program on which to focus and all of our classes align in some form or another to coincide with said program; Sports Administration being the program in question. Another similarity to college is that there are some classes we have to take that you may not have any interest or knowledge in.

This semester that class is "Legal and Ethical Issues in Sport." It's every Monday night from 7:00 until 9:30pm. On Tuesday and Wednesday I have Sports Marketing and Event Management, two subjects I have great interest in and have some experience with. This means that while I am able to participate and feel intelligent during both those classes, the opposite happens on Mondays. When it comes to legal issues I know the basics; Don't kill anyone, If you drink get a designated driver, and don't do anything in public you'd feel uncomfortable doing in private.
Here's where the issue arises. You know those annoying people in class who try to participate in EVERY discussion, even if they know nothing about the topic? Well I'm totally that person. It's not because I love the sound of my own voice (although clearly I do) and it's not because I'm some teacher's pet. It's because I completely lack the ability to just sit silently for 2 and 1/2 hours. Now here's the rub... Law, apparently, isn't something you can just talk out of your ass about.
Bless our Prof's heart though. He understands that none of us have a background in law and so when he asks a question and we give some asinine answer that's not even close he'll say something like, "well maybe in another judicial system, but this is the actual answer I was looking for." He's honestly a pretty cool dude. Not to mention the fact that he looks so much like Howie Mandel that I half expect a banker to call the class room at any minute, or at the very least hear the "Bobby's World" theme. I'm sure if he was a complete prick and ridiculed us every time we were wrong I'd be less inclined to raise the hand but thankfully it's not the case.

The whole situation really just makes me laugh. How can you feel so intelligent in two classes, and completely moronic in another? I'd probably feel a lot worse about all of this if everyone in the program wasn't in the same situation, not to mention we've got good senses of humor. As my good buddy Weaver put it (complete with Good Will Hunting accent) "On Monday I'm retahded, but on Tuesday and Wednesday my boy is wicked smaht."

Thankfully it's already Tuesday.



"I know that I am intelligent because I know that I know nothing."
-Socrates-

Jersey shore... i hate thee

Another edition of Goose and Meathead:

So this is the Situation….

Alright Jersey Shore, pull a chair up to table; you’re about to have some knowledge dropped on you. I’m going to preface this rant by saying I have never watched the show and never will but more on that later on. Despite not ever watching even a minute of “Jersey Shore” or even seeing a commercial for it I know exactly what it is and that alone is enough to make me angry but people watch it so whatever, it’s a passing fad that for reasons to be mentioned soon I hate but I could deal with it… Until last night. That’s when, while celebrating my birthday my group of friends was trying to decide where to go on Saturday night when a bomb got dropped. Apparently, we can’t go to Lodge Bar (a popular Cincinnati place) because Mike “The Situation” will be making an appearance and it would take like 3 hours to get a drink. Now, it’s bad enough that those no talent ass-clowns (thank you, Michael Bolton) are on T.V. but now they’re inconveniencing my life directly. Goose please proceed to give me your reasons for liking this clusterf%$k of a show so I can crush them…

Looks like we’ve got a situation…Meathead, first I need to correct you on something… this is not a passing fad doll face. My favorite guidos and guidettes just signed for a second season! (PS I am super-juiced right now).

Now, as for why I absolutely adore this show…

-I die for stereotypes… mostly because I am/have been one at some point in my life. Let me tell you what my plans are for this weekend: go to the gym, get my nails done, tan, do laundry. Sound familiar? G(N)TL babe. Have I ever spent an entire Sunday making enough sauce to feed an army while simultaneously teaching my roommates the best way to chop garlic?(try a garlic press) Assolutamente! Stereotype? Check.

-Another thing I can’t look away from? Train wrecks. Also because I have been a train wreck at least once in my life. I think everyone has, but we are just lucky enough to get to see theirs’ every Thursday night.

-Meathead, you’re not going to like this, but my favorite thing about the Jersey Shore is their top priority. Regardless of what anyone says those kids put family above all else, and they include each other in that “family” aspect. In the Italian culture la famiglia is your family, friends, food, life, heritage, traditions. Yes, they went out, got bombed, and fist pumped like champs, but they also sat down to dinner together and showed a loyalty that you don’t see much anymore. There were a lot of fights this season, but most of them were due to one of the cast members standing up for another one. When J Woww tried to sucker punch that puttana for called Snooki fat, instead of condemning her I hoped that she would have landed it so she would have “done justice”.

Just a little FYI for your next response- please remember that I have never watched the show so tone down your references. Stereotypes are fine but these guys are ridiculous. Don't go giving me the whole yeah they're a train wreck but I really watch it because they're so close-knit and stand up for each other. Please. If family was the reason everyone tuned in then Family Matters, Step by Step, and Full House would still be the Friday night ABC line up. They make jackasses of themselves. So what? I have friends who do that too. One ate gum off the bottom of a table and threw up out of a moving vehicle...DRVING TO THE BAR! I had another friend try to steal an amp off of a stage while a band was playing. The same guy walked an hour to a bar IN THE WRONG DIRECTION. But apparently these guys get to be on TV because they dry clean their skin tight clothes every day, wear their hair like Powerman 5000, and give themselves asinine nicknames? And I'm sorry but the fact that they "sat down to dinner" isn't deserved of giving them a show. They may have a soft side but the fact remains that these idiots have absolutely no talent at all and the only reason they're on TV is because they are complete D-bags

Sorry Meathead I can’t help it. Everyone has friends that make jackasses out of themselves, and if they had a show called “College town USA: Cincinnati” you and your friends would probably be on it. Unfortunately, MTV hasn’t made it to the Midwest yet, but if they had people would be saying the same things about you guys. “Look at that hipster kid in the trendy hat!” They aren’t actors, but they don’t have to be. It’s reality TV. All I was trying to say is that people judge them too harshly. They’re kids our age, doing what kids our age do. Get drunk, have fun and look for juiceheads and gorillas. Meathead, you of all people should be able to appreciate their “grenade” analogy.

Their what analogy? My point is just that... ok fine they're like the rest of us to an extent but I don't need the whole world to know my nickname and watch my every move. We do stupid stuff and laugh about it later...to ourselves. Maybe my issue is something much bigger than just this show. Maybe it's my anger with "reality TV". Truthfully I hate all of it. Absolutely zero thought goes into these shows and then they make money purely for being dumb. It just bothers me. So yes the show will stay on, and people like you, and my sister and brother-in-law, and everyone else will call it their "guilty pleasure" but I will never be a part of this trash. Fist pumps or no fist pumps.

See now we got to the bottom of the issue! It’s the genre as a whole, not entirely miei amici at the Jersey Shore.

Grenade by “The Situation”: “Basically, one of these girls was definitely more cuter than the other and it happened to be my girl & Pauly D was with “the grenade.” When you go into battle, you need to have some friends with you so that just in case a grenade gets thrown at you, one of your buddies takes it first.”

That's a wingman... I don't need another thing to call it. It's a wingman. Wingmen lower their standards in the event you find someone with possibilities. Ugh- I think this one is an agree to disagree situation.

No, no, no. A wingman is the one that takes the “grenade” the girl is the actual “grenade”. Come on you have to give them that one at least.

For you Goose I will... but only for you. In closing... If I see this "situation" out on Saturday I'm going to punch him if for no other reason than the fact that he's helping slowly kill America with his reality TV garbage.

Uh oh… I take no responsibility for the call out that just happened.

they don't make songs about turning 24

On this day, 24 years ago I was born and the Bears won the Super Bowl. Since that time I’ve celebrated in many different ways. When I was younger, parties were a must. Young children always seem to have birthday parties and what with my love for attention, being at the center of it was great. These parties ranged from at our house, to McDonald’s, to Fun Times. Those were very enjoyable parties but as I got older it was more about a select few friends as opposed to having tons of family give me things. Family parties were replaced with WWF “Royal Rumble” watch parties which were also fun. Turning 19 was celebrated as any Sockel birthday should be, at a Casino. The best parties obviously occur in college. I was lucky enough to have our baseball team “Rookie Night” on my birthday, where I was drunker then anyone there, and I even had a good friend throw her birthday party ON my birthday (Yes Molly, I’m talking about you.) My senior year, the younger baseball players threw a party in my honor and it was almost like being a toddler again. Hundreds of people attended to celebrate with me, many of whom I didn’t know. Just like being a baby… except with copious amount of alcohol.

That night, as I turned 22, I jokingly told my roommates that it was all down hill from there. Sure I still celebrate my birthday but in a much different fashion. In college, birthdays were considered events. Days to be celebrated for 24 hours at MINIMUM. Most celebrations lasted an entire weekend if not longer. These days? Well let’s just say I’ve already been to the gym today and I’m writing this from my internship where I’ll be until 5. After that I’ll be headed to my night class until around 9. Sure, my friends and I will go out for a drink afterwards but there isn’t any large soirée to be had. In fact, last night when the clock struck midnight I was sitting alone, playing FIFA with some old friends and imbibing on a White Russian in the dark. Hardly an event for the ages.

I’m not trying to throw myself a pity party, so please don’t take it that way. I just find it interesting how the way we embrace this day of birth changes so drastically. When we’re younger we couldn’t wait until our birthday. We have countdowns and remind everyone we see. Now? If it weren’t for my phone buzzing every 5 minutes with a message from a well-wisher I probably wouldn’t even really remember. Perhaps it’s that 24 seems rather insignificant. Not quite 25, but no longer 21; a sort of limbo waiting for a bigger occasion to come along. So this change is much like the one involving Christmas morning. As a child we can hardly sleep, as an adult, well it’s a bit different. We still tend to be filled with a happiness and excitement, but it doesn’t keep us up at night. One thing I do always do on my birthday is reflect. It’s one of those times in the year where I really stop and look around. It gives me a chance to realize how lucky I am. So if you’re reading this and have wished me happy birthday, from the bottom of my heart, thank you and if you haven’t said anything to me, thank you as well because at least you’re reading this. I feel blessed and could not have gotten where I am today without all of you.

Na’zdravie… cheers, to me!

(Hey, after all it is my birthday!)

He said/ she said... men can't say (or spell) platonic

Hello Loves,

My fabulous, smart, handsome boyfriend said something very interesting and vaguely insulting to me the other day. He told me that most of my male friends (and I have mostly male friends) most likely wanted to sleep with me when they first met me. Or as he so eloquently put it "get in my pants." I'd also like to mention that said fabulous, smart, handsome boyfriend has a lot of gal friends. When asked whether he became friends with his gal friends because he wanted to do them, his response was a diplomatic "I'm not walking into that minefield."

As a "mixed-gender friendship" what is your take on this?

xo

Meg

...So I see we're wasting little time walking the extremely thin line between chauvinistic and hilarious. Sadly, I have terrible balance. I have an idea of what Goose will say but as for guys admittedly most relationships of any kind be they significant, friendly, or creepy do start because a guy finds a girl attractive. It sounds mean but a guy isn't going to walk up to a girl at a bar because "I bet she's got a great personality!" However I do have many friends who are girls and they come from a variety of situations.

1.) They're friends of my girlfriend. I've had a few instances dating all the way back to high school where my girlfriend's friends became my friends and to this day I'm friends with them even though I've lost touch with the Ex. (This is a touchy one, but that is for a different time)

2.)Another way would be mine and Goose's situation. She was dating someone who lived near me and so there was never the typical guy "I bet she wants us" moment. Just, hey...she's cool and drinks as much as we do!!! (I think someone is a little scared of the big, bad Bear…)

3.) There's also my current situation where when I came to grad school I knew no one and so a group of us just all went out one day. The complete lack of friends for any of us forced us to become a close knit group quickly and now I consider my female friends down here basically sisters. Very protective of them, zero sexual thoughts. It's actually quite refreshing!

That being said, these situations occur FAR less often than a guy saying, as your boyfriend so eloquently put it, I want to get in her pants.

In addition to the eloquent list of reasons that Meathead gave for “non-sexual” co-ed friendships I think another to add to the list would be the childhood friend. This is the guy/girl you have literally known since you were born. I have a few of them, but one in particular I’ll call Brother (Creative name Goose). His parents and my parents have been best friends since we were kids, he is about three months older than me and we probably met in the hospital about five minutes after I graced this world with my screaming, blue eyed presence. About 3 years ago our families were on vacation together and one of his douchebag friends suggested that he hop in the shower with me. His response “Ew! That’s gross! She’s like my sister.” No truer words have ever been spoken.

BUT I believe these are the exceptions to the rule. Men, unlike women, were not blessed with enough blood to run their brains and…um… other extremities…(You’re talking about our arms right?) at the same time. Call it a double standard, but I think that women are capable of separating friendship from a need to fornicate. It’s Biology Meathead, what’s your take?

It's not that I'm scared of Bear so much as the terrifying things in my head I could imagine happening to me. I've seen The Godfather Goose... I don't want any horse heads in my bed.

Biology... science makes my head hurt. I hate to say it but you are pretty much right. We men tend to work best on one track minds. While I CAN multi-task fairly well, more often than not singular thoughts work best. Perhaps my high school baseball coach said it best. Men are still cavemen. “See ball, hit ball” was his advice. His thoughts on women were men tend to think "see woman... make sex with woman." He was not the classiest of men. Goose, you make a good point about the childhood friend thing but I don't really have any of those who were girls. The closest I can think of is a girl I went to school with from pre-school through high school, but my brother dated her for a little bit so any possible sexual thoughts went right out the door. That ship, as they say... had sailed. Oh and with all this being said, tell you’re boyfriend to grow a pair because if he’s got the gall to say something like that he should AT LEAST be man enough to discuss it with you.

So, I guess our consensus would be that:

Yes, most of your guy friends wanted to get into your pants at some point, so the reverse probably holds true as well (sorry!) UNLESS the relationship falls into one of the exceptions. Sound about right?

Oh and with all this being said, tell you’re boyfriend to grow a pair because if he’s got the gall to say something like that he should AT LEAST be man enough to discuss it with you…

Goose and Meathead: He said, She said

So, I have been super excited about writing this post for the last few weeks, and here it is (finally). This is my (our) first attempt at "co-blogging". I'll let Meathead handle the introductions, and then we can go from there (myself in pink and Meathead in blue).

I first met Goose (that would be me... for obvious reasons) our freshmen year in college. She was dating the 9 foot tall kid who lived next door (Ugh, you had to go there Meathead) and would off come hang out with my black roommate and me because we were much, much cooler. Well he was, I was just his half Jewish roommate, but combined we were the most amount of minority in a single room John Carroll had ever seen. We quickly became friends and realized we had some things in common. Mainly a love for vodka and Clone High, and Vegas. Throughout our 4 years at THE Jesuit University of C-town we maintained our friendship b/c of our shared interests and also that we were both able to coast through school, maintaining good grades while not really ever studying (Thank you communications program). After graduation we kept our friendship going because in order to survive our work lives we needed to email each other (constantly)... So here we are now. Two friends, with varying opinions on pretty much everything but respect for the others thoughts... Plus on top of all that... we're hilarious (like really hilarious).

I think it might be the Comm. Majors in us, but we like to debate, and do so constantly and purposefully. We go to each other for advice and opinions knowing that they will more than likely be different from our own (don't try to deny it Mister "How can you watch the Jersey Shore?"). We hardly ever change each others' minds, but we always open the other's eyes. Meathead will probably never get me to fully understand just how amazing soccer is (supposedly), and there is probably little to no chance of him giving the Real Housewives of New Jersey the respect they deserve (but at least he kind of knows their names now).

....well maybe not their names but at least I know what "bubbies" means (obviously “bubbies” would stick in his head). As for soccer, come June you'll understand Goose. I challenge anyone to watch the world cup and not get caught up in everything that is good about Futbol, but that's for another time (blah, blah, blah).
Goose is right... Our opposing opinions have helped each other, mostly because if anyone else in the world told me maybe I was wrong about something I'd completely ignore and blow them off. I respect Goose's opinions. I mean anyone who "mixes their vodka with ice" can't be wrong too often. I am terrible with moderation (ditto) so we figured if some of us separately is good, more of us together should be amazing. At least in my mind.

So here is the important part for all of our lovely readers. Do you have questions? Need for an opinion from the opposite sex? Have a topic that is constantly debated that need resolution? With two serial monogamists with an expertise in alcohol, debauchery, Vegas, relationships, life in general..

...All of the above. You fashion. Me sports....

...We should have you covered. So, asked away… email, comment, tweet… whichever social media works for you!

Big Mac's special sauce

So, as many of you may already be aware of, Mark McGwire admitted that for ten years he used steroids, including the summer of 1998 when both he and Sammy Sosa captured the hearts of the America with their epic home run race. If you are surprised at all by this "revelation" then either A.) you are the antithesis of a baseball fan or B.) you have never seen a picture of the Mac Attack before 1990. In the so called Steroids Era if Mark McGwire isn't the cover boy then he's certainly in the pantheon with Barry and Sammy.
Now that we can look back on those years of overblown forearms and larger then life hat sizes people will shun those players who cheated and say shame shame. There is no doubt that these players tarnished the games record books, left question marks (no pun intended) on hall of fame votes and created a black eye on the "National Past time." As a baseball purist who grew up spending every sunny day playing the game and every snowy day practicing it in a field house, I can comfortably say that I know the game. I hate what steroids created. Yes, a 10-9 game is exciting but I'd much prefer a 3-2 game with great pitching and defense. Steroids or no steroids, offensive explosions will not win championships alone, just ask the mid-90s Cleveland Indians.

With that being said, I cannot say steroids ruined baseball or my love for it. In fact, it can be argued that they may have saved the game. If you take a moment to think about the summer of 1998 you may start to agree with me. Prior to that year baseball was in a rut. Still reeling from the strike of 1994 (mark my words it would've been a Cleveland-Montreal series) the league NEEDED something to boost interest and fill the seats. Mark and Sammy gave the league and the country that something. Despite all of the issues that steroids created in the last few years, they led to a summer and fall where every baseball fan will look back on and be forced to remember. Every night it was intriguing to see who would leave the yard and which player could catch Maris first.
To this day I can remember where I was when McGwire barely pulled a ball over the left field fence and was so excited rounding the bases that he initially missed first base. My parents family room, tongue burning from the far too hot Donato's mushroom pizza. I'll never forget that. Same goes for Bonds when he broke Aaron's record. The Pourhouse, little beer in hand. Yes I hate him and everything he stands for and to an extent the same goes for Big Mac but I will always remember getting chills watching both players celebrate as they jogged towards home plate, crowd on their feet in jubilation.
Love them or hate them but it was impossible to be apathetic towards these moments and truthfully, steroids created what baseball needed; A buzz. In the end, steroids will be nothing but a word said when discussing the olden times years from now. Much like the dead ball era, steroids will take it's place and never be forgotten and the same goes for the home runs they led to. The only real loser may be Cooperstown and the players who used the steroids themselves, for they may get to be immortalized in bronze there.