Retro Music Moment

Something got me to thinking about one of my favorite shows as a kid- "Friday Night Videos." Now, we had MTV from day one in my house, but for some reason, this weekly NBC show always had me riveted. Maybe because it was "late night"- it ran from 12:30 AM-2 AM. It was the first show i can remember being allowed to stay up late and watch, which was probably my angle at the time. Here's the intro to a 1983 show:



Another favorite music/weekend show of mine from this era was "Casey Kasem's Top 10". Much like his popular radio show, Casey counted down the hits from the week. Here's a show from 1988. For an added bonus, check out the classic ads. And how about the "Prevue Channel" at the beginning of the clip? Yup, kids, we only had 40 channels and to find shows you had to sit through bland elevator music.

No Classic For Me

I have resolved to watch none of the World Series this year. People, including my own wife, are amazed at my position on this. How could as big a baseball fan as myself not watch the biggest games of the season? It's simple and complicated at the same time. The easy answer is that I don't like either team, and could care less which outcome occurs. This is only the second time in my life that I have not watched the Series (other time being '00 Mets-Yankees). Here's the more convoluted reasons:

1. I can't root for the Yankees. Ever.
Yes, my wife is a fan. So is half of my family. That doesn't mean that I can switch allegiances and forget all the years of hatred toward this franchise. They tortured my Dodgers for a good two decades, ensuring we only won one championship while losing 5 times to the Yankees from 1947-56. And of course, the 1977-78 debacles as well. And is it really an accomplishment if you outspend everyone and win it all? No.

2. I can't root for a team that just pummeled my team.
The Dodgers lost two years in a row to the Phillies, and it was even more painful this year. There is no way I can get myself up for rooting for them, even against the hated Yankees.

3. The Drought Factor
As I wrote about here, once the Dodgers are out, I typically root for the team that has been waiting the longest for a title. And it's been an embarrassment of riches the last few years. Consider:
'08 Phillies (28 years), '08 Rays (never), '07 Rockies (never), '06 Cards (24 years), '06 Tigers (22 years), '05 White Sox (88 years), '05 Astros (never), '04 Red Sox (86 years). This year? Yankees (9 years) vs. Phils (1 year). While 9 years is a long time to spoiled Yankee fans, it's not long enough. It's never long enough in my opinion.

4. The Annoyance Level of the Fan Base
This does not include most people I know,including my wife (Yankees) and best friend (Phillies). Wow, these two teams would battle every year based on this, with the Red Sox and Mets thrown in for good measure. The sense of entitlement, the hijacking of away games, the fistfights and drunken stupidity. And look no further than Facebook to see how ridiculous these people are. Do I really need to know how you feel during every second of the game? No, I do not. State your excitement before and after the game and leave it at that.

So there you have it. The next baseball game I watch will be next March. In the meantime, I will be entrenched in football- until the Giants-Patriots Super Bowl.

Oughts In Review- 2000

Today I begin a 10-week series on the decade that is coming to an end. Most of my focus will be on music, but will include other pop-culture, sports, and news as it is relevant to me. The music portion will include some of my top hits from that year, and will culminate in a massive "Top 200 Hits of The Oughts" on New Years Eve. So without further ado, here is 2000:

News:
The year started with the ridiculousness that was Y2K, or the lack of Y2K. Planes were supposed to fall out of the sky, life as we knew would end. Yeah, not so much. I started my first full year in ATL watching the Peach drop. Then there was the "hanging chad" election. Bush "beats" Gore, thanks to brother Jed, and country goes into 8-year tailspin.

Sports:
The down side: my teams sucked. Dodgers finished 11 games out, as Fox continued to ruin a proud franchise that still shows its effects today. The Cowboys went 5-11, and the Dave Campo era was in full disarray.
The up side: Location, location, location. Including the NLCS the previous fall, my new hometown hosted one of the most exciting Super Bowls in history (Rams 23, Titans 16) & the MLB All-Star Game, which I went to and also volunteered for. My first foray into working in baseball.

TV/Movies:
Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, Friends, Family Guy, West Wing
Meet The Parents, Castaway, Almost Famous, Scream 3, Scary Movie

Music: (alphabetical, not ranked)
Aaliyah- Try Again
Backstreet Boys- The One
BBMak- Back Here
Big Tymers- Get Your Roll On
Billy Joel- 2000 Years
Britney Spears- Oops I Did It Again
Creed- What If
Creed- With Arms Wide Open
DMX- Party Up
Eminem- The Real Slim Shady
Everclear- Wonderful
Filter- Take a Picture
Foo Fighters- Next Year
Fuel- Hemorrhage (In My Hands)
Garth Brooks- Lost In You
Jay-Z- Big Pimpin'
Lee Ann Womack- I Hope You Dance
Lonestar- Amazed
Matchbox 20- If You're Gone
Matchbox 20- Bent
Papa Roach- Last Resort
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Otherside
Sister Hazel- Change Your Mind
Splendor- I Think God Can Explain
Stone Temple Pilots- Sour Girl
Stone Temple Pilots- Atlanta
Vertical Horizon- Everything You Want
Vertical Horizon- Best I Ever Had
3 Doors Down- Kryptonite
9 Days- Story of a Girl

Georgia On My Mind

Today marks the tenth anniversary of my move from PA to Atlanta, and in many ways the beginning of my adulthood. True, I had lived through the college years, had 2 kids, but now I was going to do something with my life. I had reached a ridiculous level of depression and melancholy. I was "stuck" in restaurants, living with my Dad, and muddling through Scranton life. I had known for at least a year that I would be moving away, just where and when were always the question. DC? North Carolina? LA? Atlanta was on my list, but far, far down. Then I got the opportunity in August of '99 to help my friend Mel move to Atlanta. And what an eye-opener that trip was. I fell in love with the city immediately, and started to make plans to move there.

It took a few months to get everything in order, but soon I was driving down I-85 into the beautiful lit-up Southern jewel. It stands 2nd only to Mansfield as the best move I ever made. What about DC, you say? True, I met my wife here, and started my baseball career here, but neither would have been possible without the leap of faith (with the help of some dear friends) that it took to move 850 miles from everyone and everything I knew. And it wasn't always easy- searching for a job, the Carl melt-down, driving 13 hours to see friends and family. But the people I met, the jobs I worked at, the ambiance of a city that was still in the after-glow of the '96 Olympics, the cultural changes..it was wonderful.

I moved from Atlanta to be closer to family and friends in 2003, and unfortunately I have not been back. The plan is to change that next year, and to show Staci what I have been gushing about all these years- that Atlanta is one of the best cities in the country, and more importantly, the place that gave me my life back.

New TV Season So Far

We're about a month into the new TV season, and so far, it's one of the best the networks have had in a very long time. Here's my take on the new shows I have been watching.

The good:
Modern Family (above)- Best new show, period. Ed O'Neill heads a great ensemble which puts many twists on the "traditional" family.
Community- Joel McHale & Chevy Chase. Great to see Chevy being Chevy again.
The Middle- Nice comedy about a family in Indiana.

The so-so:
Cougar Town- Courtney Cox makes this show, but the jokes are hit and miss, mostly miss. Only giving it a another week or so.

The downright ugly:
Hank- High hopes for Kelsey Grammar. Sad-sack show which we turned off 15 minutes in.
The Cleveland Show- Just awful. Taking the most boring character from a great show and spinning them off is a bad idea to begin with (see: AfterMASH), but this show has no point. Watched an episode and a half and laughed zero times.

The Long Wait

Our new dog Willie came home last night. It's been a long wait in a couple of ways. I've wanted a dog since I was a kid, and after 36 years, i was finally going to get that opportunity. Also, Staci & I have wanted to get a dog practically since we moved in together. We were always held back by something- Staci being in school, my crazy landlord who was allergic to dogs, us moving back and forth to PA, and so on. When my season ended, it was finally the right time. So after searching through dozens of postings on many different shelters, we found Willie. He seemed perfect for our needs- low-key, older (ie trained and not hyper), and just the right size for our small apartment.

After visiting him on Saturday, we were able to finally get him yesterday. And after one day, I've got to say so far, so good. I really have only 2 "musts" for a dog. First, he can't be a beggar. I can't stand having a dog in my face when I am trying to eat, especially when their food is more expensive than mine! As we sat down for dinner last night, Willie barely looked up from his new favorite spot on the floor to sniff the aroma. Test 1: passed! My second thing is that my being awoken by said dog should be kept to a minimum. I have so many sleeping disorders, that I don't need anything adding to that. Aside from needing to go out at 2:30 AM, Willie did remarkably well, especially for a first night in a new home. He slept on the floor next to the couch, and while he woke up every time I moved, he would go right back to sleep. Test 2: passed!

So far, so good for Willie. I am curious/worried how his first day alone will be with both of us at work, but I am sure he will be fine. I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship.

'09 Playoff Teams' Current Droughts

World Championships:
Phillies- 2008
Red Sox -2007
Cardinals- 2006
Angels- 2002
Yankees- 2000
Rockies- Never (started in '93)
Twins- 1991
Dodgers- 1988


League Pennants:
Phillies- 2008
Red Sox- 2007
Rockies- 2007
Cardinals- 2006
Yankees- 2003
Angels- 2002
Twins- 1991
Dodgers- 1988

Besides the Dodgers, I usually root for the team that has gone the longest without a World Series Championship or at least a League Championship. I never thought that team would be the Dodgers, in both cases. Sigh.

Playoff Hibernation

Tomorrow starts the MLB Playoffs, a wonderful time of year. This is the 3rd time in 4 years, and 4th in 6 years, that the Dodgers have made the playoffs. Which is fantastic, except for two factors: the stress that I feel watching my team in must-win games every day- I live and die with every pitch, and drive myself crazy; and the way it affects my schedule. The latter is not a horrible thing, it just alters my planning on a day-to-day basis for a month. Want to do something next Tuesday? I can let you know Monday after the networks figure out what time the Dodgers game is. And there's no phone calls, emails, Facebook, etc. I have only missed one game in the last 25 years of Dodger playoffs, and that was to be best man in a friend's wedding (which I will never let him live down). The Dodgers haven't made it very far since 1988, so this usually only a week and a half of anomaly. But one of these years, they may actually make it back to the World Series. When that happens, hold your calls and emails till the second week of November.

MLB Stadium Visit #28/ Midwest Baseball Trip

Last week, we did our first big MLB trip of the year. And it was one of our most ambitious trips to date. Our main goal was Milwaukee to see a stadium we hadn't been to in Miller Park. But there was so much more to do.

After driving late Thursday night to Canton, OH, we woke up Friday morning to head to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. While all Halls have been ruined for me by how great the Baseball Hall is, this one wasn't bad. Plenty of Cowboys stuff to see, along with old uniforms. After a few hours there, we drove the 45 minutes to Cleveland to see an Indians game, where we hadn't been in 4 years. I made sure to get us seats close to where we sat the last time, as this was the place that I had decided to ask Staci to marry me. Jacobs Field still ranks as one of my favorite parks.

After the game, we drove 4 more hours to give us a head start on Saturday, which put us in South Bend, IN. I'm always a fan of college towns, even when I hate the team (like Notre Dame). Saturday morning, we walked around campus and took in the football field. Even got to see Touchdown Jesus, well-known throughout the college football world.

Then it was back on the road to head to Milwaukee. We drove through Chicago, and made a stop at Gino's East Pizza, a famous Chicago deep-dish pizza place. After having Giordano's (its main competition) in '07, I have to give the edge to Giordano's.

We finally arrived in Milwaukee late Saturday afternoon. We decided to take in the Riverwalk to get some Milwaukee food, and also so I could see the bronze Fonzie statue. Had some cheese curds, took my picture with the Fonz. On Sunday, we went to the Brewers game to see Miller Park. This stadium would be an easy top 5 for me, based on atmosphere, food, concourses, the stadium itself. But one fatal flaw- the scoreboard is awful- tiny screen, with a bigger 1980's style stat board below it. So it falls somewhere in the top 10.

After the game, it was time for 7 more hours of driving, to a small town in Ohio that would put us just a few hours outside of Pittsburgh for the next day's game.

Monday was a return to PNC Park to see the Dodgers take on the Pirates. I was excited not only to see the Dodgers, but because they had a chance to clinch the pennant that day. They did not, instead losing 11-1. But PNC is still a great place to catch a game. The final 2 stops were exciting as well- the site of Forbes Field, where Pittsburgh played until 1970, where they still have a piece of the outfield wall. And West Field, where the Negro League's Homestead Grays and Pittsburgh Crawfords played. It's now used for a middle school soccer field, but you can still see the outline of the diamond.

Another great trip, and only 6 parks left! We are getting there!