Moss-Garnett: Traded To Champions?

So the offseason had a couple of big name moves that have the sportsheads talking and me wondering why. First, we'll go back a month or so ago when the New England Patriots acquired Randy Moss. This move alone has many 'experts' picking the Patriots to go to the Super Bowl - proving that the 'experts' don't know shit and are more about sensationalizing a move and disregarding reality.

Unless these 'experts' haven't watched a game of NFL football in the past 5 years, Randy Moss has been nothing but a cancer to the two teams he has been on and his 'prime' was almost 10 years ago. Not sure how an aging, whiny, all-about-me receiver helps the Patriots and doesn't hurt them...oh yeah... the Patriots are picked to win it every year as long as Brady and Bellicheck are there...

Now today, Kevin Garnett goes to the Boston Celtics, one of the worst teams in the NBA last year, and again, many 'experts' have the Celtics being a team to beat...just like that. Sure they acquired Ray Allen and have Paul Pierce...but last I checked both of those guys are injured every other day. Kevin Garnett, even in his MVP season and a team that was built around him, could not win an NBA championship. KG also has shown through his time in the NBA that he is more willing to pass the ball then take (and miss) a game winning shot.

I really need to become a sports-hypester because I would easily be on 6-10 ESPN shows a day. My basic premise will be that any player involved in any move will guarantee instant success for the Yankees or Red Sox because in the end, every sport revolves around the Yankees or Red Sox...at least according to ESPN.

ESPN Bias Seen Again - MLB vs Tour de France Drugs

The Tour de France ended over the weekend and had plenty of doping and drug scandals to plague it's event this year...as with other recent races, including last year's Floyd Landis positive doping charge. So, as I flipped on the ESPN in the afternoon to watch some talking heads hype up Barry Bonds and how great his accomplishment will indeed be when he breaks Aaron's homerun record. They quickly change the topic to discuss the Tour de France and almost every single sports 'analyst' had the opinion that the Tour de France is the most corrupt, drug-enhanced sport on the planet and some even suggested that the bike race be suspended until it can get 'cleaned up'. What an interesting take on the Tour de France, yet they have such sympathy and patience for the MLB and it's drug related woes.

But of course, this ESPN which shows absolutely zero coverage of the Tour de France and will show you every at bat of Barry Bonds' attempt to break Aaron's record...so you know how their feelings will be affected.

The Simpsons Movie

So I went to The Simpsons Movie over the weekend...the first movie I've seen in an actual theatre in about 5 years...got to see it on the 'Extreme Screen' which made it even more enjoyable.

Well, I think the obvious can be said about this movie, that is, if you like the television show you'll like the movie. If you don't watch The Simpsons and/or don't like them, you will not enjoy the movie.

I thought the movie was essentially a long television episode...is that bad? I didn't think so. I enjoyed the movie and I will gladly hand over my $7 to watch an extended Simpsons episode (movie) than watch most any of the other garbage that is coming out of Hollywood.

But I do have a minor complaints regarding the movie, and if you haven't seen the movie yet and intend too, you may want to stop reading now because I will detail some items from the movie that may ruin it for you...

I think the writers took several plotlines from previous episodes, kind of re-worked them and then threw it into the movie. Lake Springfield being polluted, Bart pissed at Homer seeks out Flanders as his 'fill-in' dad until Homer coaxes Bart back and Homer introducing a pig as a new 'family member' are all plotlines that have been explored in the television episodes to one degree or another. Lisa falls for an Irish boy, but that story line isn't developed much at all and the boyfriend, Collin, is introduced early in the movie, but then is essentially omitted until the end of the show where a short moment is spent to complete his role in the film, which was nothing other than a non-developed plot-line.

I think the movie itself could have been longer if the writers would have chosen to show some of the activities that were occurring within Springfield while the Simpsons were away - most Simpsons fans are fans of all the Characters in Springfield, not just the family itself. And the ending with the protagonist was about as anti-climatic as you could have gotten...even for cartoon standards...Maggie - out of nowhere - dropping a rock on Russ Cargill...end of story.

But despite the minor issues I have with the movie, I thought it was worth going too...but I am a Simpsons fan. And again, if you are not a fan of The Simpsons, there will be little in this movie that you will enjoy.

iPhone Security Flaws Discovered

In my continuing coverage of how crappy the iPhone is, it didn't take long for a security flaw has already been uncovered and will send Apple scrambling to build a patch for their iPhone which has been out for all of a month.

I'm willing to bet that this won't be the first patch for these crappy phones.

Chargers: Rookies Reported

Well the NFL season is almost ready to go into full gear. The Chargers had their rookies/1st year players/etc. report yesterday, with their full training camp opening up on Saturday.

Good news is that the Chargers have agreed to contracts with all their draft picks. So no notable holdouts to cause a distraction for the team.

Tour de France Still Scandal Filled

It was just yesterday that riders in the Tour de France staged a protest about the drug testing procedures after the race favorite, Vinokourov, came up with a positive drug test. Now, the current current Tour de France leader Michael Rasmussen was sent home by his team because he missed 2 drug tests earlier in the year and apparently his excuses for missing the tests are very transparent. So the big news today was that there was no doping related incidents announced today. Just put an asterisk on every Tour de France until they can prove that no one is doping for sure, because it seems clear that riders are still trying to get away with it.

Doping Cloud Hangs Over Tour de France, Again

The Tour de France is becoming synonymous with doping because just like every other Tour de France of recent, doping has been uncovered. It is interesting to read that there are some riders that are protesting the current policies in place that attempt to prevent cheating but seem to do little to deter it. I think it is quite clear that if the Tour de France is going to be seen as a legitimate event again, the officials have to implement some air-tight testing that will make sure that riders won't want to cheat because they know they would not be able to get away with it.

It Is Hot!

I've been busy at work lately which has prevented me from doing much blogging...

But it is freakin' hot around here! The heat index has been over a hundred the past couple days and is expected to remain there at least until tomorrow. At 8 AM this morning, it was already 75 with a dew point of 70 degrees... that is crazy hot and humid.

iPhone - Not So Hot

AT&T released some initial numbers regarding the iPhone and they are far from the expectations of many. According to the article, some analysts were thinking a 1/2 million iPhones would be sold in the first weekend...AT&T activated less than 150,000 - a little lofty expectations? As the article also points out, many consumers are finding out about many of the problems the iPhone has and their interest for the iPhone has waned...

Apple products suck.

Vick Indicted For Dogfighting

Not sure why it took so long, but Micheal Vick was finally indicted for his alleged role in dogfighting. The first line of the article tells you how 'hardcore' Vick and his buddies are into dogfighting that "...losers either died in the pit or sometimes were electrocuted, drowned, hanged or shot." Note to self, don't draft Micheal Vick in my fantasy football draft...oh yeah, I already knew that. What a freakin' loser.

So let the jokes begin! A friend has already directed me to this one... enjoy.

Tennis Channel To Air Wimbledon

The All England Club is adding The Tennis Channel to it's Wimbledon coverage next year. The article also states that NBC agreed to a 4 year extension to it's coverage and ESPN is likely getting an extension as well... so there will be plenty of Wimbledon coverage next year which is awesome... I can hardly wait for DirecTV to add it to the channel lineup.

Me And Rob Zombie

Here are exclusive photos of me and Rob Zombie at the Bismarck Civic Center, and I do believe it would be November 1995 because I am wearing my 55th Anniversary Sturgis shirt (as you can clearly see) which I was just at a few months earlier. I recall it was shortly after Halloween because Rob was throwing out candy at the end of the show.

So, how did I get to meet Rob Zombie? I was reading the editorial section of the worst paper on the planet aka: The Bismarck Tribune, and person writing the editorial was appalled at the fact that White Zombie would be playing on a Sunday night - which it was. I was pretty pissed off to read that someone was so upset at something they didn't like was happening on a Sunday and it was devil music, blah, blah, blah.... I mean come on... The devil has been the source of rock music since it's existence so why would it be wrong to play on any day let alone a Sunday?

Well, as the band was pulling into town, read the article, called me up, liked my article, hooked me up with backstage passes+3 and I got to hang with the band, get some pictures... I do have photos of me and Rob's girlfriend, who is tall and super hot but I will have to dig for those photos... and that leads me to this next point, yes, I look like a dork...why? Because I was wasted... And there were also many photos taken - with every band member except for the chick bassists who hurt her leg at the show - but because this is the worst photo that is why it is readily available (i have cruel friends...)

Anyways... a blast from the past...

PS:

Also, the 2 opening bands were the Super Suckers and the Toadies... It was a freakin' awesome show!

Video Gaming On TV

The Championship Gaming Series, a video game league, began airing on DirecTV last week. Now I am an avid video gamer...have been essentially all my life... I went from Pong to Atari 2600 to Commodore 64 & 128 to now, a PC. Throughout this time there have been shows devoted to computers and even more specifically to gaming...but there has never been a gaming show that has appealed to me for one big reason...that is, I would begin to watch a gaming show to try and pick up tips and tricks on how to play a particular game...but there has never been a show that can successfully do this. The show(s) are typically like the crappy Madden Nation show that ESPN produced... that is, you would see highlights of the game and never really learn how to get better. Also, in previous shows that I have viewed that involve first-person-shooters, the competitors are so familiar with the game and, more importantly, the game's quirks, that the normal player will likely never attain the skill of the players that play the game 24/7. And then finally, the final obstacle is the games themselves. Because there is only about a billion video games and unless you are playing the 'latest-greatest' game, the show will be uninteresting...and then you may even tune in to see how the game looks and plays...but again, a person usually only gets select scenes and action and never a full representation of the game.

Sure I will check it out...but I doubt that I will watch more than one episode...

Die Hard Video

A friend of mine pointed this video out to me...

It is a music video that essentially recaps all of the Die Hard movies...the lyrics are funny and there is a verse that was added previewing the upcoming Die Hard movie, I would think the the creators' (GuyzNite) of the song/video will update the song after the movie has been released...

Be warned, you will catch yourself singing this song all day after you hear it!

"No one dies harder than John McClaine"...




Yipppeee-kiii-a M*ther F*cker!

New Story About Morrison's Death

I had always thought the Jim Morrison died of a drug overdose, and didn't everyone else? But I was wrong. The actual 'official' story of how Jim Morrison died is: "On the last night of Jim Morrison's life, the rocker went to a movie in Paris, listened to records, fell ill and died of heart failure in his bathtub at the age of 27."

There is now a story emerging that alleges he overdosed on heroin and died in a nightclub. So I now I know...Jim Morrison died of a drug overdose, boy, who would of guessed? Of course there was no autopsy done on Morrison so the truth may never be known.

Award Shows - Lame

So last night was ESPN's lame award show, 'The Espy's'. ESPN sucks and is doing whatever it can to not air actual sports anymore. But I can not believe that athletes/celebrities would actually want to associate their name with this farce...so I have to think that many are contractually obligated to do so. At one time the Academy Awards were seen as being respectable and was the epitome of award shows, but since most everyone knows the Academy Awards are no longer legit it opened the door for all these other award shows. I don't think the ESPY's could be a better example of a 'fake' awards show. Giving out awards to athletes, most of which have already accumulated some of the greatest awards in their respective sports. I can not believe that any sports-minded person would actually watch this show or give it any credit what-so-ever. Of course the reason I even know that the ESPY's were even on TV last night was because of the AP story stating that Tomlinson won 4 ESPY's. If I was Tomlinson, I wouldn't have any of the 4 awards in my possession by the time the show is over, instead they would be placed appropriately in the nearest trash can from the stage.

Simpson's Movie Trailer #4

Here's the 4th Simpson's movie trailer...

2007 Season Officially Begins - Charger Arrested

So the NFL season must be getting close... 1 Charger already arrested. If it wasn't for the Bengals, the Chargers over the past 2 seasons have had plenty of players in trouble.

Million Dollar Ideas

I will often come up with what I think is a 'Million Dollar Idea' that will eventually get invented and sold by someone...but I thought of it first and that and a nickel will get me a cup of coffee...

So I thought I should at least start documenting my Million Dollar Ideas so I can reflect on all the money I should have...

My first documented Million Dollar Idea is to place a USB plugin port on car radios, portable radios and tv's. Then any music/media files that are on a person's jump drive and/or portable device can be found and played on all these devices... a person could literally have their entire CD collection on their jump drive/media device and plug into a person's radio and hear their library...

Wouldn't that be cool?

Million Dollar Idea #2 is an awesome music device for your vehicles. A person would have a player in their vehicle that would play mp3's, wav's, etc... (the normal). The way a person would load their playlist to their vehicle would be done wirelessly... A person would/could be sitting at their PC in their house and drag-drop the songs they would like in their vehicle and then the device in the vehicle would automatically download and update the playlist in the vehicle. Obviously if the vehicle leaves or is not present when the playlist is updated, it would automatically seek out and update the playlist whenever in range of the wireless transmitter.

Bam, 2 kick-ass ideas right off the get-go... of course both of these ideas may already exist but if not... I thought of them first and deserve my untold millions of dollars for thinking of them first...

Back From Vacation

Back from a long Fourth of July vacation. Here's some quick pics taken from the spillway overlook on the Garrison Dam of Lake Sakakawea - close (Pick City) to where we spent a fair amount of our time. A good, fun, relaxing time...

Kwik-E-Mart: Now Open

In advance of the movie release of "The Simpsons", select 7-Eleven's have converted into "Kwik-E-Marts". Sucks that there isn't one in my town because I would certainly get some Buzz Cola, KrustyO's cereal and a Squisshee, all of which are being sold at these locations.

iPhone = iCrap

The iPhone is finally here...this past Friday was the big iPhone onsale and I happened to be around to watch a few different interviews about the 'first impressions' of the iPhone. A person can see why Apple did not give iPhone's out early for early critiques...because basically every interview regarding the iPhone over the weekend went like this:

Newsperson: So what's the early buzz on the iPhone? Is it delivering everything it promised?

Interviewee: The iPhone is a nifty little device that is basically combining your iPod with your cell phone and offer even more.

NP: So are there any drawbacks?

Interviewee: There are a few minor issues that people will notice right away, like you can't send a text or picture message you need to use their internet messaging, and the internet portion of the phone is painfully slow if you are not in any wi-fi hotspots, the cell phone technology doesn't utilize any of the newer protocols so quality may become an issue and since you have to sign an exclusive 2-year contract with AT&T to use the phone, you will most likely be roaming almost constantly unless you live in one of the 5 or 6 major metro areas in the U.S. And of course you need Apple's iTunes to put any music on your phone and most other applications will also likely require exclusive sync software from Apple, unlike other phones that you can just plug into your pc and copy/paste. Oh, and despite having a camera, it doesn't record any video. You can only take stills.

NP: With all those issues, people are still encouraged to get the iPhone?

Interviewee: Absolutely. This device was heavily marketed and hyped that every moron with $600 is waiting in line to get one of these and I'm right in line with them!

NP: Thanks.

The iPhone is basically your crappy iPod put together with a crappy phone...

And just his morning there are already complaints about even getting the friggin thing to activate! But that is what Apple is all about... you have to become dependent upon them or their corporate partners to even use the clock!

Holiday Plans

So our holiday plans are semi-set and they involve going back to Bismarck and Lake Sakakawea (sp?)....

Should be a fun time...