I'm Gumby Dammit!

~
I was on the Netflix website the other day browsing movies. I was going through rating movies so Netflix would know my preferences. Based on my preferences, the program decided that I should watch "Daddy Day Care." I was dumbfounded as to why  they would recommend that crap, but then I realized it was because I gave five stars to "Adventures In Babysitting", and "Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead". I didn't waste my time watching it, but it did remind me how far Eddie Muprhy has fallen. This was the guy who, at just 22 years-old, produced the one of the all-time great stand-up performance in "Delirious". He was a mainstay on SNL during some its best years, and starred in some great movies including "48 Hours", "Trading Places", and my personal favorite, "Coming To America". To go from that to "Pluto Nash", and "Norbit" is just disappointing. His singing career was absolutely ridiculous, but you have to give him a pass because "Party All The Time" had one thing all those other shitty-songs-released-by-self-indulgent-mediocre-actors* didn't have...Rick James.

No matter how much garbage he continues to put out,  I will always remember him as the comedic genius that  he was in the 80's. Short and sweet, I will leave you with the good, the bad, and the ugly of Eddie Murphy's career.

* I am referring to Patrick Swayze (RIP), Bruce Willis, and Don Johnson.

You’re Fucking Out. I’m Fucking In.

~

I was looking back on my first post and was reminded why I started this blog; to talk about sports, sex, beer, being an asshole, and lists. I then realized that I could kill 5 birds with the 101 MPH fireball that Kenny Powers. That sexual-ass motherfucker drinks Miller High Life like it was water, and treats women like his personal fuck dolls. He’s a fucking champion in baseball and in life (plus he has a sweet-ass jet-ski). Without further ado, here are some words of wisdom from the first season of Eastbound and Down.

“If there's one thing I hate, it's losing. If there's two things I hate, it's losing and getting cancer.”

-Kenny Powers on losing

“Sure I've been called a xenophobe, but the truth is I'm not. I honestly just feel that America is the best country and all the other countries aren't as good. That used to be called patriotism.”

­-Kenny Powers on patriotism

“I got a dental dam in the glove compartment.- It's a rubber for your mouth, it's not that big of a deal, ok? And besides, it's not just for my protection, you don't know what shit I got either.”

-Kenny Powers on safe sex

“I've been blessed with many things in this life. An arm like a fucking rocket, a dick like a burmese python, and the mind of a fucking scientist.”

­-Kenny Powers on being thankful

“Listen here you beautiful bitch, I'm about to fuck you up with some truth.”

-Kenny Powers on honesty

“No actually I don't. I play real sports, not tryin’ to be the best at exercising.”

-Kenny Powers on triathlons

“Do not stare at me with those dead eyes, you church bitch!”

-Kenny Powers on religion

“You know, that's how the plague started back in the day. From a little disgusting bird bath in someone's back yard, and rats made sex to birds in it and created a whole new type of AIDS.”

-Kenny Powers on history

“I don't mean to break up a good time here, but I just saw two boys raping a sixth grader. Ya, ya, I'm just kidding.”

-Kenny Powers on teamwork

“You wanna know about relationships? I know all there is to know. Just ask my second wife Tina. Ya she was a stripper, and if Montel Williams wants to talk shit some more then he can go fuck himself because those charges were dropped.”

-Kenny Powers on relationships

“You mean Jew York? It’s friggin great. I gotta tell ya, I thought the blacks in Baltimore were bad. Shit, they're nothing compared to these fags you got here in San Francisco. Heh heh.”

-Kenny Powers on diversity

“What did I tell you? I said put something nice on, you look like a busted Daytona stripper in that shit.”

-Kenny Powers on fashion

“All right you stoic little bastard. In the computer room, little second drawer where I keep my weed, underneath the handgun, there's a stack of porn that'll put calluses on those little hands of yours.”

-Kenny Powers on parenting

“Smashing a brick through a fucking dude’s window is nothing compared to the things I’ve done. I’ve killed people.”

-Kenny Powers on mischief

“You were driving because you are my assistant. And that’s what my assistant does - he drives me around when I get shit-hammered.”

-Kenny Powers on drinking responsibly

“Are you ready to learn some next level shit? From this moment on you guys are no longer little kids — you are cold calculated murderers. This is the mindset you’ve got to be in if you want to be a champion.”

-Kenny Powers on teaching

“Obviously, I’m not going to need steroids when I’m in fucking shape. This is just to kick-start the training, dude.”

-Kenny Powers on fitness

“Looking at a bunch of little boys throwing balls, instead of getting on board my shit and seeing what real talent looks like? Well that’s fucking terrific — my business is being a goddamn powerhouse and making millions of bucks.”

-Kenny Powers on business

“Some people say that Kenny Powers is a woman hater. That’s not true - I love women. Every fucking one of them, even the ugly as shit ones. But don’t ask me to trust them. Not even nuns. Because every pair of tits comes with a gaping hole of need that even Kenny Powers can’t fill.”

-Kenny Powers on feminism

“You know what Kenny Powers says? Fundamentals are a crutch for the talentless. This one coach tried to put me on a weight training program. And I was all like “you and your weights can go fuck off somewhere — I am not lifting that shit — it’s heavy.” You tell me why I need strength training when I am strong enough to throw a god damn 100 mile per hour pitch. Fuck that.”

-Kenny Powers on fundamentals

“No, dude. This is a real job. It’s not like teaching kids, you can’t get fucked up.”

-Kenny Powers on teaching

“There’s one image in my life that consistently makes me happy, no matter when I think about it, and that image, that one image is your big tits.”

-Kenny Powers on happiness

“I mean, no offense, but you got a shitty job, you’re not quite as tall as me, nobody really respects you. You have me on the other hand. I got the glory, I got the fame, the money, the jewels, the cash, the Denali. Getting drunk on the reg, fucking good times on the reg, yachts on the reg, sex on the reg... Basically all the shit that most guys fantasize about.”

-Kenny Powers on being Kenny Powers

Thurman Merman is Fucking Stallion

~
Well, It's that time of year again, and ABC Family is a solid week into their "25 Days of Christmas" shitty movie marathon. They have already shown such winners as "The Dog Who Saved Christmas," as well as "Holiday in Handcuffs," Both of which star A.C.Slater. We should thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule of doing absolutely nothing to film these epic movies. It makes me yearn for the days when J.T.T. was making Christmas movies. Inexplicably, all four Harry Potter movies are on the "25 Days..." lineup. Somewhere there is a link between the birth of Christ, and wizardry, but I can't seem to find it. Besidess, Hermione is legal now, so there is really no reason to watch Harry Potter anyway.

Since we are going to continue to be bombarded with sub-par Christmas movies for the remainder of the month, I started thinking about the few good ones that they have made over the years. For all you movie-lovers out there, I have compiled a list of the ten best Christmas movies of all time.

10. The Santa Clause (1994)- Kinda cheesy, but I liked it. They took the cliche' (bah humbugger learns to love Christmas) and made it work by killing off Santa. Plus Judge Reinhold rocks the Cosby sweater like a sexual deviant.

9. The Muppet Christmas Carol (1992)- There was always an inherent genius in anything Henson produced. That sentiment was magnified when he made Charles Dickens tolerable. Gonzo's nose looks like a smurf dick.

8. Die Hard (1988)- I guess it isn't really a Christmas movie per se, but it does take place on Christmas eve. Besides, any top-ten movie list that doesn't include Die Hard has no credibility, so I had to include it.

7. Jingle All The Way (1996)- Any movie with The Governator, Phil Hartman (most underrated comedian of all time), and Sinbad (the most windbreaker-clad comedian of all time) deserves a spot on this list. It's turbo time motherfuckers!

6. A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)- You can't fuck with a classic like this. Charlie Brown and his sorry piece of shit tree are still the #1 underdogs of all time.

5. Scrooged (1988)- Vintage Bill Murray. This movie taught me how to be a dick to everybody.That's learning from the best. Goulet!...has a cameo in this bitch. 'Nuff said.

4. Home Alone (1990)- This is the bad son before he went "Good." This is Pesci's most badass role since Goodfellas. In fact, he filmed these roles simultaneously, removing that sweet wig for Home Alone.

3. A Christmas Story (1983)- This movie is so good, TBS plays that shit for 24 straight hours. After this movie was released, instances of kids shooting their eyes out dropped 88%.

2. Bad Santa (2003)- Midgets, drunkenness, and the mom from Gilmore Girls. What more do you faggots need?

1. National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)- Not only is it the best Christmas movie, it is the best Vacation movie. I don't care what any of you fucks say, Chevy Chase is a goddamn genius. And Randy Quaid is a god.

It's The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Keg Week)

~

Some of the great discoveries of the modern world happened on accident; Velcro, Viagra, and even abortions. Isn't serendipity grand? Sometimes opportunity knocks ever so lightly that it takes a special kind of pioneer to heed the call to greatness, and recognize the chance they have been presented. Around this time some four years ago, a motley crew consisting of alcoholics, vagrants, thieves, and a few Ocala residents heeded that call when they stumbled upon one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind...

Keg Week.

Since my memory of how it all went down is a bit unclear, I have asked Suggs to do the honors.

It was early one Saturday morning, December 10, 2005 to be exact and Bennigan's was having its yearly staff meeting. I woke up early and was still smashed from the night before. I decided the obvious choice was to begin my day with a few vodka shots. So I did a few while I waited for Luke Bessey to pick me up to give me a ride to the meeting. I greeted his Silly ass with a shot of well vodka. We proceeded to the meeting where I met up with among other people Nikki and Adam. While Roby was being given positions like "Marketing Manager" (and yes it requires "quotes" as it was a make believe position that afforded Roby the luxury of watching movies, banging his girlfriend, and sleeping, all while making $10 an hour. Kevin is such a fucking idiot.), Nikki, Adam, and I were drinking through the meeting. The three of us then opened the restaurant along with Craig on day-bar and Louise was "Key" (another bogus position, but then again, what fun would it be working there if the inmates weren't running the asylum) . Unfortunately for Louise, she spent the entire shift throwing up. Fortunately for us, Louise spent the entire shift throwing up, leaving us free to drink through said shift with no repercussions (True story: when typing this, I had to ask how to spell "repercussions" because I have never used that word before). As our shift came to a close, I was drunk and remarked that I had no intention of losing that feeling, and we should continue drinking together until a.) our livers give out, b.) we run out of money, or c.) Kash and Karry runs out of beer. The decision was made to get a keg. I had to work a double, so Adam and Nikki bought the keg. After the night shift I met them at Adam's apartment and we had over most of the Bennigans staff as well as enough others to make it a good-sized crowd.

The next day I was working a night shift when Nikki and Adam came into the restaurant to see if I was ready to start drinking. As he finished his sentence, Adam said "I should have said continue drinking" as he saw my flask (aka plastic Propel bottle) in my right hand. They waited for me to get off work and then we went and purchased another keg and headed to Nikki's house for night #2. Monday morning me and Adam had to open the restaurant. Nikki called at 11 am to let me know that she was finishing the keg from the night before and trying to get her roommate to drink it with her. Meanwhile, the computers crashed so we had to manually order everything and write checks with no way to verify anything other than some alcoholic crackhead cooks... needless to say, we made a fuck ton of money and drank an equally large amount of free liquor. After work, we went over to Nikki's house to help her polish off the the keg, we looked around and decided that something was missing. So we went and got another keg. That's how day # 3 started.

And so the legend of keg week began. Keg week continued each night for the rest of the week. I like to think it would have continued for life, but people had to go home for the holidays. It was never a plan that first week. Each night we just got together and decided to get another keg. There was always cause for it, and the premise was simple. Get a keg, and everyone pitches in $5 for a cup. Sometimes we collected enough to buy a bottle too, and other times we didn't cover the cost to the keg. It was awesome either way. The party was at a different location each night. Whoever had the party at their house drank for free that night. It was a great time. Mike, Lexy V, John Webb, Chris Z, Anthony, Patricia, Louise, Dave, Sara, Jenna, John Vincent, Donaldo, Sandy, Nunez, Jodi, Danny, Craig, and Henkel (and some of his henchmen) rounded out the bunch.

Keg Week changed all of our lives, Adam fell in love with Patricia and started dating her a week after Keg Week- they're married now. Nikki and I became roommates after Keg Week and are still best friends. I continued keg week the following year and then the next year Roby and Zupo took it up with me and the three of us carried the tradition on with our old friends as well as the new ones we made at various shitty restaurants around town. Sadly, after the third year, like a supernova, Keg Week faded out. It lives on however, in our heart, minds, and deteriorated livers. Someday, somewhere, somebody is going to revive the tradition of Keg Week. I just hope I am there to see it.

Bye-Bye Bobby (Daggummit!)

~

Bobby Bowden announced yesterday that he will retire at season's end. That doesn't come as much of a surprise considering the pressure he was receiving from FSU president T.K. Wetherell, and athletic director Randy Spetman. I am one of those people who said he has earned the right to retire whenever he wanted. How could you not extend that courtesy to the man who built the FSU football program into what it is today?

Imagine this scenario: The year is 1975, you are the athletic director of a school whose football program has won four games in the previous three years combined. You are looking to hire a new football coach to take over next season. In walks Bobby Bowden, a coach who had 9 winning seasons out of his 10 as a head coach. He makes the following offer: "Listen here. If y'all hire me, this is what I'll do for ya. I will coach for 34 years, and only the first will have more losses than wins. Within two years, I'll get this team to win 10 games and a bowl game. 'Fore long, I'll get my boys to win 11 straight bowl games. This program will become one of the elite programs in the whole daggum country. We will win two National Championships, and spend a 14 year stretch finishing in the top 5 of the AP poll. And by golly, this program will be infinitely stronger than when I walked in here today. There is one catch though: three of my last four seasons here will end with FSU unranked in the AP poll. Whadda ya say?"

Do you take it? Damn right you do. Anyone with half a brain would take it. That is why I find it so mind-boggling (and frankly, disappointing) that the powers-that-be at FSU have so quickly forgotten that Bowden did more for the entire university than any other man before him. If you think his impact was only on the field you are clueless. His football success brought the national visibility and income to help FSU grow by leaps and bounds as an educational institution.

Here is some perspective on how great Bobby Bowden actually was at FSU. 1987-2000 was his best stretch, and arguably the most dominant in college football history, here is a quick comparison against the 10 other most prestigious programs in college football:

Total Domination

We will NEVER see a stretch like that again in college football. EVER. One thing that is particularly telling is the bowl streak. Give Bowden a few weeks to prepare, and the opposition doesn't stand a chance. His overall bowl record was 21-10-1.

Coaching Accomplishments:

~ 2nd most coaching victories in Division 1-A with 388 (Joe Paterno 392) .

~ One of three active coaches elected to the College Football Hall of Fame.

~ National Coach of the Year award winner in '79, '80, '91, '96, '99.

~ Coached the Seminoles to 2 national titles ('93, '99).

~ 1999 Seminoles were the only team to spend every week of the season at #1 on the AP poll.

~ Set NCAA record with 11 consecutive bowl victories (14 consecutive without a loss).

~ Led Seminoles to 28 consecutive bowl games (Longest streak in NCAA).

~ Played for a National Title 5 times since 1993.

~ Led Seminoles to 6 BCS bowl games (2nd most).

~ 41 winning seasons out of 43 years as a head coach.

After 33 years of such success, people associated with Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles have become spoiled. After getting to the pinnacle of collegiate football success, how do you stomach three seasons of less than 8 wins? Why would you settle for anything less than the delicious taste of contending for a national title every year? It's simple. You do it for the same reason you wear that goofy-looking reindeer sweater that Mima crocheted for you for Christmas when you were 17. You do it because no matter how many times Pop-Pop called you John-Roby-John, it can never come close to being as important as all the things he did for you growing up. You do it because without him, there is no way you would have become the man you are today.

Now that he is gone, you are still getting called by the wrong name. But now it is by your asshole boss who is calling you "Rodney"; only, he never even knew your name in the first place.

S.O.S.

~
I spend a majority of my down time (aka, workday) browsing sports websites and blogs for my own edification. In doing so, I have come across a great many haters out there. As is usually the case, the defending national champs, are the target of most of the bile spewn about on message boards. It just so happens that this team happens to be my Florida Gators. People get tired of all the coverage directed at UF and Tebow. I fully understand that. The Champs always get way more than their fair share of ESPN coverage. But one thing that gets tiresome is when people talk crap without knowing a damn thing. My beef: strength of schedule.

The talk this pre-season was that coming off of last year's grueling championship run, The Gators would coast through their relatively easy schedule to another BCS title. They pointed to the fact that they scheduled Charleston Southern, Troy, and FIU out of conference. Critics whined and complained that The Gators "never play anybody" and "should be embarrassed for scheduling those teams." I will not sit here and argue that the Gator's out of conference opponents are world beaters. In fact, they aren't even very good at all, but that isn't the point. You have to look at the strength of schedule as a whole. And in the last 10 years, nobody has had a played a more challenging schedule than the Gators have.

Strength of Schedule For the 10 Most Recent BCS National Champions (Sagarin Rankings)

For clarity's sake, here is a brief glossary:

The number next to the year is the schedule ranking on a scale of 1-119 (1 = most difficult, 119 = least difficult). "Top 25" is the number of seasons that team's schedule ranked among the 25 most difficult. "Top 10" is the number of seasons that team's schedule ranked among the 10 most difficult. "Title Year" is the team's schedule ranking the year they won the BCS Championship.

As you can plainly see, over the last ten years, Florida has played a tougher schedule than any of the other BCS Title winners. Moreover, when winning said BCS Titles, UF played navigated the toughest road there. I was a bit surprised and impressed by USC's schedule strength. The fact that they play tough games is probably a good indicator of why the Trojans usually perform well in big games. The same holds true for the Gators. Being challenged week in and week out teaches you how to take a punch and not lose your composure.

So far this season, The Gators have played the 39th ranked schedule. With a match-up against #2 Alabama (27 SOS) on the horizon, the SOS will certainly go up for both teams. #3 Texas (49 SOS) is in the fortunate position of playing the Big 12 "Title Game" against a 3-loss Nebreaska team that boasts an offense that is anemic at best. Nothing like cake walking into the championship game. Ohio State was allowed to do that in '06 and '07, and look how it worked out for them. In case you forgot, OSU got pasted by UF and LSU; 41-14, and 38-24 respectively.

[Off topic, but interesting nonetheless- when looking up the final score of the '07 BCS Championship game (which was not as close as the score indicated as OSU scored garbage points at the end), I stumbled across Ohio State's all-time bowl record. They have never beaten an SEC team in a bowl game, going 0-8 against 7 different teams. I'm just saying.]

With all the hate thrown the way of the Gators this year, it is worth pointing out that if they are to win a second consecutive title, they will have to knock off two undefeated #2 teams in back-to-back games. That is as tough a task as any. If anyone can do it, the Gators can. Less than 365 days ago, they were preparing for the first of 2 consecutive games against the #1 team in the nation. "But to me, it seems quite clear. That it's all just a little bit of history repeating."

Excessive Douchebaggery

~
I was listening to the radio and I found myself listening to the local pop station. No biggie, there are songs on that station catchy enough to tolerate. Some random-ass dime-a-dozen pop song by a random artist featuring Kanye West comes on. "Fuck this shit," I said as I changed the channel. Unfortunately, I turned it to another station with another song featuring that no talent piece of shit. Radio off. Then I went off. "Fuck that guy. That douche fuck can't rhyme for shit and the worst part of it is that he thinks he is not the most giant douchebag to ever walk the planet. I hate that motherfucker more than I have ever hated anybody ever." I decided it would be cathartic for me to write about it. Without further ado, my first top ten list on this blog:

Top Ten People Who Are Less of a Douchebag Than Kanye West:

1. Jesus - Simple carpenter. Died for our sins and did other stuff good too. Unlike Kanye West, he actually IS God's gift to mankind.

2. Abraham Lincoln - One of the best presidents ever. This one did care "about black people." Enough to free the slaves. No big deal.

3. Dr Martin Luther King Jr. - Led the American civil rights movement. What has Kanye done for black people besides embarrass them every chance he gets?

4. Justin Timberlake - Good singing voice? Check. Charismatic personality? Check. Brought sexy back? Check. Giant piece of shit that can't sing, can't rhyme, and can't come up with his own beats? Leave that one to Mr West.

5. Motormouth - He is the guy who made all those fun sound effects in Police Academy and Spaceballs. With all the stupid voice effects Kanye uses, you would think this guy is his idol.

6 Dwayne Wayne - Kanye wasn't the first guy to wear a pair of stupid looking glasses. At least Dwayne had the style sense to rock a Cosby sweater along with them.

7. Alec Baldwin - If you are going to go on a drunken tirade and make a young girl cry, make sure that is not your claim to fame. At least Alec hosted SNL 14 times.

8. Archie Bunker - In the words of Archie, "If that ain't the black calling the kettle pot." America's favorite racist v. America's least favorite racist. Point goes to Archie Bunker.

9. Shooter McGavin - He took Grandma's house, ruined Happy's "happy place", and put out a hit on Happy. At least he understands the basic concept of a rhyme. Hopefully he will one day share that knowledge with Kanye.

10. My New Haircut Guy - They are both walking pieces of douchebagging shit. Only one has the decency to be a fictional character. I'll take Jager Bombs (a Gainesville favorite) over Hennessey (rap's biggest cliche').

I will leave you with inspirational words from the one and only (thanks god there is only one) Kanye West:

"I am God's vessel. But My greatest pain in life is that  I will never be able to see myself perform live."

Piece of shit.

Hindsight is 20/20 (But Mine Is 20/10)

~

That is hindsight bias in a nutshell. Ask any NFL fan, and he will tell you that he knew Reggie Bush was going to be a bust, and Mario Williams was going to be a stud. The NFL draft “gurus” think they know exactly how things are going to shake out, but in reality they are wrong more often than they are right.

These are the top 5 players on Mel Kiper’s 2007 Big Board:

1. Calvin Johnson, WR, Georgia Tech (6-4, 225)

He's not only a tremendous athlete, but he's also a hard worker and very team oriented.

2. Joe Thomas, OT, Wisconsin (6-6½, 313)

Huge, quick and athletic with a long wingspan.

3. Brady Quinn, QB, Notre Dame (6-3½, 225)

Poised, smart and at his best in pressure situations. Quinn did throw two interceptions in Sugar Bowl after throwing just one INT in his previous eight games.

4. JaMarcus Russell, QB, LSU (6-6, 260)

Big, strong signal caller with a powerful arm. Decision-making improved significantly this season.

5. Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma (6-1½, 218)

Talented RB with an excellent burst to the outside for a back his size. The concern is durability.

Three out of five is not bad, Mel Better than you usually do. Here is what I said about these guys at the time:

1. Calvin Johnson – He is a Hulk. His size is nice, but paired with his speed makes him a no brainer. By all accounts, a good team guy. I have only seen highlights of him, but he played like Larry Fitzgerald, always going up to get the football, regardless of who was covering him. Worth trading up for… My grade A+.

2. Joe Thomas – I am not going to pretend to know about an offensive linemen who I haven’t seen play game in and game out. I would have to just believe what the “experts” said. After seeing on draft day that he chose to stay home instead of going to New York, I liked him and thought that the experts might be right about his blue collar work ethic… My grade N/A.

3. Brady Quinn – I was never really sold on him as a superstar. I saw him as a guy who would only be a starter by default*. He appeared to have the basic tools, and seemed smart enough to churn out a Brad Johnson-type career. But I never sensed the “it factor” that you see in the greats. Watching him get abused by LSU in his last bowl game killed any good feelings I had about him. I saw him as the media’s Golden Boy because he was the good looking QB at Notre Dame. That said, when he was available at #9, I really wanted Miami to draft him. The experts were so high on him, and they badly needed a QB, so I was hoping that I was wrong about him… My grade B-.

4. JaMarcus Russell – A guy who got hyped just because he is a giant. He had shit for brains. The only reason he didn’t throw more interceptions was because of his cannon. He was a poor decision maker. I saw him play three years in the SEC, and was not impressed by anything he ever did. I was shocked when people jumped on his jock during his senior season. I just didn’t see it. Size and arm strength should be icing on the cake, not the main ingredient. My Grade C-.

5. Adrian Peterson – This guy was an animal. The only college running back who I ever graded higher was Ricky Williams (I guess I was right about the “higher” part). He never amassed the numbers that I expected to due to injury. That scared me off a bit, but not too much… My Grade A-.

*starter by default = Think AJ Feeley, John Beck, Gus Frerotte, Cleo Lemon, or Joey Harrington. Basically any Dolphin’s starter in the 10 years since Marino left.

The point of this is not to toot my own horn (yes it is), but I tend to be pretty good at grading draft prospects. Granted, I am one of the few people who will admit to picking Ryan Leaf to be more successful than Peyton Manning, and I thought Robert Gallery looked amazing after seeing him on film. But overall, I have been pretty accurate with my assessments.

But, I digress. Now I am going to get to the original purpose of this post...talking shit about Ted Ginn Jr. He is the fart that still lingers 2 years after the Cam Cameron era, and I absolutely hate that I have to watch him drop passes every single Sunday.

Since the NFL draft began, there have been many top-10 draft picks that have turned out to be busts. Ryan Leaf, Brian Bosworth, Tim Couch, etc. It happens. That is the nature of the NFL, and sports in general. The difference between these guys and Ginn Jr. though, is that everyone knew he was going to be a bust the second he was drafted. It was incredible. Here is why:

1. Miami needed a quarterback. Brady Quinn, who most pundits projected as a top-five pick, was available at #9. This is a no-brainer, right? I guess not. As I said previously, I was not a big Quinn fan, but with everybody being so high on him, I figured he would be worth the risk. At the very least, it would be justified because QB was a position of need. If the Dolphins truly believed that John Beck was going to be the next Dan Marino, then passing on Quinn is understandable. However, that does not justify reaching with their first-round pick.

2. Many experts had the WR class ranked as follows: Calvin Johnson…and then everybody else. Robert Meachem, Dwayne Jarrett, Anthony Gonzalez, Sidney Rice, Dwayne Bowe, and Steve Smith were all available, and expected to go between picks #20 and #50. I fully understand that every team ranks prospects differently, and every team has different needs. But that said, you still have to consider value. With that many receivers available, there was no need select any of them with the 9th pick. At least one of them would surely be available when Miami picked again at #40. Unless you were in love with that particular player, there is no reason to take him at #9. That breaks one of my major rules about the draft: Unless you have the first pick, never get a hard dick over any one particular player.

3. When Cam Cameron introduced his first-round pick, he should have been singing Ginn’s praises. Instead, he tried to justify the pick. His argument was that Ginn is a “great kick returner,” and that he “comes from a great family.” Those are valid reasons to select an undersized wide receiver with poor route-running skills in the 3rd or 4th round. But a top-10 selection needs to be a guy that you fully expect to become a perennial Pro-Bowler. The Dolphins organization lost credibility during said press conference when they were serenaded with chants for Brady Quinn. These aren’t New York fans that boo every draft-day decision the Jets make. The countdown to Cam’s firing had begun as Ginn’s career was destined for failure. This was not a banner day for Miami’s once-proud franchise.

Wardrobe Malfunction (Or So I Thought)

On Saturday, The Gators will face the Seminoles in The Swamp in their last regular season game of the 2009 campaign. A win will allow Florida to accomplish something they never have before. It would be the first time ever that they completed the regular season with no losses or ties. That would be a nice accomplishment to add to Florida's record book. Unfortunately, because of the fact that FSU (6-5) just barely crossed the threshold for bowl eligibility, this is the least anticipated season finale in my lifetime. ESPN doesn't agree, however, as they have sent College Gameday to set up camp outside The Swamp. Personally, I feel that there are more competitive match-ups on the docket, namely Miami @ USF. Nonetheless, Corso and co. will be in town, going through the motions of wearing Albert's head for the world to see. Some might argue that ESPN chose Gainesville because they adore Tebow, and in light of the absence of any real marquee match-ups, they might as well feature the top-ranked (and currently undefeated) defending National Champs. That is all fine and good, but I suspect there is more at work than just that.

Sponsorship.

Earlier this season, Nike unveiled their new line of football gear called Nike Pro Combat. "Ten storied programs" were chosen to wear their "game-changing uniforms." Taking the template of the Oregon Ducks' current uniforms, and making slight stylistic tweaks, Phil Knight (Nike CEO) has fashioned uniforms to be worn by the Gators in their home finale. When I first heard the news, I rolled my eyes. Having seen what Phil Knight's fashion sense can do to the credibility of a football program, I feared the worst. Fortunately, the uniforms created for Florida are not half bad. In-fact, I actually kinda like them. Admittedly, I hated them at first. But, the more I looked them, and the more I thought about it, the more I realized that this would be a nice change of pace, especially for an SEC school. Although Florida is a bit ahead of the curve, the SEC as a whole is known for wearing boring uniforms in the archaic styles of their 1950's predecessors. FSU's helmet design screams "we stab and hurt people (or at least we used to)", and UF's helmet design meekly whispers "we remember how to write in cursive...except for those damn 'Gs'". It will be nice to see a uniform that is a bit more aggressive, and to that point, progressive in the SEC.

Having ESPN's Gameday brodcast the game which features two of the ten "Pro Combat" teams is good press. Gameday broadcast from Fort Worth earlier this year. As luck would have it, TCU unveiled their Pro Combat uniforms that day against Utah. The Horned Frogs won 55-28. I guess there is no conspiracy to cry foul about, but I am just not a big fan of promotions like this. "We are the all-powerful Nike. As a show of our magnanimity, we will bestow upon a selected few, garments worn by Zeus himself (when he played back-up tight end on Olympus High's J.V. squad. He quit football to concentrate solely on baseball. It was a tough decision for him, because he liked football more, but was better at baseball, and thus got more playing time)." Nonetheless, The Gators' inclusion in this campaign cements their place as one of the elite commercial pillars in college athletics. And I am sure the athletic department will be making a few bucks off this, so that is nice.

As you may remember, in 2007, Nike had a similar marketing campaign wherein Arizona, Florida, Ohio State, and Syracuse were selected to wear prototype uniforms. It worked out better than Nike could have possibly hoped, as both Florida and Ohio State wore those jumpsuits all the way to the Championship Game, with The Gators besting the Buckeyes for their second national title in as many years. Here is to hoping that the Gators' football counterparts can walk a similar road to repetition.

Thank You For Loving My Son

~

Suggs here. I figured that I would write this post on Roby's birthday, but I'm a couple days late. Whatever. It's how I live my life. Anyway, Roby said this should be an intro to who I am as a person. Let's see...I grew up in Rhode Island then moved to Gainesville for college when I was 17. After 4 years at UF, I moved home for 2 years, only to triumphantly return to Gainesville for 3 more years (which is when I met Roby). I now live in gay-ass Merrit Island with my fiancée, and have done so for a year and a half. It’s close enough to Gainesville that I can visit almost bi–weekly, so it’s not all bad. This is not so much an intro to me but as to where I've lived my entire life. Whatever, moving on... I like sports, TV, vodka, dogs, reading, and a few selected other things. The teams I follow religiously are the New England Patriots and the Florida Gators. I have two dogs- Chip and Dale, and a cat named Ace. They are all fucking awesome. I have recently become engaged to my boyfriend Mike who is also good friends with Roby. In fact Roby is in the unique position of being "that friend" who would just get fucked if Mike and I ever broke up. He is the best friend of both of us. He will be Mike's best man in the wedding but Roby's toast will be all about his friendship with me (if he is sober enough to function at that point). All of that is really boring shit about me that even I don't care about and is not why I've been invited to contribute to this blog...so moving right along…

I mentioned earlier that I like vodka. By “like vodka” I mean “like to drink massive quantities of vodka at all times.” And a basic rule of thumb for me is the cheaper the better (exceptions: that red cough syrup UV cherry vodka and Blavod. Roby stole it, so it counts as cheap). Because of my love for vodka, when people ask me to contribute to something it's to tell a story about the times I have consumed copious amounts of said beverage. I like to think I'm like the less funny female version of Tucker Max. Or at least I drink as much as him. Either way. you've already read about spring break ’07 through my eyes, so this time I will tell you the story of Mike’s surprise going away party. It was his last night in town before he left to accept a job at Kennedy Space Center. 

Mike's Going Away Party
Occurred: June 2008

I used to think that Mike had four stages of drinking; sober, buzzed, great time, and out of control. I had only seen him black out once and that was on St. Patrick's Day when we were working at Bennigan's, so it didn't really count. He had called me once telling me he had thrown up into a pitcher at a bar and needed a ride, but I didn't pay too much attention to him, as we were not yet dating. Another time, he had been kicked out of a bar on my birthday for throwing up in the bathroom. Since he was rational enough to point out to the bouncer that he had made it to the bathroom before vomiting, I don’t think that was so bad. He was much worse this night.

It was Mike’s last night in town, so we were going to get a little shitty. I told him that only Roby could hang out and that everyone else had plans, and he believed me because he believes the things that I tell him. Undeterred, he hit the bottle hard when Roby got to our house. It was roughly 5 pm on a Saturday. The three of us were breezing through a handle of shitty vodka and crystal light. This was nothing new. I only drink shitty vodka, and I always buy handles (go big or go home, right?). When the three of us are together, we of us usually drink an entire handle or something close to it. We drank the entire handle in less than 3 hours while watching re-runs of “The Girls Next Door” and some Lifetime movie featuring Donna from 90210. Not that it's particular exciting but it what do you expect. It wasn’t even dark yet. So at around 8 we head out to Durty Nelly's. Since Roby’s car is a sweet-ass 1998 Ford Contour, we begged him to drive. He obliged. The only problem was that he was completely retarded at this point. He drove 15 MPH on every back road between our place and Nelly’s as not to “get pinched” by the cops. He’s practically the only licensed driver in my circle of friends without a DUI, so who am I to argue? About 45 minutes later, we arrive at our destination, which was only about 4 miles away.

As we were approaching the bar, I saw Dave and Louise in the distance. I wanted him to be surprised by his friends, so Roby and I took him across the street to some shitty bar* that doesn't have Budweiser products on draft. Look it's fine to be a beer snob and not enjoy those beers, that doesn't bother me. But if you're a bar in America, and you don’t have Bud, you're a fucking retarded bar and I hope you go out of business. Mike ordered a delirium. If you don't know what Delirium is, Google it. Suffice it to say, it's much stronger than beer. After Mike poisoned his belly with the pink elephant, we headed over to Durty Nelly's.

*Editor’s note: The “shitty bar” we went to was Stubbie’s, a small beer joint with over 250 beers from around the world. It is great. Suggs is just a hater.

Upon arrival, Mike and Roby waste no time and slam a few red headed sluts (Jager is the main ingredient in these. I don’t do Jager.), and some Irish car bombs. I order a shot of vodka with a Budweiser back. God bless America. I’m not halfway done with my beer when I turn around in my seat and see the look in Mike's eye. I yelled “NOOOO!” and pushed him towards the door, unfortunately, some people were in the way and he never made it to the door. Instead, Mike projectile vomited ALL OVER THE FLOOR, FRONT OF THE BAR, AND FEET of the people in front of the bar. It was absolutely ridiculous. It was the most vomit I have ever seen come out of one human being in my life (that’s including the time Roby drank 6 Sparks and hosed down the Oxford Manor parking lot). They immediately kicked Mike out. Please don't forget Roby was just as drunk as Mike, he just decided NOT to ruin the night of everyone within vomiting distance. My friends Chris and Kerri were about to enter as we emerged from Durty Nelly's reeking of erroneousness (and vomit). They assess the situation and Chris helps me get Roby and Mike into the car. They decide that the best cure for Mike’s nausea is Taco Bell.

After sitting in line at Taco Bell for thirty minutes we finally order. Everyone gives their money and by “everyone” I mean Chris gave me his money, Mike refused to pay, and Roby handed me a clothes hanger. We pulled up to the pickup window and Roby then tried to pay the taco bell drive thru lady with said hanger. Defeated, the woman at the window paid for Roby's food. Mike was ravenous. He devoured that Cheesy Gordita Crunch like he hadn’t eaten for weeks. I guess that’s what happens when you go Mount St. Helens all over the bar.

Within minutes of getting back to my house, and Mike and Roby both passed out cold on my bed. I went into the guest room to see what Bridget, Kendra, and Holly were up to. After all, I had over an hour to kill until Saturday Night Live started. Mike definitely left Gainesville in style.