Twitter-ific Jers-day

Jers-day
Brand new episode of Jersey Shore tonight at 10 pm.  Problem is, I'll probably watch a DVR'd version since we have early practice again tomorrow morning - 4:39 am wake up.  Anyone need a call to wake them up?  Didn't think so.

Then there's a basketball game tomorrow night at seven, so I will be in this gym from 5:15 am to 9:30 pm.  Don't hate.  Ha.  Looks like my Jersey Shore viewing will take place on Saturday or Sunday.

But who knows, maybe I'll suck it up and watch it love tonight.  My head is starting to hurt slightly.

Twitter-ific
For those of you who are so technologically advanced, Twitter is a great means of communicating, as well as a great way to follow celebrities.  It really is something to behold if you haven't checked it out already.

Me, I'm on there @RyanInTheBronx.  I follow a wide array of people, from musicians to celebrities to chefs to athletes and even some brands.  The people who follow me, some of them are bullshit advertisers looking to push a crappy website of some sort and some are friends of mine (only a few). 

Here's a list (and link) of some of the people/places/things I follow on Twitter.

Since it is Jers-day, I'll start there:

@VINNYGUADAGNINO - Funniest member of the Jersey Shore, hands down.  Always posts a lot, along with @DJPaulyD.

@KatyPerry - She always has some funny stuff to say and she posts a few times a day.  I am not afraid to admit I follow her.

@HowardStern - The King of All Media is new to Twitter, but he posts like a mad man.  And he's from Long Island (Roosevelt to be exact.  Rough area.  He was a Jewish kid from a predominantly AA neighborhood).

@tom_coliccho - Top Chef judge.  Awesome chef with an awesome restaurant in NYC.

@NYC_1_trains - In case I need to know if there are any delays in service.  Comes in handy.

@TRINArockstarr - She da baddest bitch!

@funnyordie - They always seem to have some pretty great one-liners.  If you need a laugh, go here.

@MJ_Pluss - Loyal member of my Blog Army.  She seems to me MIA since her trip to Vegas

@thormoo - Another loyal follower.  Links to his posts as well as witty comments.


@Huffy247  - Free Safety for the Oakland Raiders by way of UT.  First-round pick in 2006 (7th overall).  Racked up 95 tackles and 3 INT's this season.

@PauleyP - Pauley Perrette, otherwise known as Abby, from the CBS show @NCIS.  Awesome show - tune in if you're into the CSI, Criminal Minds and Law & Order type shows.

@THISISHELL - Kick ass band from Long Island, fronted by ex-HS classmate @TravisReilly who posts the crap out of it.

@dailyshoot - Neat site giving photographers ideas on things to shoot.  The only way to post to their site is through Twitter.  Good inspiration for budding photogs.

There's a list of some of the people I follow, maybe check them out yourself, if you're on Twitter.  If you aren't, maybe I've inspired you enough to check it out.  I was anti-Twitter for a while, but I've come to terms that it's a great form of social networking (via the computer).

I encourage you to still use your phones.  Do not use just the internet and e-mail to communicate.  You'll have no friends.  Loser!

I'm out this bitch!

Hospital Tour-ing; Andy, You're a Star; Jers-day Nights; Duke Romp

Hospital Tour-ing
We took the hospital tour today of where we will be having our baby.  It's an awesome hospital but they have some pretty strict rules.  Lindsay has to pick two support people and those are the only two allowed in the room with her throughout child birth.  Once she is admitted into a private room, visiting hours are in effect.  If one or both of her "support people" are ill, have to work, etc. etc., she can't add another person.  Looks like I have to stay strong and on my feet.

Also, only still shots are allowed.  No video cameras allowed.  Wrist and ankle bands are put on the baby as soon as it's delivered and warmed up and baby isn't allowed outside the exits otherwise the sensor in the bands locks all the exits to the entire hospital.  This is to prevent child abduction, which is scary as shit, but it's real.  So I'm glad they're on top of that.

All in all, it was a good trip, and although it feels like we've been in Manhattan every day for the past week or so, it's still cool to see everything that NYC offers.  Today, there was a lot of ice - on streets, sidewalks, and crosswalks.  When we were walking to and from the hospital, we saw somewhere around 5 people just bite it.  Some went down gracefully, some just took a dive - one thing about all of them though - it always makes me laugh.

We took the train down, walked across Central Park, and got to the hospital.  We chose to take the bus back.  It was bitter cold outside and didn't feel like walking back across the park.  Oh well.  And there was a Crumbs right next to the bus stop - we mighta picked up a few.

Andy, You're a Star
I got home today from the hospital tour and flipped on my iPad and the ESPN ScoreCenter only to find out that Andrew Eugene Pettitte is announcing his retirement.  After 16 seasons, the first of the Yankees' Core Four is calling it a career.  It was a sad day when he took his talents to Houston in 2004, but it's a sadder day today, as he hangs up his cleats for the last time.  He should be a Hall of Fame'r, and will certainly go in as a Yankee.  He was the big game pitcher for them throughout his career, and with five World Series rings to show for it, it's easy to tell how he fared in those games.

Let's go inside the numbers (which hardly tell the story of what Andy Pettitte meant to the NY Yankees) and take a look at a stellar career:

5: World Series rings ('96, '98, '99, '00, '09)
1: ALCS MVP Award (2001)
3: All-Star Game selections ('96, '01, '10)
6: Post-Season series clinching wins (1st all-time)
19: Post-Season wins (1st all-time)
102: Games over .500 for his career (240-138)
3.88: ERA
2,251: Strikeouts

The city of New York and the Yankees organization will lose a great man and great ballplayer on Friday, when the announcement is made.  You will be missed Andy.  Thanks for the memories - and the signature fist pump that always made me give a fist pump as well.

Jers-day
Speaking of fist pumps, Jersey Shore is on at 10:00 pm.  Don't miss it, even though it's a fair assumption to say I will.  This early, crack of dawn practice thing is throwing off my sleeping (or lack thereof) pattern.  I'd like to get some good zzz's in tonight since I felt like a zombie this morning walking in to practice.  The one good thing about the cold is that it wakes me up by the time I get to the gym.

I follow Vinny and Pauly D on Twitter, and they are both pretty funny guys.  Vinny is hilarious, so if you do Tweet, follow @VINNYGUADAGNINO - you'll enjoy his one-liners.

Duke Romp
Duke headed to College Park and Maryland has one thing on their mind - handing Duke it's first two-game losing streak since February 2009.  Duke was up for the challenge and wound up leaving Maryland with an 80-62 win.  Two 40-point halves and stifling defense in the second half allowed Duke to pull away.  Not to mention the fact that they shot 53% from the floor.

Critics always say how Duke draws fouls because they're Duke - whatever that means.  Well, Maryland attempted 11 more free throws and was +10 from the line. 

The two seniors, Singler and Smith led Duke, again.  Mason Plumlee actually asserted himself and had himself a double-double (12 points, 11 rebounds) - only his third one of the year.

My ass hurts from typing this - I'm sitting on the floor, so it's time to get up.

Get your sleep.  I will.  It's clean sheet night thanks to Lindsay.  (she did laundry)

Big Time Wednesday

I am going to give a brief run down of the day that was.

Worked out early this morning so I slept in until 7:00 - what a relief.  We had off from practice because of the ice problem here in the area - it made the roads tough to travel on - and the head coach lives 45 minutes north.

Lindsay had a doctor's appointment to check on Baby D's status.  Before the visit, we headed for a Restaurant Week lunch at Colicchio & Sons - Tap Room down in the Meatpacking District.  Probably the best  lunch we've had in quite some time, and all for $24.07 a person.  I had roasted bone marrow with truffle oil and drunk onions, the TC Burger with drunk onions, and an apple tatin for dessert.  Lindsay opted for the cauliflower soup as an appetizer, the tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza, and the zeppole dessert with butterscotch sauce.

Oh yeah, and we each got $20.11 gift certificate's towards our next trip to C&S.  Nice gesture.

Oh, and we saw @Tom_Colicchio.  I wanted to say hello, but after I gathered up the courage, he headed to the bathroom - or so I thought.  I headed in too, because I had to go, but he wasn't there.  I actually hung out in there a little longer than I needed to, hoping he was going to head in there.  No luck.

We then walked a few blocks to the subway to head across town (to the East Side) to get to the doctor.  Took the L train to Union Square and hopped on the 6 train uptown.

Doctor visit lasted all of 5 minutes - baby was moving around a lot but looked OK.  It's heart was beating and it was swallowing pretty well.  Go baby, go!
We then walked across a snow-covered Central Park to get to the West Side, where we hopped on the 1 train at 72nd Street.  Saw a neat photo op of a wooden bridge with some snow on it.  Click!

Man oh man, did we hear some weird shit on that train ride home - specifically from two twenty-year-olds.

Here's a sampling of their conversation:
Male: Yeah, my mom doesn't like you too much, she's afraid if we hang out I'll start doing drugs
Female: Well , I do research on the drugs I do.
Male: That's cool.  I want to do cocaine as my last drug as I'm dying, because I figure it would kill me anyway.
Female: Yeah, I only do drugs that aren't bad for you.  I have never done cocaine but mushrooms are good.
Male: I saw Henry's friend at GameStop on 86th, he got a job because his girlfriend broke up with him or some shit
Female: Yeah, Damian right?  He wanted me to get this piercing (on her right cheek), so I did it.

Oh their poor, pathetic souls.  I truly feel for their parents - I think.

We got home, I took Nathan out, and we just flipped on the Syracuse/UConn game.  18-12 UConn leads.  Seems like an ugly game so far, but I'm hardly watching - blog takes precedent.  And Lindsay is in and out of sleep on the couch.

Duke is on the road at Maryland at 9:00.  They need a bounce back win after the embarrassing loss to St. John's.

The Middle (8:00) and Modern Family (9:00) are also on.  Yikes!

Looks like big decisions need to be made here in the Darcy apartment.  It really feels like it's midnight, and I have to be up at 4:45 am for practice tomorrow.

Good night.  Go Duke!  And my feet hurt.

Too Much Wine...

I am utterly exhausted.  Not sure if it was the getting up at 4 am to get ready for practice yesterday morning or staying out until 12:15 am last night or helping Paul and Jenny polish off three bottles of wine, but part of me thinks it was a combination of all three.

Bottle number one was a bottle of white Pinot Noir - it wasn't my favorite but it grew on me a little bit.  Tasted like a white wine.  For those of you who are thinking "This guy's a real doofus, Pinot Noir is a red wine!" - take a listen.  The color of wine comes from the skin of the grapes.  Red wine is made from red grapes and the skins are left on during fermentation.  Therefore, in order to make a white wine out of red grapes, you must remove the skins prior to fermentation.  There's your fun fact of the day, for free.

Bottle number two was an awesome red Pinot Noir from the Kosta Browne Winery.  It was smooth and had hints of cherry and a dry finish.  I have never been wine tasting and have never considered myself a connoisseur by any means, but there are some things I can taste, and it was pretty evident - or so it seemed.

I like to read and research the wine I drink in order to try to educate myself as to what a wine is supposed to look, taste, and smell like.  I think it makes me feel as though I've learned something while throwing back glasses of wine.

On the agenda tonight is another trip to NYC to meet up with my mother at a Mediterranean restaurant - not sure what to expect but I hope they have baklava - that shit is bomb.

Practice went well today - the pitchers threw the ball pretty well.  Velocity was up for the guys who threw live and they located pretty well.  Not bad for their first time out this spring.  Tomorrow is another 8am practice, so I get to sleep in until 6:30 am.  Sweet.

Time to count some sheep for a few.

Restaurant Week NYC, Part 2

Food Network star Aaron Sanchez' restaurant, Centrico, will be our destination for NYC's Restaurant Week.  Mexican food - always a crowd pleaser - Lindsay spotted it on the list.  Thanks babe, you the bomb.  We always like trying Food Network chefs' restaurants, but to be honest, they price gouge the shit out of you.  Good thing we're not big drinkers (anymore), it tends to save money on the dinner bill.

I mean for $35 per person - yes, menu's are limited - it's a steal.  And if you live in NY and choose to avoid the menu, you're an uptight jackass.  Enjoy food for cheaper than you normally would.

And if you love to cook at home instead of going out, Restaurant Week is definitely something to check out.  There's a ton of restaurants that participate in it, some for lunch and dinner, some only for dinner.  Saturday night is typically blacked out from this promotion, for good reason - it's the weekend and people go nuts.  I mean the restaurant needs to make full-fare at some point during these two weeks.

If you're close to NYC, take a look here to see the restaurants involved.  And to the restaurants not participating, a big boo to you.

Restaurant Week NYC

Just wanted to share with everyone that January 24th to February 6th is Restaurant Week in NYC.  One of the best times of the year, if we're able to take advantage of it.

$24.07 for lunch.
$35.00 for dinner.

Obviously menu selections are limited, but it's still very reasonable for an appetizer, entree, and dessert.

Totally awesome.

White Stuff Falls; Hard Ball

We got around 8" of snow here in the Bronx overnight and the sun is shining right now, at 11:13am.  The roads are clear (the corners are dirty snow) and traffic is moving.  Alternate side parking is suspended today and tomorrow, so luckily I won't have to move my car out of the Wednesday spot behind my building.  They say suspending alternate side facilitates snow removal, which I can't figure out.

Just a lazy day in the Bronx today.  Lindsay whipped up some pancakes for breakfast and is currently in a press conference delay, keeping her from watching The View. 

I'm sorry to all the NYC school teachers - Bloomberg didn't cancel classes.  The way they were talking about this storm, I figured it'd be snowing when I woke up.  Such was not the case.  It was a lot of snow, but it was light snow.  Powder I think is the correct term.  Nathan loved it.  He'll get another crack at it around noon, when we head out for his afternoon stroll and run in the dog park.

All this white snow makes me think of making snowballs, which, you guessed it, reminds me of baseball.

Yankees baseball.

Rumor has it the Yanks are in talks with super-agent Scott Boras about adding OF Andruw Jones for the 2011 season.  The same one who played at Yankee Stadium as a teenager playing in the World Series for the Braves.  Now 33 years-old, he hit .230 with 19 jacks for the White Sox last year.  They better not overpay for this guy, but he does have some tools.

Also rumblings out of the Bronx indicate the Bombers are looking to add former A's stud but recently injury-prone P Justin Duchscherer.  He's only been healthy for 28+ innings the past two seasons, but what got him noticed was back in 2004-2006 when he put up some gaudy numbers coming out of the pen.  In 2008, his last healthy season, he was 10-8 with a 2.54 ERA in 141 innings pitched (he started all 22 appearances).  Would be a nice addition to the Yankees, seeing how the pitching staff has been the downfall of late.  Bring in the DUKE!

Andy Pettitte, a fan favorite in the Bronx, is still unsure of his future.  I really hope he comes back for one more year.  It's not like he's hanging on for another paycheck, I honestly think he's still got something left in the tank.  Dude was 11-3 with a 3.28 ERA last year and threw two gems in the postseason.  Sure, he was on the shelf for all of August.  Sure, he's 38 years-old.  Bring it back for one more year Andy.

Time to take Nathan out.  Jerry Springer is on.  Can't believe he's still on TV.  Or that we're watching it.  It's comic relief and makes you realize how good you actually have it, compared to these honky-tonks.

Here we come snow!

Poll Results 1/10/11

Looks like there's only three hours left to vote on the first WRT poll ever.  I am going to remove it but just wanted to let everyone know the results.

The question:  What's your favorite city to visit in the United States?

51 of you voted, the winner is...

New York City (25 votes).  Nearly half of you.  It's a shame the rest of the 2 million people who crowd the streets of The City That Never Sleeps, otherwise it would have been even more of a landslide.

LA was second with 7 votes, with 6 votes, Boston came in third (similar to their finish in the AL East this year), Miami was fourth with 2 votes, and Aspen (not sure how I decided on Aspen for the final choice) was fifth with 1 vote.  Ten of you chose "Other", but only one told me what that other was, Bruce I think said Key West.

Let's crunch a few numbers and spit some knowledge about the greatest city ever! (courtesy of wikipedia)

Nicknames:  Gotham, The Big Apple, The City That Never Sleeps
5:  number of boroughs - Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens,Staten Island
40°43′N 74°0′W - Coordinates
2027:  total number of bridges and tunnels in the NYC metro area
Kings County:  otherwise known as Brooklyn is the most heavily populated borough (2.567 million people)
Queens:  by area, the largest of the five boroughs (109 sq/mi)
State Fruit:  coincidentally, the apple

NYC

Never sleeps.

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10:24pm NYE Post

Will Smith's daughter is playing her song on TV right now.  Money makes money.  Unreal.  She whips her hair back and forth.  There's 30-year-old people dancing to this song - the damn girl is 11-years-old. 

Dick Clark's Rocking Eve is on the television here.  We did not even consider heading into NYC for the ball drop.  No thanks.  I have never gotten to see the ball drop live, and probably never will.  I have no desire to compete for a 1-foot radius with 3,000,000 other people.

Amstel Light is flowing here in the Bronx.  Lindsay has her Pomegranate Sparkling Soda from Stew Leonard's.  Back to the idiot box.  Be back to wish everyone a happy new year.

G-T-L Thursday

Gym.  Train.  Lunch.  I'm not from Jersey - actually, neither are any of those fools on Jersey Shore!

Today started with our fourth straight morning workout, something I've felt the need to initiate seeing how I am turning into a heavier, less motivated version of my former athlete self.  My legs felt like bags of sand attached to my hips - but I persevered.  Lindsay has been doing the prenatal workouts I've been researching online and is sore as well.  (As I type this, we're watching SportsNation's "101 Jeers" of 2010).  After the workouts were complete, we headed down to Broadway to take the silver bullet down to NYC.  It was very, very windy out there, my hat and gloves were clutch.  Lindsay had gloves as well, so don't go thinking chivalry is dead.

We stopped at Dunkin' Donuts - I got an iced coffee.  Cold weather can't stop me.

Subway ride was quite uneventful, besides the kid with these gross looking dreads hanging from him head.  He also had on a trench-length crinkled leather jacket - not sure how he got it so wrinkled.  I know little about fashion, but this guy made me feel like that guy on Bravo who throws out all those other people's clothes.

Got off the train and headed over to the tree in Rockefeller Center.  Snapped a few photos and got the hell out of there - way too crowded.

Continued our journey uptown via Broadway, picked up a few last minute Christmas items, and stopped for lunch at a place we saw recently on "Best Thing I Ever Ate" - Bar Boulud.  The show was discussing brunch items, and former NYT food critic Frank Bruni chose the Croque Monsieur - pictured below.  It's a warm ham, gruyère cheese and béchamel sandwich - and it was awesome!

 As we were leaving, the hostess offered to take the bag of the woman who was walking in as we were walking out.  Lindsay turned to me and asked why no one asked to take her bag.  I looked at who the woman was with, turned to Lindsay and said, "Because that's Ron Howard."  (The woman he was with was his daughter, Bryce Dallas Howard).  Richie Freakin' Cunningham.  The man who produced some great movies (A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Cocoon, Frost/Nixon, to name a few).  We turned and left, and I nearly lost my lunch trying to wrap my head around how much money that guy is sitting on.  Oh well, that was our celebrity sighting for the day.  Didn't get a picture but sent an e-mail to US Weekly - maybe it'll get in their VIP Scene blurb column next issue (I'm guilty - I read it in the bathroom).

Walked uptown some more, passed numerous people peddling Christmas trees on the streets of Broadway.  Not sure how many more trees these guys are going to sell with Christmas only 2 days away, but good for them for keeping their spirits up.

Hopped on the 1 Train at 72nd Street and came back to the Boogie Down to see our dog Nathan.  Took him over the the dog park and tired him out again, even though he was sleeping for 6 hours while we were gone.  Dogs have some kind of life - eat, poop, pee, sleep, scratch, repeat.

Once again, thanks to all of you who whose to follow WRT.  I look forward to keeping your interest.

Ho Ho Ho!  Happy Holidays!

Spare some change

Homeless people seem to be rampant in Dallas.  Not that they are anything like the homeless in NYC, they are pretty nonchalant.  They aren't up in your face, they ask for a quarter here and there, and they ask for donations for morning newspapers (the ones you get for free in the plastic containers - real estate, autos, etc.).  All you need to do is walk past them.  Some guy even read me poetry.  I gave him a buck.  I was duped.

There is, however, a large police presence in the downtown area.  They are always around, whether it be on foot, bicycle, motorcycle, car, or van.  They're all over, regulating on the homeless ass.  There was a lady yesterday on a street corner, behind a bench, laying in the grass.  It was brought to my attention by the five police officers who were trying to control the situation.  All they needed was one - the woman wasn't moving and was covered in grass and dirt.  I immediately began looking for blood but there was none.  She was just assed out.

Homeless beware, the cops are out.  In full force.

The homeless are fans of the Lakers/Celtics series though - there was a congregation of about four the other night for Game 5.  They stood outside the bar and peered in through the windows.  I told Lindsay that if I happened to be by myself, I would have invited them in and bought them a beer.  Then I would have left, leaving them to fend for themselves.

They don't really sleep during the day like the ones in NYC, they're pretty active.  They seem to always be crossing the street.

I'm a good soul.

Bricco & Rock of Ages

Courtesy of Nathan, we went to Bricco (56th St. b/w 8th & 9th) and then to see Rock of Ages, starring ex-American Idol reject Constantine Maroulis.  What a great night.  Although everyone wasn't in the aisles dancing the entire time, as previously reported, it was an awesome time.

Bricco:  We were the first two patrons of the night, and were only joined by two others during our meal, an older couple who rarely looked at one another.  I ordered my standard, an Amstel Light, and Lindsay opted for a glass of Chianti, circa 2008.  We started with the boiled asparagus drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette topped with a hunk of melted mozzarella di bufala - when it came out, I noticed three sprigs of asparagus on the plate and thought to myself, "No f'ing way", but when I saw he had two plates, I refrained.  It was actually pretty good, a little heavy on the pepper, but I forgot to tell the pepperer to stop.  I got pappardelle with a veal bolognese sauce, which was pretty damn good, and Lindsay mixed it up with some spinach and mozzarella ravioli.  Dessert was a piece of cheesecake with a raspberry lemon sauce, topped with a candle, signifying my birthday.  Much to my delight, no one sang - there was only a staff of about four (five including the chef).  The hostess was kind, although the only thing she seemed to know how to say was "Bon Appétit".

Rock of Ages:  Never having seen a play before, or show as I will refer to this (sounds more masculine), I was pleasantly surprised that Rock of Ages was next on the agenda.  The Brooks Atkinson Theatre was rocking, as I was kind of hoping for - all 80's hair metal, all the time (or at least for 2+ hours).  Constantine Maroulis was great as Drew, but Lonny (narrator) played by Mitchell Jarvis was almost like watching Jack Black from two rows back.  It was scary how eerily similar their mannerisms are.  The show was great, but there were these little pissants behind us who knew way too much about shows like this one, and were quoting lines all night - they were 13, 10, and 6 maybe - all boys, all who will no doubt get their asses kicked in high school.

Walked uptown for a few blocks to get on the subway, which was abnormally packed for 11:00pm on a Monday night.  Took the train back to the Bronx, eavesdropped on a few bewildering conversations between equally strange people, walked home and walked Nathan.  Now I sit here next to him as he chews on his rawhide, which will hopefully tire his crazy ass out.  OK, making a break for bed, I think he's tired.

Bon Appétit

Tens-Day

Ten points of emphasis that are running through my mind this morning:

1. MAAC Tournament.  Game one at 3pm vs. Canisius.  Game one is ever important in a double elimination format, and I think we'll come out loose and ready to play.  We're the #4 seed after all, and we have nothing to lose.  Everyone else is supposed to be better than us, all we gotta do is play the game hard, have a little fun, play some defense, pitch well enough to keep us in the game, and score more runs.  That formula translates to wins.  That's pretty evident.
2. A Mosque at Ground Zero?  I don't think this is something that NYers should have to deal with.  I was watching Channel 5 and there was a debate on it and all three on the panel said it wasn't a good idea.  The money ($100 million) is being funded by Islamic countries, and how the hell do we know who this money is coming from?  It also serves as a reminder of that grim day on September 11, 2001.  "I don't deny anyone a church or a mosque, but if I were to walk by that mosque, I would think of my son's plane," Hanson, of Easton, Conn.  (NY Daily News).  I am not against it either, but the fact remains that almost 3,000 Americans perished in the 9/11 attacks.  NYers did a great job of coming together and bouncing back, but they don't need any more reminders.  Not 100' from where Tower 1 once stood.
3. DWTS winner announced.  I'll be honest, I watch this show but generally don't pay much attention.  The Bruno guy is hilarious though, and I look forward to hearing his comments.  Nicole Scherzinger beat out figure-skater Evan Lysacek and ESPN's Erin Andrews.  Not sure if this was a shocker or not, but either way, I'm looking forward to seeing this Bruno Tonioli guy again.
4. Phoenix Suns tie series with Lakers 2-2.  I hate the Lakers, as I've stated before.  What won them the game?  Simple, their bench, which was non-existent in the first three games of the series.  The Suns bench scored 54 points last night (76 previous three games).  Good for you Phoenix, take the series.  I don't need another Celtics-Lakers finals.
5. 2014 Super Bowl at Meadowlands Stadium.  Good to see a Super Bowl being played in a cold weather state.  Bloomberg said it, this region is a great place to come to.  NYC is an awesome place and I know people from all over the country attend the Super Bowl every year, and many probably have never been to the NYC area.  Bob Golic is saying that weather shouldn't be an issue in the biggest game of the year, but in 2007, Super Bowl XLI was played in the rain down in Miami.  It's cold in February, sure, but why not.  Why the hell not?  Good for you NFL, now let's hope the Giants or Jets are playing.
6. Yankees woes!  A.J. Burnett finally settled down and was throwing a good game - 5 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 5 K and 75 pitches before the rains came and washed out the game against the Twins.  His last three starts before last night were a mixed bag.  He got rocked vs. Tampa on the 19th, pitched well vs. the Twins on the 14th, and was tattooed by the Red Sox on the 9th.  I hope he uses it as something to build off, because his stuff is way better than he's showed the past few.  The Yankees, however, are 6-3 in games he starts.  Still waiting for a 10+ strikeout game.
7. King beds.  At home, me and Lindsay and Nathan share a double bed.  After sleeping in this king bed in the hotel last night, it brings me back to my thoughts whenever I stay in a hotel - king beds should be mandatory.  It's like sleeping in an in-ground pool.  The thing is huge.  Maybe it's the hotel bed idea, that they are always so comfortable (except at a Days Inn).  
8. "Future gay terrorists."  This is stuff that shouldn't happen.  A soldier is under investigation after a video was posted on Facebook.  The video showed two children who were asked, "Are you going to grow up to be a terrorist?", to which the children gave thumbs up.  Chances are they didn't understand English, but seriously, are you that stupid that you'd:  1. say something so ignorant to two kids, and 2. post it on Facebook?  Stupid ass.
9. Flying anytime soon?  Here's a few tips to securing some cheaper airfare.  1. Very few seats are ever on sale - when you see a low price deal, book it.  2. Tuesday is the best day to shop for airfare, at around 3:00pm.  3. Friday and Sunday are the most expensive days to fly, so plan accordingly.  4. Book at least two weeks in advance, maybe even three weeks.  Here's a test I just did on Southwest Airlines - if I wanted to fly from NY to Denver: in 5 days, $311; in 12 days, $219; in 20 days, $189.  5. Pack a carry on bag.  Baggage fees suck.  6. Fly midweek.  Have a good flight.
10. Back to the Bronx.  Some local news from the Bronx.  This morning, two parents are under arrest after leaving their baby in a parking lot near 161st St.  Both parents say they thought the other had the child.  Maybe they thought there was a Yankee game that the kid wanted to see. 

OK, time to get ready for a late breakfast.  It's nice not having to wake up at 7:30am and get to the park at 9:15am to start batting practice.  Let's hope we can dust the sand out of our eyes and play a great game today.  Lindsay is coming up today, Nathan is staying in Long Island.  We'll miss that pup.  He's become the unofficial mascot of the Jaspers.

There always seems to be...

...like $0.20 left on my MetroCard and I can't use it again.  I mean how hard is it to keep these things like they were in the past - this 15% and 20% bonus bull is garbage.  People just throw out the $0.05 on their card and the city is making money - it's ridiculous.  I mean how freakin' hard is it to make the denominations on the card even - like, say, a $10 card gives you $1.25 bonus, so that you have 5 WHOLE rides instead of this.  There's a 15% bonus when you refill $8 or more on your card.  I don't want the 15% because if I have $0.45 left on my card, here's what I'd need to add to have an even amount of rides:

$11.35 for 6 rides ($1.70 bonus) -- $13.30 for 7 rides ($2.00 bonus) -- $27.00 for 14 rides ($4.05 bonus)

If I had $0.20 on my card and wanted to add $20.00, I'd have a card worth $22.51 - $0.01 cent, really?!?

Not sure about you, but I'm not exactly walking around with $11.35 cents in my pocket.  I am assuming at the vending machine post you can add that obscure amount, but who the hell is walking around with a 15% bonus calculator for their MetroCard?

Just keep the bonuses so that it's actually a bonus ride - I don't want an extra $0.05 on my card.  But I'll keep the card and keep pumping money into it, because NYC ain't gonna take me for any more money.

Sunday Funday

Not so fun for the Yankees.  After winning the first two games of their series with the Twins, the immortal one, Mariano Rivera walked in a run with the bases loaded and followed that up by allowing a grand slam to Jason Kubel, as the Yankees blew a 3-1 lead in the top of the eighth inning today in the Bronx, eventually falling 6-3 to the Twins.  I watched from the seventh inning on, and was in total shock when Rivera blew it.  Hey, the guy is human.  He just fools people into believing he isn't.  Jon Rauch let up some hits in the 9th, but got Jeter swinging, Gardener swinging, and Teixeira looking to end it.  They must have been scared by his tattoos.

On a lighter note, brunch with Paul and Jenny was good - even though the Bloody Mary's we ordered had bird food in them.  Or so it seemed - there was so much pepper corns, and all other sorts of stuff that looked like bird food in it, it made it almost undrinkable.  It was a shame because the BM was actually pretty good.  But then again, I've only had a BM two other times, and both were made by a person under the influence of alcohol.  The omelet was great - had bacon and cheddar.  Lindsay got goat cheese and mushrooms.  And they made these donuts, cinnamon sugar, holy crap.  I could have eaten 45 of them.  Easy.

In our celebrity sighting of the day, while at the Beer Garden at The Standard after our brunch, Lindsay and Jenny wandered off to the restroom and when they came back, I was told to come take a look inside.  Thinking there was someone famous in there, I walked back in with Lindsay and saw Jesse Tyler Ferguson sitting at a table inside.  For those of you who don't know who he is, he plays Mitchell on ABC's Modern Family, probably the funniest show on television.  We were in the meatpacking district, so seeing celebrities is not too far-fetched down there.  Here's a look at who I'm talking about: 

So Sunday is almost over, weekend is almost over, and setup for graduation is almost set to begin.  Awesome!! (sarcasm).  I am exhausted, Lindsay is sleeping on the couch, Nathan is passing out on the window sill.  I am trying to hold it together enough to get this post done, take Nathan out to pee, and pass out.

See you tomorrow suckaaaaaaaa!!