Winter Wonderland

Most of the attention has been on D.C., but Philly got it's fair share of snow this past week. It was all people at work could talk about Tuesday, especially as it became clear that everything would be shut down on Wednesday. Sure enough, the snow started rolling in around 7 PM Tuesday night and didn't really stop until 11 PM Wednesday. For the most part it was a steady, moderate snowfall, but sometimes it really started coming down. As predicted work was cancelled on Wednesday and it was supposed to have a delayed start at 11 AM Thursday. However, when I called the weather hotline at 10 AM this morning, it was announced that manufacturing operations would not begin until 2nd shift! Boom, two snow days in a row, epic win. It's really sunny now (as it always is in Philadelphia) and the roads are starting to clear up so I'll definitely be back in to work tomorrow. Oh, I almost forgot to mention, the power went out in my apartment for 3-4 hours this morning, that wasn't horrible, but it kind of sucked. Here are some pictures I snapped of the snow around my place.

The Big 1-0-0

This is my 100th post, so I thought I'd make it a good one! I went to NYC this weekend to see a Leafs game with my boy Dave and then spend the rest of the time chilling in the city.

Friday:

I left work around 3 and drove towards the city, my plan was to park at a train station and take the train back and forth. Cost wise it wasn't too bad and convenience wise it was great. On the way up I found a great opportunity to show why so many people make fun of Jersey:

This was only one of the many scenic stretches of the Jersey Turnpike. On a side note, probably wasn't the best idea to try to record video while driving, but as you can see from the camera work, I was focusing on the road!

After parking my car I met up with Dave in Newark and headed to the Prudential Center to see the game. The place is practically brand new (a year or two old I think) and it looked pretty nice. It was a very modern facility but as is normally the case it didn't have any sort of a special feel to it.The view from our seats wasn't bad (the camera always makes it seem further away) and we didn't have a row behind us so it was really easy to get in and out of them. We got there about 30 minutes early so we saw the end of warm ups and then had some time to kill. While we were chilling I noticed one of the trillest things ever...

TVs in the rafters!!!!!!!!!!!!! I think they were for the press box level, but still, that is some pretty trill ish. It was around this point that some crazy ass Devils fans showed up and took there seats in front of us. They called themselves the Hard Hats (for obvious reasons) and one dude had a conch shell that he kept blowing into.

Since I don't think anyone who reads this blog follows the Devils (or hockey that closely), I'll provide a recap. The Leafs were up 3-1 with 3:00 minutes left in the game when the Devils scored making it 3-2. With 48 seconds left in the game the Devils scored on a 6-4 power play to tie up the game. Finally, to just put the icing on the crap cake, the Devils scored with 19 seconds left to win the game 4-3 in a pretty heartbreaking loss. Total bummer. One more thing, that place was pretty empty for the 2nd place team in the conference on a Friday night, not sure the video does it justice, but it was maybe 2/3 full at most.

After the game, Dave and I went out to a few different bars with his roommates and got pretty crunk. It hit me pretty hard that night and took me out of commission for most of Saturday (can't drink like I used to). Saturday night Dave and I headed back out into the city to meet up with a friend from highschool (TO) and a friend of mine from Germany. We went to a pretty chill place and kicked it for a bit but ultimately called it a night fairly early since everyone was pretty tired. Sunday was pretty relaxed, Dave and I walked around his neighborhood for a bit and took in the sights before grabbing a bite to eat. I took off around 1:oo to get back for the Super Bowl (happy the Saints won) and overall it was a pretty good weekend.

Making Moves!

Finally something for a Leafs fan to be excited about! Brian Burke made some moves yesterday, one a blockbuster 7 player trade, the other a move that helps Toronto take out some of the trash. First an update, then an analysis.

Blockbuster:

From Toronto
Matt Stajan (C), Nik Hagman (LW), Jamal Mayers (RW), Ian White (D)

From Calgary
Dion Phanuef (D), Keith Aulie (D), Frederik Sjostrom (LW)

Taking out the trash:

From Toronto
Vesa Toskala (G), Jason Blake (LW)

From Anaheim
Jean Sebastian Giguere (G)

Break it down!!!!

The biggest player involved in this trade is Phanuef who is a former Norris Trophy candidate. Apparently he had some attitude issues in Calgary, but I think that he will fit into Ron Wilson's system better and he will definitely mesh with Leafs GM Brian Burke (he loves hitting people and he's not European). Some of you may be wondering where you've heard Phanuef's name before, here's your answer:



Avery was referring to Phanuef dating Avery's ex, Elisha Cuthbert (cue a comment from Jing).

Aulie is also a good piece to bring to T.O., he's not going to be a major player right now, but he's a great defensive prospect and the Leafs need to think about the future, not the present. The Leafs didn't lost any one great player, but they did lose some offense and we'll see how that affects them. Hopefully some guys will step their game up to fill in because if not I could see a lot of 1-0, 2-1 losses in the Leafs' future. Brian Burke says he isn't done yet, so I have to assume he'll be looking to add some offense to the mix. I think the main player on the block will be Kaberle (D) since he's the best player the Leafs have (pre-trade) and I believe is approaching free agency.

In the other trade of the day the Leafs were able to get rid of a terrible goalie (Toskala) and a waste of salary (Blake) for a goalie that's had a rough past couple of years but who has shown great flashes in the past. Giguere will be reunited with his goalie coach from when he was pretty good in Anaheim so hopefully that will work out. He has one full year left on his contract and I think his role will be to bridge the gap for Gustavsson so he has some time to improve and then, if Giggy plays well, be trade bait next year.

This is a typical scene for Toskala

Dave and I will be seeing the Leafs in Jersey on Friday, and I'm hoping that some of these guys are already playing by then (I think they will be).

H.O.L.Y. S.H.I.T.

THIS BEAR IS THE CRUNKEST BEAR IN THE PLANET! I AM IN PURE AWE!!!!!!!

Normally I would say this might be enough to get Alex hyped about hockey, but considering that crunkest bear on Earth blows up Ohio State and ultimately Earth, he might be biased against it. Damn, that Seawolf ice breaker for waking such a monstrosity of crunkness!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just watched it again....fucking exploding volcanoes, YEEESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!

Sports Blog Recommendation

Calling all readers! (All 5 of you)

I need a good sports blog to read, I'm not looking for a sport specific blog, I want a general one that covers all sports. Currently I read Deadspin, but honestly, I'm getting tired of it. Over the years it has turned into more and more of a gossip column as opposed to an actual discussion/analysis of sports.

I think one story about drunk Jets' fans is enough, I think the current count is 5-6

I'm looking for something that has a mix of humor and analysis, not something that is just going to throw stats around like candy on flag day.

Wishful thinking: imagine PTI in blog form

I've heard of Kissing Suzy Kolber, Awful Announcing, and a few others but I've never read them. The blog must not be written like Jing's, i.e. no punctuation/capitalization, all one paragraph jammed together. Let me know what you guys think.

Side note, a search of sports blogs results in a list of "Top Sites;" number 4 is a Korean football blog...I might have to check that out!


A now for something completely different:

***I have tried for half an hour to get this screenshot from google, but it ain't workin, so here:

When you type "why" into google it gives a bunch of auto fill options, two are very interesting.

The first is "why does my vag smell?", no I'm no expert (thankfully) but I'm thinking that there are quite a few reasons that a chick could have some stink down there, but are there really so many reasons that it's the second recommended result for "why?!"

The other one is "why can't I buy a Canadian?"....what? But it got me thinking, if I could purchase a person from any country, it would definitely be a tiny Irish person. Basically I would pay him to be an alarm clock and every morning when it was time to wake up he would yell "TOP O' THE MARNIN TO YA!" and me smacking him in the face would be the snooze button.

That is all.

Apple iPad

I'm sure people are going to go nuts to try to buy this, but personally, I am dissappointed. I 'lll admit I was never that into it when all the pre-launch hype was going on, but I still think that people are making a big deal about nothing.

Hype #1: It's going to kill netbooks

No, it won't. It has no Office applications other than some weak ass program called iOffice. People who need to real work will not being using this device and a large number of netbook buyers are getting them because they're easy to work on while traveling.

Hype #2: It's a multimedia monster

False. Apple still refuses to put flash onto their products, which on a tablet, is pretty dissapointing. Surfing the web on the iPad would be great, but without flash support there's not much to take advantage of. No Hulu, no ESPN videos, no online games, not much at all.

Hype #3: It's trill as hell

It's really just a big ass iPod touch, but it shouldn't be. I think one of the worst aspects about it is that it can't run multiple apps at the same time (other than music). Basically, if you want to surf the web while listening to Pandora, you're out of luck. Want to IM while checking your email? Sorry. A device of that size, aka more room for processor/RAM, should be able to do more than the touch, not the same amount. Some people have been complaining about the lack of USB ports and other peripherals, but what does it matter if it's just running the iPhone/iPod Touch OS, you can't load outside files on anyways. Oh, typing also looks like it'll be a real pain in the ass.

What's it good for: watching movies on the go, surfing the web (non-flash sites), and I'm sure they'll be some nice new games made for it. Oh, I will give it this, for the price, if you're looking to buy an e-reader, you might as well get the 16 GB Pad, it does a lot more than the Kindle.

I don't see why someone would want an iPod Touch that you can't fit in your pocket.

If you're an Apple fan boy, or just a reasonable person who likes the iPad, let me know your thoughts in the comments.

Also, calling it the iPad, joke fodder for males 15-25 everywhere, bad call Apple marketing.

It's Football Time

Saints-Colts, I'm liking it. A few thoughts from the weekend: if the Jets can get a good WR, they're going to be pretty good next year, the Saints need to play better to have a shot in the Super Bowl--the Vikings handed them that game, and I pray that Favre announces his retirement withing 3 days.

Colts-Jets

I saw most of the game, the reason I missed part of it was due to a venue switch mid game (went from low def, to hi def TV). You know the Colts have something special when they put up a fairly dominant win and you barely hear Reggie Wayne's name called. Garcon and Collie are legit and it will be interesting to see which one pulls ahead next year. The Jets aren't bad, I'll give them that, but they need someone to compliment Braylon Edwards, dude is a good football player, but he's not exactly the best receiver.

Saints-Vikings

I'm glad they won, but the Saints didn't deserve to win that game. The Vikings shot themselves in the foot with all of those turnovers and it could have been worse if the Saints knew how to recover a football. I heard an analyst praising the Saints today because they pick up and run fumbles, I couldn't believe it! Twice yesterday the Saints had a chance to recover a fumble and blew it because they tried to pick it up and run instead of just diving on it. Sure it's great if you can do it, but take the safe play and fall on the ball.

Prediction: Saints 27-Colts 24

The Saints put Brett Favre on the ground yesterday and if they can do the same to Peyton they can win the Super Bowl. Sean Payton needs to find someone to pick on in the Colts offensive line and not let up, if they can get a crack that could be all it takes to get Manning frustrated. An aside, all this talk about Archie Manning being conflicted seems like a bit of baloney. I understand he has a strong connection to NO, but it's his kid in the Super Bowl, you think he's not going to root for him?


Weekend Update with Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey:

My girlfriend had a birthday party this Saturday night and a bunch of people crashed at her place. On Sunday we went to a diner in Plymouth Meeting to grab some breakfast. While we're eating we suddenly see Terrence Howard (Crash, Hustle and Flow, Iron Man) walk in with his family. They were dressed up so I can only assume they were coming from church. Apparently he ordered a shit ton of food (at least two orders of grits, pancakes, and some other unknown stuff), dude must have an appetite. He seemed decent enough and didn't draw attention to himself though I think he had 6 different waiters/waitresses trying to serve him, haha.