Wookout Cookout Part Deux!

We had the 2nd ever Wookout Cookout this evening. As far as I am concerned it was a big hit. Basically what inspired this was that I realized a little while ago we had not been together as a group in a while.

All the Deuce guys (and their wives) had to be there, and they were. Ty showed up first and Shawn shortly thereafter. Tom and Jill were next, followed by Dave and Steph as well as Mikey and Ashley (you look great with weight you have lost). For those of you who don't what the Deuce is, that is another story for another day. Needless to say, some of the best and most important events of my life are somehow tied in to the Deuce guys.

The star of the show, besides all of the wonderful food (btw Steph your baked beans rocked!), was my son. You give him a crowd, and he is in his element. He was playing in the sandbox, riding his tricycle, playing catch with anybody who would throw him a ball. He had a great time with everyone. His faves were definitely Jill, Tom and Ty. He started asking where "Uncle" Ty was right after he left. He loves Jill because she will read with him, play in the sandbox with him, whatever. I think he like Tom b/c he reminds him of me. He had a blast.

We have plenty of leftovers to munch on for a few days. Yesssssss!!!!!!!!! The most important thing to me was seeing all of my friends. The food was just gravy (no pun intended). I hope we don't go so long between get-togethers next time.

It is such a blessing to count them as friends. They are closer to family than friends. If they don't know that, I am telling them now. You guys rock!

Till next time...................................

Where do I start?

Been a while since I posted. Lots on my mind. We will just go stream of consciousness tonight.

Out for the summer. Going to spend it with my son. Looking forward to it.

On that same line of thought, I really don't like this time of year because many of my colleagues and friends lose their jobs this time of year. I have been in their shoes and it sucks. Good luck to all of them in the future.

Another Memorial Day has come and gone. A special thanks to those families whose loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedoms.

My beloved Celtics lost to Orlando in 7 games. Surprised it took so long. I am totally rooting for the Magic and Nuggets in this round of the playoffs because I am sick of all this Kobe and Lebron stuff. Kobe v. Lebron has been a foregone conclusion since the playoffs started. Like ESPN ever beats a story to death. The NBA and ESPN will throw up on their collective shoes if there is a Magic-Nuggets finals. I hope it happens.

Even though I don't watch AI, I enjoyed Simon Cowell pouting after his boy Adam Lambert didn't win. Classic! I just don't like it when people in his position openly play favorites. Kind of like the ESPN folks.

I am hosting a get together this Saturday with friends I don't get to see nearly enough. It is hard for us to get together since we live on opposite sides of town. I am really looking forward to seeing everyone.

Sure have been seeing a whole bunch of John Schneider (Bo Duke) lately. I actually watched him in Lake Placid 2 on SciFi. Did you know there will be an LP 3? Right now I am watching him in Shark Swarm on the Hallmark Channel with co-stars Darryl Hannah and Armand Assante. It is cheesy, but I can't stop myself.

Going to the Rickwood Classic Wednesday afternoon. The Chicago White Sox's AA affiliate, the Birmingham Barons, host this game every year at the oldest continually operating ballpark in the country. The game starts at 12:30. You ought to go if you have a chance. It is a lot of fun. It will be even better when the refurbishing of the field, as well as the construction of a Negro League Museum is completed. Hope to see you there.

Do Americans Really Want More Government?

In a blog from last week, I mentioned some off the things former Secretary of State Powell had to say about the GOP. He said something along the lines of the people wanting more government and being willing to pay for it. Well, I found this today on Fox News (so take it with a grain of salt) that says the exact opposite of what Mr. Powell had to say.

The Obama administration consistently uses the word "invest" or "investment" instead of government "spending." Even so, most Americans don't make the distinction as fully 78 percent say it means spending their tax dollars, not saving them.
In addition, 54 percent of voters think the Obama administration is proposing too much of an increase in government spending, while 6 percent say not enough. About a third -- 35 percent -- says the spending is "about right."
A majority of Democrats (61 percent) think the president's proposed spending is about right, while majorities of Republicans (85 percent) and independents (61 percent) think there is too much of an increase.
The flip side of government spending is budget cuts, and the poll finds 6 in 10 think President Obama is not cutting enough waste from government, including 84 percent of Republicans, 66 percent of independents and 38 percent of Democrats.
These are just some of the findings from a FOX News poll released Friday.
Given Obama's criticism of the Bush administration deficits during the presidential campaign, some 28 percent of Americans say they are surprised Obama is increasing the nation's deficit. More than twice as many -- 68 percent -- are not surprised.
Former Secretary of State Colin Powell recently made news by saying that Americans "want more government in their life." Americans disagree. Most -- 71 percent -- say they want less government in their life. A much smaller number (17 percent) fall in the category described by Powell.

So that gives me a some hope for the future. Thoughts?

Here is what is wrong with this country!

I don't know how to post video yet, so just click on the link to see what I am talking about.

http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/sports_magic/2009/05/big-baby-shoves-magic-fan-.html

Basically what happened was Boston won Game 4 against Orlando on a great shot by Glen Davis at the buzzer. In his exuberance to get to the Boston end of the floor and celebrate with his teammates, Davis had to dodge a referee and accidentally bumped into a kid and knocked his hat off. No big deal right? Apparently the dad, who has way too much spare time on his hands and is looking for free publicity for his business, made it a big deal.

Dude writes a letter to the NBA demanding an apology from Davis, calling him an animal, and ranting about the NBA not keeping fans safe. Davis, being the bigger man, issued an apology today even though one was not warranted. The NBA politely reminded him that if he cannot stay in the fan box in the future, then he risks forfeiture of his tickets. Yeah, you actually have to stay off the court Holmes.

These are court side tickets, so dude can obviously afford them, and he is whining about his son getting his hat knocked off? If that had been an Orlando player hitting the winning shot and the same thing happened, then that would have been the end of it. But no, he chose to act like a child and pitch a fit.

But no, this tool has to make a federal case out of it and in doing so, he comes across as one of those parents who will always take their kid's side no matter what Junior has done wrong. This kid is probably totally embarrassed by his dad's reaction and will not hear the end of it any time soon. At the same time, he probably gets this "protection" all the time. That will really help Junior later in life when confronted with a "real" situation. He will just get Daddy to fix it. What a message to send to your kid. Things don't turn out the way you want, you pitch a hissy fit and get an apology you don't deserve and come across looking like a total jerk.

Nice going buddy, you exemplify what is wrong with this country. We are becoming a nation of thin skinned "Nancy Boys" who whine, moan and groan when things don't go our way and expect to be rewarded for pain and suffering. Give me a break dude and toughen up.

We should now all pause for a moment of prayer and silent reflection as we wish the hat a safe and speedy recovery.

Thoughts?

Celtics-Magic (Game 3)

6:00 PM: Game three is about to start. Worthless stat of the night: In seven game series that are tied 1-1, the team that wins game three wins the series 75% of the time. Random statement of the night: Orlando's starting PG tonight, Anthony Johnson, is one unattractive dude.

6:07 PM: Tonight's blog is dedicated to my old college buddy Jill down in Orlando. She had to give up tickets to the game to work tonight. Jill, this one is for you my friend. Here we go!

6:22 PM: Time out Orlando. 5:28 left in the first qtr. and the Magic lead 14-6. I expected the Magic to come out jacked up and they did. Boston needs to weather the storm and get themselves together. My boy Scalbrine is in now and is working the green headband!

6:31 PM: Time out on the floor. 1:27 in the second qtr. and the Magic lead is down to 4 at 18-14. Every single basket has come form inside the paint. The first team to get hot (at this point lukewarm might do it) will give themselves the best chance of winning.

6:38 PM: Rondo, the soon to be best point guard in the NBA, just hit a runner at the buzzer. Orlando leads 22-18. The Celtics withstood the initial charge and are settling into their game. Their best chance is to turn this into a half-court game. Orlando needs to get out and run.

6:41 PM: The in-between qtr. coaches interviews are really lame.

6:44 PM: Big Baby just missed his second lay-up in a row. Not a good sign.

6:46 PM: Somebody just made a jump shot! Eddie House just hit 2 back-to-back. Timeout Boston. 8:44 left in the first half and Orlando leads 26-22.

6:54 PM: Does anybody call travelling anymore? Gortat took the ball and ran with it, but Davis got called for a foul after the uncalled travel. Boston couldn't water if they fell out of a boat. Boston timeout. 32-22 Magic with 7:09 in the first half.

7:06 PM: Somebody needs to take Big Baby's shoes away from him and hide them so he can't play anymore. He just dropped the ball out-of bounds. Two missed lay-ups and a couple of turnovers and 3 fouls. In his defense the last foul was a flop by the Orlando player. Scal just got his fourth foul. Magic by 11. Timeout Orlando.

7:18 PM: Well I guess I was wrong about Boston withstanding the initial surge. Orlando leads at the half 53-41.

7:44 PM: And we're back. Orlando is currently up by 16. Boston just can't get any stops and on top of that, they can't score. Not a good trend. Timeout Boston with 8:26 left in the third. This could get ugly quick.

8:07 PM: Boston closed the 3rd qtr. on a 15-4 run. After being down by 20, they are only down 9. Orlando leads 78-69. Guess who is leading the charge? Eddie House of course. This guy has been on fire the last three games. However, I don't think Boston has enough left in the tank tonight to pull off the comeback tonight. I hope I am wrong since Boston needs to win at least one of the next two games in Orlando to regain home court advantage. I felt tonight was their best chance.

8:15 PM: It's time for the "Give the ball to Paul and get out of the way" portion of the game. Boston is still down by 8.

8:20 PM: Superman just got his fifth foul. Won't matter since Orlando leads by 11.

8:24 PM: Check that, Orlando is up by 16 with 7:15 left. This game is over. No one except Eddie House can get a basket for Boston. May as well start getting the starters some rest and put all the eggs in one basket on Sunday.

8:31 PM: I am sure if Jill can see this score, I am sure she is a happy camper. Orlando is up by 18. It is going to be a one game season on Sunday. If Boston wins game 4, they have 2 out of the last 3 games at home if the series goes 7. If not, they are done.

8:38 PM: Boston timeout. Orlando up 107-87 with 4+ minutes left. Garbage time is coming up!

8:51 PM: Orlando wins by a score of 117-96. Orlando leads the series 2-1.The Magic just would not be denied tonight. As good as Boston looked in game two, they looked that bad tonight. They had better hope the Game Two Celtics show up Sunday or they are toast.

Game 4 is Sunday at 7 on TNT. See you then.

Congrats to your team's win tonight Jill!

Celtics-Magic (Game 2), the Scrubs finale and Brett Favre

7:13 PM: 7 + minutes in 1st qtr.Time out Magic. The Celtics lead early 12-6. However, Pierce is on the bench with two fouls and Scalabrine and Starbury are already in the game. This could get dicey fast. However, Allen and Rondo are off to better starts than Monday night, so we may not have to see "Give the ball to Paul and get out of the way," as much.

7:24 PM: 2:04 left in the 1st. C's lead 22-16. Ray is still playing well. JJ Reddick has hit a couple of threes to keep the Magic close. BTW, I am not digging JJ's soul patch.

7:30 PM: end of 1st Qtr. Boston leads 26-21. Scalabrine even had a block. Reddick had another three and is the leading scorer with 11.

7:39 PM: Random observation. Scalabrine looks like a taller version of Michael Rappaport of Shaft and MTV Rock and Jock fame. Celtics lead 35-27.

7:52 PM: I have been switching between the game and the Scrubs finale. Still a funny show. BTW, the Celtics lead 41-30. The Celtics are playing better defense than Monday.

8:00 PM: Scrubs is over. Gonna miss that show. The relationship between J.D. and Turk sometimes reminds reminds me of Dave and myself.
Anyway, I turn back to the Celtics game and they are ahead 54-37. Boston looks like they have more spring in their step tonight.

8:11 PM: Celtics lead 61-46 at the half. Impressive due to fact that PP has only played five minutes due to having 3 fouls. However, Jesus Shuttlesworth has 13, Kendrick has 14, House has 11 and Rajon has 8 points, 7 rebounds and 12 dimes. I smell another triple double for the soon-to-be best point guard in the league.

8:28 PM: The annual Brett Favre, "I am retired. No wait, I am not." saga had begun. Therefore, ESPN will go wall-to-wall with this until a resolution is met. Personally, I was tired ove when it first started years ago. Brett, just like Roger Clemens, loves being courted. To be fair, most of us do, but this is overkill. I think he just can't stand not being in the spotlight. That is why we go through this every year. Play with the Vikings or retire to make Wrangler and Toro commercials, I don't care. Make a decision and stick with it. If he does come back, this could end up being Johnny Unitas with the Chargers or Willie Mays with the Mets.

8:34 PM: PP just picked up his fourth foulf and the lead is down to 13. I think Paul just needs to go sit on the bench for the rest of the night tonight. It is not just his night tonight.

8:40 PM: The first Dos Equis commercial of the night. I work with a guy who reminds me of the man in the commercial.

8:46 PM: Celtics by 23. Rondo just got his triple double on a drive and wide-open dunk. Man this guy is good. I wonder how Dave's AI blog is going.

8:58 PM: C's by 22 . As bad as they looked Monday, Boston has looked that good tonight. The defense has been stifling and PP's foul trouble has been a non-issue. Rondo has his triple double. Rafer Alston took a swing/slap at Eddie House. The official did not see it (big surprise). Alston may be looking at a one-game suspension after the league looks at the tape. Eddie is 9 of 10 shooting and has 22 points.

9:07 PM: 9:31 left in the game (I am calling for no OT in this one) and Boston leads 91-67. Ray Ray and Rajon have rebounded nicely from a lousy game 1 with 20 + points and a triple double respectively. Time to put in the bench warmers and get the starters some rest.

9:15 PM: Play is getting sloppy. Boston takes a timeout with 7:07 left. Celtics lead 93-75.

9:21 PM: House gets a 4 point play. Don't see that very often.

9:27 PM: House exits to a standing ovation. He earned it with 31 points on 11-14 shooting.

9:33 PM: Scal hits a 3, then Ray takes a foul so Doc can empty the bench. Bill Walker, Gabe Pruitt, and Miki Moore, Hello!

9:37 PM: C's win big by a score of 112-94. The Bench was big tonight, scoring 43 points. Ray and Rajon got their grooves back and Eddie House went off. Rafer Alston will probably be suspended for game 3 for the Magic. Friday might be a great opportunity to take back home court. I am off to watch the Rockets-Lakers game. Go Rockets! See ya' Friday.

General Powell speaks!

I read this on National Journal.com

Powell Says Shrinking GOP Should Return To The Center
Tuesday, May 5, 2009by Chris Strohm
The Republican Party is in big trouble and needs to find a way to move back to the middle of the country, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday.
* Isn't moving too close to the center, and left of center in terms of spending, what got the GOP in the mess in the first place?

Powell said the GOP is "getting smaller and smaller" and "that's not good for the nation." He also said he hopes that emerging GOP leaders, such as House Minority Whip Cantor, will not keep repeating mantras of the far right.
"The Republican Party is in deep trouble," Powell told corporate security executives at a conference in Washington sponsored by Fortify Software Inc. The party must realize that the country has changed, he said. "Americans do want to pay taxes for services," he said. "Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."

*General Powell is a very intelligent man and I am sure he really believes the above statements. However, I take issue with the idea that people want more goverment. I think it is a matter of a lot of people saying to the GOP, "We gave you a chance and you screwed up. We are going to let the other side give it a try." I really feel that when those who want more government in their lives are going tochange their tune when it starts to impact them neagatively on a personal level. When proponents for "universal health care," or whatever they want to call it, have to wait an extended period of time for an operation or for chemotherapy, they will lament the lack of immediate treatment.

Powell, secretary of State during the first term of former President George W. Bush, made waves last year when he came out for the Democratic presidential candidate, then-Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois. Powell described the 2008 GOP candidate, Sen. John McCain of Arizona, as "a beloved friend" but said he told him last summer that the party had developed a reputation for being mean-spirited and driven more by social conservatism than the economic problems that Americans faced.
Powell also criticized other GOP leaders, for bowing too much to the right.

* The GOP mean-spirited? It is the other side of the aisle that says when, for example, you are against gay marriage, you are a homophobe. When you oppose affirmative action, you are a racist. When you believe that the freedom of speech comes with some limits, you are a fascist. The list goes on and on. I have a hard time buying that argument.

The bottom line in all of this is that if the GOP had stayed true to its core CONSERVATIVE principles of smaller national government and fiscal responsibility, it would not be in such dire straits right now. The problem is, they do not have anyone right now who is able and/or willing to become the leader in returning the GOP to its roots.

That is my two cents. What do you think?

Celtics-Magic (2nd half)

8:59 PM: The Celtics have cut a 28 point 3rd quarter deficit down to 10 with 1o minutes in regulation. Do they have enough left in the tank to come all the way back? Stranger things have happened, but I doubt it.

9:08 PM: The Celtics are down by 9 with 6:52 left. They have had a couple of stops and have a have had chances to shrink the lead even further. Looks like the Celtics are going to go to the "Give the ball to Paul and get out the way," offense. I have never liked it, even when it works. BTW I am digging Brian Scalabrine's head band.

9:12 PM: I am now fully aware of the fact that the NBA is where "caring happens." Man that is just cheezy. I don't like it when corporations or people have to point out how much they care. Just do your good works and be done with it.

9:14 PM: There goes Pierce 1 on 4 again and missing the lay up. Big surprise.

9:22 PM: 89-83 Magic with 2:40 left. Scalabrine and Pierce hit back to back 3-pointers. It is getting interesting.

9:25 PM: Ray Allen just had a 3 go in and out. However the Magic did not get the ball across half-court in time. 91-87 Magic with 35.7 seconds left.

9:28 PM: The "Give the ball to Paul and get of the way," just worked to perfection with Pierce going up against 2 guys and missing a lay-up. Magic up by 6 with 13.7 seconds left.

9:32 PM: Pierce hits a 3 with 8.1 seconds left. Too little, too late. 95-90 Magic after JJ Reddick (yeah the Duke guy) hits 1 of 2 FTs.

9:34 PM: 95-90 Magic. The C's waited too late to start playing. The Magic have taken the home-court advantage and have (at least) gotten the split that they wanted in Boston. Game 2 is a must win for the champs if they want any shot at winning the series. While The Magic have a definite advantage inside, but it looks like the Celtics have the advantage in terms of guard play. Wednesday's game should be exciting.

Have a great night all!

It's halftime.......

The Magic are beating the Celtics 56-38. Orlando looks like it has the fresher legs tonight. Boston looks, for lack of a better word, old. When Paul Pierce is on the bench in foul trouble and you are relying on Stephon Marbury to keep you in the game, you are in a world of trouble.

Maybe Boston, will get their second win in the 2nd half but it is going to tough to come back against Orlando when Boston does not have an answer for Rashard Lewis or Dwight "Superman" Howard. Ironically "Superman Returns" is on FX right now, I may watch it instead.

In other NBA related news, they held a press conference today, at his old high school, to announce LeBron James is the NBA MVP this year. Really? That is a total shocker. I was expecting Chris "Birdman" Anderson of the Nuggets to win it. Seriously, who else was it going to win it. Ko-Me (not a typo)? Yeah he had a great year, but no one, and I mean no one, has had a better season than LeBron this year.

Second half is starting. More later.

All James Spann! All the time!

I sure have a lot of things on my mind today. This is one of my pet peeves.

Why is it whenever it rains, I have local weathermen like James Spann, Jerry Tracy, Mark Prater and John Paul Dice all over the place acting as if this is the big one to end all big ones and we should start building Arks? Whatever happened to just putting a severe weather reminder in the lower right or left hand corner of the screen and keeping us updated during commercials? If that is not going to work, how about a split screen or picture in picture? That always seemed to work just fine.

But now, it is wall to wall weather personalities until the clouds of death have passed. Don't get me wrong, these guys are good at what they do and I am not making light of severe weather situations, but this is overkill to the Nth degree.

Does anybody else feel the same?

Greatest First Round Series Ever!

I watched game seven of the Celtics-Bulls first round series last night and thought it was one of the most entertaining series ever. You had the the defending NBA champs (the Celtics), minus their emotional leader (Kevin Garnett) as well as top bench player (Leon Powe), against the upstarts (the Bulls), with the Rookie of the Year (Derrick Rose), the injured sniper (Ben Gordon) and Sideshow Bob (Joakim Noah).

If KG had been available, this series wouldn't have been close. The Celtics overcoming that was a major plot line thoughout the series. The other major plotline was the battle between Rose and Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo.

Game One,which the Bulls won 108-105 in OT, had Derrick Rose tying the scoring record for a rookie's playoff debut. The guy he tied was some guy named Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Rajon Rondo had a triple double.

Game Two featured Ray Allen hitting a 3-pointer with two seconds left to give the Celtics a 118-115 win despite Gordon's 42 points.

Game Three showed why the Celtics are the defending NBA champs as they crushed the Bulls 107-86 and snatched back home-court advantage.

Game Four went to Double OT with the Bulls prevailing 121-118. Rondo almost had another triple double but it wasn't enough as Gordon, playing with a bad hammy, willed Da' Bulls to the hard-fought win. Rondo had another triple double for the C's.

Game Five? Another OT thriller. With Paul Pierce leading the way, the C's overcame a late double-digit deficit to force OT. The OT featured Gordon getting fouled on a game tying three-point attempt, even though he stepped out of bounds before he shot. You had Rondo smacking Brad Miller upside the head on a wide-open, game-tying, dunk attempt and the 80% + plus free-throw shooter Miller missing both FTs to seal the Bulls fate.

Game Six? There aren't enough words. As a fan of great basketball, it was an amazing game. As a C's fan, it was excruciating. The Celtics overcame a double-digit deficit to take an 8 point lead with 3 minutes left in the game only to give it up due to stupid shot selection by the guys in green and clutch shooting by the Bulls. It went 3 OTs. You had guys like Pierce and Allen missing FTs that would have more-than-likely clinched the game and series and John Salmons and Ben Gordon making huge shots. Joakim Noah stealing the ball from Pierce to put Da' Bulls ahead for good in the 3rd OT. So, in spite of Jesus Shuttlesworth's (Allen) 51 points, Chicago won 128-127 to force game 7.

Game Seven was kind of anti-climatic. The Bulls jumped out to an early lead but the Celtics took control in the 2nd quarter and never trailed again. The Bulls got in close a few times but could never get ovet the hump. The C's bench finally showed up this game with Eddie House scoring 16 points, including 4-4 from beyond the arc. Da' Bulls go home and the C's move on to face D$'s Orlando Magic for the right to get crushed by the Cavaliers.

To sum the series up. Derrick Rose is the real deal. Rajon Rondo has to be considered one of the top point guards in the League. The Bulls had better pay Ben Gordon if they want to keep him. It is probably not a good idea to leave Ray Allen wide open. Paul Pierce tries to do a little too much late in the game. The series would not have been this close if KG was available. Finally, Joakim Noah is extremely irritating but could be turning into a Dennis Rodman type player. The Bulls need a big man who can get easy hoops so they don't have to rely on jump shooting so much.

Great series. Great players making great plays. One for the ages. Go Celtics! Beat the Magic!

Okay I'm In!

I am caving and am going to start my own blog! Yes, I know it just send shivers down your spine. I have no real idea when and what I am going to post about. It will probably be about anything that comes to mind. It could be news, sports, politics, family life, movies, life in general, etc. I hope you enjoy it. This should be really fun.

Anybody have any suggestions for topics of discussion?