I Don't Care If You Hurt Me Some More, I Don't Care If You Even the Score

(The Cars, You're All I've Got Tonight)

I'm up doing a little work tonight, and taking a little break to nurse an upset stomach, so I figured I'd check in with my loyal readership. Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad.

I had my second of three fantasy football drafts tonight, and it struck me that I should probably update everybody out there on who I drafted. I'm not sure why, it just seems like the right thing to do. And since I never posted my team from the first draft, I'll go ahead and list them both now, and probably update the third team sometime after it is drafted. We'll call tonight's draft "Team Two" and the draft from two weeks ago "Team One." Clever, I know.

Team One: (starters in bold)
QB Tomy Romo (DAL)
RB Steven Jackson (STL)
RB Maurice Jones-Drew (JAX)
WR Santonio Holmes (PIT)
WR Roy Williams (DET) (hookem)
WR Wes Welker (NE)
K Nate Kaeding (SD)
DEF Indianapolis Colts
RB Matt Forte (CHI)
RB Jonathan Stewart (CAR)
WR Anthony Gonzalez (IND)
QB Matt Ryan (ATL)
WR Donald Driver (GB)
TE Alge Crumpler (TEN)
WR DJ Hackett (CAR)
RB Mike Hart (IND)





Team Two: (starters in bold)
QB Tom Brady (NE)
RB Maurice Jones-Drew (JAX)
RB Matt Forte (CHI)
WR Calvin Johnson (DET)
WR Santonio Holmes (PIT)
WR Anquan Boldin (ARI)
TE Owen Daniels (HOU)
K Phil Dawson (CLE) (hookem)
DEF Jacksonville Jaguars
QB Matt Ryan (ATL)
RB Ricky Williams (MIA) (hookem)
RB DeAngelo Williams (CAR)
WR DJ Hackett (CAR)
WR Kevin Walter (HOU)

One thing I notice is that there are a few similarities between the two teams, notably MoJo Drew, Santonio Holmes, Matt Ryan and DJ Hackett. Another thing I notice is that for some of my players on team one, I also have their counterpart on team two, such as Stewart and Williams (RBs for Carolina), and Johnson and Williams (WRs for Detroit). Hopefully that won't come back to haunt me.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to try not to be sick.

New Car, Caviar, Four-Star Daydream, Think I'll Buy Me a Football Team

(Pink Floyd, Money)

/exhale

Thank you, St. Louis Rams, from the bottom of my wallet. Steven Jackson, my first round draft pick in my Chicken & Waffles league fantasy football draft a few weeks ago, has finally gotten the new contract he's been holding out for and reported to training camp.

This guy has the potential to have an absolutely HUGE season. I'm talking awesome numbers. Unfortunately, he's only got another 2 weeks to get himself up to speed with the offense before the season starts. I will say that the Rams did the right thing by paying him big money (up to $49.3 million!!), because he is the best thing they've got going, though I do wish he hadn't been such a punk and refused to report to camp until he signed an extension. I have to believe most of that was his agent's fault, but still, what ever happened to a contract binding both parties?? Why do athletes think it's ok to just refuse to play until their contract is renegotiated? What if a team decided not to pay the player until they scored more touchdowns?

Either way, welcome back, Mr. Jackson. Now get your ass ready for the Eagles.

Two Worlds Collide, Rival Nations. It's a Primitive Clash Venting Years of Frustration

(Survivor, Burning Heart)

United States v. Australia isn't exactly an age-old rivalry, but hey, this is the Olympics. I'm rooting against countries I didn't even know existed (when did Ivory Coast change it's name to Cote d'Ivoire??), so of course I was happy to see the Redeem Team (dumb) pull it together after the first quarter and dismantle the Aussies today, on their way to the semifinals against either Greece (boo!!) or Argentina (boo!! - sorry Manu). Hopefully Spain (boo!!) will beat Lithuania (boo!!) in their semifinal game so we can show those racist dogs who's boss in the final game.

I've been getting pretty into the Olympics this year. I always think I'm not really into the Summer Olympics, but I think I just forget how much fun they are, due to the fact that they're four years apart and only last two weeks. The Winter Olympics are always awesome - skiing and snowboarding are just too cool to forget about being excited for. But this year's Summer games have been great - I'm pretty sure I've never cared much about swimming (thanks, Phelps, you goofy looking bastard), women's gymnastics (check out this video of Alicia Sacramone knocking out some dude in his backyard), women's sand volleyball (Misty May sounds like a pornstar's name), or synchronized diving, but lately, I've been happy to watch it all and pretend that I understand why a 16.45 score is supposed to be so awesome. (Amanda, did you see that!! He got a 16.45!! That is unreal!!)

Of course, I have no idea what separates a 16.45 from a 15.25, nor do I understand why they don't just give them scores of 1-10 and then add them all up like they used to. Either way, keep at it, Team USA. After this is over, it's time for most of you to go back to school or find jobs, so enjoy it while it lasts.

Picket Lines and Picket Signs, Don't Punish Me With Brutality

(Marvin Gaye, What's Going On)



Check out this headline from CNN.com. Dozens of people? Dozens? What do you think they're saying out in Hollywood, while they're reading this article online?

DOZENS! THERE ARE LITERALLY 36 PEOPLE PROTESTING OUR MOVIE!! WE'RE FINISHED IN THIS BUSINESS!! I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO LAW SCHOOL INSTEAD!!

And I Have Been Drunk Now For Over Two Weeks, I Passed Out and I Rallied and I Sprung a Few Leaks

(Jimmy Buffet, A Pirate Looks at Forty)

Just got back from a weekend in Long Beach. Tommy and I drove down for our fantasy football draft, which was Saturday afternoon. I'm pretty happy with my team, thanks to a bit of advance scouting and some draft day luck.

It was a really fun weekend, complete with some blackjack (lost $30 - not so bad), the draft, a visit to Waffle House, and an always enjoyable lunch at Pirate's Cove, which has moved into a temporary space further into Pass Christian. That roast beef po-boy is so good it makes my eyes water. And healthy, too!

One thing I did notice the other night, though, while we were watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics, was that the US athletes kind of looked like douchebags. Why were they all wearing this ridiculous outfit? I'm not the biggest fan of the olympics in general, but I like watching US basketball, US hockey, rooting for the United States to win medals, and most importantly, rooting vehemently against all other countries. It's really the only opportunity we get to be blatantly nationalistic. But really? This outfit was ridiculous. Lenny thought they looked like sailors, which doesn't necessarily justify it. I just thought it looked like Halloween, and everyone wore the same crappy costume. And in at least one instance, the First Lady of the United States might have had reason to fear for her sexual well-being.

I developed a pretty nasty sinus headache on the way home, and I was feeling pretty wrecked when I got home last night, but I'm feeling much better now. In case you're wondering.

Bacon Bacon Bacon Coffee Milkshake Egg and Waffle

(Electric Fetus, The Brunch Rap)

This past weekend Amanda and I celebrated Barack Obama's upcoming birthday (Aug. 4) by having brunch twice. And test-driving scooters.

Saturday we returned to the Social House, finally meeting up with some friends we've been trying to get together with since April. Doesn't seem like it would be so hard to do, but evidently it was quite a scheduling nightmare. The first time we ate there, the coffee was miserable (thankfully they've rectified that situation), and I had the "whole farm breakfast sandwich" (yes, those are belgian waffle sections instead of bread). I'll probably have to go back to the sandwich again at some point, but once I discovered how good their shrimp & grits were (with andouille sausage!), it has been hard to stray from that. Next time, though, I'm going to have to go with the savory bread pudding, topped with shrimp. I had a bite of it, and I can't wait to go back to eat the whole plate.

Sunday we went down into Kirkwood to check out a friend's house and neighborhood. It was nice, we drove around a bit, looking at some of the homes for sale, and some of the hookers walking the streets at noon on a Sunday. What can I say, we love diversity. If we do end up in Kirkwood, it will certainly be better than living across the street from the Department of Corrections Transitional Housing Center, and next door to a meth lab. We ate at Sun In My Belly, which is exactly as cute of a place as it's name would suggest. They had a jazz guitarist with a female vocalist for your Sunday Brunch Entertainment, and I had an omelet with cheddar cheese, red onion, avocado, and pulled pork. It was awesome.

As I mentioned above, we also test drove some scooters. Actually, we took turns on the same scooter. It was pretty fun. We went over to ATL Scooters, just for the hell of it, and started looking at some of the ones on display. We talked to a salesman for awhile before getting him to take us across the street to the Kroger parking lot for a quick test drive (they don't normally do test drives on Saturdays, but he was nice enough to oblige us anyway). We're not really in the market for a scooter, but if we were, it would certainly save us a bunch of money. For starters, they only run about $1700, which is about $1700 less than I was expecting. Secondly, despite it's small gas tank (1.5 gallons), it gets insane mileage, to the tune of 80 miles per gallon. That's 120 miles to the tank, at a whopping $6.50 or so, to fill it up. That's about a month of driving to and from work, for $6.50. Unbelieveable.

We were a bit shaky at first, but started to get the hang of it. I'm sure with a little bit of practice, we'd be pros. And yes, mom, we wore helmets. I've got a picture of Amanda riding, I'll have to put it up later, after I get home.