Stories; Snain'ing?; Seething; Stupid Sir; Stoked

Stories
There are plenty of stories in the news, typically none of which are pleasant, but I will try to touch on some of the cool ones brought to us by our friends at wired.com.

- AT&T to buy T-Mobile - and the cost was only $39 billion.  This will create the largest wireless company in the US.
- Nerd Olympiad? - finally, an outlet for nerds to compete outside of the Mathathon and Science Fair.  Check out these contests, and maybe join in - anonymously.
- Brew Sun Tea - outside, I guess?  I wouldn't recommend it out here in the Bronx, with the air quality, but maybe for those of you who live in fresh air, check this out.  Kinda neat.
- Shoe Scans? - really, TSA?  Shoe scans?  As if I am hiding some sort of drug in my Air Max air bubble?  You make us take the shoes/sneakers off, that's not good enough?  Waste some more money.
- Looking for a Camera? - check out this helpful article.  I am always researching cameras, but seem to never really know all that much about them.  My subscription to Popular Photography is cool though.
 
Snain'ing
Woke up this morning and took Nathan out - and BAM! - snain.  A slick combination of snow and rain trickling down from the heavens.  I mean it is only thirty-four degrees outside, so I guess the precipitation is having a hard time deciding what it wants to be - snow or rain.

How freaking miserable.  I can deal with a little colder weather, but when the snow starts up again, it makes me seethe.  Anyway.

Seething
Another thing that is making me seethe is the bullpen - or lack thereof.  Anyone we bring in late in games seems to just fold.  Not sure if it's a mental inability to do it, a lack of belief in themselves, or the physical ability to get it done (which I know it's not because I've seen them all do it in HS).  It probably is just my fault.  When in doubt, blame someone else - in this case, me.  It's not so much a case of displacement, more like projection. 

How good do you want to be?  Me, I didn't have the best skill set, but I worked my ass off trying to get better - during practice and outside of it as well.  Some of these kids, I question that drive, that will to win, the desire to be the best.  Come in on your off day and throw a bag of baseballs into a strike zone.  Work on mechanics in the mirror.  I can't hold their hand all the way here.  I wish I could, but ultimately they have to want it for themselves.

Oh well, kids are different.

Stupid Sir
March Madness is cool though.  The games are good, and listening to Charles Barkley sound like a complete asshole on live television gives me a good laugh.  Dude sounds so ignorant you can't help but laugh. 

Stoked
For glassjaw on Thursday.  I've had these tickets for several months now and am listening to the new "Coloring Book EP" on YouTube right now.  Six tracks that will be mine after the show at Best Buy Theater.  Excited to go to a concert again - the last one I went to was glassjaw.  I guess I'm a fan.

Absurd Spending

$450,000 for a fly-over at the Super Bowl even though the roof was closed to Jerry World?  Are you kidding me? 

I am all for patriotism and cool shit, but the price tag for this is a little absurd.  They showed the planes on the big screen - not so cool.

So not only were the commercials sub-par, the halftime show (from what every one is saying) sucked, and Christina Aguilera screwed up the anthem.  Seems like the only thing that went right was the Green and Yellow taking the title back to Title-town.

Duke Survives; Rutgers Shocks Villanova; Forgetfulness

Duke Survives
I try to prevent myself from getting too excited about some things - namely Duke basketball.  To say I get angry is a fair assessment.  Last night, I became irate at how they were playing and flipped it off when they went into the half down 14 points to a North Carolina team that seemed to have as good an inside presence as anyone in the country. 

For most of the second half, I checked the score on my ESPN ScoreCenter app on the iPad and saw that they kept creeping closer and closer.  Finally, I gave in and turned it on in bed.  And lo and behold, they pulled out a win - an emotional, hard fought win over a bitter rival.  Nolan Smith threw his name in the hat for National Player of the Year honors after his 34-point outburst helped seal the Blue Devils 79-73 win.  On the other hand, Kyle Singler shot a dreadful 3-17 from the floor - he needs to pick it up.  He did hit 3 huge FT's in the closing minute.  On a lighter note, Seth Curry scored 22 points on 8 of 12 shooting.  In order to be successful, non-traditional stars have to step up - as Curry did.

Duke dropped a 50 spot on the Heels in the second half, and their traditionally strong defense showed up over the last twenty minutes.  Thirty-three in a row at home is a pretty impressive number.  Duke travels to Miami (FL) on Sunday and a UVa on Wednesday before returning home for a matchup with a mediocre Georgia Tech team.

Good win, now on to the next one.

Rutgers Shocks Villanova
A last second 4-point play (on a very questionable call) game Rutgers a home win over #10 Villanova.  I watched only the replay, and it looked like the defender put his arm straight up, but a foul was still called.  IT takes a lot of nuts for a referee to make that call in the closing seconds of a game.

Forgetfulness
A random student just came in to the "office" and asked if anyone found his sweatpants from last night - I wasn't even here. Keep in mind that my "office" is shared with the entire student-athlete population seeing how the equipment room is attached to my "office" and the laundry pick-up is in the back of my "office".  This is not my issue.

It has been bitter cold out here in the NY, especially at night.  How the hell do you forget to put your sweatpants on before you leave the gym.  Did you forget it's 15° outside?  I forget where I put things quite often, but if it's cold, I won't just walk outside in a pair of shorts.  I told him I hadn't seen them, and apologized (as if it were my fault).  Stupid.

I have to set up for some luncheon thing, and I'm probably not even invited.  Thanks.   

Stupidity Still Abounds

Lindsay was down on the east side of Manhattan this morning.  She stopped in a Fivebucks Yuppiebucks Fourbucks Starbucks to get a tea.  And cue the stupidity:

Lindsay: "Do you have any teas that are decaf?"
Barista: "No, but we have some that are caffeine free"

Enjoy your 31 oz. trenta you idiot.

Stupidity Abounds; Clemson's Chapel Hill O'fer; Roll Tide

I was just down on Broadway getting a bite to eat following another stellar pre-work workout and I stopped in Dunkin' Donuts to get myself a large iced coffee with milk and a little sugar.  (they put too much sugar in today)

So I order my coffee and as I'm waiting - it only took 30 seconds mind you - a guy comes steps right in front of me and in the process steps right on my foot.  I still am not quite sure what the rush was seeing how the one guy working was the guy making my coffee.  Anyhow, he looked blankly at me after he stepped on my foot.  No "I'm sorry" or "My bad" - none of that;  so I responded with "Don't sweat it man, I got another foot."

His blank stare turned to utter confusion.  I got my coffee as we was placing his order - 2 munchkins.  Two.  I didn't even know they sold them individually.

This guy was not homeless nor was he struggling for cash - he had a Gucci wallet (even though it was probably a fake) and was wearing a brand new pair of Nike sneaks.  Maybe he just has the appetite of a baby bird.  Or maybe he'd rather spend money looking good that trying to survive.  Come to think of it, he was about 6' and weighed maybe 160 pounds.  It felt like I stubbed my toe when he stepped on me.

Two munchkins.  Hah!

In college basketball news, North Carolina improved to 55-0 all-time at home against Clemson.  Granted, UNC traditionally has been a basketball powerhouse, but at some point over the past several seasons, when they've been a middle-of-the-pack ACC team, Clemson should have found a way to beat them.  It was tied at 63 before the Heels closed the game with a 12-2 run.  I guess the sun doesn't shine on a dog's ass every once in a while, not for Clemson anyway, and certainly not in Chapel Hill.

Another game I watched was #12 Kentucky taking on Alabama in Tuscaloosa.  Alabama tried like hell to give this one away, but they held on thanks to seldom used guard Ben Eblen.  With the Tide up 1 with 2.3 seconds left, Eblen tallied his lone point (he averages 1.0 PPG) on his first free throw before missing the second one, allowing the Wildcats one last chance.  Alabama led by as many as 17 in the second half but Kentucky kept chipping away.  In the end, Alabama prevailed, 68-66.  No court storming.  They've done it before, just not since the 2006 season - when they beat #20 Kentucky 72-61.  Roll Tide.  For this night anyway.

Time for a conference call.  Be back.  Enjoy your munchkins.