One of those weeks…

Yeah I know I ended my last blog mid-thought.

Here is my 2/3rds baseball awards…

AL MVP: Josh Hamilton-Texas. This guy has made Texas a team that matters (a little bit) again. He has put up monster numbers and if they only had some pitching, they would be a wild card contender.

AL Manager of the Year: Joe Maddon-Tampa Bay. Nobody gets more crap than Maddon. The guy is fantastic and done what even Pinella couldn't do. He has turned Tampa into a legit title contender. It is a shame every season an MLB game comes out, he is the lowest ranked manager. The guy is in the top third of managers in the league.

AL Rookie of the Year: Who cares? All the rookies suck in the AL.

AL Cy Young: Francisco Rodriguez-Anaheim. I have a hard time giving it to anyone else. The guy has put up fantastic numbers and deserves this award.

NL MVP: Chase Utley-Philadelphia. This award is the most likely to change. The problem is that nobody on Chicago has shown up enough to merit winning this award over each other. I give it to Utley because the guy is putting up a solid season in every category.

NL Cy Young: Carlos Zambrano-Chicago. Over the long haul, nobody has done more for this team than Zambrano. He barely beats out Dempster, Sheets, Sabathia, and Webb.

NL Rookie of the Year: Geovanny Soto-Chicago. I am surprised Geo hasn't gotten more of a buzz. The guy is the best positional rookie in baseball since Ichiro in 01. There aren't a ton of fantastic catchers out there but he is the best in baseball.

NL Manager of the Year: Lou Pinella-Chicago. If I had a vote last year, I would have closely voted for Bob Melvin over Lou but not this year. Pinella has given the Cubs one of their best seasons in history SO FAR and deserves this award for all he has done over the last two seasons.

 

So I finally got all the stuff I bid on on ebay which included…

1 Hdmi switch $13

1 laptop cable to replace the one it came with, the one that broke, the second one that broke and the one that got lost in the mail. $30

2 Hdmi cables $8

1 1gb microsd card $6

1 2gb sd card $11

1 wiimote charging dock $13

1 wii hd cable $5

1 copy of Mario Kart $50

So it only came out to $136 for a lot of stuff I have been wanting for a long time.

I sold my PSP and Xbox 360. The lady who got the PSP loved it and said it was in great condition and is nice. The guy who bought the 360 threw a fit and said it was an old 360 even though it isn't. He bitched about like ten different things…

He says the Xbox 360 is an older model that will have red ring trouble and he checked the back of the unit to see its creation date: I got the 360 in February and was mad that it wasn't my old unit. I thought it was new and if he wanted to check the date on the back, he could have gotten me to do it. Plus he said it didn't have an HDMI cable input and he can tell it is old because of that, but some xbox units still don't have that.

He said I shipped it cheaply: I bought a 5 dollar box, tape, packing wrap and paid 23 dollars for parcel post. I am not going to apologize for charging $45 bucks to ship something I charged $30 to ship.

He said I lied to get the price up: Yeah, I lied about the unit and that is why everyone bidding against him asked questions he was too lazy to ask and knew everything there was to know about the unit.

It is shit like this that keeps me from ever selling stuff again.

I absolutely can not wait for Madden. It is a shame I got Mario Kart so close to this time. Madden is an amazing game. I especially enjoy franchise mode.

I hope my interview goes well. I am losing all hope on Michigan City. I may be deleting my blog and changing the name so employers can not find it.

I really don't wanna work tomorrow and Monday. It sucks. Bob is coming over tonight (for Steph's bday) and tomorrow for Mario Kart. Should be amazing.

Jake's NFL Preview

NFC East

Dallas Cowboys 12-4

New York Giants 10-6

Washington Redskins 8-8

Philadelphia Eagles 7-9

NFC North

Minnesota Vikings 10-6

Detroit Tigers 8-8

Green Bay Packers 6-10

Chicago Bears 3-13

NFC South

New Orleans Saints 10-6

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 8-8

Carolina Panthers 7-9

Atlanta Falcons 3-13

NFC West

Seattle Seahawks 9-7

Arizona Cardinals 7-9

St. Louis Rams 6-10

San Francisco 49ers 6-10

 

AFC East

New England Patriots 11-5

New York Jets 9-7

Miami Dolphins 5-11

Buffalo Bills 4-12

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers 11-5

Cleveland Browns 10-6

Cincinnati Bengals 6-10

Baltimore Ravens 5-11

AFC South

Indianapolis Colts 12-4

Jacksonville Jaguars 12-4

Houston Texans 9-7

Tennessee Titans 5-11

AFC West

San Diego Chargers 14-2

Denver Broncos 6-10

Oakland Raiders 6-10

Kansas City Chiefs 4-12

 

NFL PLAYOFFS

Giants over Seahawks

Saints over Buccaneers

Jaguars over Steelers

Browns over Patriots

2^nd Round

Saints over Vikings

Cowboys over Giants

Jaguars over Colts

Chargers over Browns

Conference Championships

Cowboys over Saints

Chargers over Jaguars

SUPER BOWL XLIII

Cowboys over Chargers

 

There ya go

GC

I recently wrote a blog entry I lost titled "theatres" where I listed how my favorite theatres as a kid are now almost all gone and replaced with Kerasotes or Cinemark or Regal "big box" theatres. The main gist of the article was to revolve around the County Seat theatre in Valpo. It basically had three incarnations. The first was the General Cinema era from my childhood until like Freshman year in high school. The second was the AMC era from Freshman year until maybe Senior year. The last was the Village era from Freshman college to first Senior year. I miss that theatre so much. Unlike all other theatres, the County Seat had kind of a comfortable feel to it. I probably went to a hundred if not more movies there. I may list them. I'll miss some. I remember going there for the whole movie camp stuff and even in college. It kept its kind of ambiance up until Village took it over. I think that is when it lost its magic. I loved that place. You knew you weren't getting stadium seating or rocking seats, but it didn't matter. I also remember the old design to the place, it's dark lobby with the light draining in from the all windows front, the ticket counter outside. Inside, three large poster holders on each side. Usually, there was some big advertisement for some upcoming blockbuster that always looked amazing like Volcano or Super Mario Brothers. I guess, as an adult, I'd gladly trade comfort for the cramped feeling of the good old County Seat General Cinema…

 

Movies I am sure I saw at GC:

 

American Pie 2 (w/Bob and Joe)

American Wedding (w/Rachel)

Armageddon (w/Mom)

Big Daddy (w/Mom and Brother)

Bowfinger (w/Cody)

The Brady Bunch Movie (w/Mom)

Cast Away (w/Bob)

Cats and Dogs (w/ Rachel)

Collateral (w/Rachel)

Coyote Ugly (w/ Rachel H, Celina M. and Bob)

Dick Tracy (w/ Dad)

Dodgeball (w/Rachel)

Domestic Disturbance (w/ Rachel, Jenny and Jesus)

E.T. (w/ Casha, Lindsey, Melissa and Hannah)

Elf (w/Rachel)

The Exorcist (w/Bob and Tyler)

The Fast and the Furious (w/Rachel, Bob, and Casha)

Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (w/Bob, Joe and Casha)

The Flintstones (w/Dad and Jordan)

Hannibal (w/ Bob and Tyler)

Hook (w/parents)

The Hulk (w/ Rachel)

I, Robot (w/Rachel)

Jerry McGuire (w/Mom and Aunt Patty)

Jurassic Park (w/Mom)

Jurassic Park 3 (w/Rachel)

Kill Bill 1 (w/Rachel)

Kill Bill 2 (w/Rachel)

K-PAX (w/Mom, Dad and Jordan)

The Lion King (w/Mom, Jordan and Mom's friend and her kids)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (w/Rachel)

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (w/ Rachel)

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (w/ Rachel)

The Matrix (w/Mom)

The Matrix Revolutions (w/Bob and Jordan)

Mean Girls (w/Rachel)

Meet the Parents (attempted (w/Bob))

Meet the Fockers (w/Rachel and Parents)

Men in Black (w/Ryan and Mom)

Michael (w/Mom and Aunt Patty)

Minority Report (w/Rachel)

Missions to Mars (w/ Dad and Jordan)

Monsters Inc. (w/Rachel)

Mr. And Mrs. Smith (w/Rachel and Jordan)

The Mummy 2 (w/ Rachel)

Not Another Teen Movie (w/ Joe and Bob)

Ocean's 11 (w/Rachel, Jessica and Bob)

Oh Brother, Where Art Thou? (w/Mom)

The Passion of the Christ (w/Mom, Dad, and Jordan)

Phenomenon (w/Mom)

Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl (w/Rachel)

Planet of the Apes (w/Mom, Dad, Jordan and Bob)

The Ring 2 (w/Rachel)

Rock A Doodle (w/Mom and Brother)

Scooby Doo (w/ Rachel, Stef, Scareah, and Jessica)

Scream 3 (w/Mom)

Serendipity (w/ Rachel)

She's All That (twice) (w/Ellen once and Amber once)

Shrek 2 (w/ Rachel)

Sin City (w/Rachel)

The Sixth Sense (w/Mom)

Spider-Man (w/Rachel)

Spider-Man 2 (w/Rachel)

Star Trek: Generations (w/Dad)

Star Trek: First Contact (w/Mom)

Star Wars: Episode 1: The Phantom Menace (w/Parents and Jordan)

Star Wars: Episode 2: Attack of the Clones (twice) (once w/Bob , Joe and Jordan and once w/Mom and Jordan)

Star Wars: Episode 3: Revenge of the Sith (w/Bob and Rachel)

Super Mario Brothers (w/Dad)

Superstar (twice once with Ellen, Brent and others and once with Corey and Lexie)

Summer Catch (w/Rachel)

Talladega Nights (w/Rachel, Mom, Grandma and cousin)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 (w/ Mom and Dad)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3 (w/ Mom, Dad, Brother and Shawn)

Ten Things I Hate About You (w/Ellen)

Toy Story (w/Dad and Jordan)

Twister (w/ Dad)

Wedding Crashers (w/Rachel)

The Wedding Planner (w/some girl)

What Lies Beneath (w/ Rachel H., Celina M. and Bob)

What's the Worst that Could Happen? (w/Ellen)

The Village (w/Dad, Rachel, Jordan, and cousins)

Volcano (w/Aunt Patty and Jordan)

X-Men 3 (w/Dad)

 

Others: The movie where Danny Devito and Martin Lawrence keep stealing each other's stuff (w/Rachel)

 

 

 

If I have missed any, comment me them and I'll amend the list if necessary. I know I am missing tens of movies.

 

 

The other thing I miss about this theatre was the whole layout in general. Two sides to the theatre. Each side had a movie straight ahead and two on the side. Office in the back between the bathrooms.

Blog stuff

So here I am again. Haven't written in a few days. Me, Rach, Bob and Stef went to a Cubs game on Thursday. It was a lot of fun. We sat in the bleachers. I had a little too much to sip on and got sick. The fact is that the Gel's hot wings did some damage too as always.

 

I am starving. I won't have a lunch break time until 2:30 or so. I'd do anything to get out of here and have something to munch on. Bob is coming over at 7:30 tonight. That should be fun. We have the home run derby on. I am not a big fan of the participants. I am glad no Cubs are doing it because it messes up people's swings.

 

Tomorrow I am going to have a day to myself. I need to mail off a couple of items including a rebate. I am going to go to the gym and have a nice lunch. I have the house to myself. At night is the All Star Game. I can't wait to see it considering all of the Cubs involved.

 

Wednesday I work all day again. I am going to go home and sleep after work. It should be an easy day for me.

 

Thursday I have a half day and then go to Rach's. I plan on sleeping during the afternoon and going out to eat around 8 or so. We will then go up to the theatre and see the midnight showing of the Dark Knight. It should be awesome.

 

Friday I am having another Jake day. I think that at 3:30, I am going to go see Dark Knight again with my Dad.

 

I need to send my Cubs 8x10 off to Jim Hickman. He played for the Cubs in the latter part of the 60's and early 70's. He was an All-Star for the Cubs in 1970. He also played for the Mets.

 

After him is George Altman. He is a former negro leaguer who was a Cub in both the early and late 60's. He was also a Cardinal.

 

After him will probably be Ron Santo. He charges $10 per signature so I am a little iffy about getting him. I have several Ron Santo things I want to send out. I have an 8x10 of his number being retired and another of him during his playing days. I would also like to get him to sign my Cubs chair. I don't know if I will get him on that though.

 

I guess after those guys, I would like to get maybe Don Zimmer on it and maybe Mark Grace. Depends on who is signing. I am going to start requesting confirmation people will sign the item before I send it out.

 

After those guys, I will have Andre Dawson, Rick Reuschel, Andy Pafko, Phil Cavarretta, Glenn Beckert, Milt Pappas, Ron Santo, Jim Hickman and George Altman on my 8x10.

 

I am still banned from Sports Collectors. Jay is a thief. That is a shame. If I ever see him, I am robbing him but just for fifteen dollars. I am dead serious about that.

 

Here I am again

I realized a few days ago that I can no longer access my blog except for through Microsoft Word, which sucks but I guess it makes it more important to type what I feel and what is right the first time.

 

The thief Jay Grossman has officially stolen my money. I still can not get on Sportscollectors.net BUT he has my money. It is a shame he is a criminal.

 

Cubs got Rich Harden. I like the move. It allows Murton to flourish as a pro player in a smaller market. Harden is underrated and reminds me of Scott Kazmir when healthy. Tomorrow is a Cubs game for us to go to. I doubt Stef can get off and am bummed about it.

 

I got a lot done yesterday. I got my camera mailed off, got a new cell phone, put my old one on ebay (up to 12 bucks in just a few hours), worked out, unpacked some, went to Rach's, downloaded the big update to the PS3, and updated my Quicken. It was a busy day. So will be tomorrow, Friday and Saturday. Hopefully I will have some time to relax on Sunday, but I doubt it.

Trip

Ok, I am frustrated. I wrote a large amount of what I am about to write but my computer lost it. That sucks. But, I got a 10 hour day so I got time to type out this stuff. Anyways, the trip was fantastic. It really was well needed. Every day before the trip has seemed like a loop. The weeks and days were going by with little variation. I could go for weeks predicting exactly how things would go. The trip was really great at recharging me. Ok, so it really started Wednesday. I went to work til 8 and then me and Rach went to her house. We prepared to go and then went to Jewel for snacks for the trip. We got Ginger Ale, champagne, cookies, breathe right strips and lactaid. We then went to bed at her house.

 

We left at 9:15. I was impressed. My most optimistic goal was 9 and I was preparing for it to be 10 or later before we actually left. We stopped in Lafayette at about 1 their time and ate at Cracker Barrel. I remember that place as being a lot different as a kid. I hadn't been there since I was 10 or so in Nashville, IN and was never as big of a fan as some. I really liked it though and found the place to be really good. We then got to the hotel around 2:30. We stayed there until 4:30 and left for the concert.

 

The first concert was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. We got their around 5:30 and the place was already packed. We waited in line to get into the concert until about 6:30 and then hung out until it started. The place was packed and a lot of people were toolish. Steve Winwood came up first. He was great. He was from the bands Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith along with Eric Clapton. It was during this time that he had his biggest hit "Gimmie Some Lovin'". He also had some solo hits such as "Higher Love". He played both of those songs, some older stuff and some stuff off his new album. All of it was fantastic.

 

Next was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They were out of this world. They opened with "You Wreck Me" from Petty's solo album "Wildflowers". The first forth of the concert consisted of that song, "I Won't Back Down", "Even the Losers", "Listen to her Heart", "Free Fallin'", and the Traveling Willberries song "End of the Line". That song was unexpected and my favorite from the whole trip. The second forth of the set consisted of "Straight into Darkness", "Saving Grace" and another song I can not name right now. We went to the bathroom during "Saving Grace". I caught 90% of the song and only missed the guitar solo. The third forth of the set was songs like "Refugee", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and others. For the encore, they played "Gloria" a Kinks song, "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "American Girl." While in the bathroom, two people stole our seats and acted like nothing much was wrong with that. I got them back. The whole concert was amazing. Petty and the group seemed way into it and like it wasn't routine at all. They really all enjoyed themselves and had fun playing for the crowd. As a result, the crowd was into it also.

 

Once the concert was over, we made the long trek to the car. Upon getting there, I got the car stuck in the mud. This sucked but I got some help and eventually got the car on the road. It was stressful but we got back to the hotel at 1 in the morning. I, along with my car, were completely covered in mud. It was even on the top of the car. I took a long shower and washed my clothes. Me and Rach relaxed for about an hour and a half and went to sleep.

 

The next day, me and Rach woke up too early at like 8:30 (my fault) and went to the breakfast. Nobody was there. It was the forth of July. We went back to the room, got ready, and went to the Mall. Nobody was there much either. I got an 8x10 of Fergie Jenkins, some coasters and an expensive mystery ball from Field of Dreams. The mystery ball could be anyone from Francisco Liriano and Evan Longoria to Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb. Most of the balls were someone like Jim Edmonds though. I got George Kell. He is a hall of famer. The ball was fantastic. It is a Tri-Star ball. I think I may sell it though once he passes. I am not trying to be macabre, but, you know… Rach got some Bath and Body Works and some clothes. We went to eat and back to the room around 2 or so. I forgot my stuff at the Qudoba restaurant and had to walk all the way back alone. We relaxed and went out to a movie at 5:30. We saw Wanted. It was great. It was like a mixture of the Matrix and Fight Club. I thought it was the best summer movie so far. The theatre was not very nice and seemed to be a little more ghetto than I was expecting. Also, before the movie, I had several cups of Hampton Inn's robust coffee. It made my heart race and took most of the movie to calm. After the movie, we went back to the room and I found my camera was broke. This sucked and put me in a bad mood for a little while. Me and Rach went out, drank, and watched the Cubs game at Jillian's. We then watched the fireworks. By the time they were up, we went back to the breakfast area and hung out for a while. We went to bed around 1 or 2.

 

The next day we got up at 9. We had breakfast and went exploring Indy. We went to the top of the circle monument. It was scary but cool. We then went to see the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Field. We walked some more and went back to the room. We relaxed and didn't get ready to go until like 3:30. We went to Old Spaghetti Factory until like 4:30. I got gas and we went to the concert. We got there around 6 and got right in. That concert was a lot more laid back crowd as a whole. First up was this guy named Brett Drennon. He was actually pretty good. Next was Colbie Calliat. She has a hit song called Bubbly now. She played that and some other really good stuff. I was surprised at her as well. Next was John Mayer. Mayer played "Good Love is on the way" "Vultures", "I don't trust myself with loving you", "Free Falling" (which was weird since I heard Petty play it two days earlier), "Stop this Train", "Bigger than my Body", "No Such Thing", and some other stuff. I loved all of it and now have a new appreciation for his new material. He ended his set with "Waiting for the World to Change" "No One" and "Gravity". Mayer also played "Covered in Rain" and "Say" at the end of the show. It was fantastic. I love how he cared so much about how the audience enjoyed the show and whatnot. I would go see him again next summer in a heartbeat, and with Rachel, I am sure I will.

 

We got out of the lot without as much trouble as last time and went back to the hotel. We cleaned up and watched TV for quite a while. We went to bed around 2. In the morning, I woke up at 7:30, got packed, cleaned up, and Rach got up at 9. We had a small breakfast and after seeing the mall was closed, we talked in the room until about 11. We then left to go home. We stopped again at Cracker Barrel at around 12:30 their time. We had another fantastic meal and got home around 2. We hung out, watched Old School and played bags until about 10. Then I went home and went to sleep.

 

I have this problem where towards the end of the trip, I become upset. I tried not to have that happen this time, but it was worse than ever. I don't know what my problem is. I get so upset when it seems like my fun time is running out. Rachel teases me, but it isn't really funny to me. I just get bummed as the last day, day and a half of a trip arrives. I will try to fix this problem.

 

 

My Trip

Ok, I am frustrated. I wrote a large amount of what I am about to write but my computer lost it. That sucks. But, I got a 10 hour day so I got time to type out this stuff. Anyways, the trip was fantastic. It really was well needed. Every day before the trip has seemed like a loop. The weeks and days were going by with little variation. I could go for weeks predicting exactly how things would go. The trip was really great at recharging me. Ok, so it really started Wednesday. I went to work til 8 and then me and Rach went to her house. We prepared to go and then went to Jewel for snacks for the trip. We got Ginger Ale, champagne, cookies, breathe right strips and lactaid. We then went to bed at her house.

 

We left at 9:15. I was impressed. My most optimistic goal was 9 and I was preparing for it to be 10 or later before we actually left. We stopped in Lafayette at about 1 their time and ate at Cracker Barrel. I remember that place as being a lot different as a kid. I hadn't been there since I was 10 or so in Nashville, IN and was never as big of a fan as some. I really liked it though and found the place to be really good. We then got to the hotel around 2:30. We stayed there until 4:30 and left for the concert. 

 

The first concert was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. We got their around 5:30 and the place was already packed. We waited in line to get into the concert until about 6:30 and then hung out until it started. The place was packed and a lot of people were toolish. Steve Winwood came up first. He was great. He was from the bands Spencer Davis Group, Traffic, and Blind Faith along with Eric Clapton. It was during this time that he had his biggest hit "Gimmie Some Lovin'". He also had some solo hits such as "Higher Love". He played both of those songs, some older stuff and some stuff off his new album. All of it was fantastic. 

 

Next was Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. They were out of this world. They opened with "You Wreck Me" from Petty's solo album "Wildflowers". The first forth of the concert consisted of that song, "I Won't Back Down", "Even the Losers", "Listen to her Heart", "Free Fallin'", and the Traveling Willberries song "End of the Line". That song was unexpected and my favorite from the whole trip. The second forth of the set consisted of "Straight into Darkness", "Saving Grace" and another song I can not name right now. We went to the bathroom during "Saving Grace". I caught 90% of the song and only missed the guitar solo. The third forth of the set was songs like "Refugee", "Don't Come Around Here No More" and others. For the encore, they played "Gloria" a Kinks song, "Runnin' Down a Dream" and "American Girl." While in the bathroom, two people stole our seats and acted like nothing much was wrong with that. I got them back. The whole concert was amazing. Petty and the group seemed way into it and like it wasn't routine at all. They really all enjoyed themselves and had fun playing for the crowd. As a result, the crowd was into it also.

 

Once the concert was over, we made the long trek to the car. Upon getting there, I got the car stuck in the mud. This sucked but I got some help and eventually got the car on the road. It was stressful but we got back to the hotel at 1 in the morning. I, along with my car, were completely covered in mud. It was even on the top of the car. I took a long shower and washed my clothes. Me and Rach relaxed for about an hour and a half and went to sleep. 

 

The next day, me and Rach woke up too early at like 8:30 (my fault) and went to the breakfast. Nobody was there. It was the forth of July. We went back to the room, got ready, and went to the Mall. Nobody was there much either. I got an 8x10 of Fergie Jenkins, some coasters and an expensive mystery ball from Field of Dreams. The mystery ball could be anyone from Francisco Liriano and Evan Longoria to Babe Ruth or Ty Cobb. Most of the balls were someone like Jim Edmonds though. I got George Kell. He is a hall of famer. The ball was fantastic. It is a Tri-Star ball. I think I may sell it though once he passes. I am not trying to be macabre, but, you know…   Rach got some Bath and Body Works and some clothes. We went to eat and back to the room around 2 or so. I forgot my stuff at the Qudoba restaurant and had to walk all the way back alone. We relaxed and went out to a movie at 5:30. We saw Wanted. It was great. It was like a mixture of the Matrix and Fight Club. I thought it was the best summer movie so far. The theatre was not very nice and seemed to be a little more ghetto than I was expecting. Also, before the movie, I had several cups of Hampton Inn's robust coffee. It made my heart race and took most of the movie to calm. After the movie, we went back to the room and I found my camera was broke. This sucked and put me in a bad mood for a little while. Me and Rach went out, drank, and watched the Cubs game at Jillian's. We then watched the fireworks. By the time they were up, we went back to the breakfast area and hung out for a while. We went to bed around 1 or 2. 

 

The next day we got up at 9. We had breakfast and went exploring Indy. We went to the top of the circle monument. It was scary but cool. We then went to see the RCA Dome and Lucas Oil Field. We walked some more and went back to the room. We relaxed and didn't get ready to go until like 3:30. We went to Old Spaghetti Factory until like 4:30. I got gas and we went to the concert. We got there around 6 and got right in. That concert was a lot more laid back crowd as a whole. First up was this guy named Brett Drennon. He was actually pretty good. Next was Colbie Calliat. She has a hit song called Bubbly now. She played that and some other really good stuff. I was surprised at her as well. Next was John Mayer. Mayer played "Good Love is on the way" "Vultures", "I don't trust myself with loving you", "Free Falling" (which was weird since I heard Petty play it two days earlier), "Stop this Train", "Bigger than my Body", "No Such Thing", and some other stuff. I loved all of it and now have a new appreciation for his new material. He ended his set with "Waiting for the World to Change" "No One" and "Gravity". Mayer also played "Covered in Rain" and "Say" at the end of the show. It was fantastic. I love how he cared so much about how the audience enjoyed the show and whatnot. I would go see him again next summer in a heartbeat, and with Rachel, I am sure I will.

 

We got out of the lot without as much trouble as last time and went back to the hotel. We cleaned up and watched TV for quite a while. We went to bed around 2. In the morning, I woke up at 7:30, got packed, cleaned up, and Rach got up at 9. We had a small breakfast and after seeing the mall was closed, we talked in the room until about 11. We then left to go home. We stopped again at Cracker Barrel at around 12:30 their time. We had another fantastic meal and got home around 2. We hung out, watched Old School and played bags until about 10. Then I went home and went to sleep. 

 

I have this problem where towards the end of the trip, I become upset. I tried not to have that happen this time, but it was worse than ever. I don't know what my problem is. I get so upset when it seems like my fun time is running out. Rachel teases me, but it isn't really funny to me. I just get bummed as the last day, day and a half of a trip arrives. I will try to fix this problem.

 

Back

I am back with another blog entry this week. What a week it has been so far. I am going on my trip tomorrow but it really starts tonight. I am very very much looking forward to it. I hope nothing gets in the way of me and Rach having a massive amount of fun this upcoming weekend.

 

I became livid with SportsCollectors.net this week. For those of you that don't know, that is a website where people can track not only their autograph requests, but others. It is highly beneficial to be a member of the site if you collect autographs. I can not count how many times people have signed for a short while that virually never sign (ie. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar). I sign up for 15 dollars a year to unlock the whole website. Usually though, I will share my password with Bob so he can use the site and track his requests. Recently I went on the message board and was talking about the HOF class. Everyone bitched and moaned about me saying

1. Mark Grace deserves to go into the Hall
   

   And
   

2. Lee Smith is the greatest closer ever
   

 

Those two points were unpopular but I defended them well. All of the sudden a tool named Vinniemiller called me an idiot for those views. Not taking him too serious his comments, I told him to taste my ass, a popular quote from Shaq. This created a firestorm. All of the sudden, some piece of shit named Jobafan (after the queer Joba Chamberlain) starting bitching and comparing me to some member who he said acts like a child, although that member is just a cool guy who, like me, doesn't take sports too seriously. So I tell Jobafan to private message me if he has a problem with me. He doesn't and keeps it on the board. Out of nowhere, he tells me to fuck off. I called him an asshole. This guy named Justgreg came on bitching, saying his kid reads the message boards and he can't have the bad language. At the same time, Vinniemiller makes a post asking people if they like him on the sports message board.

 

Jay Grossman, the founder of the site messages me and says that bad language isn't allowed and as a result, I am being warned. Apparently, I am his eight year old child so that is ok to do to me. In the meantime, he doesn't give me any info on if he warned Jobafan in the same childish manner he did me despite the reason he said "fuck off". I also have to ask Jay several times to remove Vinnie's post attacking me. A day or so passes and Jay messages me saying that he is banning me from the boards because my friend uses my screen name and that is a huge no-no. So I go on the new message board thread and see that Joba can barely hide his excitement in the news. Meanwhile, my friends on the message boards are like bummed out.

 

To make matters worse, justgreg, mentioned earlier bitching about the language, private messages me and is like, you said I could PM you with any problems and you are immature, profane, and you brag about your education. This makes no sense because I never brag about my educational level to anyone, let alone on a message board. He must have searched my posts to make his weak point and saw that in introducing myself, I said that I am in grad school and was therefore bragging about my education. Even though saying, I am in grad school to a group of people talking about if they are in school or not is in no way bragging. I told Justgreg (my posting priveledges weren't immediately dropped, I had a few minutes) that I lashed out at Joba because he came after me. I told him that I hope someone is teaching his son to stick up for himself because he certainly isn't doing it.

 

What is funny is last time me and Jay had an argument and I lost my posting privileges for two days, I could still message him and do other stuff. Now, I can't do much at all. Even my pictures don't show up. I can't even message him to ask him when I can come back. This morning, I messaged him to ask him if he plans on banning Justgreg the same as me. The fact is the guy verbally attacked me in the same way Jay accused me of doing to Joba. Also, his kid is going under his name, which is the same as me and Bob. I have gotten no reply. Also, recently, Joba mentioned on a board that I am lucky Jay only banned my posting priveledges because if he saw my profile, I would be banned from the site for life.

 

My profile says exactly what I feel and that is that the site is full of some of the most disgusting people I have ever met. I hate to say it but a majority of them are Red Sox and Yankees fans. They are either a good representation of bad people or a bad representation of good people. I wrote also that I would rather give my money to anyone else out there at all, but the unfortunate fact is that this is the only sports collecting website of it's caliber, so I am stuck. With that said, if anyone ever wants to go on the site, ask me for my password rather than give him money, nobody needs to ever give him another dime.

 

 

The Clips signed Baron Davis. That is amazing….IF they resign Brand. If they don't, they will only continue to suck for years on end. If they resign Brand, wow, that is an amazing team. Think about it…

C-Kaman

PF-Brand

SF-Thornton

SG-Gordon

PG-Davis

 

I heard that Brand may go to Golden St. That would really mix up the whole league. It is hard to imagine Davis going to LA and Brand in Golden St. I still like Golden St. a lot next year if that happened.

Here is their lineup…

C-Biedrins

PF-Brand

SF-Wright

SG-Jackson

PG-Ellis

Bench:

F-Harrington

G-Pietrus

 

Oh well…I g2g for the next few days. Cya guys next week…

It is me here…

So I am back. Some might think I stopped writing. What I actually did was wait until I was free to write in here and compose my thoughts. Originally, I was going to wait until for a lot less time but it has been almost a month.

 

So two Sunday's ago, me and Bob went on the Wrigley Field tour. It was nice. We had a nice meal at Harry Carey's which ravaged me for a large portion of the afternoon. The tour was fantastic. We had a lot of fun and go to see some stuff about the field that we would otherwise not see. It was really my first time in Wrigleyville where I was able to have fun. Usually it is far too packed and unenjoyable. I would put pictures up but I am not a big "put pictures on the internet" kinda guy. That is other people's thing to do.

 

This past weekend my family was out of town. That too was fantastic. Friday wasn't at all how I pictured it but was fun nonetheless. Me and Rach did a little shopping in Merrillville and then went to TJ Maloney's. When we got home, we saw her Mom's new car and then watched Dan in Real Life. Our day was almost ruined by other people, which is funny. Apparently, doing one thing and telling everyone else you didn't do anything isn't lying. This is something that is ok to do. Not shady at all.

 

Anyways, on Saturday, Bob came over and we had a lot of fun too. We had a nice meal, some cigars, and some beer. I was in a funk from about 3 until 6 on Saturday. I really wasn't myself. It was weird. It took about 30 minutes of hanging out with Bob until my mind cleared. It was a weird feeling. I don't know if I was tired or if something else was wrong with me.

 

On Sunday, I studied for the Praxis. It was probably more of a reason I haven't blogged than anything else. The Praxis is a test everyone has to take before they can teach. It is a pain to take and study for. Once I was done studying, I spent some time playing Metal Gear and having alone time.

 

On Monday, I worked all Day and studied for the Praxis again at night. On Tuesday morning, I took the Praxis. It was very weird but I passed just fine. There is one last part I have to get my results for and then I will be done. I guess I should say I also had a teaching interview about two weeks ago. I think it went ok. They need me to mail them some stuff but not until July 1^st as they are not open until then.

 

The rest of the week went as planned. It ended with us going to the Cubs game. That was a lot of fun as we saw the Sox lose to them. It was great to finally go to a Cubs/Sox game. Thursday was the draft, but more on that later. Friday I hung out with Rach but got a bad headache. I went out to eat with Rach and her parents anyways and got sicker. Because of this, I simply went home and went to sleep. Saturday, I hung out with Bob and we went to the mall. Neither of us got anything. We went to the Merrilville Culver's. It sucked. Sunday I hung out with Rach and we watched the Cubs game. It was another good night more of less.

 

So the Draft really didn't go as I fully expected. I liked the Pacers trade. It works for both teams. The Pacers more or less got three draft picks in the deal. They got TJ Ford, who is coming off an awesome season at the point guard position as well as two first round picks, neither of which needed to be used at the point guard position. They also got Rasho Nesterovich who will be a good backup center. They gave up Jermaine O'Neil who will be a big help to the Raptors. In the deal the Raptors can now put Calderon as their starting point guard which is good, considering he was an all-star. Also, O'Neil can start at the power forward in place of Bargnani, who sucked big time. So who did the Pacers get with their two picks? They got Jerryd Bayless and Roy Hibbert. I was confused but excited about Bayless, he was supposed to go in the top 4-6 picks but fell to 11. The only problem is that he is primarily a point guard and the Pacers just got one. A few minutes later they traded Bayless for Brandon Rush. The deal is very good for the Pacers in my opinion. Their starting line-up now looks like this.

 

C-Hibbert,

PF-Granger

SF-Dunleavy JR.

SG-Rush

PG-Ford

Bench

C-Foster

PF-Murphy

PG-Tinsley

SG-Daniels

C-Nesterovich

Seems like a good roster

 

 

The Bulls on the other hand took Rose with their first pick took Rose. I didn't like that deal. All season and for the past three mostly, the Bulls have complained about not having a big power forward on their roseter to make shots and dunk the ball. Now they have the first pick and they don't use it on Beasley, who is an insane power forward talent and is one of a kind. He is probably the best 4 in the draft since Garnett. I don't really understand why they passed on him. I know point guards are the big thing now with Paul,Williams and others dominating the NBA but you simply can not turn down a talent like Beasley. Hell, either stick with Heinrich or trade him, Noah and Gordon for Baron Davis and Andris Biedrins. If they did that, their lineup would be this.

C-Biedrins

PF-Beasley

SF-Deng

SG-Hughes

PG-Davis

Bench

C-Gray

PF-Thomas

SF-Nocioni

SG-Sebolosha

PG-Duhon

 

I am just not overly thrilled with the pick as a whole.

 

The rest of the draft left my head scratching as well. Miami took Beasley at #2 and now look poised to make the playoffs again with a lineup consisting of Wade, Marion, Beasley, and Brand. At the three, Minnesota took OJ Mayo. I liked the pick but they then dealt him. More on that in a minute. At four, the Sonics too Russell Westbrook. It's a pretty good pick. I would have gone with Bayless but what the hell do I know. Now they have a floor general to give the ball to Green and Durant as they play their games in Oklahoma City. At five, the Grizzlies took Kevin Love. They traded him to Minnesota after the draft. The deal was Mayo, Antoine Walker, and Mark Jaric to Memphis for Love, Miller and Cardinal. I don't get the deal. I liked OJ in Minny and Love in Memphis. Frankly, I don't expect Love to be anything special in the NBA anyways though. He didn't seme like an NBA talent in college. Kinda like Brian Cardinal who went with him in the deal. I do like the Timberwolves's team though

 

C-Jefferson

PF-Love

SF-Brewer

SG-Miller

PG-Foye

Bench

PF-Cardinal

SG-Green

PG-Telfair

 

Memphis now looks like this

C-?

PF-?

SF-Gay

SG-Mayo
PG-Conley

Bench

PG-Lowry

C-Marc Gasol

 

Obviously, they need some help to go with their young core. Maybe some vets.

 

I will be on a trip from Thursday (really Wednesday night) until Sunday.

Wednesday-I am staying over at Rachs. We need to get snacks.

Thursday-We wake up early and get to Indy at noon. We get lunch and check into our hotel ASAP. We then get ready and go to our show. It is Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers with Steve Winwood opening.

Friday-the 4^th. We sleep in a little, get breakfast, and do a little shopping. That afternoon we will get dinner and go see a show. Maybe "Wanted". That night maybe we get a few drinks and hang out and watch the fireworks

Saturday the 5th. Sleep in again. Get up. Go see John Mayer and Colbie Calliat in the afternoon.

Sunday the 6^th. Get up early and go home. Maybe catch dinner on the way back.

 

 

The first half of the MLB season is done. I am less than excited. The Cubs are out of first place in all of the MLB and have simply not distanced themselves from the Cards and Brewers. Here is how I see it.

 

AL MVP-Josh Hamilton-TEX He has done everything he can to keep his team in contention. Currently they are 41-41, which is better than they have been in a while. He is also a contender for the Triple Crown.

NL MVP-Chase Utley-PHI I really can't give it to a Cub because all of them (Soto, Lee, Ramirez, Wood and Zambrano) have had their ups and downs. Utley has been steadily amazing the whole year.

 

AL ROY-Evan Longoria-TB His third base fielding is the best in the majors and he is a rookie. The guy can hit also. If anyone reminds me of George Brett, it isn't Alex Gordon but Longoria.

NL ROY-Geovanny Soto-CHI The first rookie catcher to start for the NL in the All Star game, the guy has been putting up near-MVP numbers all year. He is a fantastic all around player.

 

AL Manager of the Year-Joe Maddon-TB The guy has gotten a lot of crap but he is an amazing manager. He is finally reaping the rewards of teaching these youngsters for the past three seasons.

NL Manager of the Year-Lou Pinella-CHIC He didn't get it last year and deserved it so I'll give it to him this year. Awesome first half.

 

AL Executive of the Year-Kenny Wiliams-CHIWS I laughed when he said that he had solved four of Chicago's five problems in the offseason, but he has done a great job. Imagine if he landed Hunter in center field or Fukudome in right!

NL Executive of the Year-Jim Hendry-CHIC. The guy consistently does the best job of anyone and gets little credit. He deserves this award this year.

 

AL Cy Young and NL Cy Young-TBD these awards are won in the final third of the season. Who will step up?

 

AL Playoffs

BOS (AL EAST WINNER) OVER ANAHEIM (AL WEST WINNER) (3-1)

CHI (AL CENTRAL WINNER) OVER TB (WILD CARD) (3-2)

BOSTON OVER CHICAGO WHITE SOX (4-2)

 

NL PLAYOFFS
LAD (NL WEST WINNER) OVER CHIC (NL CENTRAL WINNER) (3-2)

PHILADELPHIA (NL EAST WINNER) OVER MILWAUKEE (NL WILD CARD WINNER) (3-2)

PHILADELPHIA OVER THE DODGERS (4-2)

 

WORLD SERIES

BOSTON OVER PHILADELPHIA (4-2)

 

Enter Post Title here

This sucks. I typed a large amount of this post but then it got lost. That sucks for me. What also sucks is when you work hard all week and when the weekend comes, you get sick and can not enjoy your time off. I hate saying fair and unfair because nothing in life is either, it is simply what it is.

Here was my week:

Thursday-I was going to class but it was cancelled so I went to Lighthouse Mall. Rach got sunglasses, candy, and chips. I got her a pop and me some candy. Her Dad supposedly ate my candy bar I got at Fuzzywigs. We had spaghetti for dinner and plays Mario Kart Wii.

Friday-We were going to go to Wagner's for Joey's birthday but Rachel hates Wagner's so we went and saw Sex and the City and went to Chili's. We came home and watched Christine. It is a great movie.

Saurday-I went to work but it was dead and I was sick so I went home at 1:15 and slept til 4:45. I went to the mall despite still being sick and got home around 8:15. I showered and went to bed at 9.

Sunday-I woke up at 6:45, got ready, and went to Target. I got two large envelopes, a raspberry citrus Mountain Dew (which was amazing) and Def Jam: Idol for 4 bucks for the PS3. The game isn't that good but worth four bucks. I think me and bob will play it some I guess. I went to Church with Rach and then home. I watched the Cubs game and went over to her house. We had dinner and watched the MTV Movie awards. I then went home after some more Mario Kart Wii.

Today I work.

Tomorrow I have class.

Wednesday I work.

Thursday I have class and Rachel's…

I still wanna get Syphon Filter and Twisted Metal 2 for the PSP. I may do that tonight. Patapon is 10 bucks at Circuit City. I may go tomorrow and get that. That is a great deal.

I got my Wrigley Field project back. It is signed now by Rick Reuschel, Andre Dawson, Andy Pafko and Jim Frey. Next, it has been decided, is Phil Cavarretta. He is still signing regularly and it would be nice to get another old timer for the picture. I think Glenn Beckert will be next after him. Then Santo. I am nervous about Williams and Kessinger. Neither are 100%. I think Billy Williams may be soon nonetheless. I am done…

Job Interview

Yesterday morning I got a call from a number I didn't recognize. I let it go to voicemail and assumed it was class being cancelled. I checked the voicemail and it was a lady calling me for a job interview in Kouts. I called her back and after playing phone tag, we discussed setting up an interview for this morning. At the end, she asked me to bring a copy of my license. I said ok and then she said she meant my teaching license. My stomach dropped as I explained I didn't have a teacher's license and to be hired as a teacher, I would have to do as such with an emergency permit sponsored by my counselor (who gave me her full blessing to do such) and the place that wants to hire me. She seemed confused and said she wasn't sure if she was allowed to do that. She then suggested I come in for the interview and then they could take it from there. I was disappointed as, at first, I thought I would have whatever job was offered nailed. I decided to go as it would be good experience for teaching job interviews and you never know what could come of the interview.

 

I went to class at 3 and at 3:15 I got a call saying it was cancelled. I drove home and felt worthless for the rest of the day. I watched the Cubs game and called Rach. I also "thought" I had beaten GTA IV, but I have one more mission that I didn't think I had. I went to be early and woke up at 6:30 and went to the interview. It went well, possibly very well. She asked me to call DOE and see what I have to do to get an emergency permit. I know what I have to do. I have to get CPR training, pass my Praxis, and get the sponsorship of both my school and job. Unfortunately, the soonest I can get my Praxis is June 17^th. That shouldn't be a huge problem as the job is for the fall. The job I am in the running for is very very intensive and is basically a LOT of work. It is from 7-3:30 but probably will take longer than that on a daily basis to do.

 

 

My previous blog entry from today was actually an entry from the weekend I didn't publish, now it is published. More info on the job as it comes along…

Ey!

What a long week. I haven't been able to post all week. More on that in a second. Here is how it broke down.

 

Last Friday-Went to the auction. It was nice. We stayed until 11 and then I went back to Rach's. It was there we ate pizza and then I went home…

Saturday-Went to work and had a night to myself.

Sunday-Skipped the church and went to Rach's at 5…

Monday-Went to work until 5 and then to Rach's graduation from7-8:20. Me and my Mom left early. I went home, changed, and went to her post-ceremony at 9-10:30

Tuesday-Worked 'til 3, had class from 4-7 (I was late and didn't get there till 4:30) and then went to Rach's. I watched the amazing lottery in which the Bulls got the #1 pick and then I went to bed.

Wednesday-World til 8. We went to my house and watched the AI finale. Once that was over, me and Rach went to see Indiana Jones at midnight. It was fantastic.

Thursday-Slept in and went to class at 3. Afterwards I came home and hung out with Bob for a little bit.

Friday-Slept in and hung out with Rach. We unlocked most of Mario Kart's secrets, went to Popolanos, made s'mores and ate ice cream. We tried to watch I'm Not There, but it is weird.

Today-Work til 3, then I am going to hang out with Bob until like 12 or so. I am open to anything.

Tomorrow-Church til 12, Indy 500 til 4, Rachels from 5-12 or so

Monday-cookout and maybe I will beat GTA IV

Tuesday-nothing but class from 4-7

 

 

 

So who do the Bulls take? I say Beasley. He is the full package. Plus, I can't imagine the lineup of…

C-Noah

PF-Beasley

SF-Deng

SG-Hughes

PG-Gordon

1. Heinrich
   
2. Nocioni
   
3. Gray
   
4. Thomas
   
5. Duhon
   
6. Gooden
   

 

I am a little nervous about my Jim Frey autograph. I sent him an 8x10 previously signed by Andre Dawson, Andy Pafko, and Rick Reuschel as well as a limited edition 8x10 of himself and it has almost been two weeks since I sent it off. Actually, it has been longer than two weeks.

 

I got a 5 dollar best buy card and used it to pay part of WWE Raw vs. Smackdown! 2007 for the PSP. It is actually a fantastic game. The graphics are decent but the controls of the wrestlers and their movements leave quite a bit to be desired.

 

I had to get a new laptop cable. It costs a lot of money but hopefully it lasts a lot longer than the last one. I would like to be able to find a hi-cap battery.

 

Me and Rach got Cubs vs. Sox tix from ebay. We are excited. So far, here looks the rest of my summer…

 

Class from 4-7 until early June then 4-6 through the end of June.

Cubs tour on June 8^th

Cubs/Sox game on June 22^nd

Tom Petty on July 3^rd

John Mayer on July 5^th

Cubs game on July 10^th

 

 

I am going to definitely schedule my Praxis on Tuesday….

Yesterday’s Game

Yesterday, Rach and I went to a Cubs Game in Chicago. It was nice. Two out of the last three we have gone to have sucked outside though. The Cubs swept the Diamondbacks. Would have been nice to do that in October. I got to meet Ronnie Woo Woo also. It was nice to finally see him at a game.

 

I think I have gotten to a point in GTA where it is getting nearly impossible. I still have about half of the mission portion of the game to go but it appears to be getting very hard. I had to do a mission retrieving drugs from an old hospital filled with gangsters. When you finally get the stash and kill the gangsters, you get a star rating of 3 out of 5 and have to ditch the cops in Manhattan with that star rating. It is impossible and the time to do the mission is about 40 minutes a try. The other mission I am on is killing a lawyer. This one is also very hard as, as soon as you kill him, the place fills up with cops also.

 

Jake's NBA Awards

MVP-Kobe Bryant-Los Angeles Lakers. This one was tough. Chris Paul had one of the best seasons of anyone who has never won the award. His season, in comparison to Steve Nash's two MVP seasons, was actually better. He got comparable numbers in assists as well as better defense and more points scored. Considering he had less talent on his squad than Nash when he won his two MVP's only makes his season that much more remarkable.

 

The simple fact is that Kobe's season was too incredible to ignore. He took a team that was supposed to finish in the bottom third of the league and led them to the best record in the best conference the NBA has ever seen. Not to mention the fact that they have missed their All-Star level center Bynum for the whole second half of the season. Also, not to mention that Kobe needs surgery on this pinky finger that he has been playing with for months. Kobe's season, his first as a full fledged team leader, has been incredibly successful.

 

Coach of the Year-Byron Scott-New Orleans. It was hard to not give this award to Phil Jackson. What he did in LA is some of his best work ever, title or no title. A lot of people like Doc Rivers, but I think he is nothing more than an average coach with a winning program. He was running in don't mess it up mode all year. Stan Van Gundy, at some point in his career, has to be recognized as a top tier coach in the league. He gets no respect despite the fact he does more with less than anyone else.

 

Rookie of the Year-Al Horford-Atlanta. This was semi-tough. Durant scored bushels of points and did very well on a very bad team in Seattle. I hate to give the Sonics any credit for anything as how they are doing business is nothing short of criminal, literally. The team is dumping salary and talent in an attempt to drive out the fan base for their soon move to Oklahoma City. Al Horford of Atlanta had a brilliant season. Although he may never be an All-Star and may only enjoy a ten year "good" career, he helped to lead Atlanta to their first playoff appearance in nine years. He was probably the more solid player. It was close, but the fact Horford is the rookie I will remember most from this season.

 

Most Improved Player-Hedo Turkaglu-Orlando. What happened? I cant even name where Hedo has been the last five years or so, so it is hard to figure out how he had such a brilliant season. He scored in bushels and gave Lewis and Howard the perimeter shooter that JJ Reddick was too incompetent to become. This was such a tough decision as players such as Korver, Ellis, Calderon, Pargo, Dunleavy, and others had made huge jumps in their ability.

 

6^th Man of the Year-Manu Ginobili-San Antonio. I will go out on a limb and says Manu had the best season of a 6^th man since the days of Havlicek. He averaged 25 points and was a sparkplug for the Spurs. If the Spurs win the title, he wll be the Finals MVP.

 

Executive of the Year-Mitch Kupchak-Lakers. I refuse to give this award to Danny Ainge. Why? Because the way he has led this team prior to about 10 months ago was borderline lunacy. Kevin McHale did more for the Celtics as GM of the Wolves than Ainge did. It is time to get rid of the personality tests when you evaluate talent. Kupchak pulled off a miracle in LA. He didn't trade Bryant and when he finally did make a trade, it was a brilliant pull off of Gasol from Memphis. Gasol has fit in perfectly with LA and has turned this team into a realistic title contender. Also, he didn't panic when Bynum went down injured. The final point is that Kupchak has done his mentor Jerry West proud.

 

Defensive Player of the Year-Tyson Chandler-New Orleans. This one was tough. Camby deserves the award but won last year. Plus his Nuggets give up like 120 points a game so nobody should get the award even if they have played well enough to deserve it on that team. Garnett is a logical choice but I don't agree with the whole we cant give him the MVP so lets give him this argument. Chandler has been an incredible spark plug and has helped to shut down such big men as Duncan, Boozer, and Stoudimire for the Hornets this season. He has an incredible amount of energy, like Eric Byrnes in baseball. He makes the Hornets as good as they can be.

 

Other less official awards

 

Worst Trade-Every trade the Sonics made to make their team worst

 

Worst Executive-The Sonics ownership team

 

Biggest Idiot-Isaiah Thomas (Good riddance)

 

 

Jake and Tyler

GTA IV Thoughts…

 

I am currently a little less than 20% done with GTA IV. Overall, I would give it a 98% out of 100. I have a few gripes with it, but I will get to those in a second. The missions are way better than any of the previous games. This is a major upgrade from GTA: San Andreas. The missions in that game were really my only gripe. A lot were stupid like the Area 51 one. The missions are very realistic as is the whole game. The graphics are fantastic as well. Every street looks alive and lived in. The characters interact with each other and their environment realistically. Also, the interactions between Nico (your character) and his environment are flawless. When he commits a crime, it is reported on the radio and when he acts out, people recognize this in other ways than simply running and screaming. Stealing an occupied car results in several different outcomes, all realistic. Stealing an unoccupied car results in more than simply opening the door and driving off. While this game has employed an incredible level of realism, it has done something else I was sure that it would fail at and that is maintaining a high level of societal parody. Through billboards, radio commercials, comments heard on the street etc. the game continues a lot of the dry humor previous games made successful. The car damage in he game is incredible and has been looked over in other interviews. It is beyond impressive. It is yet another realistic touch to the game.

 

 

 

A lot of people have had complaints about the character's eastern European accents in the game. I don't. I do have some gripes with the characters. While some characters like Roman and Nico, you become close to, others are simply exceptionally annoying. The Jamaican Little Jake is impossible to understand and not even a funny parody of the "stoned Jamaican dude". The guy is simply annoying and you don't even know what to do on the mission until the game tells you at the bottom of the screen. Roman, your cousin in the game, has a friend named Brucie. He is a douchebag and has douchebag missions. Every time I am forced to do one of his or Little Jake's missions to advance to new characters, I cringe in disgust. Also, the game seems to follow the pattern of doing missions for someone and then deciding to kill them to move on to someone else's missions.

 

 

Another gripe is that the game's radio stations have taken several large steps back. The rock radio station is decent and a little repetitive and a lot of the others contain no name artists or obnoxious type of music. So far, I have found no way to change the stations to turn them off. Also, the little quips Iggy Pop makes as DJ suck as well.

 

Another thing I do not get is having a girlfriend and friends who you do activities with, but it doesn't seem to make a major difference. I can turn Roman or Little Jacob down for fun times and it seems to make little difference in the long run. Why would I waste gaming time in the long run playing darts of pool with them if it isn't in any way share or form pertinent to the plot at hand.

 

I hope I am not nitpicking too much but the game overall is the best I have ever played and I love it. Like I said 98% out of 100%.

GTA: THOUGHTS

GTA IV comes out tonight. I am looking forward to it. My standards were high for this game but recently, with all the great reviews, my standards I feel have been elevated to levels that will ultimately leave me disappointed no matter how great the game is. For me, GTA has been a game that has always been entertaining, if not flawed.

 

GTA III:

The first time I was introduced to GTA was on New Year's Day of 2002. I had just stayed the night at my girlfriend's for New Year's Eve and then traveled to my cousin's house for his birthday. That night I was having my friend stay over for the night. We were being less than polite to each other and our relationship was somewhat strained, after all, both of us were soon going to college, me to Purdue North Central where I would be staying at home and commuting and him to Valpo University, where he would be staying on campus.

 

That night we played GTA III on the Playstation 2 he brought over. I had never seen a game like it. We barely played missions and instead free roamed. The game was the definition of groundbreaking for me. You could do virtually anything you wanted. Six years late it doesn't look as impressive as it did at first, but the game was simply amazing. That summer my brother bought a Playstation 2 and my friend offered me to borrow the game. Instead I bought it. I simply wanted to enjoy and own the game for myself. I never beat the game and eventually traded it in. It seemed to get lost in the pile of games and lack of collegiate time.

 

 

GTA Vice City: I followed the build up to Vice City on the internet. The night it came out me and my friend (the same one) went to Wal-Mart to pick it up. Target was closed and EB (I refuse to call it Gamestop) was yet to be built for a year or two. Both of us were in college and rarely hung out. My sophomore year of college was a good year. I got great grades, made friends, rarely fought with Rachel and won scholarships. Not much outside of school was expected of me and I didn't expect much of anything. Wal-Mart didn't have the game that night so we called the one in Portage. They did not have it either so that night we both went back to my house disappointed with a night of new GTA playing not happening. The following day, my friend left for school and I left to get a haircut before class that afternoon. Before my haircut I went to Target and the asshole old man who works there noticed me exploring the video games section. He asked if I was looking for the new GTA game and I said that I was. He revealed that other people had been here for the same reason and that the game should be on the shelves in a few hours. I got a haircut and excitingly called my friend. He came over and I went and bought it. We were both absorbed with the depth of the game. Me and my brother would eventually beat the game, but like the one before it, we would eventually forget about it and it got traded in as well.

 

GTA San Andreas: By the point San Andreas came out, I wasn't too interested in those games anymore. I was in the midst of college and simply too busy for anything besides my Gamecube and the Mario games I played in my spare time. One day, while visiting Target with the same friend as mentioned before, I saw it on the shelf. The game interested me and my friend stated that he had the game and it was good. He explained that the amount of space the game takes up is huge. He explained that it was a whole state and not just a large city. I got the game a week later and was impressed with it as a whole. But, like the previously mentioned games, I lost interest and moved on rather quickly. The game was eventually traded in.

 

About a year later or more, my friend came to me and had gotten an Xbox 360. He let me borrow his Xbox as there were some games I never got to play due to them not coming out for the Gamecube. Those games were Doom 3 and X-Men: Legends. Around Christmas I saw the GTA Trilogy for sale at Best Buy. I had asked for it for Christmas but doubted I was going to get it. I picked it up and took it home. The game itself was very nice, coming in a nice black case.

 

Again, I was sucked in. I played through GTA III quickly, beating it in a number of weeks. Once done, I played through San Andreas. I never got a chance to truly enjoy the game, but I did this time. Sure some of the missions are flawed in San Andreas, such as the Area 51 one or the one where you have to fly aircrafts. The game took quite a while to beat but was a great experience.

 

 

So now the new one comes out tonight. I won't be able to play it this week due to finals, but I am going to put it on the shelf for a week and begin it probably next week. I

Eh…

What a week last week. It started Monday, which was a busy work day. Went home and then to class. Class was more of the same. We did out presentation. My part wasn't nearly as good as I thought it would be. My partner did well. I was happy about that. Came home and went to bed.

 

Tuesday I came into work late as I only worked a half day. It was another stressful day. When me and Rach came home we watched AI and Hell's Kitchen. My Mom came to talk to Rachel and it was annoying as all they do is rag on me. I guess I just don't understand the whole concept.

 

Wednesday I decided to cut out caffeine. It was a rough day and I went home early with a headache. I took a small nap and then went out. I got GT5 Prologue and preordered Metal Gear Solid 4 for the PS3. It is good. I am still not a racing game fan. I will give it more time. That night me and Rach went out to Broadway. It was cheap and good. I enjoyed it.

 

Thursday I had a day off. I went to the Gym and spent time at home. I had class at 4:15. I accidently cat napped from 3-3:35 and didn't leave 'til 3:40. Oh, and there was traffic. I didn't get to class until 4:35. That sucked. I turned in my paper and then listened to her complain about the papers. One of her big complaints was something I did with my paper. I hate that class. Most people enjoy it but I find it to be extremely stupid. I hate intro classes. I need a B in that class so I have to keep up working hard. I need an A in my other class. It is still possible as I have a 95% at the time of me writing this.

 

Friday I went to the gym and worked on school stuff. At three I went up to school. It was empty and creepy. I talked to my counselor. She was a few minutes late. I also met with my other type counselor and she got me set up to get an emergency permit to teach. It was nice. I went to Rach's. We had a quiet night. We did go to Santiago's and both of us got sick. I forgot my movie for us to watch so that sucked too. We played a lot of Wii though so that was cool

 

Saturday I had work. It was like a cleaning day and the whole house was closed. They did the porch. It looks nice. So does the painting. There wasn't much for me and Rach to do so we took an hour break and then went home. That night I stayed at home. Bob worked and Rachel said she invited me but I had a ton to do. I got most of it done. I finished my project and then burnt a ton of DVDs. I also cleaned up some and relaxed.

 

Sunday I skipped out on church. I finished a paper I had to write and also finished my mini-portfolio that I had started the day before. I still have a personal philosophy to write for another class. Yet another dumbass assignment from my intro class. That afternoon I watched the Cubs game and began watching Before the Devil Knows You're Dead. It is very good so far. I went over to Rachel's next. We had fun and went for a walk. After that we watched a Cubs special and the Rock of Love reunion. That show is dumbass. That night I went home and wanted to finish the movie I had started. My Mom had taken it to watch and must have held down the power button while getting it out of the Playstation as everything was reset to its defaults. I didn't want to wake her so I began watching Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. It sucks so far but could be a lot worse. I like how it takes place right after AVP. That is kinda cool. Plus seeing Aliens in settings like a small town is kinda cool too.

 

The Playoffs started, he are my predictions from before the whole thing started…

Boston vs. Atlanta (Boston in 5)-I don't predict a four game sweep but Atlanta could be dangerous. They are a team on the rise with a core of Childress, J-Smoove, Horford as well as stars Bibby and Johnson. The Celtics are too good though and should roll through with little trouble.

Cleveland vs. Washington (Washington in 7)-This series is becoming a lot like Miami and New York in the late 90's. I simply think Washington is too good this time with Arenas coming back.

Detroit vs. Philadelphia (Detroit in 6)-I like the 76ers and they should scare the Pistons, but I still like Detroit. They have a super talented team and should pull out ahead.

Orlando vs. Toronto (Orlando in five)-Bosh vs. Howard should be a show. It is a shame that Toronto's season is collapsing so quickly. Orlando shouldn't have too much trouble.

Los Angeles (L) vs. Denver (Los Angeles in seven)-Denver should push LA to the limits as LA is without Bynum for at least this series. Still, it is time for Bryant/Gasol to shine.

Utah vs. Houston (Utah in five)-Utah is an amazing team and should dispatch a fading Houston in five.

New Orleans vs. Dallas (Dallas in seven)-I am not thrilled with Dallas, but I like them more than New Orleans, who do not have a bench.

San Antonio vs. Phoenix (San Antonio in seven)-A lot of people do not like this series but how can you not, it would be rough and will come down to the wire.

 

2^nd Round

Boston over Washington in five. Boston is too much and Washington is wore out from their Cavs series.

Detroit over Orlando in six. Tough series but Detroit pulls it out.

Utah over LA in six. Bynum is a question mark and Utah is too good to pass up.

San Antonio over Dallas in six. San Antonio could be gearing up for another run as they dispatch the Spurs.

 

Conference Finals

Boston over Detroit in six. I just can not pick Detroit here. Teams split the first four games before Boston pulls away.

Utah over San Anonio in seven. Should be a tough series. Utah has too many weapons in Williams, Boozer, Okur, Kirilenko, Korver, Milsaap, Brewer, etc.

 

NBA Finals

Boston over Utah in six. Utah wins two of the three at home before losing in Boston. The Celts are named NBA champs.

Land of the Dead

Land of the Dead

**1/4 out of *****

 

Last week I watched Land of the Dead. It is a movie I have wanted to see for quite a while. It stars basically a bunch of unknowns and Dennis Hopper. It is the forth of five Dead movies directed by George A. Romero. It is also the one that takes place the furthest in the future. The movie basically follows this premise, years after Night of the Living, Diary of the, Dawn of the, and Land of the Dead, humans are now living in Pittsburgh. Why Pittsburgh? Because it is surrounded by water on all its sides and protected by barriers where there isn't water. In this city, almost all live in poverty except for a rich few who live in the skyscraper called Fiddler's Green. It is the hope of all the poor in the city to someday be able to live in this perfect city within a building. Dembo leads a team in a vehicle he made called Dead Reckoning to neighboring towns to collect medicine and food. He is noble but kind of a loner. His second in command is Cholo, played by Leguizamo. Cholo likes to collect alcohol and cigars to sell within the city for high profit. Dembo is brought out of retirement to take down Cholo, who steals the Dead Reckoning and threatens to blow up the Fiddler's Green, when Kaufman (Hopper's character), who runs the city, won't allow him to buy a place there despite him having enough cash. Oh, and zombies are starting to think and act on their own and are about to invade the city, but that is more of a subplot than anything.

 

 

I like the movie but it isn't fantastic. I felt like the Cholo/Dembo storyline could have been developed. I felt like Hopper was fantastic but was barely in the movie. I felt like everything was forced and gory just to be gory. You know, to get a rise out of the audience. Also, the movie had the "hooker with a heart of gold character". That is the character whom, despite being a prostitute or otherwise unsavory woman, becomes a hero by the end of the story and displays values you wouldn't assume she has. All of Romero's zombie movies have the main battle be between two human elements rather than humans vs. zombies. This movie makes this more evident than any of the other zombie movies. Does it work? Yeah. Could it have been better? Probably. Also, I liked the whole, zombies acting more human element. That hasn't been done before. Overall, there are better zombie movies out there but this one is worth watching if you like gore and a simple, easy movie.

We Own the Night

We Own the Night

*** ¾ out of *****

 

A few nights ago, I talked to Bob and he said this movie was really filthy. I became curious as the whole premise, while violent, didn't lend to the movie being particularly "filthy". And indeed, the first actual scene of the movie is quite graphic and is deserving of an R rating all by itself. From that point forward though, the movie really doesn't go back there and actually tells quite a good story. Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Wahlberg are terrific and Eva Mendes is stunning as usual. In fact, it sometimes takes away from the scenes she is in. She really is the only actress out there right now I would characterize in such a way. Robert Duvall is good in the movie as always but I found his character bordering on one-dimensional. Every line he has is critical of Phoenix's character. I think that if the movie were to lack in one area, it would be the dialogue. A lot of it seems simplistic. It also seems like the ending was rushed. I liked the character arc of Phoenix's character but found that the movie took an hour and a half to get somewhere and another 20 minutes to show what he did when he got there. I bet there was about 20 minutes of deleted scenes somewhere that they left out. It also seemed like Wahlberg and Duvall didn't have a lot of scenes. The movie centered around Phoenix A LOT more than I thought it would. Overall though, the movie was a great story. The scenes that were supposed to be tense were tense, there were twists, which I love, and the music and cinematography were fantastic. I would have liked to have seen this movie up for some awards and fear that in a few months it will be completely forgotten, but it really is worth watching.

Test

My Word is acting kinda lame so I was going to make a test blog post. Oh well, Ill type some stuff. I saw four movies this weekend, Enchanted, The Confederate States of America, 21, and I Am Legend.

 

Enchanted wasn't my cup of tea and was kinda boring. I wasn't impressed. It was loud and the acting was bad and it was way too goofy. I guess it was kinda the normal Disney princess cartoon but with real life people. Rating 4/10.

 

The CSA movie was interesting but not nearly as good as I thought it would be. I didn't believe a large amount of the info they were giving out and it seemed a little contrived and "out there" Rating 5/10.

 

21 was good but kinda forgettable. I don't think it will be a movie I will remember six months from now. I will give it credit for having some twists. The acting was pretty good and it did have its moments. Overall, it was enjoyable. 7/10.

 

I Am Legend was good too. The movie is very dark and depressing. It moved fast and looked great. I am not a really big Will Smith fan but he was fantastic in this movie. 8/10.

 

 

Ok done…

Opening Day

Opening Day is here and I couldn't me more excited. The Cubs have a fantastic team which goes very deep. I have held off on doing a post with my predictions, but I'll do a short post with such info in it now…

 

AL East: Boston Red Sox

AL Central: Detroit Tigers

AL West: Seattle Mariners

AL Wild Card: New York Yankees

NL East: New York Mets

NL Central: CHIcago Cubs

NL West: Colorado Rockies

NL Wild Card: Arizona Diamondbacks

 

1^st Round:

Tigers over Yankees

Red Sox over Mariners

Diamondbacks over Mets

Cubs over Rockies

 

2^nd Round

Tigers over Red Sox

Diamondbacks over Cubs

 

World Series

Tigers over Diamondbacks

 

AL MVp

Miguel Cabrera

 

NL MVP

Matt Holiday

 

AL Rookie of the Year

Joba Chamberlain

 

Nl Rookie of the Year

Geovanny Soto

 

AL Cy Young

Eric Bedard

 

NL Cy Young

Johan Santana

 

AL Manager of the Year

Jim Leyland

 

Nl Manager of the Year

Clint Hurdle

BASEBALL SEASON IS ALMOST HERE!

I am on my labtop at work again. I just found how to publish blog entries with your Microsoft Word. That is cool. Baseball is almost here and I am excited.

 

 

I'd give my picks but I am tired to writing that shit out.

 

 

I got a PSP and the game Manhunt 2. The game looks neat and the system is 150x better than the previous one. That one broke. There are a lot more games I would like to get such as Rainbow Six Vegas and MLB 08.

 

Me and Rach saw 21 last night. Good movie.

 

I got nothing else to add. I need to do my homework and when I get home, I would like to organize some stuff. I am thinking about putting my 360 on ebay but I am not sure if I should.

NBA Fever...

NBA playoffs are starting soon. I am really looking forward to them. I wish the first round was still five games. Seven is too much. There are virtually no upsets. I know with seven games instead of five, you have more of a chance of the true better team winning, but cmon, this is the playoffs and maybe I don't want the better team winning. Maybe I would like the Hornets to pull out that first round win over Golden St. which, if they play, regardless of the Hornets being a higher seed, they will almost certainly lose to Golden St.

Speaking of Golden St. it is a shame Chris Webber had to retire. I can't remember a more conflicted figure in NBA history. The guy never won an NBA title, never won a NCAA title, never won an MVP (although he probably should have), he never even made the NBA finals. He was always in trouble for something it seemed like. When he was a free agent, he begrudingly resigned with the only team and city that wanted him. I just don't know where he fits in to the whole scheme to things. I have always considered myself a Webber fan but to me, he really failed as an NBA player.

I have been looking at PSP's recently. Best Buy offered me a $50 rebate for the Xbox 360 HDDVD I picked up years back. I'll take it, although, I know it is like the tax rebate. They give everyone who got one at their stores 50 bucks, and then that person spends 150 at the store. It is good business and easy money. At least it isnt like Sharper Image. That place now refuses to take any of the gift cards they have sold due to the fact they are losing business. Hey, guess what, you are losing business because of shit like this. That is so rude to do to your customers. Here is a piece of Jake advice, everything Sharper Image sells is crap. That is right, crap. There is nothing in their store that I can't find a similar version of at a Best Buy for cheaper and at higher quality. I am sorry, but I will not buy an upconvert DVD player from you for $199 from a company I do not know when a Sony 5-disc one at Best Buy is 129. When recessions hit, it becomes Darwin economics, survival of the fittest and sorry Sharper Image and other stores along the same lines, but that means you are shit out of luck.