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)