Oughts In Review- 2006

News:
Not a lot of big news this year. Lobbyist Jack Abrahamoff is sentenced to 6 years for fraud. And on a personal note, I got engaged.

Sports:
The only year this decade that the Dodgers and Cowboys both make the playoffs (hopefully that changes in '09!). Dodgers sport an 88-74 record, and the Cowboys go 9-7. Both are eliminated in the first round.

New MLB Stadiums Seen: 5 (Denver, Houston, Texas, Detroit, and Cincy). Also start the minor league tour in earnest.

TV/Movies:
Studio 60, 30 Rock, Two and a Half Men
Borat, Talladega Nights, Pursuit of Happyness, Clerks 2

Music:
Blue October- Hate Me
Chris Brown- Run It!
Coldplay- Fix You
Daniel Powter- Bad Day
Evanescence- Call Me When You're Sober
Five For Fighting- The Riddle
Foo Fighters- Best of You
The Fray- Over My Head
The Fray- How To Save a Life
Gnarls Barkley- Crazy
Goo Goo Dolls- Better Days
Jay-Z- Show Me What You Got
Juelz Santana- There It Go (Whistle Song)
Justin Timberlake- SexyBack
Kanye West- Heard Em Say
Kanye West- Touch The Sky
KT Tunstall- Black Horse & The Cherry Tree
Nelly Furtado- Promiscuous
Nickelback- Far Away
OK Go- Here It Goes Again
Panic! At The Disco- I Write Sins, Not Tragedies
Pink- Stupid Girls
Red Hot Chili Peppers- Dani California
Shakira- Hips Don't Lie
Shinedown- Save Me
Snow Patrol- Chasing Cars
Switchfoot- Dare You To Move
U2- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own

Papa

11 years have come and gone. Michael Martorana, the anchor of my family, the man who was admired and loved by everyone he came in contact with, was taken from us on this date in 1998. Thanksgiving time always reminds me of this, though this year seems to be resonating with me more. That may be because it's the first time that the anniversary has fallen on a Tuesday since the original day. That also happened to be 2 days before Thanksgiving. Or maybe as the problems that a certain sector of my family continue to fester, so does my yearning for my Papa to set it straight. There is no doubt in my mind that he would not have stood for the things that have caused this rift.

Enough of that- onto the happy memories. My grandfather was a giving person- he not only worked for the same company (Acme Supermarket) for 40 years, he volunteered his free time to his local playground (where he cooked, supervised kids, and kept St Anthonys Park running like a fine-oiled machine), his church, and his family. He loved his grandkids like nothing else, making sure we were always taken care of. And his love of sports- going to Yankees and Phillies games with him, watching football with him on Sundays- was a huge influence on me and who I am today. (see here for my last trip to Yankee Stadium and more about my grandfather)

Time heals these things, but only to a point. The dull pain that you feel about someone you have lost never quite leaves you. And I think that's probably a good thing- keeps us human. At least we had the time we did with someone so special, and those memories that can never be taken away.

Oughts In Review- 2005

News:
Iraq elections and the tsunami. But the biggest story of the year, which also cemented Bush's already-questionable presidency, was Hurricane Katrina. As much as 9/11 was unimaginable, so was Katrina, for different reasons. The US should never look like a third-world country.

Sports:
Dodgers have their worst season of the decade at 71-91. Nats have a great first-half to start the franchise right. Cowboys go 9-7 and miss the playoffs. Staci & I start our ballpark tour in earnest, getting 7 new MLB stadiums in '05.

New MLB Stadiums Seen: 7 (Philly, DC, Mets, Cleveland, Boston, Florida, Pittsburgh)

TV/Movies:
The Office, My Name Is Earl, South Park, the return of Family Guy!
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith, Wedding Crashers. 40-Year Old Virgin, Napoleon Dynamite

Music:
Akon- Lonely
Alicia Keys- Karma
Anna Nalick- Breathe (2AM)
Ben Folds- Landed
Black Eyed Peas- Don't Phunk With My Heart
Coldplay- Speed of Sound
Def Leppard- No Matter What
Fall Out Boy- Sugar We're Goin Down
Fall Out Boy- Dance Dance
Foo FIghters- No Way Back
Goo Goo Dolls- Give a Little Bit
Gorillaz- Feel Good Inc
Green Day- Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Green Day- Wake Me Up When September Ends
Gwen Stefani- Hollaback Girl
Kanye West- Gold Digger
Keane- Everybody's Changing
Kelly Clarkson- Because of You
Kelly Clarkson- Since U Been Gone
Lifehouse- You & Me
Ludacris- Get Back
Mariah Carey- We Belong Together
Maroon 5- Sunday Morning
Nickelback- Photograph
Sheryl Crow- Good is Good
Staind- Right Here
TI- Bring Em Out
Will Smith- Switch
50 Cent- Just a Lil Bit

Oughts In Review- 2004

If I were to pick a favorite year of the decade, it would be '04, and not just because I started dating my future wife. It was the year that began the glimmer of a baseball career for me, the funniest movie of the decade (Anchorman) was released, and the best TV show of the decade (Lost) began. The Expos announce a move to DC. And the music was more solid than most other Oughts. Here ya go:


News:
Bush "beats" Kerry, cicadas return from a 17 year sleep. I start working as game day staff for the Potomac Cannons. And oh yea, I started dating some chick named Staci. Wonder what ever happened to her?

Sports:
Dodgers make the playoffs after an 8-year absence by going 93-69, but are quickly eliminated. The Cowboys go back to sucking with a 6-10 record.

New MLB Stadiums Seen: 1 (Baltimore). Also the first place Staci & I see a game together (above)

TV/Movies:
Rescue Me, Lost, Entourage
Anchorman, 50 First Dates, Farenheit 911, Saw

Music:
Alicia Keys- If I Don't Have You
Avril Lavigne- Don't Tell Me
Black Eyed Peas- Hey Mama
Black Eyed Peas- Let's Get It Started
Bowling For Soup- 1985
Britney Spears- Toxic
D12- My Band
Eamon- F*** It
Eminem- Just Lose It
Evanescence- My Immortal
Fat Joe & Terror Squad- Lean Back
Five For Fighting- 100 Years
Hobbastank- The Reason
Howie Day- Collide
Jason Mraz- You & I Both
Jet- Look What You've Done
Jimmy Eat World- Pain
JoJo- Leave
Kanye West- Through The Wire
Kylie Minogue- Can't Get You Out Of My Head
Lil Jon- Get Low
Maroon 5- This Love
Maroon 5- She Will be Loved
Nickelback- Paperback Novel
Norah Jones- Sunrise
Outkast- Roses
Shinedown- 45
Switchfoot- Meant To Live
Train- When I Look To The Sky
Twista, Kanye, Jamie Foxx- Slow Jams
Usher & Lil Jon- Yeah!
Will Ferrell- Afternoon Delight
3 Doors Down- Away From The Sun

It's His Basement...

Another '80's celebrity is taken from us, as Ken Ober died last night. This may be a minor one for most people, and my guess is that most people under 30 (not you, Paul!) don't even know who he is. But Ober was huge back in the late '80's as the star of MTV's "Remote Control" game show. It was MTV's first venture into non-music programming (and sadly, the beginning of the end of the "M" in MTV). The premise was simple: Ken Ober used his "basement" to host a pop-culture game show where contestants answered questions about TV, movies and music by clicking their remote to one of 9 channels. Every show began with the phrase: "It's his basement, it's his rules, it's his game show, the quiz master of 72 Whooping Cough Lane, Ken Ober!" It was kitcshie, and the first game show that kids and teens could play along with. Besides Ober, it was the starting point for future stars Colin Quinn, Kari Wuhrer, Adam Sandler, and Denis Leary. RIP Ken, and thanks for the memories. Here's a sample of the show from 1988.

Oughts In Review- 2003

News:
Space Shuttle Columbia explodes, War in Iraq begins, Saddam is captured

Sports:
Dodgers finish 85-77, and Cowboys go 10-6 and make the playoffs in the first year under Bill Parcells. No new MLB stadiums this year (only time this decade), but I do get to Vero Beach, spring training home of the Dodgers, for the first time.

TV/Movies:
Chapelle's Show, Arrested Development, Aqua Teen Hunger Force, Andy Richter Controls The Universe
Matrix Reloaded, Scary Movie 3, Old School, Lost In Translation, Bruce Almighty, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Music:
Ashanti- Rock With You
Audioslave- Like a Stone
Baby Bash- Suga Suga
Beyonce & Jay-Z- '03 Bonnie & Clyde
Beyonce & Jay-Z- Crazy in Love
Chingy- Right There
Coldplay- Clocks
Coldplay- The Scientist
Def Leppard- Long Long Way To Go
Eminem- Superman
Evanescence- Bring Me To Life
Foo Fighters- Times Like These
Fountains Of Wayne- Stacy's Mom
Fuel- Falls On Me
Hootie & The Blowfish- Innocence
Jason Mraz- The Remedy
Jay-Z- Excuse Me Miss
J Lo & LL Cool J- All I Have
Jimmy Eats World- Sweetness
John Mayer- Why Georgia
Justin Timberlake- Rock Your Body
Kelis- My Milkshake
Live- Heaven
Liz Phair- Why Can't I
Ludacris- Get Out The Way
Mariah Cary & Busta- Give It To Me
Matchbox 20- Unwell
No Doubt- It's My Life
Outkast- Hey Ya
Outkast- I Like The Way You Move
Sheryl Crow- First Cut is the Deepest
Staind- So Far Away
3 Doors Down- When I'm Gone
3 Doors Down- Here Without You
50 Cent- In Da Club

Oughts In Review- 2002

News:
Enron collapses, Sniper attacks terrorize DC, very sad remembrance on the first anniversary of 9/11.

Sports:
Dodgers remain in contention until the final weekend, finishing 3 games out of the wild card with a 92-70 record. The Cowboys complete a 3rd year in a row of suckiness and finish 5-11. I have my first visit to LA and Dodger Stadium.

New MLB Stadiums Seen: 1 (Los Angeles)

TV/Movies:
8 Simple Rules, Friends, SNL, Six Feet Under
Bowling For Columbine, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, Super Troopers, Austin Powers: Goldmember

Music:
Ashanti- Foolish
Avril Lavigne- Complicated
Avril Lavigne- I'm With You
The Calling- Wherever You Will Go
Camron- Oh Boy!
Chad Kroeger- Hero
Coldplay- Trouble
Dave Matthews- Where Are You Going
Def Leppard- Now
Default- Wasting My Time
Destinys Child- Emotions
Eminem- Without Me
Eminem- Lose Yourself
Eric Clapton- I Get Lost
Fat Joe- What's Luv?
Foo Fighters- My Hero
Foo Fighters- All My Life
Goo Goo Dolls- Here Is Gone
Hoobastank- Running Away
Jimmy Eat World- The Middle
John Mayer- No Such Thing
John Mayer- 83
Lonestar- Already There
Ludacris- Welcome To Atlanta
Nelly- Hot In Here
Nickelback- Too Bad
No Doubt- Hey Baby
Norah Jones- Don't Know Why
P Diddy & Usher- I Need a Girl Pt. 1
POD- Boom
Puddle Of Mudd- Control
Puddle Of Mudd- Blurry
Sheryl Crow- Soak Up The Sun
Sheryl Crow- C'mon C'mon

Big D Revisited

We made our return trip to Dallas this weekend, our first to see a football game. When we were there in '06, we saw a Rangers game and did the old Texas Stadium tour, which was awesome in its own right. But we really wanted to see an NFL game, as I hadn't been in 4 years and Staci had never seen an NFL game. The opening of my Cowboys' new $1.5 billion stadium was a perfect opportunity.

Cowboys Stadium is simply breathtaking. There's not alot of football stadiums you can say that about. Most don't have the character or uniqueness that many baseball parks have (which is part of the reason we're not doing a nationwide football stadium tour). The two places I had seen games at before, DC's FedEx Field and ATL's Georgia Dome, are God-awful. They serve their purpose, but that's about it. Cowboys Stadium goes out of its way to be fan-friendly, from the nosebleed seats where you could still have a good view of the game, to the ridiculously large video board that hangs over the field. The team store was 2 levels and the size of a small department store. And the fans were well-behaved, not many drunken idiots surrounding us or falling over themselves. Even though it was my "home" team, I think I am fairly unbiased in saying this a must-see for any sports fan. And, oh yeah, the Cowboys won 38-17. Well done!

Oughts In Review- 2001

Here's year 2 of the decade for your perusal:

News:
One event will always be remembered from 2001, of course I am speaking of 9/11. Everything else that occurred (Gary Condit & Chandra Levy, continuing controversy of the Bush election, etc), fell by the wayside when we were attacked on that fateful day. No one will ever forget where they were, nor should they.

Sports:
Another crappy year for my teams, in fact both the Dodgers (86-76) and Cowboys (5-11) finished with the exact same records as the year before. Atlanta continued its run of major sporting events, as we hosted the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Basketball Tourney, and the PGA Championship. I got to attend both, along with my first major college football game (UGA vs. SC) and first NFL game (Cowboys vs. Falcons). The return of MLB after the attacks, followed by a World Series for the ages (Yankees v. D-Backs), capped off a good sports year.

New MLB Stadiums Seen: 1 (Tampa Bay)

TV/Movies:
24 & Undeclared debut, Curb Your Enthusiasm & Sopranos rule HBO
1st Lord of the Rings, American Pie 2, Scary Movie 2, Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back, Saving Silverman

Music:
Alicia Keys- Fallin'
Blu Cantrell- Hit Em Up Style
Crazy Town- Butterfly
Darude- Sandstorm
Dave Matthews- The Space Between
Destinys Child- Bootylicious
Eve 6- Here's To The Night
Faith Hill- There You'll Be
Five for Fighting- Superman (It's Not Easy)
Fuel- Bad Day
Incubus- Drive
Jagged Edge- Where The Party At
Jessica Simpson- Irresistible
KiCi & JoJo- Crazy
Linkin Park- In The End
Michelle Branch- Everywhere
Missy Elliot- Get Your Freak On
Mystical- Shake That Ass
O-Town- All Or Nothing
Sheryl Crow- Safe & Sound
Staind- It's Been Awhile
Staind- Fade
Tonic- You Wanted More
Tool- Schism
Train- Drops Of Jupiter
Trick Daddy- Take It To The House
U2- Stuck in a Moment That You Can't get Out Of
Uncle Kracker- Follow Me
Willa Ford- I Wanna Be Bad
3 Doors Down- Be Like That