Saw this video and thought it was pretty good. I won't try to describe it since the comedian, Rob Paravonian (don't worry, I hadn't heard of him either), spends the first two minutes explaining it. Incidentally, after the two-minute mark is when the video gets going so if you have about five minutes to kill, have a go at it.
There are some things in life that are just not fair but at least we can understand why they happen. Like Tommy Lee having Heather Locklear AND Pam Anderson in one lifetime. Sure, we think it's not fair because, really, it should be US having those two not some doped-up rocker, but we understand because well ... that video ... driving a boat with an apendage ... you get the idea. Then there's situations like this one. Read that article and tell me you aren't depressed. If you haven't clicked the link yet, it has to do with David Spade hooking up with yet ANOTHER Hollywood hottie -- my Jenna EFFIN Fischer! I'll say I like Spade's humor (at least when he was SNL) but I really don't get his appeal beyond that. But maybe that's what the ladies enjoy -- someone who can make them laugh. And did we mention Spade also has had Heather Locklear? Ah geez!
Here's the latest battle between NHL heavyweights Georges Laraque and Donald Brashear. Happened the other night. It wasn't a great fight or anything, but I love how the ref (the ref!) is one of the people clearing away the equipment so the two can engage on a clutter-free patch of ice. I also love how the TV station broadcasting the game throws up the "Tale of the Tape" graphic so quickly. And to top it off, the announcer saying, "good shot to the back of the head." Great stuff. This wasn't the first time the two battled this season. The other is below the first video. In that one, Laraque kicked Brashear's ass until Brashear throws a great last punch. A much better fight than the most recent one.
The origins of this blog were college basketball related, so I thought I'd post something to get back to our roots. With March Madness still three months away, fans have a tremendous chance to partake of a December overdose of college hoops on Saturday. You could literally wake up at 9 a.m., keep your TV on one channel the whole day, not move a muscle, and then fall back to sleep at 9 p.m. and you would be treated to no fewer than six games involving numerous teams that have excellent chances to go deep into the tournament. Here's the schedule on ESPN2:
Long-time Los Angeles sportscaster Stu Nahan died Wednesday after a long battle with lymphoma. Nahan, 81, was an L.A. staple. The guy often drove me crazy with his sportscasting as I disagreed with him on plenty of issues from his days as the Dodgertalk host to other countless jobs he had on the scene here in town.
Nahan was a favorite of the late Jim Healy, who would poke fun at his gaffes and Nahan's love of the buffet luncheon. Nahan, who Healy dubbed "Silver-Tip Stu," often was the focus of Healy's "Media Freeloaders Report," which would document media members and their partaking of the freebies afforded them while on the job. Still, one thing that always made me feel good about Stu was his love for hockey -- he was a former goalie and one of the few in town who gave the sport the time of day -- and the genuineness and appreciation he exuded while covering the local scene. Nahan had been out of the business for quite a few years but was still regularly seen at Kings and Dodgers games. One of my favorite fun facts about Nahan was his role in the movie "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" where he played a sportscaster interviewing Jeff Spicoli during a dream sequence, though he was in several other movies, including the "Rocky" pictures.
The Lakers-Suns game on Christmas Day was one of the best I've seen in a while. The crowd was pumped and you could feel the electricity in the arena. Many will remember the Lakers' victory as the coming-out party for 20-year-old Andrew Bynum, who had 28 points and 12 rebounds, but another thing I will take from the game was the dunk by former UCLA forward Trevor Ariza on a fast break. Ariza went high over Grant Hill and got the crowd going, although I don't think I'd go as far as KLAC's Matt "Money" Smith, who said it was one of the greatest dunks in recent Laker history. Not sure what "recent" means to him though. Still, it was a great dunk and it made me realize how much we took for granted those moments from the 1980s when Michael Cooper, Byron Scott, James Worthy or whoever was filling the lane and providing these moments EVERY night.
First off Merry Christmas to all! I write this from my work station. Yes, I am one of the fools having to work on major holidays. Those of you who know me, know why. Anyway, in light of it being X-mas, we can all relate to photos of kids who are scared stiff of Santa Claus (I'm sure even some of us have pictures of ourselves crying our eyes out from back in the day). Fark.com had a thread about this today, and here are a few of the better photos that I could find. Just wanted to post something to keep myself from being too depressed.
Jenna Fischer has gotta be one of my favorite hotties of the moment. She plays Darlene in the new movie "Walk Hard," which looks like it will be hilarious the more I see clips and trailers. Anyway, if you are a fan of "The Office" you will know that Jenna plays Pam the receptionist, portraying a character that usually doesn't play up her looks and sexuality. In this movie, she's as far away from Pam as can be, and if I were Michael Scott after watching Jenna in this movie I might be saying, "Mikey likey."
Here is the Roger Clemens YouTube statement that was released today. Now I haven't said anything about the Mitchell Report on this blog, but I'm already sick of all these players and their "oh-i-only-took-HGH-once-and-it-wasn't-for-me" defenses. It's ridiculous how insulated these guys become that they think with all the mountains of evidence against them they can just say a few things and everything will be OK. And another thing, Roger, just because your name didn't end up being in the unsealed affidavit from the Jason Grimsley case does not mean you are innocent, regardless of what the L.A. Times reported. Another thing I know is that if I'm innocent of everything I'm being charged with, it doesn't take me more than a week to actually speak to my innocence. I'm out there that day. I don't need a "strategy" to help defend myself if I've done nothing wrong.
So when I was in high school, the Beastie Boys were the s#*@ OK. I was also into Run DMC and some of those other what are considered now to be old school rappers. When gangsta rap hit the scene with NWA, etc., I didn't really stay with it as I had. Not that I despised it, but perhaps I'd just outgrown it some and couldn't quite relate to the bluntness of everyday life that was being described in songs like "Boyz in the Hood" (or is it "da" hood?). Anyway, the rap scene these days (or hip-hop or however the hell you wanna categorize it) has changed quite a bit. It's all about bitches, hoes, pimps, mo' money, bling, calling people muthaf---uhs and ... well you get the idea. The video below takes all these "high-level" concepts and puts a new spin on it. Careful where you watch this, since there's enough MF bombs dropped to blow up a major city. "I get nervous in social situations, muthaf---uh!!!"
For those of you who are fans of the movie "Office Space" the video below is a couple of scenes that are set to Superfriends cartoons. If it doesn't make sense, just watch it. It's nothing new, but I thought it was pretty funny so figured I'd post it. Mmmmmmkay?
I am posting the video below at the request of my daughter, who is "bored" in Bethlehem, Pa., as she prepares for his last final of the semester. At this hour, she's listening to the ice from the ice storm that's passing through town hit off her window. As far as the video below, this is a pretty good impression that Frank Caliendo does of Jim Rome that I was not aware of before Melissa pointed it out to me. Thanks Mel! And another thing about the video, it's pheNOMenal!
In case you missed it the other night, Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns took an elbow to the mouth from Utah's Carlos Boozer, suffering a chipped tooth, which he spit out and gave to his trainer. But the scrawny gamer ventured on and completed the game, even stopping for a halftime interview with ESPN's Michelle Tafoya. He turns into a comedian at the end. I can't figure out who he sounds like at the end (maybe that liar guy Jon Lovitz used to play on SNL, "Yeah, that's the ticket." Anyone?)
There are plenty of times at work when we feel and act like third graders. Today was one of those days. Suffice to say, we try to bring up the name Dick Pound as much as possible around here. In case you don't know who he is, he's not a porn star but rather the head of the World Anti-Doping Agency and he was in the news today for having taken a meeting with Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO who has already served prison time. Anyway, when Pound's name came up, it reminded me of this Family Guy clip below. It makes me laugh like a little boy.
In a sign that I'm just not paying attention like I used to, Erratic Magic celebrated its first year of existence on Tuesday, December 4. I can't believe it has already been a year since that first post with a crying Adam Morrison gracing us with his presence (still one of the all-time great images). I know that lately I've kinda slowed down, but I hope you don't take that as a sign that I'm bored or wavering. There have been a variety of factors involved in my less-than-stellar posting record lately, but I hope to change that and get back in the groove soon. In closing, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read my rantings and observations. I appreciate that you take valuable time out of your day to pay me some attention. Thanks again and a happy holiday to all.
So the axe has finally fallen on Karl Dorrell and he will not coach the Bruins in their bowl game or ever again. It was something I began calling for in earnest after the debacle at Utah earlier this season. Now, I'd never wish ill on anyone, but Dorrell leaving was the best thing for the UCLA program. The problem is I'm not sure how you so easily go about making things better. What I do know is that Dorrell was not the man to continue leading the Bruins into the future. Say what you will about his character, what a good man he is and how he restored the program's reputation in terms of limiting embarrassing off-field incidents during his tenure. Those are all good, positive things, but the bottom line in major college athletics these days is that it's about winning. For better or worse, that's the reality. The problem at UCLA is that, No. 1, it's a basketball school. Eleven national championships tend to give an institution such a label. Another issue is that UCLA has never paid its football coach and staff on par with the top programs in the country. Dorrell earned about $800,000 this season, a figure that is ridiculously low relative to the multimillion-dollar contracts that every coach in the SEC and elsewhere seemed to have inked. And then remember the cost of living. It's not as if L.A. is a very inexpensive place to live. Perhaps no other college football market in the country has to deal with such a limitation. No wonder a guy like Chris Petersen of Boise State, an up and coming coach if there ever was one, thumbs his nose at UCLA when he's mentioned as a possible candidate. Petersen, I believe, is making more than Dorrell this season AND living in Boise. One of his biggest decisions in life is probably trying to figure out what to do with the acres and acres of land he must own. That's not the case for a UCLA coach, and much less for his assistants. Most Bruin assistants (and even Dorrell I think) are forced to live in suburbs far from campus so they can afford a decent home for their family. At most other places, the assistants (and the head coach) live close to campus, thus helping foster the relationship with players, and how can you even begin to put a value on what means to a program? Which brings us back to the original point: how do you get a quality coach to come to a place like UCLA? Remember, though Dorrell was part of the UCLA family as a former player, the athletic department went the cheap route when hiring him as he had no previous head coaching experience. That can't happen this time. The Bruins need someone with experience and with a name. They also need to do their best to have this coach understand that keeping at least some of the current coaching staff (namely defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker) in tact as part of the new regime is paramount. UCLA, by some reports, is set to bring in one of the nation's top recruiting classes next season.
A coaching change certainly can't help this scenario so it's up to the administration to keep these impressionable high school kids from jumping ship. The kids need to feel that, when it comes to football at least, there still are plenty of reasons to stay put in Westwood. Walker's retention would be reason No. 1 for kids to hold firm. Which brings me to who should be the next coach. It's Steve Mariucci. Yes, I know he only coached one season in college at Cal, a few more in the NFL and is currently out of coaching while working for the NFL Network. But what Mariucci has that Dorrell sorely lacked is a presence. He has savvy as well the kind of personality that fits well in a place like L.A. where style seems to matter immensely and a city that already boasts larger-than-life coaching personalities such as Joe Torre, Phil Jackson, Mike Scioscia and of course Pete Carroll (not to mention guys like Pat Riley, Tom Lasorda, etc). It's Carroll who factors into the Mariucci equation.
With a guy like Mariucci and his movie-star good looks patroling the sidelines and sitting in the living rooms of recruits and working the media like he can, it would at least give UCLA more equal footing in the public-relations battle with the crosstown Trojans and thus hopefully create a cloud of confidence that could hover for a long time. Perception is reality indeed. Mariucci is really the only move UCLA can make under these circumstances with the hope of coming out clean on the other end. And the sooner AD Dan Guerrero realizes this, the sooner the healing can begin for Bruin fans and the program, and the sooner it might actually be believable that UCLA can compete with USC from year to year.
Posts
All Comments
