March 31, 2009

This is...without a doubt...one of the most alarming headlines I have ever read in my life.

This is not a joke...this is a real story.

I'm sorry to place the image in your head, but if I have to live with it, I need to share it with someone...

Are you ready?

Here it is.
(click the link)

March 30, 2009

Words can't even begin to express how excited I am about this, so I won't even try...

Best. Movie. Trailer. Ever.

March 29, 2009

- I'll start off with thoughts on The Amazing Race, since the episode just ended. And I'll say to begin with, that watching the show on CTV tonight was a big mistake because of having to watch Ben Mulroney plug the Junos on every commercial break, including where we he interviewed Nickelback. Nasty.
- For the first roadblock, if you're showing up to have your picture taken at a zoo with a giant tiger, and the tiger's handler has ONLY ONE ARM...doesn't that concern you at all? And I'm sure all the teams were just thrilled at the footage of the elephants stepping on their butts. I mean, it doesn't matter how fit you are, if you're laying on your stomach and having an elephant step on your ass, there is going to be some jiggling...it was very unflattering. As was the squatting on each player...it looked like the elephant was going to drop one right there on top of them.
- Did Mel really suggest to Mike that hey should go for a Thai massage? The gay father suggesting to the gay son? Thank God I didn't hear the phrase 'Happy Ending.'
- A lot of people don't like Jaime and Cara, and I don't agree with that at all. Sure they are ridiculously good-looking, and are portraying the ugly Americans very well this season, but I find the Hobbits to be much more annoying. They were so self-congratulatory tonight on how great they were performing, and it was just so sweet to watch them incur TWO time penalties. One is rare, and I've never seen TWO simultaneous penalties before, definitely a first for the show.
- Margie's fainting on the Pit Stop mat would have been shocking if it hadn't been previewed last week and on every CBS commercial break over the course of the week. And there was essentially nothing other than what they already showed. Very weak.

- One quick comment about Lost, and I'll be generic so Jenn doesn't have to stop reading. The episode was good, and I saw the penultimate moment in the final scene coming A MILE AWAY...but it was still totally shocking when it happened. That's good TV! If you know it's going to happen and you still gasp...wow! Can't wait for Wednesday.

- So, after my rant last week on Tim Micallef at The Score, I received an email from Tim Micallef himself. I'm going to post it on here in the coming days...very good response from him. I was impressed.

- The NCAA tournament has been fantastic thus far. I mean, it was disappointing to watch Duke play the worst game I have seen them play in over 15 years, but Villanova was a tough matchup. When I first saw the bracket on Selection Sunday, I said that the winner of the Duke-Villanova game wins the bracket...period. Nice to see Michigan State in the Final Four as well. It will be a madhouse in Detroit for them. Essentially a home game with 70,000 fans. Should be awesome to watch. The Become Legendary ads from Nike are quite entertaining too, especially the UNC-Illinois and Washington-UConn ones.

- Check back on Monday night because I'm posting something I'm very very excited about!

March 29, 2009

March 24, 2009

An open letter to Tim Micallef.

Tim,

I’ve been switching back and forth between NCAA Tournament coverage on CBS and The Score. As in previous years, it’s nice to see a Canadian network pick up on the excitement of March Madness and give it the treatment it deserves. The coverage on Headline Sports….Oops, I mean ‘The Score”…has evolved over the years and is a refreshing change. However, the frustrating thing this year is the self-indulgent rambling I hear from you when it’s time to switch from game to game. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the analysis that you and Sherman provide, and hearing the two of you break things down instead of having to watch another Pontiac or Nike commercial (although the ‘Become Legendary’ series of NCAA ads are enjoyable) certainly is a nice treat. But while I don’t anticipate ever using the following phrase in my life ever again, “I’d like you to take a page out of Greg Gumbel’s book” and just send us to the other game.

Here’s the fact…basketball fans want to see the game. And that means being able to hear the play-by-play and colour commentary. Even if it’s just for the 30, 60, or 90 seconds we’ll be at that game. So when CBS tells us they’re sending us to another game while the current game is in a time-out or on a commercial break, that’s all the info we need. However, when you send us to the game, you constantly provide us with a score update, the time remaining (both of which are clearly, prominently, and sometimes obtrusively displayed on our screen), and then you and Sherman start riffing on the game when we want to hear the commentary! As a commentary team on headset for CIS broadcasts, the both of you should realize how frustrating it is to hear someone talk over the commentary so that we can’t hear it. Please, please, please, please, please…just send us to the game and save the rambling.

I know you’ll think I’m just bashing you, and that’s not the case. I appreciate the work you do on The Score. I like the humour you bring regularly on your broadcasts with Sid, and I think your knowledge of the game is pretty impressive. As someone who has been involved with CIS Basketball (and broadcasting CIS games on a smaller scale) for over a decade now, I enjoy the coverage of the CIS Championships, and events like the Capital Challenge. I won’t go so far as to say I’m a ‘fan’, but I have this bobblehead in my office (this picture was taken this morning):

No joke.

But, having said all of that, for the love of GOD, man…you need to let us watch and hear the games. If you have someone telling you to stretch it out and talk longer, then have a conversation with them to let the games speak for themselves in terms of commentary. I know it’s less than ideal to be tapping into another network’s broadcast and being constrained to their announce teams, especially when Gus Johnson is sounding like his head is about to explode, or Bill Raftery is saying something so confusing that Verne Lundquist is speechless. (Again, don’t get me wrong, I love those guys and the energy they bring, it’s my attempt at humour.) But if The Score isn’t going to provide alternative play-by-play and colour, then you really owe it to the viewers to let us hear the originating network’s team.

Regards,
Sean

P.S. – Please go over the correct pronunciation of Kryzyzewski with Sherman. “Kruh-shen-sky”? Seriously?

March 22, 2009

I was watching Celebrity Apprentice tonight and noticed something alarming...

March 22, 2009

- Close calls yesterday for both Duke and UNC, but they both survived. I'm concerned about Thursday's game vs. Villanova, but if they win that one, I'm pretty sure they're going to the Final Four.
- Seriously, Tim Micallef and Sherman Hamilton need to SHUT UP when the games are on...it's driving me nuts hearing them yammering away about NOTHING instead of being able to hear the play-by-play. And last night, Sherman Hamilton referred to the Duke head coach as "Mike Kruh-shen-sky". I kid you not. Outrageous...
- Lucas isn't feeling well, he's getting a cold and and had a fever..so a perfect day to lounge on the couch and watch basketball. Poor little guy. I hope he's better for school tomorrow.
- I've really been enjoying a show I've been watching on Food Network called Chef School. I think I mentioned it before, but it really is a fantastic show, based right here in Ontario. I can't recommend it highly enough.

March 22, 2009

As promised, here is a clip from the Toronto show last year, with Dave Grohl telling a story about Iggy Pop.

March 21, 2009

- First Day of Spring...here's to some warmer temperatures and spending time outside with Lucas this summer. Looking forward to it!
- Last night's NCAA games were great. I can't remember the last time that the night ended with two simultaneous overtime games. It was stressful switching between the two of them, especially when the Siena-Ohio State game went into Double Overtime. So what if my brackets got totally screwed by Wake Forest and FSU losing...it was a great night of basketball. My only pet peeve is with regards to the coverage on The Score. I love that they switch back and forth between games, but Tim Micallef and Sherman Hamilton have to STOP TALKING over the feed when they do. Let the CBS announcers do their job, we don't need a score update and analysis when you've only been away from the game for 30 seconds.
- The Duke-Texas game tonight in the 2nd round is in Greensboro, where I went to see Duke play in the 2001 NCAA Tournament when they won it all. Lucas was excited to hear that he was actually there in his mom's tummy when we went to the games.
- Colin showed me a great comic. Enjoy.

March 20, 2009

- It's NCAA Tournament time and I'm loving it. Too bad that Duke didn't get seeded in Philadelphia or Dayton, or I would have made the trip to see the first two rounds, but if they make it to the Final Four in Detroit, I think I'm going to have to fork out some pretty serious cash, because there is NO way I'm going to miss that. I'm 14-2 after Day One in my bracket pool, and if VCU hits that shot at the buzzer vs. UCLA, I would have been 15-1. It was very deja vu watching VCU's Erick Maynor with a shot in the closing seconds to upset a higher seed in the first round. Why couldn't he have missed that shot 2 years ago against Duke in Buffalo?
- Last week at this time, I had the opportunity to see the Foo Fighters twice in one week. See the post below for a clip from one of the shows, and there will be another one on Saturday. My friend Phil just made me a great T-Shirt that reads "Kurt Plus Shotgun Equals Foo Fighters." Love it!
- Lucas has been enjoying his March Break Hockey Camp, but the little man has been axhausted at the end of the day.
- We went to the OUA Women's Hockey Championship last weekend, and it was so much fun. The game was fantastic, and Lucas won Chuck-A-Puck at the intermission when his puck was the closest to centre ice. He won a really nice Wilson bag and planner, which he has been taking to Camp all week.
- Another win at WNP this week....running good right now in the tournaments. Let's hope it keeps up until the WSOP in June.
- Impressive to see Carleton win another CIS championship. I'll look back on this past 7 years as a pretty historic run when I'm older. Lucas and I watched some games on the weekend, and while we were watching Ottawa vs. Western, the announcer kept referring to Ottawa as the Gee Gees (which is their team name, of course), but at one point, Lucas turned to me and said, "Dad, the Kijiji's need to make a big comeback if they're going to win." Too funny!
- Final thoughts will be on this week's episode of Lost, so on that note:

JENN STOP READING

- I enoyed this episode, even if the overall perception of it was that it is a gap-bridger to set up the end of the season. I liked how they blended things together to get everybody on track. I was a tad disappointed that the baby 'only' ended up being Ethan, but it was weird to see Juliet delivering the man who recruited her to the Island. Sun cracking Ben on the head with the oar was great. And how awesome was Frank, landing that plane on Hydra Island...on the runway that Kate and Sawyer were helping to build in Season 3. More proof that Damon and Carlton knew all along what they were doing. I have to say, the scene with Christian Shephard was majorly creepy. And there's a screencap out there that shows a figure behind Sun when he's talking to her, that looks like it might be a blond woman. Could it be Claire? Take a look here and see what you think.

March 20, 2009

One year ago, I got to see the Foo Fighters twice in three days. They were two of the best concerts I've ever seen. I thought I would post a clip from that first show, one year ago today, from London at the John Labatt Centre. This is a clip from the encore with Dave Grohl telling the history of the song 'Big Me' and Mentos candies. This clip contains an incredibly excessive amount of profanity (along with a fantastic Rivers Cuomo impression) so it is most definitely NSFW.

I'll post another clip from the Toronto show in a couple of days, but it definitely not be when the brought Rush out on stage and performed with them. I'm still furious...

March 17, 2009

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

March 14, 2009

I promised Lucas he could put something on here, so he decided that he wanted to put a video from Scrubs with everybody dancing to one of his favourite songs. My son has such good taste!

March 13, 2009

- My Lost moment of the day...I was at the grocery store today and while I was shopping, "Make Your Own Kind of Music" by Mama Cass came on, and it made me think of the season 2 premiere. All of a sudden I was visualizing Desmond's daily routine in the hatch. Great episode.

- Too bad Lost wasn't new this week, but they're back to new episodes next week. Survivor is also off next week too for the NCAA Tournament, then the following week is a clip show on Wednesday, so no new Survivor for 3 weeks. Haven't watched 30 Rock or Hell's Kitchen yet, but I'm sure I'll have some thoughts later this weekend.

- I was listening to a radio station today, and they were advertising "The Comedy Central Roast of Larry The Cable Guy." Could anything sound LESS appealing? Other than maybe 'Soundtrack by Nickelback' or 'Audiobook read by Rosie Perez'?

- Had a good day at Brantford yesterday. Glad to see that Snowman won the satellite into the big tourney in Point Edward. I predict a deep cash in a big tourney for him....very soon.

- Game 1 of the OUA Women's Hockey Championship series was last night and it was awesome! Way to go Gryphons! Any of you Guelph fans reading this, make sure to ask Maureen about 'the smurf'. She'll know what it means.

- NCAA Tournament selection show is Sunday night. I'm hoping that Duke gets placed in Dayton or Philadelphia, since they would both be driveable next week. My fingers are crossed.

- There will be more posts this weekend, keep checking back.

March 11, 2009

I was reading an article online today and I was reminded of one of my favourite scenes from what may be my all-time favourite TV show, Sports Night. Enjoy.

March 9, 2009

- I enjoyed The Amazing Race last night, but was absolutely howling how so many people had no idea who Chekhov was. Josh Wolk covers all of that and more in his hilarious recap. I love how every episode now involves some locals laughing their asses off at the racers making fools of themselves...or even just stacking wood.
- Forgot to put up the Survivor links last week. Here's the link to Survivor Talk, which had a great subtext of Josh's man-crush on oformer Survivor winner Ethan Zohn. You can link to the recap and Jeff Probst's blog from there.
- Lucas and I are now playing Lego Star Wars on the Wii. Who knew video games could be so much fun? Why has it been 20 years since I owned a video game console?
- Last week at the Gryphons Football Banquet, as I mentioned earlier, our table had 4 Italians, and we were talking about our old school lunches, having veal cutlets on homemade bread. I've been craving it ever since, so I breaded some cutlets last night and cooked them up...they were sooo good. And lunch today...and I still have 2 left.
- Check out this link. I went to see these guys in concert together 20 years ago...and they re-united on the weekend to perform at a show in Utah. 20 years ago, it was a pretty cool show, but now...not so much.
- I've always enjoyed recut movie trailers to make the movie look like something else. This one is awesome...When Harry Met Sally recut to look like a horror film.

March 8, 2009

- Well, I couldn't be more thrilled to have won the HPA event last night. The script was perfect, to win for the third time this season...and on my birthday, no less...to lock up one of the top spots. It was a great night, and I had a couple of key hands, including one against Dick where I took down a lot of chips to take the lead...and a great heads-up match with Steve W. He had me outchipped at the start, and in the first few hands, took a LOT of my chips to bring me down under 100K. It was very confusing having never played him before...I was trying to adjust and not doing a very good job at all...I thought he was going to destroy me after that first few hands. But a quick double up brought us to about even in chips again, and then after I took a slight lead, on hand #22, this hand came up.

I have 79 offsuit, blinds are capped at 5,000/10,000.

Flop is K85. We both check.
Turn is 6, I have made the nut straight. He checks and I check behind.
River is an ace. He checks, and I overbet 31K into a 20K pot.
He raises to 75K. I think for a while, mumble something about him maybe making two pair, then go all-in...he instantly calls and turns over 47 offsuit for the smaller straight and my higher straight wins.

Steve played great and I enjoyed our heads-up match.

- It was brought to my attention by one of my friends (named Jenn) last night that I never specified which Jenn it is that is supposed to stop reading on my Lost ramblings. Well, to all the other Jenns that visit here, it's not you...read away. And to Jenn K., who mentioned this last night, I feel your pain with the beats you've been taking at HPA. You've been playing great and deserve better.

- Someone emailed me to tell me that all of my 2009 posts have had 2008 in the date. Duh...not sure how I didn't notice that. They should be changed by the time you read this.

- Lucas and I watched the Duke-UNC game this afternoon. Even though Duke lost, it was a great game. Is there anything I enjoy more than watching that game with my son? I think not. What a fantastic afternoon!

- Had a couple of good sessions recently at Brantford. I lucked into a good rotation of dealers the last couple of trips...thanks to Tyler, Sean, and Chad for some good times. And March Moustache Madness rocks!

- Just a reminder that comments are open, so please feel free to post!

March 7, 2009

First of all, thanks for all of the birthday wishes on my Facebook page and here. I got asked for ID last night at the casino, so that was a nice surprise.

For today, I thought I would just give you something that made me laugh. There's these two guys from Collegehumor.com that play pranks on each other, and the last two have been spectacular, to say the least. Click on the first one to see Amir set up Skeeter with a fake proposal at Yankee Stadium (this is from 2008), and then click on the second one to see Skeeter's fantastic revenge prank from a Maryland basketball game last week. Trust me, they're worth it.

March 6, 2009

March 5, 2009

I’m going to start off talking about Lost this week, so on that note:

JENN STOP READING

- Great episode last night. I generally don’t like the Sawyer-centric episodes because I’ve never really been a fan of his character, especially the last season-and-a-half where he basically became a wisecracking guy who just carried a gun and didn’t really do anything else. Kind of like a more mobile Jerry Orbach on Law & Order. But this was a good development to see what happened in the 3 years since John left and The Losties infiltrated the Dharma Initiative. I really like the Sawyer and Juliet couple, and I read a theory today about Horace being Jacob, which I could see making sense based on the cabin he was building in the forest in a past episode. I’ll be interested to find out who the baby is in the next episode. It was VERY exciting to see a shot (albeit brief and from behind) of the statue, which launched a whole new series of Egyptian theories related to the Island’s mythology. I’d love to post the pic of the statue, but since some people haven’t seen it yet, I won’t. The scene with Sawyer and Alpert was great, and the ‘eyeliner’ line made me laugh out loud. I can officially state now that this is my favourite season of Lost. Here is the link for this week’s Totally Lost video. As usual, I highly recommend it…and there’s a great scene at the end with Doc Jensen’s kids.

JENN YOU CAN CONTINUE READING NOW

- Duke vs. UNC this weekend, final game of the ACC Season. Going to be huge, as usual, heading into the ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament afterwards. I love that the last game of the season is always around my birthday, it always makes for a fun little birthday present to see the biggest game of the year. Someday hopefully I’ll actually be able to see the game live, because (to quote Tina Fey), “I want to go to there.”

- Yes, it’s my birthday on Saturday, and that’s the day we’re having the 10^th HPA event of the year. Seems like a good script. Only 3 events left and I’m narrowly in the lead ahead of Tony and Steve. I need to stay ahead of those two guys, but the goal this weekend is to win outright. Another 1^st place finish would pretty much seal the deal of finishing in the top 2.

- I watched a couple of episodes of Jimmy Fallon’s new show, and it’s not bad, but it seemed pretty obviously scripted during the first few interviews. I’m sure he’ll settle into it, but I much prefer Craig Ferguson.

- Lucas had a class play at school today, and it was great to see my little man performing on stage!

- I just found out yesterday that a good friend of mine is having some health issues, and it kind of floored me. My thoughts are with you, and I'll be sending all of my positive energy your way.

March 4, 2009

I came across these today when I was reading online. Fans of Top Chef will get a laugh, but if you didn't watch this past season, this whole post won't make much sense to you. All of these images were found on a great blog called Cooking With The Single Guy.

March 3, 2009

Just a quick story to share...

Last year I was in Las Vegas in February with Phil and Colin, and we were staying just behind the Planet Hollywood Casino and Resort. I was walking through the PH Casino floor one morning, and I saw a TV crew filming something, so I stopped to see what it was. It was Bobby Flay and another guy filming what appeared to be a cooking commercial. I texted a friend to tell her about and tried to take a picture on my cell phone to send, but it didn't really turn out. Anyways, I was watching a couple of takes and seeing this guy flub his lines over and over, so it was pretty funny. He eventually nails it and I wander off, not thinking anything of it, just thinking was some sort of commercial.

So, tonight, I'm watching the latest season of The Next Food Network Star (which I know is from last year, but I missed it the first time and they're replaying it) and the final three are in Vegas. Can you see this coming at all? Sure enough, there's all the footage from that day I watched! Too funny.

Even funnier, was running into Bobby Flay AGAIN later in the trip...in the bathroom at Caesar's Palace! Trust me, that's a much better story...but I'll leave that for another time.

March 2, 2009

- Antibiotics are wonderful things. I thought I was dying on Friday, but within hours of the first dose I was starting to feel better, and after the weekend, I feel great.
- Good thing I turned the corner, or I wouldn't have been able to be a part of Football Saturday for the Gryphons, which was great. We had a Press Conference in the afternoon, which I hosted, and a Football Banquet in the evening, which I emceed. I felt bad for the rest of the people at our table, since the banquet was at The Italian Canadian Club, and they got stuck at a table with 4 hardcore Italians (2 of us who went to high school together and spent a LOT of time at the I.C.C.), who kept telling stories all night. I had a great time, and even more fun going out with Joe, Jana, Michelle, and Dan afterwards.
- No in-depth Amazing Race analysis this week. Just read Josh Wolk's recap - hilarious as always.
- Lucas and I went to Morty's tonight for wings. He was having a struggle with his front tooth missing and his other one really loose...it was hard not to laugh watching him try to bite these giant wings with the side of this mouth.
- I know a wonderful little boy who is turning 4 years old today. I wasn't planning on saying anything, but since his family is still reading this blog regularly, I thought I'd mention how much Lucas misses him and still talks about him all the time.
- Sad to see the Warriors jump in front of Western on Saturday and then not be able to pull out the win. Congrats on a great run, and specific thanks to Dan White for a great Warrior career with lots of wonderful memories. Great player...great guy...great family.