Family Guy Countdown Is Coming...Giggity!

A big project is brewing here in the P-Nats ticket office..with all the quotes and references to "Family Guy" made on a daily basis, Paul and I have decided to make a Top 50 FG Episode List. This will be a cross-blog effort with Bigtinypig, a first of its kind for BK's Big Baseball Page. The countdown will begin shortly, and will based on many different criteria, as you can read about here. Stay tuned!

Two More Ballparks!

Staci and I headed to NYC for a belated birthday weekend. On Friday night, we went to Staten Island to see an SI Yankees game (below). It was a very nice park, especially for low New York-Penn League. It was situated right next to the St George Terminal for the Staten Island Ferry. Our seats were great, and it was great to be able to see the ferry and Manhattan in the distance.

On Saturday, we headed to Coney Island and Brooklyn. We got to ride the famous Cyclone, headed to the original Nathan's Hot Dogs, and went to a Cyclones game (above) that night. I loved this park, and not just because of the semi-association with my old Brooklyn Dodgers. Everything about the park was 1st class, from the 2-level store to the many concession stands to the fan interaction.

After some time in Manhattan on Sunday, we headed home. A great birthday weekend!

Anytime's Great To Get Friendly!

Sorry that this has turned into the "Nostalgia Blog," but it's something about years that end in "4" or "9" for me..

So it was 20 years ago today that I started my first regular job at Friendly's Restaurant in Dunmore. I has worked many other odds-and-ends jobs, paper route, summers at St Anthony's Field, etc, but this was a new thing for me. I never foresaw myself working in a food-service environment (how funny that is now, considering I have been in it in some form pretty much ever since). I started that day as a dishwasher, but quickly moved into a cooking position. I ended up staying at Dunmore Friendly's for 3 years, and over the course of time, worked at over 10 stores in 4 different states, and as recently as this past winter worked in Quakertown Friendly's as a waiter. I made so many good friends there, not to mention many girlfriends through the years. I can even credit the place for my start in baseball- if I never started in food, I may never have gotten my first break in baseball. Friendly's holds a special place in my heart for all of these reasons, and it all started when I was a 15-year old just looking to make a little money.

Emmy Nominations- Finally Getting It Right!

The Emmys have finally moved into this century with picks for shows that aren't just "safe." Quirky shows like "The Office," "30 Rock," and "Weeds" have gotten alot of nominations, including Best Comedy. And the best of all (to me, at least) is "Family Guy" being nominated for Best Comedy, becoming the 1st animated show since 1961 to have such an honor. It's amazing for a show that was canceled- twice!- and started from very humble beginnings (see above- Lois with blonde hair!) to be bestowed such an honor. I will actually have plenty of shows to root for this September.

Time Flies...

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of our first trek down to Myrtle. It was an idea that Tracy and I had toyed around with for a few years, as a way to make sure all of us Mansfieldians got together at least once a year after school. On July 15th, 1999, at 5:45 AM, Brian and Steve were getting lost on the way to my Dad's house in Dunmore. We went on this trip with very little planning, not even having reserved a hotel room! What we found was a great place with plenty of clubs, restaurants, and, of course, women. There were also plenty of cultural events that week at the beach- JFK Jr died in a plane crash, Lance Armstrong won his 1st Tour De France, and David Cone pitched a perfect game. And oh yeah, Brian got us watching a new show called "Family Guy."

Alot has changed in the 10 years since then- plenty of other MB-ers have come and gone, we all got married, I moved from Dunmore to Atlanta to DC to Q-Town back to DC. But as Brian and I and our wives (and Steve in his first appearance in 4 years!) head down for the 10th time in August, one thing has remained- a great vacation week with great friends that we will hopefully be still doing when we are all old and gray.

Billy & Elton!

What a great time at Nats Park last night. Staci, Sharon, Paul and I headed to see the first ever concert at the new ballpark with Billy Joel and Elton John. I had never seen Elton, and while I had seen Billy 3 other times, I hadn't seen him since 1999. After some technical difficulties with a piano pedal, the show got rolling and it was simply great. Some pics below:

Disco Demolition Night- 30 Years Later

I'm too young to remember this happening, but it is well known that Disco Demolition Night at Comiskey Park is the worst promotion of all time. But what is forgotten is that the actual demolition of crappy disco records went well- it was afterwards that things spiraled out of control. Try to catch the Outside the Lines on ESPN commemorating it. And see below for 1979 news footage- pretty interesting stuff- and look for future stars Bill Curtis (you'll know the voice) and Greg Gumbel (NFL) in the clips:

BK's For BK- A Love Story

It's hard to remember this, but once upon a time, I was a HUGE sneaker fan. Always wanted the latest model of shoe, owned the first edition of Air Jordans (okay, they were a rip-off brand, but we were poor!), in fact growing up, it might have been the clothing I cared the most about. Around 1986 or so, I was thrilled when British Knights came to be. Not only was it a great looking sneaker, but it also had my initials- "BK"- right on the side of the shoe! I was already called BK by many people, so this was perfect. And this became all I wore for about the next 10 years. But as usually happens, things change, and BKs faded off the scene. And I eventually moved on to other things.

Then a few months ago, I started thinking about the BKs and started seeing if they were still around. They were hard to find, but British Knights still has an online store..and they had the same style of one of the dozens of pairs I used to own! They arrived today (see above)- and I must say, the style has actually held up through the years! So tonight I will don BKs for the first time since the mid-90s..and I can hardly wait! And just for the young-ins, here's a classic ad for the BKs:

Cowboy Up

It's so good to see pro athletes actually doing something nice, even better when it's my Cowboys. Warning: it will make you tear up.

My Sports Bucket List

Tomorrow is one of my favorite events of the year, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition in Coney Island. It got me to thinking of the sporting events that I still need to attend sometime in my life. Here is the short list, and it is eclectic, including some events I would typically not consider sports:

- A Dodgers World Series game.
- Finishing both my Major League and Minor League Baseball tour.
- A Super Bowl, preferably with the Cowboys.
- Indy 500 on Memorial Day Weekend.
- Hot Dog Eating Contest at Coney Island on July 4th.
- Seeing a baseball game on foreign soil, most likely Japan or Italy.
- The Masters.
- Summer Olympics.
- Aussie Rules Football in Australia (just for you Ian).

I'm sure there are more, but it's a pretty good start to a list that will probably take a long time to complete.

4th Anniversary of the 4th...

Tomorrow is going to be way too busy to write anything, so let's start this anniversary a day early..

The 4th is a great holiday, not something I was able to say before Staci, a subject I covered last year. And nothing makes it more special than baseball. It was a tradition that started in 1995, when my girlfriend Anne and I went to an Elmira Pioneers game. I also went to a Braves game in Atlanta both in 2000 and 2002. But when Staci and I decided to start our baseball trips in earnest, we headed to Cleveland to see Jacobs Field. It ranks as one of my favorite games that I have been to, just for the life direction that it led me to. And, of course, the next year, at RFK, was our engagement. This year will mark the 8th time, and the 5th consecutive year, that I will be at a game on the 4th. '05 and '06 will most likely never be topped, and that's just fine with me.

RIP Karl Malden

Another celeb bites the dust, this time Karl Malden. He was in such classic movies, such as "On The Waterfront" and "A Streetcar named Desire," along with the '70's show "Streets Of San Franscisco." But he's probably best-known for a slew of popular American Express ads in the '80's. He's the one at the end: