Terrific Tenacity

Today I watched the Ohio State / Wisconsin grudge-match. Number one (Ohio State in the Coaches poll) playing number one (Wisconsin in the media poll), for the Big Ten title. It was a great game. Two ruggedly tenacious teams fought for everything they got. It had the felling of a Discovery Channel death-match between a snake and a mongoose.

While I finished shoveling this evening, the game was still rolling through my mind. For my money, it was a great game because it was an intensely physical defensive battle. While Ohio State and Wisconsin literally kicked-the-crap out of each other, the game wasn’t chippy. Nor did I notice any overt trash-talking or me-first grandstanding.

I guess the old school style of the game shouldn’t have surprised me. Thad Matta and Bo Ryan are no non-sense coaches that preach fundamentals. Greg Oden and Alando Tucker are both hard working humble stars who let their talent talk, instead of their mouths.

It was refreshing to watch two classy teams square-off for the right to be number 1. The game wetted my appetite for March Madness. I look forward to the inevitable drubbing of a more talented ACC or SEC team by a gutsy hard working Big Ten squad.

I wondered what others were saying about the game. So I checked a couple of sites and stumbled across Gregg Doyel’s article “Who’s No. 1? Hopefully, neither team in Columbus.” Like an uneducated loud-mouthed critic, he bitches about the low scoring nature of the game and takes cheap personal attacks at well-meaning collegiate athletes. He gives a voice to the worst parts of American fandom, he makes bombastic statements that lack any shred of intellectual insight. But I guess he has a right to his opinion.

I’ll admit that from time to time I get caught up in the excitement of the Phoenix Suns’ or Dallas Mavericks’ brand of run-and-gun basketball. But I equally appreciate the tension of a good defensive struggle between two evenly matched teams. Unfortunately, in America today, I’m in the minority. It seems most American fans increasingly want flashy, boastful style over gritty, humble substance.

I feel sorry for any viewers who turned off the low-scoring Badger - Buckeye battle… they missed one hell of a game.

Take That Tim Hardaway

Thank you for pointing this out David.

The perfect retort to Tim Hardaway's Homophobia:

NE Pub-Crawl: A New Twist on an Old Favorite

Saturday night Gates Brown, Law Rez, PW, and I toured Nord’east. We started at Mayslacks for some roast beef goodness. We got there just in time to beat the $5 cover, and we snagged the last table in the place, which surprisingly was also the best table in the bar. For those familiar with Mayslacks, it was the table immediately adjacent to the door, on a slightly raised stage. The night was off to a great start.

Even though Mayslacks is under new ownership, the famous beef was de-lish. I guess you really “can’t beat their meat.” Joe joined us for drinks while the rest of us stuffed our faces with gobs of delectable beef. The service was less than stellar, it took an awfully long time to get the house specialty, but that was my only complaint.

After Mayslacks, we crossed the river for a brew at Stand-Up Franks. Interesting things happened to us, and around us for the entire 20 minutes we where there. If you want to know more about the details, you’ll have to ask one of us.

Next was the N.E. Yacht Club. We had another round of beers. But we didn’t stay long and we were soon off to the next watering hole.

We had another beer at Stasius and enjoyed the cover band and the “stand-up shower urinals.” The cover band was anything but ordinary. This five man group sang “Regulate” by Warren G and Michael Jackson’s classic: “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.” And they did a damn fine job with both.

After that, we made the one drink related stop of the evening: Tony Jaros’ for a round of “Greenies.” For anyone unfamiliar with “Greenies,” they are a Nord’east legend. All I know about them is that 1) They are green, 2) they have vodka in them, 3) they go down way-too-easy, and 4) they pack a potent punch. They are quite refreshing no mater the season. If you’ve never had one, put it on your Twin Cities to do list.

Our final bar stop was Grumpy’s. I’ve always liked N.E. Grumpy’s because it’s never too busy. I usually manage to get a booth, and the service is always top notch. There was one last round of beers, and we had one last stop to make.


Checking-out Nord’east bars that we had never been to was the theme for the night. And none of us had ever been to the 22nd Avenue Station. We’d heard various rumors and legends about the neighborhood strip-joint, but had never seen it for ourselves.

Unfortunately, we got to the door just as they were closing… boooooo. Or disappointment was tempered when a female patron walked out the door, and sensing our dismay said, “Don’t worry guys… she wasn’t that hot.”

Well, we would have liked to have been the judges of that. I’m sure she was right though. But we didn’t let it ruin our night.

Thanks gents, it was a blast.

Casino Royal: Super Human Bond with Super Great Bonus Narration

Last night Amber and I went to Casino Royal. All in all, we gave it 4 thumbs-up. Good pacing, believable villains, and terrific action scenes. Daniel Craig brought a rough, slightly depressed Bond to the screen; quite a contrast to Pierce Brosnan’s spit-shinned version. The more muted, yet still heroic Bond worked well in Casino Royal.

As an added bonus we had Ma and Pa Obvious behind us. Ma and Pa Obvious, a middle aged couple, found it necessary to share their thoughts with those of us unlucky enough to sit next to them. They made no attempt to whisper. During the chase scenes, every stunt was accompanied by a loud gasp or comment. And the comments were decidedly infantile. During the poker scenes Ma Obvious would give her analysis of the cards as they fell.

2, 6, 5 on the flop

“Oh, those are bad cards.” Ma remarked.

K, Q, J, K

“Wow, now those are good cards.” She later blurted out.

I almost turned around and said, “Depends on what you have in your hand. Now shut-up!” I didn’t because I’m as passive aggressive as they come. (Being raised Lutheran in Minnesota will do that to you) So I just shot them my dirtiest, dirty looks. But Ma and Pa continued to give obvious commentary, undaunted by my best dirty looks.

For some reason I’ve run into a lot of lousy movie neighbors recently. And my “are you going to shut-up or am I going to have to move” looks have been less than effective. Maybe there are more rude people at the movies on the weekend. I don’t know, but it is sucking the joy out of my movie-going experience.

Tim Hardaway: “I Hate Gay People”

Former NBA player Tim Hardaway uttered those very words while being interviewed on a radio show this week. He went on to add, “I don't like gay people and I don't like to be around gay people. I am homophobic. I don't like it. It shouldn't be in the world or in the United States.”

WOW!

No active NBA player has ever come-out, and until recently neither had a retired player. That was until John Amaechi, who played for the Cleveland Cavs, Orlando Magic, & Utah Jazz, came-out 3 weeks ago. It set off a flurry of questions and discussion about homophobia in the NBA specifically, and in sports more generally. In the last couple of weeks, nearly every major NBA star has been asked about how he would relate to a gay teammate.

As soon as Amaechi revealed he was gay, I knew that someone would get in trouble for saying something inflammatory. Before Mr. Hardaway opened his mouth, there had been a couple of minor missteps, but nothing that could be characterized as homophobic or hateful.

For example, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said, “From a marketing perspective, if you’re a player who happens to be gay and you want to be incredibly rich, then you should come out, because it would be the best thing that ever happened to you from a marketing and an endorsement perspective. You would be an absolute hero to more Americans than you can ever possibly be as an athlete, and that’ll put money in your pocket.”

Considering the source, this statement seems even less inflammatory. Cuban is known for causing controversy. In this case, he appears clairvoyant. (Although, anyone with half a brain could have seen this shit-storm on the horizon) He went on to say, “On the flip side, if you’re the idiot who condemns somebody because they’re gay, then you’re going to be ostracized, you’re going to be picketed and you’re going to ruin whatever marketing endorsements you have.”

Ooops-sie Tim.

Unsurprisingly, the NBA and Commissioner David Stern have cut Tim Hardaway out of the weekend festivities. So instead of doing promotional work for the NBA in Vegas for the All-Star game, Tim Hardaway was told to go home. An instant hit to the pocket book. I can't imgaine Tim Hardaway has a lot of endorsement revenue coming in at this point, but any that he did have will soon be gone. And he should start tipping better, or he should expect to have more valets send him to gay clubs.

"I hate gay people" will follow Tim Hardaway just like Fuzzy Zoeller's racist stereotyping at the 1997 Masters follows him.

“That little boy (Tiger Woods) is driving well and he's putting well. He's doing everything it takes to win. So, you know what you guys do when he gets in here? You pat him on the back and say congratulations and enjoy it and tell him not to serve fried chicken next year. Got it?"

Then Zoeller smiled, snapped his fingers, and walked away. Then he turned and added, "or collard greens or whatever the hell they serve."

Tim Hardaway and Fuzzy Zoeller both have had very fine careers in their respective sports. But their various accomplishments will forever be overshadowed by their insensitive and ignorant quotes. The comments will follow them forever.

Zoeller has done a good job rehabbing his image. But no matter how nice Fuzzy is, he will never shake the stigma of what he said. And neither will Tim Hardaway.

And that is the price you pay for thoughtless speech.

Happy Valentines Day

Ambular and I have a nice romantic evening planned, here's a preview...

Get Your Webpage Off Me!

Do you feel better after unloading your anger or frustration on something or someone else? I know I do. To be honest, it is the main reason I have a blog. Even though my rants may never reach the intended target(s), I feel better just getting them out of my head. And with the unlimited reach of the internet, it’s possible that some of my opinions find their way to the intended subjects.

With that as an intro, here is #35 on my list of things that get under my skin.

Everyone who has ever surfed the “internets” has, at one time or another, stumbled across at least a few “quicksand pages.”* Quicksand pages try to trap you in their electronic snare, and render your back button useless. Anyone who has ever peaked at a porn site knows what I’m talking about. You make one wrong click and suddenly you are trapped in a sea of pop-ups with little hope of escape.

At one time, porn sites, penis pill pushers, and mortgage sites were the only ones who deployed this less than scrupulous tactic. Now, “legit” websites are trying to keep you locked up on their turf. Today, I was reading an article that had an imbedded link to what I thought was a picture of the “Burger King, king.” I click… and no king, only the main Burger King page. So I attempt to return to my regularly scheduled reading, but no. My back button only refreshes the Burger King page. And I realize, Burger King has resorted to porn-site techniques.

In many ways, websites employing the quicksand method are like unsuccessful daters. They both turn people off by showing an unusual level of desperation. If a site has to resort to trapping surfers, it tells me that its content is lacking or that it has some other sort of defect.

So to all the net programmers out there…

Get your webpage off me!


* Copyrighted 2007 Gopher-Goof

Hypocrisy + Blind Greed = Bruce Lambrecht

As a Twins fan, I was giddy when last year’s legislature allowed Hennepin county to impose a county-wide sales tax to finance the construction of an outdoor stadium behind the Target Center, thereby freeing the Twins from the Metrodome. It was the culmination of years of effort by team officials, county commissioners, and state officials. Finally, the Twins would have a baseball park.

But some recent developments have cast doubt about not only when a new Twins ballpark will open, but if it will open at all. From what I understand, county officials failed to secure the land before a $12.95 million purchase option had expired. Now, the land owners, an investment group lead by Bruce Lambrecht, has reportedly requested somewhere between $40-60 million for the same piece of land. With an already tightly budgeted stadium project, that’s just not going to work. But unfortunately, as it exists today, the stadium deal is site specific so the investment group and Bruce Lambrecht have the Twins and Hennepin County over a barrel.

Yesterday, I was IM-ing with Joe about these recent Twins stadium developments. I suggested that someone should publish the names and addresses of the investment group so that the public can *ahem* tell them what they think about their “negotiation” tactics. For that mater, the Hennepin County officials who dropped the ball on the original purchase option should also get a heaping helping of public ire for creating the mess to begin with.

Then today, I got my wish. Patrick Reusse wrote a column ripping the investment group for their suddenly inflated demands. He also pointed-out how hypocritical Bruce Lambrecht has been throughout the whole process. It seems that Lambrecht

“was the co-founder of Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility. Among the ideas that he opposed vociferously was the creation of a train line, the North Star Line, from St. Cloud to downtown Minneapolis.

Then, Lambrecht discovered that the train would run through land that he owned with others on the northern edge of downtown Minneapolis.

Uff-da! Lambrecht had an epiphany and started attending pro-North Star meetings and showing his support.”

So now, a one time “fiscal responsibility” advocate, Lambrecht is attempting to stick it to Hennepin county tax-payers by fleecing them over the land needed to build a Twins stadium. Greedy AND hypocritical is no way to go through life. I hope that Lambrecht and his fellow investors get what they so richly deserve… nothing, other than public shame.

If you’d like to send Mr. Bruce Lambrecht a note, his address is:
2841 Ella Lane
Minnetonka, MN 55305*

Or if you’d rather give him a call, his phone number is:
(612)349-2775*

Sid's Take: Stadium Site Landowners Undermining Twins Plans

Downtown Journal story: Has Twinsville Struck Out?

*According to his 2005 Campaign Finance Board Filing

Old School Scents

As a newly minted attorney, without a job yet, I fell like this Old Spice commercial is taunting me. It’s on ESPN, it’s on the major networks, it’s everywhere I turn. Do the executives at Old Spice really expect Old Spice to make a comeback?

Marketing Old Spice to “the more experienced” among us makes sense. I don’t know too many people under the age of 35 who use Old Spice. (Using their deodorant is one thing, splashing on Old Spice cologne is another.) My dad used to use it, but even he has moved-on to other scents.

I’m sure there are plenty of life-long Old Spice users out there who will never wear a different cologne. But can the marketing department really expect members of the Axe / Tag / Metro-sexual generation to start wearing a musky scent? Seems unlikely.

I don’t seek reader input very often, but I would appreciate it if you would post a comment and give me your opinion on Old Spice. Men: Your age and if you use it. Women: Do you like the smell of it?

Ping-Pong Madness

Raw talent + an unhealthy obsession =

Freezing Fun

Last weekend, as if it wasn’t cold enough in the Twin Towns, I ventured further north for Joe B’s bachelor party. Going into the weekend, Joe, Josh, Jake, Mike, Lance, Damo, and I knew that we were going to be stuck in the cabin for the bulk of our time on the north shore. No skiing or snowshoeing for us. We were all a little disappointed. Nevertheless, we took full advantage of our time inside.

Even though we were stuck inside the weekend was a great time. We all got to indulge in our various vices, play cards, and watch a string of man-flicks. Fight Club, Big Lebowski, Spinal Tap, and Caddyshack were all, as always, fun to watch. Often you need a weekend away or other special occasion to dust-off the classics.

Some of us also got to engage in a rock’em-sock’em game of Risk. If we had been able to venture outside we never would have been able to finish the game. Like Monopoly, to play Risk properly, you need at least 4 people who are stuck together for an extended period of time. Lanny took home the win, and yours truly came in second. (He took Australia on the first turn and never lost it. I started in South America, moved into Africa, but couldn’t hold either of them long-enough to pull-off a victory.)

Lake Superior steamed all weekend long. It looked like a fantasy or sci-fi movie backdrop. On Saturday a few of us made our one substantial venture outside of the cabin to walk down to the lakefront. The frozen water flows and instantly freezing spray were spectacular. A couple people offered money to anyone willing to jump into the 34-35 degree water, but there were no takers. The thought of it sent shivers down my spine.

Good times.