Checking in from lovely Southern California

Hello loyal followers and minions,

I am writing to you from my vacation with my 2 college roommates here in Southern California.  I have already experienced 2 fantastic ballparks in the L.A. area.  Tomorrow the gang checks into Petco Park in San Diego.  It's been fun, but I miss the radio station.  And I miss LaceDarius Woodrow Dogg, my chocolate lab puppy for those who don't know. I'll catch you up on the trip so far.

Day 1 had us helping Rusty, who lives here, clean up and paint his new house.  Not ideal vacationing, I know, but at least the 3 of us were together again hanging out.

Day 2 was my favorite day so far.  Dodgers vs. Mets at Dodger Stadium.  Afternoon game, great weather, and Dodger Stadium is a gem. One of my faves of all time.  It has a very 1960s charm to it.  Easy to move around in as well.  Even with a large crowd.  Joe Torre's boys won 1-0, the run scored in the bottom of the 8th.  If you get the chance go to Dodger Stadium.  A must for any baseball nut. An interesting side note here: Anson Williams, Potsie from Happy Days, sang the national anthem and God Bless America. Very strange.  The Super Dodger Dog was also delicious.  (This of course comes before the OTL report on ballpark food.)  After the game we ventured into Hollywood to eat at Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.  Let me just say that it was one of the best meals I have ever had.  I know fried chicken and waffles sounds like an odd combo, but my oh my it's fantastic.  Do yourself a favor and go there as well if you are ever in Los Angeles.

Day 3 was a relaxing day in Riverside.  Nothing more.  Just hanging out.

Day 4, Angels vs. my beloved Red Sox at the Big A.  The Nation triumphs 4-2 due to the efforts of the all too unstoppable Jed Lowrie.  Never doubt him.  Ever.  When Jed Lowrie jumps in a lake he does not get wet, the lake gets Jed Lowried.  Angel dog was pretty good and I saw no rats (their big snafu in the OTL report).  Plus the Rangers are now 8.5 games up and rolling into Anaheim this weekend.  The Big A is very nice, and the folks are very entertained by a video of a monkey jumping up and down.   Great night, especially since the Sox won.

Also, Dez Bryant wouldn't carry my luggage when I got on the plane.  When will that guy ever learn?  It would be Cowboys camp without a minor dust up leading to a major front page headline.  And will the Rangers please start giving Cliff Lee some run support?  What else can the guy do?

That is all.

How am I so busy right before vacation?

So much to get done this week, I almost forgot to blog.

Never fear. I am here. Even though no one else seems to be.

Looking forward to SoCal, I will however miss not being at Cowboys Camp with Smoaky. In this post I will just throw out some random things for you all to think about.

1) Chris Paul wants to be traded. Mark Cuban wants him badly. This would be great for the Mavs and for Dirk.
2) When did Mel Gibson fly off the rails? Wow. You stop doing Lethal Weapon movies and BAM you're crazy.
3) Does anyone feel bad for Lindsay Lohan? I don't. If you haven't already figured this out-you go nowhere by doing cocaine.
4) Have the Cowboys done enough to really be considered a Super Bowl Contender? I guess we will find out soon enough.
5) Will the Steelers suffer an image hit this year due to the Big Ben situation? this may have already passed, but let's see how the fans respond after his suspension.
6) The Rangers are in bankruptcy court. Nolan Ryan may not wind up having anything to do with this team. If that happens, how angry will you be as a Rangers fan?
7) Josh Hamilton is amazing. .357 batting average. Tons of homers, hustles like crazy.
8) Roy Oswalt wants his entire contract picked up. It doesn't seem unreasonable to me. pay the man.
9) When it comes to stewed prunes, are 3 enough? Are 4 too many?
10) Anybody else sick of Twitter? I feel like the unpopular kid at school with my desperate on air attempts at more followers.

That is all.

Catching you all up

First off my apologies for having only one blog post last week. It won't happen that way too often, but it was a strange week.

Just to let you all know I will be updating my blog from Southern California next week as I head out there for vacation. There will be travel updates from Dodger Stadium, the Big A, Petco Park, Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles, possibly the Comedy Store, and who knows where else. If you have any suggestions on SoCal destinations shoot me an email at paul@1660espn.com. I am hoping that the trip takes us in crazy directions. My lone goal is to ask a celebrity for directions, like Hurley from Lost or Uncle Joey from Full House.

Also, I have a movie recommendation for all of you. Go see Inception. It will absolutely blow your mind. Very well shot, written, acted, and everything you want. Excellent twists and turns abound. It is by far the best movie I have seen this summer.

And I do have a major announcement regarding me competing in an athletic event coming soon. (Stop Laughing. I really do.)

That is all.

Only the Rangers

9 IP, 6 ER, 9 HITS, 0 BB, 2 K, AND 3 HR ALLOWED. That my friends was Cliff Lee's stat line in his first start as a Texas Ranger. I was there watching high above from section 331. A near sellout crowd saw the lefty ace's foray into Lone Star Baseball. The excitement was so high for Cliff Lee's arrival, that the 20 minute ceremony honoring Michael Young before the game was not even the most important thing happening in Arlington. It was the Rangers biggest night in a decade. And what happens? Their new ace looks anything but "acey" and the mighty Chris Tillman had a no hitter going into the 7th for Baltimore, the worst team in the league. Only the Rangers can quell their fan base's fervor like that. Not only do you get one of the best pitchers in the league going into the All-Star Break, you are in 1st place in a division you haven't won since 1999. You have a comfortable lead. And then you get swept by the worst team in baseball. Really Rangers? Really?

Now I know that Cliff Lee will probably be fine. Especially when he pitches on the road away from the Ballpark. But for one night it would have been great to see the Rangers capture the excitement that was in the air. They didn't. And it has become an all too common occurrence for a team that seems to have no luck. In fact, they have a chance this week to go from a terrible ownership situation to one that is tailor made for them. But the Greenberg-Ryan group may not get the chance. And the greatest Ranger in history (Nolan Ryan) will be shown the door by a new ownership group if this happens.

Only the Rangers my friends. Only the Rangers.


That is all.

Party in the City when the Heat is on

The Rumor Mill spins to a halt today as "The Decision" is announced. It can't come too soon. A one hour special tonight on ESPN will finally answer the question about LeBron James' team for the foreseeable future. Like I mentioned in an earlier blog post, I really don't care where he goes. This entire process to me is like the movie Transformers. Tons of hoopla and special effects, but in the end the story was just bad. If he does go to Miami to form a basketball super group with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh, it will be more interesting than if he stayed in Cleveland. (Town motto: Cleveland Rocks. Even though it doesn't. Miami's town motto is: Miami! As corrupt as Louisiana or Chicago, but a touch more scenic.) And let's not pass over the fact that it would be a total waste of America's time to have a one hour special to talk about how you are not changing anything. Of course some measure of this has been a waste of America's time anyways, so why stop now?

LeBron in a city like Miami is also marketing gold. Coming from the Gulf Coast of Florida, I have a much different perspective on that city than most. I think it is dirty, crowded, not as pretty as everyone thinks, and riddled with crime. But it does have South Beach. Does Cleveland have South Beach? Does Chicago? Does New Jersey? Nope. I can see the new Nike Ads now. LeBron in spoofs of Miami Vice, Scarface, and if we're lucky...Golden Girls. I can't see him guest starring in an episode of "Hot in Cleveland." (By the way, that's 2 different Betty White shows in 2 sentences. ) I can see him on CSI Miami or Burn Notice. So I am going to change direction on this. All along I have said he stays with the Cavs. But now it looks like Miami has been calling his name all along.

Enjoy "The Decision" tonight. I have to watch it. It's my job. But I'm not happy about it. And I get the feeling that the people in Cleveland won't be happy either.

That is all.

Things I just don't get

I consider myself to be a reasonably "with the times" kind of a guy. In fact I am not a fan of the phrase "Things were so much better back when." The world has problems, but I never think that the whole world is falling apart. Things are cyclical and may be bad now, but they will change. Most of the time for the better. But two things that don't change ever, and I have never really been entertained by, are parades and fireworks. I just don't see the draw. My parents stuck me in about 30 parades as a youth. I always said I hated it, yet they kept doing it. I had a great childhood, but if a therapist ever asks me what the worst part was I'll say it was all those damned parades. It's just decorated traffic, moving slowly, throwing stuff at you. I will make an exception, Mardi Gras. But that is because if you are in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras, the parade is very secondary to what you will be watching. Trust me. I have found many people that agree with me on my "anti-parade" stance. But on this next issue, I may stand alone.

I am less than enthusiastic about watching fireworks. I've seen it. It's pretty much the same every time. Yet every year on the 4th of July, I am made to stand outside and watch them. I'd rather do something else. I understand that most people love fireworks. I just don't. And no one can ever give me a good reason why I should like them. I always get "It's the 4th of July." Or "I don't know. Just watch them." Those are not reasons. They are simply statements. So I propose a new tradition for the extremely quiet "Fireworks are boring" minority. Letting us continue to eat and drink without making us stare up at the sky watching the same thing every year. I call it celebrating my Independence Day independently. I'll catch up with you after the fireworks. Well, if I haven't fallen asleep.

That is all. God Bless America.

Lebron Sweepstakes Bores Me

The biggest story in sports this summer is the LeBron James sweepstakes. The blogoshpere, Twittwerverse, and mainstream media is abuzz with rumors over where King James is headed. Respected sports journalists have"confirmed" that Bron Bron is headed to Miami to play with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh. Or that LeBron to the Bulls is "all but done." None of this is confirmed by LeBron James or his people. As a matter of fact, most of it is probably his agent, World Wide Wes, sending out bad info to help spin this out of control. And more than likely, because of the amount of money he can make in Cleveland, he's not going anywhere. Someone wake me up when something actually happens. We've been talking abut it all year. And guess what, nothing is really going to change. Maybe a Chris Bosh moves on from Toronto. Maybe Amare Stoudemire leaves Phoenix. If this was a summer blockbuster, it would be Ishtar. Tons of build up, 2 big stars, but just an awful movie. So for the sake of all of us LeBron, DWade, Bosh, etc just get it over with.