G Bizzle Entertainment

The worstest?

2011-11-09T18:28:00.003-05:00

Honestly, this must be the worst blog on Albert Arnold Gore Junior's Information Super Highway. Well, maybe not the worst, but come on, I last wrote in January. Sure, MattyP's Top 25 Lists hasn't been updated since 2006, but this site is almost as bad, and arguably contains much weaker content.

It's November, so that means it's Movember. Last year I had a pretty sick 3 sider going. I did look awesome/homeless/Kentuckian, but this year I've had to give things a pass as my girlfriend likes the goatee and I would be a bad man to shave it off. My friend Kyle is doing some fundraising and you can donate here http://ca.movember.com/mospace/2004950/

Watched a great movie yesterday, Barney's Version. That Paul Giamatti guy is just fantastic. I really seem to like him in everything and Barney's Version was no exception. And Dustin Hoffman! The Hoff!! Well, the real Hoff (not that Hassellhoff fool, although damn he's good for a laugh). Does Dustin Hoffman make bad movies? (don't answer that, I'm sure there's a few, but there are so many good ones). Anyway, loved the flick.

Been watching some awesome new TV. Homeland on Showtime is currently my favourite of the new crop. Awesome plot idea, fantastic acting from Claire Danes, cliffhangers galore. It's a must watch. Closely catching up though is the new Kelsey Grammer political drama "Boss". Grammer plays the mayor of Chicago whose just been diagnosed with a degenerative neurological disorder he's decided to keep private. They're only 3 episodes in so jump on now. Oh, and there's Kathleen Robertson who played Clare back in the day on 90210. Time has treated her well.

I've also been reading some good Comic Books lately. I'm one trade paperback away from finishing Grant Morrison's entire run on New X-Men. It's been interesting. I'm a big Morrison fan, and who doesn't like the X-Men?, so I was expecting a lot. The dialogue at times felt quite odd. I didn't think Grant was always capturing the voice of each character. It's the X-Men, and everyone has pretty distinct ideas of how these guys should be talking and what they would be saying, and some of the stuff just didn't seem right. Especially Wolverine at the start, although this did get better as the run progressed. For the most part I have really enjoyed the storylines, although I found the whole Weapon Plus thing a little rushed and slightly hard to follow. This was echoed in and compounded by the art which I was not a big fan of for that arc. There were a few times where I was wondering what the heck was going on. While I'm on about the art I should touch on the fact that I was really disappointed that Frank Quitely didn't handle the art for the entire run. For some reason I was under this impression. His stuff is the best in the books.

Anyway, I feel content that I've written something here, so I'm done. Make sure you check out the link above for the MattyP lists. And feel free to comment. He loves comments. Until next time, this is Graham Brown saying "donde esta el pollo?"

The Airport

2011-01-13T13:10:00.001-05:00

Nothing unites complete strangers like being delayed together at an airport. Beautiful women that would normally not give a second glance to that crazy guy wearing the Spain shirt, suddenly open up, sharing intimate details of their lives. Of course, this is only after they’ve spent half an hour lamenting the current state of the airline industry and explaining how this is the worst thing that’s ever happened to them.

This may or may not be happening beside me right now. And he may be a Real Madrid fan. And she might be a Liverpool supporter. Apparently they like soccer.

The previously mentioned beautiful lady and I did share a chuckle, at the expense of the singing United employee. I don’t know if they’re being instructed to sing everything into the intercom, or if she really is that happy, but it’s something to experience alright. We actually both want to smack her right now. Not that entertaining when your flights delayed.

The North Dakota State Bison mens’s basketball team is here. This is slightly coincidental, as I believe it was 2 years ago at Winter Storm that I met the NDSU women’s b-ball squad. There were some lookers on that team, although, freakishly tall women do scare me slightly. I don’t get turned on by a woman that could beat the crap out of me like some of my friends *cough* Mike Croft *cough*.

I’ve managed to watch a movie that I had downloaded while sitting here, “The Squid and the Whale”. It is quite good. The acting is superb. Laura Linney, Jeff Daniels, even Billy Baldwin, who plays a former tennis pro, now instructor, who never quite made it. His high ranking being 402 in the world. It also co-stars a young Jesse Eisenberg, reaffirming to me the fact that he (no matter what my horrible judge of cinema friend Boyd might say) is a good actor. I however lost my spot at the electric outlet, and won’t have enough time to watch “Fish Tank”, which was going to be movie number 2.

I’ve continued to work my way through the tome that is “Divided Jerusalem, the struggle for the holy city”. It seeks to try and breakdown and explain the history behind the constant conflict, and struggle for control of the city, from it’s beginnings to present day. Lots of political intrigue here, with religion often being used as a pawn to promote political gain.

Anywho, about losing that power outlet, the battery is running awfully low here, so for now, this is intrepid airport reporter Graham Brown signing off. Adieu

The List 2010

2010-11-23T09:48:00.005-05:00

It's been a couple of years since I've published the list. Lots of questions. How high will now over 18 Emma Watson rank? Will free falling Denise Richards hang on to a spot? Who will make the Hall of Fame? Can Britney Spears win Whore of the Year again? Here are the top 26. Enjoy.

26. Giada De Laurentiis
25. Katie Holmes
24. Denise Richards
23. Halle Berry
22. Olivia Wilde
21. Mila Kunis
20. Sienna Miller
19. Olivia Munn
18. Stacy Kiebler
17. Cheryl Cole
16. Jennifer Connelly
15. Elisha Cuthbert
14. Kelly Brook
13. Rachel Bilson
12. Vanessa Marcil
11. Emmanuelle Chriqui
10. Keira Knightley
9. Emma Watson
8. Rachel McAdams
7. Jessica Alba
6. Jennifer Garner
5. Sophia Bush
4. Kate Beckinsale
3. Heidi Klum
2. Scarlett Johansson
1. Natalie Portman

2010 Hall of Fame inductee: Diane Keaton

2010 Whore of the Year: Lindsay Lohan

Hospital Time

2010-11-19T09:36:00.003-05:00

I figured this was the easiest spot to write about what happened yesterday for everyone that was concerned.

People are afraid of many things. Some don't like spiders. Others can't leave their damn house. I have a big fear of having a heart attack. I haven't had chest pains in the past, even when I was at my biggest, but none the less it's a fear I have. This was the biggest reason I started dieting again back in March. I don't want to die. Pretty straight forward.

During the past 8 months I've been dieting I've experienced different chest pain at times. It's usually not the same. Or in the same spot. I'm told this is good, as usually when it's related to your heart you have chest pain in the same spot because there's a blockage there, and that's what's causing the pain. I believe the pain is more related to the change in diet, exercise, and general exertion I was putting on my body that I wasn't before. Still, I should have gone to a doctor to check with him.

Wednesday night I started to get some pain in my left side and shoulder. We (me and the doctors) think I've strained something and that's what's causing the pain there (mostly when I breathe in deeply, sneeze, etc). But yesterday at work, as the pain was getting worse (probably from lifting and using my arm duh), I started to wonder if it could be cardiac related. As you all know, pain in the left arm is a possible heart attack symptom. So I googled "chest pain and shoulder pain", and sure enough it is a possible heart attack symptom. I continued reading on about other possible symptoms, dizziness, sweating, shortness of breath.

Well, from there I think my brain just went haywire. I didn't actually feel nervous or panicked, but the brain did it all for me. It came over me in a wave instantly. I got insanely dizzy, thought I was going to pass out. The sweat was pouring out of me. I had convinced myself I was having a heart attack, and these new panic symptoms made me think I was even more. One of the guys at worked called 911 right away. As I sat down, and started to try and relax, the dizziness started to subside. Even the pain in the shoulder went away.

The paramedics arrived and hooked me up to all their gear to run tests. Everything was coming back ok, but they still made me go to the hospital, in the Ambulance, on the damn stretcher and everything. I asked if I had to go on the stretcher, but they said yes. At this point we were already thinking that I just panicked and that I was probably ok, but they had to run the tests at the hospital, which was a good thing.

They did some x-rays, an ECG, and blood work. Everything came back saying I was ok, and hadn't had a heart attack. I guess it's better to be safe than sorry.

I'm still having the pain in my side and shoulder, and it comes and goes. I thought it could be something viral as well causing the pain, but they said the blood work said no. So, hopefully this pain goes away in a few days and I can just chill out, remain calm and know that I'm not having a heart attack. I guess my brain just panicked, because I have such a fear of having a heart attack. I instantly assumed the worst.

Thanks to all that were concerned and that have written/called. You're stuck with me for a little while longer.

What happens in Vegas

2010-09-13T19:32:00.014-04:00

Wow. I might be the worst blogger in the universe. The blogoverse even. One post this year. In January. Clearly this hasn't been my year for putting words to computer screen. But I've been chatting with a lovely lady (who's undoubtedly a better wordsmith than I) and she's convinced me to write some more.

This weekend marks the beginning of a journey. A journey that will see friends embark together on an annual pilgrimage to the land of excess. To partake in the finest things life has to offer. My friends, it is time for Las Vegas.

Many of you may know that I travel fairly often, heck I was in New York 4 times alone so far this year. Each trip is usually a great time, but there is work to be done. I'm either teaching, judging, or competing. My yearly trip to Las Vegas is the only time I travel that I don't take a pair of drum sticks with me. This is the only time away that is truly vacation. And I can't wait!

Woody Allen and I share a few connections. We were both born on December 1st. We both have had (or still have ) a thing for Diane Keaton. And every September, at the Carnegie Deli at the Mirage Hotel and Casino, we go to battle. Ok, it's not really me versus the actual Woody Allen. In fact, it's not even a Woody Allen look-alike. It's a sandwich. Woody Allen the sandwich. "The Woody Allen" to be precise. The Woody Allen is a beast. It's said to be 1 lb of Corned Beef, and 1 lb of Pastrami, but I would guess it's total weight is closer to 3 lbs. 3 years in a row Woody and I have battled, and 3 years in a row I have emerged the loser. I've vowed this year will be different. I've been practicing. Working hard to expand my stomach so that I'll be able to finally triumph over the most amazing of Jewish delicatessen. Wait, no I haven't!! I've been on a diet since March. I actually can't eat nearly as much as I used to be able to. I shouldn't stand a chance, and probably shouldn't even be attempting this. But there are some things a man has to do in this life, and I, Graham Brown, must one day defeat the Woody Allen. Maybe this is the year. Below are images of the two combatants from the past 3 years.

2007

2008

2009

Vegas isn't just about eating giant sandwiches. There are also places where people can get drunk and stand up and make fools of themselves in front of others. You might know these more commonly as karaoke bars. The past few years we've hit up karaoke at Imperial Palace. IP has a special bar and room just for karaoke, and it runs every night. Needless to say, we've had some excellent nights there, and it might be the thing I'm most looking forward to this trip. I don't know if everyone will be able to see the following link, but it is gold.

Awesome

Other traditions that will be revisited include Hug a Hooker, Randomly wondering the strip while drunk, trying to complete the entire collection of this years hooker cards, Beer Pong on the strip (where I am two time defending champion), and more.

I have a feeling this may be the best trip yet, and I'm hoping to have some new stories to share when I return. Get excited people. The magic is about to happen.

Baseball Hall of Fame

2010-01-05T18:10:00.003-05:00

The 2010 inductees into the Baseball hall of fame will be announced tomorrow. I like looking over baseball stats, and always enjoy reading the yearly debates about who should and shouldn't get in. I figured this year I'd make my own ballot and compare it to who actually gets in tomorrow.

Tim Raines-I'm surprised by the lack of support Raines has received his first few years on the ballot. It would be a shame if he doesn't end up in the hall.

Dale Murphy-The other player that I just don't understand why he gets no support. Murphy was one of the best players in the NL through the entire 80's.

Mark McGwire-I don't care about the steroids. What are we going to do? Keep everyone that played between 1995-2004 out of the hall? The era was what it was. I say say yes to McGwire.

Roberto Alomar-Hit .300 for his career, with an on base percentage of .371. Had 10 Gold Gloves in an 11 year stretch. A no brainer.

Edgar Martinez-Even though he played most of his career as a DH his hitting numbers are just truly great.

Barry Larkin-A solid all around player. The 1995 NL MVP gets in.

Fred-McGriff-Maybe I have a little bias from Fred playing in Toronto, but he has 493 career homers, has a career .377 OBP, and hit 30 or more homers 10 times.

Andre Dawson-He's been on the ballot for 9 years. I think this one might be make or break for the Hawk.

Just missing the cut:

Bert Blyleven-287 Wins, and 5th most strikeouts of all time, but he was never considered great.

Jack Morris-His career ERA will keep him out

Alan Trammell-If Larkin gets in I can see people also making the case for Trammell, but I have him missing out.

Don Mattingly-From 1984 to 1989, he was one of the best players in the game. But his production dropped off sharply after that. An interesting case, and maybe one I'll have to examine further in the future.

Songs of 2009

2009-12-21T22:02:00.004-05:00

Well, the end of the year is almost here. That means time for some year end lists. I missed doing this for 2008, and that will be rectified, but for now I present my best songs (pop songs atleast, and things I've heard) of 2009. The battle for number 1 was fierce. I thought it was locked up for most of the year, then a new challenger emerged and I had to really give it some thought as to what I would go with. What do you all think? Leave comments.

Honorable Mention-The Auto Tune the News songs.

17. Dead and Gone-T.I. ft. Justin Timberlake

16. Fire Burning-Sean Kingston

15. Please Don't Leave Me-Pink

14. Watcha Say-Jason Derulo

13. Paparazzi-Lady Gaga

12. Use Somebody-Kings of Leon

11. Haven't Met You Yet-Michael Buble

10. You Belong With Me-Taylor Swift

9. Heartless-Kanye West

8. Fireflies-Owl City

7. I'm On A Boat-Lonely Island ft. T-Pain

6. The Climb-Miley Cyrus

5. Just Dance-Lady Gaga

4. I Gotta Feeling-Black Eyed Peas

3. Halo-Beyonce

2. Empire State of Mind-Jay-Z ft. Alicia Keys

1. Love Story-Taylor Swift

Rankings

2009-10-11T16:18:00.003-04:00

25. Houston
24. Notre Dame
23. South Florida
22. BYU
21. South Carolina
20. Georgia Tech
19. Auburn
18. Oklahoma
17. Oklahoma State
16. Kansas
15. Penn State
14. Nebraska
13. Iowa
12. TCU
11. Oregon
10. Miami
9. LSU
8. Cincinatti
7. Ohio State
6. Boise State
5. USC
4. Virginia Tech
3. Texas
2. Florida
1. Alabama

College Football Rankings

2009-10-04T11:00:00.003-04:00

Ok, here we go. I've waited a few weeks to start doing my rankings, as I think it's ridiculous to try and rank teams at the start of the year, when you don't really know how good they're going to be. So, 5 weeks into the season, we're ready to get going.

25. Stanford
24. Notre Dame
23. Georgia Tech
22. Oklahoma
21. Ole Miss
20. BYU
19. Oklahoma State
18. Houston
17. Kansas
16. Nebraska
15. Auburn
14. Penn State
13. TCU
12. Oregon
11. Miami
10. Cincinatti
9. Iowa
8. Ohio State
7. Boise State
6. USC
5. Virginia Tech
4. LSU
3. Texas
2. Florida
1. Alabama

T-Pain in the hizz-ouse

2009-09-11T18:29:00.004-04:00

So the auto tune the news guys actually got T-Pain do do a bit with them. Pretty awesome. The throwback to the Katie Couric bit from ATtN#2 is awesome.

Reccomended Reading

2009-08-06T07:41:00.002-04:00

All Star Superman

Already being heralded as one of the best (if not the best) Superman stories of all time. It's adventure and emotion wrapped into one. By one of my favourite writers in the biz, Grant Morrison, and his Scottish countryman, artist Frank Quitely. Classic.

Autotune the news, again

2009-08-03T21:10:00.001-04:00

Top Burgers

2009-05-13T10:47:00.014-04:00

I love myself a good Hamburger. And while the best often come from Diners/Greasy Spoons, Fast Food joints do make a good burger. So I now present, my top 10 favourite Fast Food Burgers.

10. Wendy's Jr. Bacon Cheeseburger

9. The Baconator

8. SuperSONIC Cheeseburger

7. DQ Double Flamethrower Burger

6. Double Big Mac

5. Lick's Homeburger

4. Double Whopper

3. A&W Double Mozza Burger

2. Wendy's 1/2 Pound Double with Cheese

1. In-N-Out Double Double

Auto Tune

2009-04-24T12:00:00.004-04:00

Kind of funny that my two favourite Youtube videos of late both make use of Auto-Tune. First we have the Lonely Islands "I'm on a boat", and then "Auto-Tune the News", which is awesome and I can't stop listening too. Remember, Pirates are on very thin ice.

Christian Bale has anger management problems

2009-02-03T18:45:00.003-05:00

I'm a Christian Bale fan. I think the guy is a very talented actor. He also happens to be bat shit crazy. Last summer on the set of Terminator Salvation, he went crazy on the Director of Photography Shane Hurlbut. Now, the audio of the incident has been leaked, and DJ RevoLucian has remixed it into a dance track. It is fantastically amazing.

WARNING: The following clip has A LOT of swearing, specifically the F Bomb. If swearing offends you, do not watch this. Also, keep away from small children.

Amanda Bynes

2009-01-09T23:06:00.004-05:00

Now, I have been an Amanda Bynes fan for a while, but damn, she looked good at some awards ceremony the other night. How high will Amanda rate in the G-Bizzle list of hot chicks? Stay tuned to find out. The list has been a little delayed this year, but I'm hoping to have it up soon.

Sounds of the 80's

2008-12-17T20:12:00.008-05:00

Well, I've been working on my biggest list ever, ranking my favourite 200 songs from the 80's. There has been extensive research, and a ridiculous amount of time listening/watching songs on youtube. The songs have been picked, but not yet ranked. Except for the top 25 that is. And I can't wait any longer to post them. So, I now present, G-Bizzle's top 25 songs of the 80's.

25. Walk Like An Egyptian-The Bangles

24. Never Gonna Give You Up-Rick Astley

23. Billie Jean-Michael Jackson

22. Jack And Dianne-John Cougar

21. Smooth Criminal-Michael Jackson

20. Sunday Bloody Sunday-U2

19. Rio-Duran Duran

18. Gloria-Laura Branigan

17. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For-U2

16. Africa-Toto

15. Forever Young-Alphaville

14. I Guess That's Why They Call It The Blues-Elton John

13. Another One Bites the Dust-Queen

12. Another Day In Paradise- Phil Collins

11. Against All Odds-Phil Collins

10. Islands in the Stream-Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton

9. Livin on a Prayer-Bon Jovi

8. You Make My Dreams-Hall and Oates

7. Radio GaGa-Queen

6. Heat of the Moment-Asia

5. Invisible Touch-Genesis

4. Don't Stop Believin-Journey

3. All I Want Is You-U2
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-TssRlmmBE

2. Your Love-The Outfield
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78pQOkLTdFo

1. Under Pressure-Queen and David Bowie

Top Songs

2008-11-05T20:41:00.002-05:00

So, carrying on from my last post that was in, uh, April, I've decided to list my favourite songs from my list of favourite musical acts. For most of the artists I've tried to keep it to just my favourite song, but some are so hard to choose I've listed a couple.

Led Zeppelin-"Tangerine", "Over the Hills and Far Away"

The Beatles-Talk about tough. So much good music, but I've got to narrow it down. "Ticket to Ride", "We can work it out"

Simon and Garfunkel-"America"

Elton John-"Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters"

The Band-"The Weight", "Don't do it"

Queen-"Don't stop me now"

The Beach Boys-"Good Vibrations", "Wouldn't it be nice"

Joni Mitchell-"River"

The Dixie Chicks-"Not ready to make nice"

David Bowie-"Under Pressure" (with Queen), "Space Oddity", "Young Americans"

Weezer-"Across the Sea"

The Smashing Pumpkins-"Tonight, Tonight"

Elvis Presley-"Suspicious Minds", "Kentucky Rain"

Stevie Wonder-"Signed, Sealed, Delivered, I'm Yours", "Superstition"

Red Hot Chili Peppers-"By the Way"

U2-"All I want is you"

Green Day-"Going to Pasalacqua"

The Who-"Baba O'Reilly"

Frank Sinatra-"New York, New York"

Bob Dylan-"Like a Rolling Stone"

Neil Young-"After the Gold Rush"

Pink Floyd-"Wish you Were Here"

The Killers-"All these things that I've done"

Tim McGraw-"It's your love", "Live like you were dying"

Jay-Z-"Izzo (H.O.V.A)"

Kanye West-"Jesus Walks", "Through the Wire", "Family Business"

Long Time Gone

2008-04-20T08:23:00.003-04:00

Hello everybody. Well, as per usual, I've taken an extended break from blogging after the big Year End List. That takes a lot out of a guy. For the first post back I thought I'd revisit an old list and make some updates. The list in question will be favourite musical acts.

Honorable Mention: The Matthew Prevost Band

26. Kanye West

25. Jay Z

24. Tim McGraw

23. The Killers

22. Pink Floyd

21. Neil Young

20. Bob Dylan

19. Frank Sinatra

18. The Who

17. Green Day

16. U2

15. Red Hot Chili Peppers

14. Stevie Wonder

13. Elvis Presley

12. The Smashing Pumpkins

11. Weezer

10. David Bowie

9. The Dixie Chicks

8. Joni Mitchell

7. The Beach Boys

6. Queen

5. The Band

4. Elton John

3. Simon and Garunkel

2. The Beatles

1. Led Zeppelin

The List 2007

2008-01-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

Well we are officially into the new year. I was hoping to have this up yesterday but became too busy. I think next year my goal is going to be a complete top 100 which will be quite the task. For this year I've settled with an actual list of 40, along with the usual honorable mentions. So, without further ado, I present the Graham Brown Hottest Girls list 2007.

Honorable Mentions:

Erica Durance, Isla Fisher, Carrie Underwood, Bridget Moynahan, Katherine McPhee, Beyonce, Torrie Wilson, Mandy Moore, Alena Seredova, Melissa Theuriau, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Keely Hazell, Marissa Miller, Allesandra Ambrosio, Abigail Clancy, Raquel Allessi, Sara Jean Underwood, Missy Peregrym, Kristen Bell, Lacy Chabert, Morgan Webb, Shannyn Sossamon, Shana Hiatt, Rachel Taylor, Cheryl Tweedy, Mischa Barton, Nadine Coyle, Rebecca Cartwright, Emmy Rossum, Nikki Cox, Nicole Kidman, Anna Paquin, Kristen Kreuk, Charlize Theron, Daisy Fuentes, Monica Belluci, Reese Witherspoon, Salma Hayek, Shania Twain, Rachel Stevens, Brooke Burns, Laura Prepon, Adriana Lima, Linda Cardellini, Maura Tierney, Julie Bowen, Teri Hatcher, Tyra Banks, Charisma Carpenter, Carly Pope, Elin Nordegren, Rachel Hunter, Petra Nemcova, Nelly Furtado, Neve Campbell, Parker Posey, Molly Sims, Kelly Brook, Kelly Ripa, Elle MacPherson, Elizabeth Hurley, Sandra Bullock, Gwen Stefani, Gwenyth Paltrow, Heather Graham, Evangelline Lilly, Allison Lohman, Lindsay Lohan, Clair Forlani, Avril Lavigne, Jenny McCarthy, Angelina Jolie, Ellen Page, Jessica Simpson.

40. Shannon Elizabeth

39. Eliza Dusku

38. Eva Mendes

37. Katherine Heigl

36. Hilary Duff

35. Faith Hill

34. Gabrielle Union

33. Kate Bosworth

32. Rebecca Romijn

31. Halle Berry

30. Rihanna

29. Rachel Specter

28. Jessica Biel

27. Eva Longoria

26. Jennifer Connelly

25. Hayden Panettiere

24. Kirsten Dunst

23. Stacy Kiebler

22. Olivia Munn

21. Kimberly Lansing

20. Sophia Bush

19. Alyssa Milano

18. Jordana Brewster

17. Katie Holmes

16. Amanda Bynes

15. Sienna Miller

14. Rachel Bilson

13. Brooke Burke

12. Elisha Cuthbert

11. Denise Richards

10. Vanessa Marcil

9. Jennifer Love Hewitt

8. Jessica Alba

7. Rachel McAdams

6. Kate Beckinsale

5. Keira Knightley

4. Scarlett Johansson

3. Jenifer Garner

2. Heidi Klum

1. Natalie Portman

Hall of Fame Inductee: Sally Field

Whore of the Year: Britney Spears (2 years running. This is quite an achievement) Also nominated, Lindsay Lohan (don't worry Lindsay, I'm sure one day you'll win).

2007 in Music

2007-12-26T20:37:00.001-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it's the last week of 2007, and time to wrap things up with some best of lists. We're starting off with the best songs of 2007. I'm kind of sad my series of songs is over, but I can start planning for the 2008 list in a few weeks.

20. Beautiful Girls-Sean Kingston

19. Dance Tonight-Paul McCartney

18. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs-Fall Out Boy

17. Rehab-Amy Winehouse

16. Grace Kelly-Mika

15. The Sweet Escape-Gwen Stefani

14. Ayo Technology-50 Cent

13. Big Girls Don't Cry-Fergie

12. Hey There Delilah-Plain White T's

11. Won't Go Home Without You-Maroon 5

10. Hot-Avril Lavigne

9. Apologize-Timbaland ft. One Republic

8. How Far We've Come-Matchbox 20

7. The Good Life-Kanye West

6. This Ain't A Scene, It's An Arms Race-Fall Out Boy

5. Say It Right-Nelly Furtado

4. The Way I Are-Timbaland

3. Stronger-Kanye West

2. Umbrella-Rihanna

1. Irreplaceable-Beyonce

NHL Reflections on the year to date

2007-12-20T13:12:00.001-05:00

As I continue to reflect on the year past, I decided I'd take a look at the NHL season to date. Even though the All-Star break is still awhile away, the season is almost half over. Here are my thoughts on awards, surprises and disappointments so far:

MVP
Jarome Iginla-He's got his team in a playoff spot. He scores and creates plays. He bruises it up and eats up minutes. I was never the biggest Iginla fan (a fan, just not insane over him), but right now he is one of the best players in the league.

Other Nominees- Vincent Lecavalier, Henrik Zetterberg

Norris Trophy
Niklas Lidstrom-The guy is just awesome. Lidstrom has 30 points and is +19, on the best team in the NHL.
A close 2nd, Sergei Zubov
other contenders-Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger

Vezina
This one is too close to call. The front runners;
Chris Osgood-I know he's splitting time with Hasek, but look at the stats. 15-1-1, 1st in Goals against average, and 2nd in Save Percent. If I had to pick one guy right now it would probably be him, or...
Henrik Lundqvist- 6 Shutouts, and the only reason the Rangers are doing anything.
Evgeni Nabokov, Martin Gerber, Roberto Luongo.
Honorable Mention-Pascal Leclaire. The guy has 6 shutouts, but only 10 total wins, and he's on a team that looks like once again they won't make the playoffs.

Calder
Patrick Kane, and Jonathon Toewes are definitely the class of this years rookies. Nicklas Backstrom, and Carey Price also deserve a mention.

Pleasant Surprises
Paul Ranger, Brian Campbell, Thomas Kaberle 3 guys all on teams that aren't great, but having very respectable seasons.
Mike Richards, Cory Stillman (and really a lot of Hurricanes) Sean Horcoff.
Nik Antropv-Playing on an average (some would say bad) team, Antropov has still managed to put up 35 points, and his career best is 45.

Disappointments (There are a lot of these)
Goalies-Kari Lehtonen, Ray Emery, Marc Andre Fleury. Lehtnonen started the year bad, as did the whole team. Emery hasn't played that much but when he has he's looked shaky and has the stats to show it. Fleury has got to be the most disappointing. A lot of people were expecting big things from the Penguins, and he's the main reason they're where they are right now.

D-Men
Bryan McCabe-12 points, -4
Francois Beauchemin- A young guy that was supposed to be getting better, 12 points, -9
Ryan Whitney- 15 points, -3
Phillipe Boucher- 11 points, -2
Jay Bouwmeester- I keep waiting for this guy to become an elite defenseman. Last year he had 42 points and was +23!!! This year, 10 points, -6

Forwards
Alexander Semin, Todd Bertuzzi, Petr Prucha, Jordan Staal, Jonathon Cheechoo, Andy McDonald, Patrik Elias, Dustin Penner, Jason Blake, Patrick Marleau, Marian Hossa, Thomas Vanek.

New York Ranger Players
Scott Gomez, Chris Drury, and Jaromir Jagr are making a combined $25, 460, 000 this year. They also have a combined 73 points. Their projected season ending total is 181. That works out to $140, 663 per point. Not a good return on your investment.

Most Disappointing Teams
Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Tampa Bay

Most Surprising Teams
Carolina, Boston

My Year in Music: 2006

2007-12-19T16:57:00.000-05:00

Okay, we're almost at the stage to unveil the 2007 list. Before that though, we have to get through 2006. This is the biggest list I've put on here so far. There were so many good songs I felt they all deserved being mentioned, so we've gone a few past 15.

Best Songs of 2006

27. Red Flag-Billy Talent

26. Alfie-Lilly Allen

25. Who Knew-Pink

24. I Don't Feel Like Dancing-Scissor Sisters

23. Never Went to Church-The Streets

22. LDN-Lilly Allen

21. Jimmy Gets High-Daniel Powter

20. Valerie-The Zutons

19. Promiscuous-Nelly Furtado

18. (Here) In Your Arms-Hellogoodbye

17. America-Razorlight

16. Dani California-Red Hot Chili Peppers

15. Messages-Xavier Rudd

14. Naive-The Kooks

13. Bad Day-Daniel Powter

12. How To Save A Life-The Fray

11. Over My Head-The Fray

10. Hips Don't Lie-Shakira

9. SexyBack-Justin Timberlake

8. Chasing Cars-Snow Patrol

7. Sophia-Nerina Pallot

6. The Long Way Around-Dixie Chicks

5. What Hurts The Most-Rascal Flatts

4. Smile-Lilly Allen

3. When You Were Young-The Killers

2. Crazy-Gnarls Barkley

1. Not Ready To Make Nice-Dixie Chicks

College Football Chaos

2007-12-02T10:34:00.001-05:00

Well folks, I don't know what else to say. Once again, for the 3rd time this year, the number 1 and 2 teams have both lost on the same day. This time it has really screwed things up. I had anticipated Missouri losing to Oklahoma, but West Virginias loss to Pittsburgh is the one that's really ruined everything. There's now about 5 teams that can make legitimate cases to be number 2 and get a National title shot. I've thought long and hard about who I would make number 2, but in the end it was a fairly easy decision. The National Polls had Georgia ahead of LSU this week, and now they don't know whether to have LSU jump back over the Bulldogs. I, on the other hand, never moved Georgia above LSU. So for me, it's easy LSU will move back up to number 2. I really wanted it to be Oklahoma. For one, they are one of my 3 favourite teams, but that's not why, I have to be impartial. I really think they are playing good football, they just beat the number 1 team in the country, and probably wouldn't have lost to Texas Tech if their QB had not gone down. So for me the decision for number 2 was between Oklahoma, who is coming off of the biggest quality win, and LSU. It was close, but I've got to go with LSU (even though I don't want to, Les Miles is a jack ass).

So, my final rankings before the Bowls look like this:

25. Tennessee (9-4)
24. Cincinnati (9-3)
23. Boise St. (10-2)
22. Brigham Young (10-2)
21. Texas Tech (8-4)
20. Auburn (8-4)
19. South Florida (9-3)
18. Wisconsin (9-3)
17. Virginia (9-3)
16. Clemson (9-3)
15. Texas (9-3)
14. Boston College (10-3)
13. Illinois (9-3)
12. Arizona St. (10-2)
11. West Virginia (10-2)
10. Hawaii (12-0)
9. Florida (9-3)
8. Missouri (11-2)
7. Kansas (11-1)
6. USC (10-2)
5. Virginia Tech (11-2)
4. Georgia (10-2)
3. Oklahoma (11-2)
2. LSU (11-2)
1. Ohio St. (11-1)

The final thing to touch on is the BCS bowl selections and how they may look this afternoon when they're announced. The biggest winner right now from my viewpoint is Illinois. With my predicted title game of Ohio St.-LSU, the Rose Bowl will get first selection to replace the Buckeyes. Previously I had the Rose taking Georgia over Illinois, but this was when the Sugar Bowl had not lost their champion to the title game. In my scenario they will. Not wanting to step on any toes, I think the Rose will allow the Sugar to grab Georgia, sticking with their SEC connection, and the Rose will now stick with it's Big Ten connections and take Illinois. Biggest loser, besides Missouri, will be Arizona State. West Virginia still won the Big East, and therefore still has to get a BCS berth. With the changes in place at the top there're now more deserving teams, and Arizona St is screwed. So we have:

National Title Game- Ohio State vs. LSU

Rose Bowl- USC vs. Illinois

Sugar Bowl- Georgia vs. Hawaii

Orange Bowl- Virginia Tech vs. Kansas

Fiesta Bowl- Oklahoma vs. West Virginia

Bowl Projections

2007-11-27T10:27:00.000-05:00

First off, this may all be wrong. I'm speculating on what may happen this Saturday. But it's still fun, so below are my predictions for the BCS bowls as well as some rambling.

College Football has been insane this year. I must say, I used to be one of the people that thought it was crazy that there was no playoff, and I was behind the idea of instituting one. But, that was when you have multiple (like more than 2) undefeateds, or Lots of 1 loss teams, and it's tough to decide who should play in the Championship. In a season like this, the season WAS the playoff. It just goes to show how important Every game is. If you lose, too bad, that could be the whole season. I'm not sure what the real answer is. I originally thought an 8 team playoff would be good. Now I think maybe a 4 team. This works best if you have say 1 undefeated team, and 3 1 loss teams. It's tough to choose which 1 loss team should play in the Championship, so have a 4 team playoff. But then what if the 5th ranked team also only has 1 loss? They lose out? Or what if there are 2 teams undefeated? That works out perfect, you just let them play. But if there was 4 team playoff, 2 one loss teams would be included with them, which doesn't seem fair.

Anyway, as for this season, I think LSU had the most talent, and probably was the "best" team, but they couldn't get it done when it counted. Les Miles is probably gonna go to Michigan, which is perfect because I already don't like him :) For all my Michigan hating, I actually think Lloyd Carr was a very good coach, and it's a shame to see him go.

Before their QB's got hurt, I thought Oregon, and Oklahoma were probably the next best teams in the country. So basically, you're going to end up with a title game of teams that I don't think really deserve to be there, but hey, they won their games. I think Missouri will lose to Oklahoma (who's QB is back) in the Big 12 title game. That leaves us with a National title game of West Virginia vs. Ohio State. What's funny, is Ohio State probably has a better chance of winning that game then it did the year before against Florida, when the Buckeyes were heavily favoured.

Florida's another crazy team. I don't like them, so I'm glad they lost 3 times, but I'm not really sure how they lost 3 times. Another team that's better than their record. If you put them up against Ohio State or West Virginia right now they would be right in it. Really, all the teams in the top 10 right now would probably give each other a serious run for their money.

Trying to figure out the bowl match ups is guesswork. We're trying to predict who the bowls will want to be playing there. Some picks are automatic as the bowl is aligned with a certain conference. They look like this:
Rose-Big Ten Champ, Pac-10 Champ
Sugar-SEC Champ
Fiesta-Big 12 Champ
Orange-ACC Champ

The only BCS conference that doesn't have a specific bowl/champ agreement is the Big East.

The biggest loser Saturday could be Missouri. Right now they are the number one team in the country. Lose to Oklahoma and they probably miss a BCS bowl entirely! Each conference can only have two teams in the BCS. The Big 12 would have Oklahoma and either Kansas/Missouri. That is gonna be one crazy choice. Missouri beat Kansas, but then lost to Oklahoma twice (assuming that happens). Are they really going to select that 2 loss Missouri team? I see things playing out like this.

Title Game-West Virginia vs. Ohio State

The Rose Bowl loses Ohio State, so they get to choose next. They can not select Conference Champions just at large teams. They may want to take a Big 10 team, but the most attractive is Illinois. I bet they skip the Big 10 and take the most attractive at-large team, Georgia. So we have

Rose Bowl-USC vs. Georgia (good game)

The Orange Bowl chooses next. Of the at-large teams out there Kansas is probably the most attractive.

Orange Bowl-Virginia Tech vs. Kansas

The Fiesta Bowl chooses next. They automatically get Oklahoma as Big 12 champ, and being in Arizona, 10-2 Arizona St. fits in perfectly

Fiesta Bowl-Oklahoma vs. Arizona St.

Finally the Sugar Bowl gets LSU as SEC champ, and Hawaii who will gain an automatic berth per the BCS rules.

Sugar Bowl-LSU vs. Hawaii

So, who were the losers? Missouri. They're really just the only worthy team that would be left out. Florida would also be a good choice but the SEC already has LSU and Georgia, so no argument there. All of this of course hinges on LSU beating Tennessee, WVU beating Pittsburgh, Oklahoma beating Missouri, Arizona St. beating Arizona, USC beating UCLA, Virginia Tech beating Boston College, and Hawaii beating Washington. Clearly, things could change. The only people that are sitting pretty are Ohio State (who at worst is going to the Rose Bowl), and Georgia (who will probably be the most coveted at-large team). I also think Kansas is in good shape. We'll see how this all turns out come Saturday after the games, and then Sunday when the actual selections are announced.

Football Rankings

2007-11-25T08:59:00.000-05:00

For the second time this year, the number 1 and 2 ranked teams both lost in the same week. Should we have expected anything different? The Tigers are still atop the rankings, only they're new Tigers. Chase Daniel had an awesome game, and led Missouri to a 36-28 win over unbeaten Kansas. This year has been crazy. The only team that's safe right now is Ohio State. They've played all their games. And with 11 wins and 1 loss, are just waiting for one of the teams ahead of them to slip up next week, and all of a sudden, the Buckeyes could find themselves in the National title game. Next weeks re-match in the Big 12 title game between Oklahoma and Missouri should be fantastic. Missouri only lost once this year, and it was to the Sooners. If Oklahoma beats them again, they can kiss good by to a National title (and Ohio State will be celebrating).

25. Boise State (10-2)

24. Brigham Young (9-2)

23. Texas Tech (8-4)
22. Auburn (8-4)

21. South Florida (9-3)

20. Oregon (8-3)

19. Wisconsin (9-3)

18. Virginia (9-3)

17. Clemson (9-3)

16. Texas (9-3)

15. Tennessee (9-3)

14. Illinois (9-3)

13. Arizona State (9-2)

12. Hawaii (11-0)

11. Boston College (10-2)

10. Florida (9-3)

9. USC (9-2)

8. Virginia Tech (10-2)

7. Oklahoma (10-2)

6. Georgia (10-2)

5. Kansas (11-1)

4. LSU (10-2)

3. Ohio State (11-1)

2. West Virginia (10-1)

1. Missouri (11-1)

Football Rankings

2007-11-18T07:54:00.000-05:00

Well, lets see who's fallen this week: Oregon played Thursday night, losing their QB early in the game, and lost to Arizona. They're done. Oklahoma gets their QB knocked out early in the game and lost to Texas Tech. They're done. Ohio State beat the hated Michigan Wolverines, making last weeks loss to Illinois even harder to swallow. The way things are going I wouldn't count the Buckeyes out of the title game just yet. It's still a long shot, but nothing would surprise me. Thursday night my prediction for the title game was LSU-Oregon. By Saturday that had changed to LSU-Oklahoma, and now, I'm calling LSU-West Virginia. In an interesting scenario, Tennessee managed to beat Vanderbilt by 1 point yesterday to stay atop the SEC East. I think this is great for LSU. If they have to play Tennessee in the SEC title game, I think LSU definitely wins. Had Tennessee lost yesterday, Georgia would have been back in control of the SEC East, and I think a Georgia-LSU title game would be much harder for the Tigers. So Vandy, LSU says thank you for losing.

25. Cincinnati (9-2)
24. Texas Tech (8-4)
23. South Florida (8-3)
22. Clemson (8-3)
21. Connecticut (9-2)
20. Wisconsin (9-3)
19. Tennessee (8-3)
18. Virginia (9-2)
17. Illinois (9-3)
16. Boston College (9-2)
15. Boise State (10-1)
14. Hawaii (10-0)
13. Oregon (8-2)
12. Florida (8-3)
11. USC (8-2)
10. Texas (9-2)
9. Virginia Tech (9-2)
8. Oklahoma (8-2)
7. Georgia (9-2)
6. Arizona State (9-1)
5. Ohio State (11-1)
4. Missouri (10-1)
3. West Virginia (9-1)
2. Kansas (11-0)
1. LSU (10-1)

2005 in Songs

2007-11-17T09:16:00.000-05:00

First off, 2005 was not a great year for albums so I'm not doing a list. As for the songs, a lot of the best were from records that were actually released late in 2004, but got big in 2005.

2005 Song of the Year

17. Woman-Wolfmother

16. My Humps-Black Eyed Peas

15. Beverly Hills-Weezer

14. Hollaback Girl-Gwen Stefani

13. Don't Phunk With My Heart-Black Eyed Peas

12. You're Beautiful-James Blunt

11. Numb/Encore-Jay-Z and Linkin Park

10. Boulevard of Broken Dreams-Green Day

9. Pump It-Black Eyed Peas

8. Behind These Hazel Eyes-Kelly Clarkson

7. Sugar We're Going Down-Fall Out Boy

6. Jesus of Suburbia-Green Day

5. Gold Digger-Kanye West

4. Since You've Been Gone-Kelly Clarkson

3. Do You Want To?-Franz Ferdinand

2. Hide and Seek- Imogen Heap

1. All These Things That I've Done-The Killers

Best of 2004

2007-11-15T09:11:00.000-05:00

Continuing the Song of the Year series we arrive at 2004. Where 2003 was dominated by Hip Hop, 2004 for me was more about the good ole Rock. I'm also gonna throw my best album list in here.

Best Album 2004

5. Scissor Sisters-Scissor Sisters

4. Franz Ferdinand-Franz Ferdinand

3. Hot Fuss-The Killers (for the record, this is my favourite band of the past 7 years or so)

2. The College Dropout-Kanye West

1. American Idiot-Green Day

Song of the Year 2004

15. Matinee-Franz Ferdinand

14. Family Business-Kanye West

13. Are You Gonna Be My Girl-Jet

12. My Happy Ending-Avril Lavigne

11. Somewhere Only We Know-Keane

10. Somebody Told Me-The Killers

9. Through the Wire-Kanye West

8. Take Your Mama-Scissor Sisters

7. White Houses-Vanessa Carlton

6. Take Me Out-Franz Ferdinand

5. American Idiot-Green Day

4. Us-Regina Spektor

3. Jesus Walks-Kanye West

2. Mr.Brightside-The Killers

1. Live Like You Were Dying-Tim McGraw

Lets hear your opinions in the comments section, and also what you think might be song of the year for 2007.

Music

2007-11-14T11:37:00.000-05:00

As we're getting closer to the end of the year, I've begun thinking about what might win my annual Song of the Year award. I then realised that for the past 2 years I've had a blog I haven't bothered to put up my song of the year list. So Starting today we're going to go all the way back to 2002, work our way through the years, and finishing with the 2007 list which will be unveiled in December. There is one disclaimer, trying to figure out what year to use a song in can be annoying. Like, if the album came out in 2001, but the single got airplay in 2002, what year would it go in? (I say 2002). Tougher still is what to do with a song that gets released at the end of one year, but makes it big at the start of the following year. Again tough call. So basically, don't complain about the dates. Just enjoy the list.

2002 Song of the Year

8. The Middle-Jimmy Eat World

7. Complicated-Avril Lavigne

6. Somewhere Out There-Our Lady Peace

5. This Train Don't Stop There Anymore-Elton John

4. Beautiful Mess-Diamond Rio

3. Work It-Missy Elliot

2. By the Way-Red Hot Chili Peppers

1. Landslide-The Dixie Chicks

2003 Song of the Year

11. Swing, Swing-The All American Rejects

10. In Da Club-50 Cent

9. Bring Me To Life-Evanescence

8. Unwell-Matchbox 20

7. P.I.M.P-50 Cent

6. Gossip Folks-Missy Elliot

5. Ignition (Remix)-R.Kelly

4. Such Great Heights-The Postal Service

3. Crazy in Love-Beyonce, ft. Jay Z

2. Where is the Love?-Black Eyed Peas

1. Hey Ya-Outkast

Football Rankings

2007-11-11T07:51:00.000-05:00

Oh my. Down goes Number 1...again. One week before their big showdown, both Ohio State, AND Michigan lose. Were they looking ahead? Possibly. But we can't look past the fact that they were playing decent teams. This year the Big Ten is the new SEC. Everybody beats everybody, and you have a whole bunch of 3/4 loss teams, and no undefeateds (in fact the top team could finish with 2 losses). Kansas looked darned good again, and I can't wait to see what happens in the Missouri game. The winner is most likely going to get a shot at Oklahoma, and that's going to be some game in and of itself. If Kansas prevails and finishes the season with wins over Missouri, and Oklahoma, it's going to be pretty tough to keep them out of the BCS championship game.

25. Cincinnati (8-2)

24. Penn State (8-3)

23. Michigan (8-3)

22. Wisconsin (8-3)

21. Kentucky (7-3)

20. Virginia (9-2)

19. Illinois (8-3)

18. Tennessee (7-3)

17. Boston College (8-2)

16. Clemson (8-2)

15. Boise State (9-1)

14. Hawaii (9-0)

13. Florida (7-3)

12. USC (8-2)

11. Texas (9-2)

10. Virginia Tech (8-2)

9. Georgia (8-2)

8. Arizona State (9-1)

7. Ohio State (10-1)

6. Missouri (9-1)

5. West Virginia (8-1)

4. Oklahoma (9-1)

3. Kansas (10-0)

2. Oregon (8-1)

1. LSU (9-1)

Football Rankings

2007-11-04T06:37:00.000-05:00

Another week, another upset. Saw this one coming though, as BC should have lost to Virginia Tech, and I just thought there was no way they were going to finish unbeaten. A lot of SEC teams at the back of the pack. The same things happening that all the SEC fans talk about, their teams all beat up on each other, and it's tough to come out of that conference with even 2 losses (3 seems most likely, and some good teams will have 4). Ohio State is looking more and more like a true National Title contender. I think they will be able to hold Michigan to under 20 points, and themselves put up more than 20, so I see Ohio State winning that game. Michigan did show a lot of Heart by coming back and beating Michigan St. yesterday. If they do upset the Buckeyes what a turn around they will have made on their season, from 0-2 to Big 10 Champs. And the game I keep looking more and more forward to every week, the possible rematch between Oklahoma and Missouri in the Big 12 Championship. That would be good.

25. Arkansas (6-3)
24. Kentucky (6-3)
23. Tennessee (6-3)
22. Virginia (8-2)
21. Alabama (6-3)
20. Boise State (8-1)
19. Clemson (7-2)
18. Florida (6-3)
17. Auburn (7-3)
16. USC (7-2)
15. Connecticut (8-1)
14. Hawaii (8-0)
13. Texas (8-2)
12. Arizona State (8-1)
11. Virginia Tech (7-2)
10. Michigan (8-2)
9. Georgia (7-2)
8. Boston College (8-1)
7. Missouri (8-1)
6. West Virginia (7-1)
5. Kansas (9-0)
4. Oklahoma (8-1)
3. Oregon (8-1)
2. LSU (8-1)
1. Ohio State (10-0)

Football Rankings

2007-10-28T09:58:00.000-04:00

25. South Carolina (6-3)
24. Boise State (7-1)
23. Clemson (6-2)
22. Wake Forrest (6-2)
21. Wisconsin (7-2)
20. Florida (5-3)
19. Auburn (6-3)
18. Connecticuit (7-1)
17. USC (6-2)
16. South Florida (6-2)
15. Alabama (6-2)
14. Virginia Tech (6-2)
13. Texas (7-2)
12. Michigan (7-2)
11. Georgia (6-2)
10. Hawaii (8-0)
9. Missouri (7-1)
8. Arizona State (8-0)
7. West Virginia (7-1)
6. Kansas (8-0)
5. Oklahoma (7-1)
4. Oregon (7-1)
3. LSU (7-1)
2. Boston College (8-0)
1. Ohio State (9-0)

Airport Rant 2

2007-10-23T09:11:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, back after popular demand, it’s Airport Rant 2. This time I’m coming to you from jolly old London. Heathrow airport to be exact. I’m just waiting for my connecting flight which is to Glasgow, Scotland. The in thing here appears to be Pink scarves. Or, more correctly, hot chicks in pink scarves. Frustrating about the airport is lack of free internet access. Toronto is also bad with this, but there, I happened to be situated close to the Maple Leaf lounge and managed to steal their signal. For those interested, my flight over was fantastic. The plane was a Boeing 777, and I had an entire row of 3 seats to myself. The plane had personal entertainment screens in the seat in front of you, so you can choose what programming (if any you’d like to watch. I chose to watch Evan Almighty. Not impressed. At all. Other choices included “Surf’s Up” which I actually saw in the theatre and was a much better movie.
A small child has come dangerously close to taking over my laptop. If she could type I would let her, but I think she’s two. At the moment I’m slightly worried, as my connecting flight is not appearing on the big board. I still have almost 3 hours so no big deal yet, but it just seems weird. So there’s really not a lot going on here yet. The British seem to be much more reserved at the airport than the Canadians. No fat guys in Hawaiian shirts yet. Very disappointing. Children behind me are watching some movie on a DVD player. I’m very close to putting on clips from the Swedish Chef, and turning this thing up as loud as it will go. “Een de berggy, smirgen, au da Cheekin en da Baskit”. Oh, that’d be good times.
I’m gonna take an aside here to write about some pressing issues.
1.) Apparently we missed something through 7 books, and Albus Dumbledore was gay all along. Yes, JK Rowling revealed this past week that the character of Dumbledore is gay. What???? This really is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. Never in any of the books was anything like this mentioned. No sexual innuendo, nothing. Now with all the books being done, the final chapter written, the story put to bed, Rowling now decides to tell us that Dumbledore was gay? I’m personally just deciding to ignore it. My Dumbledore is not gay. It was never built into his character and has nothing to do with the stories. Rowling, you just made the jack ass list.
2.) The Boston Red Sox have made the World Series, coming back from a 3-1 deficit to Cleveland. This series was really something to watch. In the games Cleveland won they looked so strong. Being up 3-1 with two 19 game winners pitching in games 5 and 6, I thought the series would end there. But those guys stunk. Big time. C.C. Sabathia, what a disappointment. If Cleveland fans can take anything from this it’s that their team is good. I thought that Cleveland had the young talent to be contending for a World Series in 2 or 3 more years. They proved me wrong, and were 1 game from going this year. The future in the Mistake by the Lake is bright. Hopefully Sabathia and the others can learn from their mistakes and grow stronger.
3.) What is harder to pick games at NFL or College football? In the past I would have said the NFL, as parity in the league has made it possible that no game is a forgone conclusion (ok, save the ones the Patriots are in), and the statement “Any Given Sunday” has never wrung so true. But this year in the NCAA has been crazy. Every week, upset after upset. As you may have noticed, I’ve started doing weekly rankings for the top 25. Some of my placings differ fairly significantly (6 places or so) from the AP and Coaches Polls. They may be wrong and I’m right though. Who knows? Come next week their number 8 team may lose and I’ll look smarter for having that team ranked 13, knowing that other teams were better. Then again the complete opposite could happen and I’d look like the numpty, over evaluating a certain team. It’s just so tough this year. A couple things I think. Both actual polls have Arizona State higher than Kansas, but I have it the other way around. These are not traditional powers (ok, Arizona State has definitely had it’s time in the sun, but does not contend for a division championship every year) but both are currently still undefeated. For me Kansas has better quality wins, and looks like a more polished team. I don’t think either of them will finished undefeated, but we make the rankings based on what we’ve seen to date, and if the two teams played on a neutral field today, I think Kansas would come out ahead, so I have them higher. Finally predictions for the big game. My gut still says LSU makes it, even though they’ve looked vulnerable the past couple of weeks. They have also shown a lot of heart, and I still think they are the most complete team in the country. Oklahoma sits in a great position. They are explosive, and I think they can definitely win out the rest of the way, and finish with 1 loss. Whether or not Ohio State can go undefeated is going to be the big question. Michigan is playing some good football again, and if the Buckeyes are still undefeated when they meet in the last game of the regular season, Watch out. It could be another instant classic. My sleeper one loss team is Oregon. I’m not sure if they’ll end up with one loss, but I’m hoping so. This team is fun to watch, and I’m really hoping they’ll at least make a BCS game, if not the Championship.
Anyway, that’s me for now, because I’m gonna go and try and find out what the hell is up with my flight.

Update
I was in the complete wrong area. Apparently there are separate areas for domestic flights (within the UK) and International flights. I was specifically told to go where I did by one of the workers. He lied to me. I'm now in Glasgow. All is good. I bought some cigars in London. Partagas Serie D No.4, can't wait to spark one up.

Football Rankings

2007-10-21T08:16:00.000-04:00

25. UCLA (5-2)
24. Penn State (6-2)
23. Rutgers (5-2)
22. Alabama (6-2)
21. Virginia (7-1)
20. Georgia (5-2)
19. Michigan (6-2)
18. Texas (6-2)
17. California (5-2)
16. Hawaii (7-0)
15. South Carolina (6-2)
14. Kentucky (6-2)
13. Missouri (6-1)
12. Arizona State (7-0)
11. USC (6-1)
10. Kansas (7-0)
9. Florida (5-2)
8. Virginia Tech (6-1)
7. West Virginia (6-1)
6. South Florida (6-1)
5. Oregon (6-1)
4. Oklahoma (7-1)
3. Boston College (7-0)
2. LSU (7-1)
1. Ohio State (8-0)

Bryan McCabe

2007-10-18T17:13:00.000-04:00

Toronto is one of the most hockey mad cities in the world. Most Toronto fans would say "THE" most hockey mad, but that would be a slap in the face of the other Canadian cities (and maybe Detroit) who also are great supporters of the game. Certainly playing in Toronto is harder than anywhere else. The fans and media can be ruthless, and it takes a strong conviction to handle it all well. "Wait 'till next year" has become a common phrase in Toronto, and after only 7 games this year, it's already being thrown about. Torontos' main problem this year has been team defence. And get this, Toronto has the highest paid defence corps in the league. They also have the highest amount of goals scored in the entire league, but are 2nd in goals allowed. The other night against Buffalo, Bryan McCabe scored on his own net in overtime. At the moment he's taking all kinds of criticism from the fans and media. It got me thinking, if McCabe was run out of Toronto, and then the whole NHL what other jobs could he pursue? Here's some ideas, and how they might go.

Things Bryan McCabe could do outside of Hockey

1.) Pool Cleaner. McCabe is clearly good at getting things in a net (the wrong one), and would be perfect for cleaning out a grimy pool. He'd constantly be trying to flirt with the women of the houses, and be repeatedly beaten up by the men. (Just like when Chara threw him around like a toy).

2.) Gravedigger. McCabe knows all about holes. His defense is full of them. I'm sure he'd make an excellent hole digger that any cemetery would love to have. While he's not looking he'd be pushed into one of his own holes by Tomas Kaberle.

3.) Used Car Salesman. McCabe is slimy.

4.) Star of the new show Cavemen. I just think this is funny.

5.) Chauffeur. He'd drive people around, constantly talking about how he used to play for the Maple Leafs, and people used to like him, and proceed to start crying, and then ask for a tissue.

At least somebody loves him.

College Football Ballot

2007-10-14T07:48:00.000-04:00

I've decided that every Sunday Morning, I'm going to fill out my College Football Rankings, just like I was one of the AP writers. It'll be interesting to see how close the rankings compare. I'm not just looking at the Win/Loss records here, but also the quality of those wins, and Losses. So first I present "teams on the brink" (Just missing out the top 25 but ready to fill the spot if one of the above teams falter)

Penn St, Alabama, Rutgers, Boise St.

Graham Brown Top 25

25. Virginia (6-1)

24. Texas Tech (6-1)

23. Michigan (5-2)

22. Tennessee (4-2)

21. Cincinnati (6-1)

20. Georgia (5-2)

19. Texas (5-2)

18. Missouri (5-1)

17. Auburn (5-2)

16. Hawaii (7-0)

15. Kansas (6-0)

14. Arizona St. (7-0)

13. Florida (4-2)

12. Virginia Tech (6-1)

11. Kentucky (6-1)

10. USC (5-1)

9. West Virgina (6-1)

8. California (5-1)

7. South Carolina (6-1)

6. Oregon (5-1)

5. LSU (6-1)

4. South Florida (6-0)

3. Oklahoma (6-1)

2. Boston College (7-0)

1. Ohio State (7-0)

The Top 10

2007-10-10T10:52:00.000-04:00

10. Dig'em

While he's no Kermit, Dig-em is certainly one of the cooler frogs out there. Funny though, Smacks is probably the cereal I'd least like to eat of all the ones represented on this list.

9. Sonny

Now we're into the real stars. Some of these guys were most memorable for there catch phrases as well as their looks. Sonny had one of the best, "I'm Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs". Gotta tell ya, Not a huge Cocoa Puffs fan. But Sonny is one of the legends.

8. Buzz Bee

Another cereal I'm not a big fan of, but Everyone knows the Honey Nut Bee.

7. Count Chocula

Finally the last of the Cereal Monsters, and clearly the coolest. What a way to start your morning, Chocolate and Marshmallows, with a little bit of the occult mixed in. If you can find it, watch the Robot Chicken where they do "Zombie Idol" and Count Chocula plays the Simon Cowell role.

6. Snap, Crackle, and Pop

My personal favourite is Crackle. What's up with Pop's outfit by the way?Love the hats.

5. Lucky the Leprechaun

Lucky also had one of the most memorable catch lines, "They're Magically Delicious". A fact I discovered while putting this list together is that there was a short period of time where they actually replaced the Leprechaun with a Wizard. The public didn't take to it as well and after about a year Lucky was back.

4. Trix Rabbit

"Silly Rabbit, Trix are for Kids". Man that poor Rabbit. All he wanted was some Trix. Honestly Rabbit, it's not THAT great. It's good. Just not like Lucky Charms good.

3. Tony the Tiger

Does it get much better than Tony the Tiger? (Well on my list yes, 2 more). But seriously, he had it all. First, he's a Tiger. Kids like Tigers. Second, his cereal was good. Corn Flakes are good on their own, and this guy added sugar to them. And three he has one of the all time catch phrases, "They're Grrrrrrrrrrrreat!".

2. Toucan Sam

Toucan Sam. For decades this guy has been telling children to "Follow your nose". Froot Loops is probably the cereal I ate the most of as a kid. The commercials with Sam were some of the best. Easily one of the top 3 Mascots.

1. Cap'n Crunch

The Cap'N. What more needs to be said? If all these characters were on a boat, this guy would be in charge. It helps, that Cap'n Crunch is my favourite cereal. Long live the Captain.

What do you think? Like the list? Did I leave anyone out? Have a different number 1? Leave your opinions in the comments section.

Cereal Characters

2007-10-09T18:16:00.000-04:00

Cereal Characters are as familiar as any Saturday morning cartoon character. Many have come and gone over the years, but there are quite a few that are true Legends. I now present my favourite Cereal Characters of all time.
18. Yummy Mummy

One of the Cereal Monsters, Yummy Mummy is probably the least well known. Nowadays "Yummy Mummy" has a slightly different meaning. I love Yummy Mummies.

17. Fruit Brute

Ladies and Gentleman, this is a Werewolf, wearing Green, Orange, and Pink overalls. Nuff Said.

16. Officer Crumb, Cookie Crook, Chip the Dog

Why they got rid of these guys I'll never know. Definitely some of the best commercials.

15. Jean Lafoote

The first Pirate on our list. Jean Lafoote was the archenemy of Cap'N Crunch. His own cereal didn't last too long, but come on, Pirates rock, and he was an evil pirate to boot. I bet that Cinnamon Crunch was tasty too.

14. Quisp

I had never heard of Quisp cereal in my life until I started collecting Wacky Wobblers, and I saw this guy. That is one damn cool mascot. Check out the ray gun on the box. Sweet! And it comes with a free comic? Double Sweet!

13. Frankenberry

The third Cereal Monster on the list. What's not to love about a pink Frankenstein variant? I'm not the biggest Strawberry flavour fan in the world, but he sure looks cool.

12. Boo Berry

Now this is a cereal I wish I had actually been able to try (and apparently you can still order it from General Mills). Boo had a lot going for him. Besides being a ghost which is always cool, he was a ghost with a hat and bow tie. That is the shit man. I'm not kidding, I would wear that hat around if I had it. Boo Berry is the 2nd last of the Cereal Monsters on the list. The final one appears in the top 10.

11. Sugar Bear

Sugar Bear was the epitome of cool. Look at that stance. He's basically saying "Yeah, I'm the man. All you kids are gonna eat my cereal. It's full of sugar. So what if it's not good for you". And check out the Jackson 5 on the box. This guy rolled with all the big stars of the time. Tito, Jermaine, Black Michael. Sugar Bear rocks.

Check back tomorrow for the top 10.

Sports: Writers, and Casters

2007-10-09T14:57:00.000-04:00

Sports writers. The guys that think they know everything. The guys that think they know enough about Football, even though they might not have played a down in their lives, to crown a National Champion in College. The guys that have a million "inside sources" and know things about the teams they write about before the teams do.

Sportscasters. The guys that make a game run along smoothly, and add interesting facts and anecdotes. Or the morons that make a game basically unwatchable.

Below is my list of favourite Sportscasters and writers, and just general sports media personalities. They're not in any particular order, just separated into groups of the ones I like, and the ones I'd like to punch in the face.

LIKE

Chris Berman- The Swami. Berman is the face of the best football pre-game show "Sunday NFL Countdown". Witty, as well as smart. Best known for the phrase "He-Could-Go-All-The Way" as well as coming up with some awesome player nicknames. On a Sunday morning, Berman never lets me down.

Ron Jaworski- "Jaws"- The best. Seriously, He is the guy I most like to listen to talk about football. Jaws is one of the best there is at breaking down plays and explaining things to Joe Public. Way better on Monday Night Football then Joe Theisman was.

Tony Kornheiser- Pardon the Interruption is one of my favourite shows on TV. While Michael Wilbon is enjoyable the true star of the show is Kornheiser. His animated rants are often hilarious, and I love how he always thinks he wins every game they play, "I win". His sports knowledge is pretty solid, and I think he's fitting right in on Monday Night Football, basically doing what Denis Miller wishes he could have.

Bob McKenzie- Wait, that's not the right picture.

There we go. That's the Bob McKenzie I'm talking about. McKenzie is the guy with his finger on the pulse of the NHL. When he has insider information I tend to believe it. He's interesting, well spoken, and well respected around the NHL. I wonder if he'd ever consider becoming GM of the Leafs?

Bob Ryan- Ryan is a writer for the Boston Globe, and a regular on ESPN's the Sports Reporters, and often a guest host on Pardon the Interruption. He's the wise old veteran, and Kornheiser has called him "the quintessential American sports writer".

Kirk Herbstreit- Plain and simple the best College football analyst in the country. On "College GameDay" he is a much needed voice of reason, because, well, Lee Corso is pretty crazy.

Guys I want to Punch in the Face (and therefore are not worthy of pictures)
Mike Lupica- What a small man. Petty, and insecure. Lupica makes me want to turn the Sports Reporters off sometimes, which is a shame, because when he's not talking the show is great.

Dan LeBatard (or LeBastard, LeRetard)- You're not funny Dan. Does anyone like you? I doubt it.

Steve Simmons- A Toronto based writer. Get over yourself. You're not important. You want to feel important, like you've got breaking important news, but you just stir up shit, and then look like an ass.

Stewart Mandel- The college football writer over at SI.com. Just go read his stuff. USC bias anyone? Oh no. They lost last Saturday? Screw you Mandel.

Peter King- One thing I think I think: Peter King is a Douche.

Steven A. Smith- The biggest joke in sports writing. The NBA would be so much better off without this guy.

Airport Rant

2007-07-26T08:19:00.000-04:00

So, here I sit in the Toronto Airport. Apparently internet is still not free here, which is so gay. Anyway, I’ve decided it will be fun to make random comments about passers by. Not verbally of course, but recorded here for all to see in a future blog.
Some crazy woman just drove by in a one of the little carts. You know, like the one that Austin Powers gets stuck in the hallway. I’ve always wanted to ride on one of these at the airport. It would make me feel special. If not the cart, being pushed in a wheelchair could also be good. In fact, I’m thinking of faking a leg injury. Yeah, that could do it. I’d get wheeled right up to the gate, and then run on the plane yelling “you got played sucker. Biyahhh!”
The other thing I’m noticing about the work force here are there lovely maroon coloured vests. So gorgeous. I wonder how one could go about acquiring one of these. Possibly theft. I could launch a covert sneak attack on one of the dudes while he’s on the dumper.
Really cute blond just walked by with nice braided hair. I really like braided hair, don’t know why. Maybe it’s the SFU effect? (pipe band people will get this).
BTW, the gate where my plane is leaving from is down the crappy wing. It’s named this because the duty free section there is very small and they have NO premium cigars. Last time I flew from this section I walked all the way around the terminal to the other duty free, bought cigars there and had them send them back to my gate. I don’t feel like doing that today. This is much more interesting.
Got the music pumping now. “What’s going on” by 4 Non Blonds. Total one hit wonder. Good tune though. I feel like singing aloud. Too bad someone wasn’t here to film that.
A small child just walked by that smelt like he may have made a delivery in his pants. Hope he’s not on my plane. It is a delivery free plane. There should be rules about dropping a mean one on the plane. It’s like a bus. Not good. Even farting. Glenn Brown is a serial plane farter. “I don’t care. I paid my money. I’m dropping ‘em” -Glenn Brown
Ooh, here comes the cart again. Wow. Fat woman on the back. I swear I could get on that thing. And it has the little bell they ring to get people to move out of the way. I think a megaphone would be much cooler/ “Scuse me. I said scuse me! I got a fat woman on this thing. She ain’t gonna walk herself, so you best move your ass out the way!. Thank you…bitch”
Wow! Serious hot brunette/ That’s one thing that never changes, there is always awesome talent at airports. It seems like they get themselves all dolled up as well. Gotta make a good impression at the airport. Black pants. White and grey stripped shirt. Anyone know her? Now maybe she’ll be on my plane. I’ll taker her over poopy pants child.
Little kid just gave me the stare down. The rumble could be on. Stay tuned.
Hawaiian shirts are a great idea at the airport. They draw lots if attention and people assume your going somewhere nice. Why though does every dude who wears one of these have a giant moustache? And what is with moustaches? Honestly Students at Cal-Berkley have just finished a study which scientifically proves that moustaches only look good on two people. Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck.
Just had my first “I think it’s a woman but could be a dude” sighting. This is a fun game to play. They’re out there people. Keeps your eyes peeled.
Haha. This guy is walking by with a serious waddle. You know you’re fat when you’ve got the waddle. LOL, seriously, his arms are flapping side to side as he goes. Best part so far, besides the hot chicks.
Just spotted a prime target for “operation get me an ugly vest”
I’m on a second page. I haven’t written this much since I wrote to Avril Lavigne trying to convince her leave that jerk Derrick and go for me. Whatever, restraining orders aren’t a big deal.
The girl checking my bags in liked my new long hair. “You’re not a stewardess on this flight are ya” I asked, “No, unfortunately not” she replied. “Your loss” says I. She smiled. Seriously this happened. No it didn’t.
Well, I’m gonna pack things up now. Time to fire into Harry Potter. I’ve just bought the Deathly Hallows but I have a couple hundred pages of the Half Blood Prince to finish first.
Bizzle, Outttttttttt.

Pressure

2007-07-11T21:50:00.000-04:00

Well, well, well. With the recent explosion of readership here at G Bizzle Entertainment (we now have 4 readers instead of 2), there has come a new pressure to perform. To those whom it may concern, a statement, I am not your dancing monkey. I post when the genius strikes. Often times the genius seems to strike when I am on the dumper, or when I've been profoundly struck by a comment from the great Philosopher, Jimmy "The Hot Dog" Rollo. As the Hot Dog would say, "Ryan, you suck".

Alas, I have returned to my writing ways, and there are many things to touch on this week. This afternoon I saw the new Harry Potter movie. I had just finished reading the book in anticipation of the film, and I must say I was let down. So much plot development was skipped. Good adaptations are so tough to come by. The book is 750 pages long, and there is just so much going on there was never any way it was going to translate into a great film. The movie did have a redeeming factor, Hermione Granger (aka. Emma Watson). Is this girl 18 yet? (quick check says no, 17). Uh oh, I feel like I'm having a Hilary Duff moment again.

It was raining the other day and I really found myself wishing I had an Um-B-Rella, ella, ella, eh, eh, eh, a big black Um-B-Rella, ella, ella sorry, I had to. That song is so damn catchy. Like, "Crazy" or "the Hamster Dance". Remember the Hamster Dance? No? My bad.

This weekend is the Chattam highland games. The games is really just a pre-cursor to the Saturday night party, which is always one of the best of the year. After the beer tent the nightly festivities take place at the Wheels Inn. The Wheels is an amazing place. Every year hundreds of African-American families bring their loved ones to the Wheels Inn for vacation. Seriously. You guys no what's in Chatam? Nothing. They all come to vacation...at the hotel. Huge families hanging about the pool, drinking Miller High Life. Maybe gathering around the tv, watching Maury Povich to see if some guy really is some whores babys daddy. Only to find out he's not. And that guy jumps up and does a sick dance that is way better than most of the jack asses on "So you think you can Dance". So then they test another 12 dudes because the truth comes out and she actually nailed all of them in a giant gang bang. Only none of them are the father either, and she's bawling, while the audience is yelling "whore". God bless Maury Povich, and the Wheels Inn.

I'm gonna leave now, as the laptop seems very hot. I can't afford to buy another one of these things. Peace Out, boiiiiii.

Scotchland

2007-06-19T06:24:00.000-04:00

Ladies and gentlemen I'm back in Scotland, or as I call it Kebab Central. Today seems like it might be a perfect day to hit Best Kebab for a large Donner. MMMMM.

I can now confidently say that I've seen the greatest musician in the world. His name is Homeless Man (ok this is what I call him, but imagine he had a sign introducing himself as homeless man, that would rock). He plays guitar. Badly. Actually, he doesn't really play it as much as just strum it. His left hand isn't on the strings or frets at all because it's holding his little cup he shakes, hoping to gather a few coins. So really he's juts making noise. Oh, there's singing too. I'm not sure what the words are yet, they are quite difficult to make out. I'll try and have a better listen today. Needless to say he is much more entertaining to me than all the other buskers downtown. Of course I am going to hell for finding him so entertaining.

Breaking news: I've just received a phone call from Blair "Wheat is the Devil" Brown. One of his bags has been lost by continental airlines. Apparently he has his drumming bag, but unfortunately the missing bag was the one with the blow and the midget hooker in it. Tonights party is now off. Unless anyone knows where to find a midget hooker in Glasgow.

Last Comic Standing has started again at home and I think everyone should be watching this show. For one thing it has Mel Silverback. Mel is half Jew, half Mountain Gorilla. I don't think I have to explain why this combination is funny. I've been practicing Mels' intro dance, possibly going to use it as my intro for karaoke. Speaking of funny, here are some of my favourite current funny bits online:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJ3oHpup-pk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYeJEFa-xCA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scNLfr1EP08&mode=related&search= (People not familiar with the Scottish language may have trouble understanding this one)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWt9VNsnsQk

This amp goes to 11

2007-06-12T16:21:00.000-04:00

Philip Hellmuth Jr. has won WSOP Bracelet number 11. After being the last of he, Doyle Brunson and Johnny Chan to get to 10, Hellmuth has become the first to 11. He won event 15, a $1500 No Limit Hold'em. I find Hellmuth extremely interesting. He is the ultimate person you love to hate. Constantly whining, berating other players, and generally being a jack ass while at the table, by all accounts away from the table he is a generally nice guy and is very well liked. The one thing no one can deny is his awesome talent at Texas Hold'em. While Chan and Brunson have each won their 10 bracelets in a number of games (actually more impressive than specializing in one) Hellmuth has won all 11 of his bracelets in Hold'em. There was a time when some of the newer players were saying these older guys couldn't adapt to the new style of play. Well, Hellmuth has won bracelets in 2 consecutive years and beat a field of 2628 players to capture this latest title.

Many of you may also know that I am a savage Magic the Gathering geek. This has become slightly less geeky in recent years as many top Magic pros have gone on to excel at Poker. I love lists and my top 5 Magic players of all time list consists of
1. Jon Finkel (You can read about Jon in "Jonny Magic and the Card Shark Kids" a book that details his rise from fat geeky kid, to best Magic player in the world, top player on the country's biggest Blackjack team taking casinos for mad $$$, and Justin Timberlake look alike).
2. Kai Budde
3. Bob Maher Jr.
4. Gabriel Nassif
5. Kenji Tsumura

Nassif has become the latest Magic star to make a final table at the WSOP. He is savagely short stacked and in 9th place going into today, but a final table is still a final table. I remember a few years ago when we were playing poker at my buddy's house. Mr. Gab Tsang who had just won a Magic team Pro Tour with Nassif was also in attendance. I was on one of the poker sites checking out the Aviation club tournaments going on in France. "Hey Gab" I said, your teammate just won a poker tournament. "Oh yeah?" It was a small win but obviously Nassif is pretty good and has gotten even better.

Song of the day- "Rock Me Gently" by Andy Kim

The Buzz

2007-06-11T11:15:00.000-04:00

Lots of Buzz on the old blog. Thanks to a good word of mouth campaign started by super fan RBarr, hopefully we'll attract some new readers. For those of you that Ryan told I write about NASCAR this just in... Jeff Gordon's gay. I don't know how all the big sports sites have missed out on this story, but I have it on very good authority (friend who will remain nameless-"He grabbed my junk"). So there you have it breaking NASCAR news, only on G Bizzle Entertainment.

"The Georgetown Highland Games and Sheepdog festival where the sheepdogs chase Sheep and Ducks" took place on Saturday. Seeing as how this particular games is located approximately 20 minutes from my home it was a no brainer to attend. Some highlights of the day included the loaded French Fries (spring onion, sour cream, bacon and cheese), safari hats, greasing up Kate Rennie with sun screen, and the whisky taste testing. Lowlights included the beer tent running out of beer (which makes it just a tent) and then all alcohol. I swear I saw one of the locals grab a pitchfork in anger, and knew this was a good time to leave. One final thing that came of the day is that I am on the short list to star in the new biopic "The life and times of Bob Shepherd". Super Producer Geoff Neigh took notice of my ample cigar smoking and thinks I would make the perfect "young Bob". This would be great as Young Bob has some of the best parts like fighting Nazis and searching for mystical bagpipes in the deserts of Morocco.

R.Kelly says "After the show it's the after party", and for the Georgetown Sheep festival it was no exception, with the AP taking place at the Casa de Duthart. Much merry making ensued with the highlight being Dan "Peter" Griffin ordering 5 pizzas at the perfect moment. As the clock struck 12 two lover birds were officially celebrating their anniversary which led to my personal favourite sound bite of the night "So... you wanna do stuff?". I said yes, but then realised the question wasn't asked to me. Also for anyone that missed it James "Frisky" McHattie will be running another seminar in Kincardine on the art of properly cutting a hamburger with a serrated bread knife and paper plate. This is knowledge you can not afford to live without.

Sports update that doesn't have anything to do with Jeff Gordon: Ducks rock, Senators suck.
Spurs rock, Cavaliers Suck. Last night Tim Duncan led the game in assists. The entire game. Including players from both teams. Yep, not a point guard, or a guard in general, Tim Duncan. Oh, he also threw in 23 points and 9 rebounds, once again "Tim Duncan best player in Basketball".

The Montreal Grand Prix was yesterday and the day before in qualifying a man almost hit a groundhog. In the race itself one of the cars pitted so unexpectedly his crew had to come running out of the garage and had no clue what was going on. The driver explained "I hit a Beaver". Not a good weekend for medium sized rodents. The largest rodent of course is the Capybara, found in Central and South America. The Capybara can reach 4 ft in length and 100 lbs in weight. He would destroy an F1 car.

The WSOP is in full swing. Over at ESPN (where my buddy Gary Wise is doing his writing for the World Series) they also had a fantasy poker draft. The number 1 overall pick was Mr. Allen Cunningham. I thought this pick was brilliant. Cunningham has won bracelets at the past 2 WSOP's and just always seems to peek at this tournament. Last night he won bracelet number 5! In our pool you could pick any 20 players for you team. I of course had Cunningham on my number 1 team, but chose not to duplicate players on my two teams so left him off team 2. Our Pool total now clearly reflects teams that have Cunningham and teams that don't.

Standings through event 14

G Bizzle 1- 248
Jay1- 204
Boyd- 202
Ward- 195
Mike- 176
Matt- 165
G Bizzle 2- 105
Jay2- 82
Heidi- 40

If you actually follow poker, here's who's on my two teams.

G Bizzle 1:
Allen Cunningham
Daniel Negreanu
Phil Hellmuth
Joe Hachem
Justin Bonomo
Barry Greenstein
David Pham
Michael Mizrachi
Bill Edler
JC Tran
Ted Forrest
Phil Ivey
Gavin Smith
Jeff Madsen
James Van Alstyne
Chris Ferguson
Chau Giang
Paul Wasica
Eric Seidel
Jon Juanda

and G Bizzle 2:
Scott Fischman
John Hennigan
William Chen
Robert Williamson III
Mark Seif
Eric Lindgren
Jennifer Harman
Shannon Shorr (this is a man Matt)
Joe Sebok
David Williams
Juan Carlos Mortenson
Chris Bell
Brad Booth
Eric Froehlich
Cory Carrol
Robert Mizrachi
Eric Cajelais
Darrell Dicken
Phil Gordon
Kirk Morrison

WSOP

2007-06-07T15:14:00.000-04:00

Alright. So far the World Series has completed 7 events (if you count the casino employees event). The Standings in our pool currently look like this

"Angry" Matt Prevost: 94 points
G-Bizzle 2: 87 points
G-Bizzle 1: 85 points
Jay "IHOS" Robar 1: 82 points
"F" Ward: 80 points
Michael "Danger" Croft: 69 points
Boyd "Duckling" Hardie: 60 points
Jay Robar 2: 44 points
Heidi "My team is basically 5 people" Croft: 37 points

Someone tricked Heidi into putting all women on her team. I gotta tell ya, I know quite a bit about poker and there are some people on that team I have no clue who they are, and imagine they won't even be playing at the World Series this year. What's worse, is that she didn't even put on good, hot players, like Erica Schoenberg, and Vanessa Rousso. She's got a big advantage on us in the ladies only event I guess.

When making up my teams I was very torn about putting the very French Eric Cajelais on my #2 team. But seeing as how he just took a 2nd place I will ignore his Frenchness for now. My main man Gavin Smith has also started out well with a 2nd place finish. Infact had I just made a team of all Canadians I would be doing very well right now. Besides the two already mentioned Greg "FBT" Mueller has a runner up finish, Steve Paul-Ambrose has a 4th place finish, and Nenad Medic has a 17th finish (I've probably missed someone aswell).

Happy Times

2007-05-31T10:55:00.000-04:00

Ah, the Hot humid Summer weather is starting. I had a two month stretch where it was nice to sit outside and smoke a cigar. Not too clod, not too hot. Now it's 30 outside, and I sweat like a hooded rapist.

Sports are in full swing and everything is right in the world. The Blue Jays are average, The Leafs haven't played in months, and Americans stink it up at the French Open. In Basketball everything is going swimmingly. Except for my hometown Raptors, I've had the same favourite team in the NBA for going on 10 years; The San Antonio Spurs. I love Tim Duncan. He's the best player in basketball and I've been preaching this forever. He may not be flashy like Kobe Bryant or Lebron James, but he gets the job done. He scores, he defends, he rebounds, he passes, he blocks, all while being humble and in general a great person. San Antonio is in the Finals yet again, now awaiting the winner of the Cleveland/Detroit series. I don't see either of these teams knocking off the Spurs. It'll be one more feather in the cap of the NBA's best player.

Hockey, Hockey, Hockey!! Everyone in Canada was so pumped about the Ottawa Senators making it to the Stanley Cup Final. And how've they done so far?? Stunk it up! My Ducks are teaching them Playoff hockey should be played. Grinding tough play. Awesome on the forcheck and back check. Their defense has been superb, and what more can be said about the goalkeeping of J.S. Giguere?? Top Notch. If the Ducks can get a win in Ottawa, the series will be over in game 5 in Anaheim. Oh yeah, FU Senators.

It's been suggested that I add more social commentary to the blog. So with that said... What's the deal with old women and hats??? Seriously, hats to old women are like plaid shirts to truckers. I've seen some of the stupidest hats of my life on old grannies heads. There's this one woman in town who must own 30 different hats. And they're all ugly. Plus she's ugly. So the whole package is very ugly. And the make up she wears. Ugghhh. Old people and make up shall be my next rant.

Now lets talk about something positive. I was down in the states this past weekend. It was a road trip. Which meant a few stops at gas stations. I was again reminded of the Americans love of all things jerky!! It's fantastic. You go in the gas station store and there's an entire jerky section. Beef Jerky, Turkey Jerky, about 50 different kinds of pepperoni sticks, "Beef" sticks (I use the term beef loosely), Little packs that come with a beef stick and cheese. I wish Canadians could be more like the Americans when it comes to our love of pre-packaged meat products. This is my favourite section, followed by the pre-packaged cakes section. Cupcakes, Ho-Ho's and Ding Dongs a plenty. And of course...The Twinkie. When I look at that Twinkie package it's as if Twinkie the Kid looks right back at me and gives me a little wink. "Hi old Friend" he'll say "welcome back". I love you Kid.

In Real big news the World Series of Poker starts tomorrow. 55 tournaments are scheduled this year. My friends and I are doing a Fantasy pool and I'll try and keep everyone updated with how my team is doing.

Bizzle Out

Busy Time

2007-05-01T18:31:00.000-04:00

It's been a few weeks since my last post. I've been keeping busy heading down to the states twice (once to Boston/New Hampshire, and once to Indiana). Both were for drumming. Boston was a nightmare. The drumming was fine, and I got to hit two cigar shops (nice haul), but my flight was cancelled on the Sunday night because of a good ole Nor'Easter, and I was stuck for two more days. It actually ended up working out well as my good friend Kitten Hanks came to visit on the Monday. Indiana provided another Cigar shop, and Cold Stones. Cold Stones is an ice cream joint. The staff sing (Cold stones, blah blah Cold stones (sung to the Flinstones theme song)) and make some damn good ice cream. Basically they scoop out your ice cream and throw it on this giant frozen cold slab. There they mix in any toppings or extra added goodies that accompany the flavour you have picked. Everything is tossed together kind of like a salad and then put into either a cone, bowl, or waffle bowl (best option imho). Here's hoping that cold stones feels the need to expand into Ontario sometime soon.

The NHL playoffs are in full swing. So far my two predicted finalists, the San Jose Sharks and the Buffalo Sabres are looking pretty good. The Toronto Raptors on the other hand are not looking so hot in the NBA playoffs. It doesn't actually surprise me. I figured it would be close and had Toronto winning in 7 games, but they've looked so flat at times, and are just letting the Nets get out to big leads. Champions League football (soccer) was today and Liverpool has made it through to the final knocking out the hated Chelsea in a shootout. Lets hope AC Milan can knock off Man U tomorrow at home. And how about that NFL draft? Not a lot of surprises, save Brady Quinn. What was Miami thinking taking Ted Ginn Jr. #9???? Man, do I hope that comes back to haunt them. Cleveland managing to land Quinn and Joe Thomas is absolutely amazing and was one of the best moves by a GM at the draft in years. Go Browns.

In Poker news Juan Carlos Mortenson has won the WPT Championship. He becomes the first person to have won the WPT Championship and the World Series of Poker Main Event. Well done my Spanish brother.

In fat news, 2 of my friends and I are now in a weight loss contest. The winner is the first person to lose 50 lbs. In the official weigh in which took place yesterday I weighed in at 291 lbs. So I need to get to 241 to win. That's basically the weight I got down to and sustained for 2 years, so I'm confident I can do it. Sorry Taco Bell, I'm gonna be away for a while.

The best cigar I've smoked recently was a Padilla 1932 Signature Series Toro. It's not cheap for a non Cuban ($12.50 US), but was worth every penny. I'm definitely gonna be looking into picking up some more. As well, I'm looking forward to trying the other highly rated brand by Padilla, the Miami 8 & 11. Both the 1932, and the 8 & 11 are blends by Jose Pepin Garcia, basically the biggest thing going right now, outside of Cuba.

I wish I had a video of me singing "Don't Fear the Reaper" from karaoke on Friday night. It was seriously good, complete with "air" cowbell.

Anyway, hockey is on. Bizzle Out.

The Bell

2007-04-12T09:43:00.000-04:00

Monday was a day that will live in Milton Ontario's history. The Grand Opening of the Taco Bell/KFC combo store, or as I call it "The greatest place on Earth". Over the past 3 days I've been doing my best to sample as much of the menu as possible, and give some reviews. First off, Rahim is an ass tool. Rahim is one of the young staff members. Dumb as shit. I've had him at the register twice already and I'm pretty sure, he can't read, spell, and doesn't actually know where he is. Also he has the stupidest haircut ever and thinks he's gangster, with his cocked Taco Bell hat. Wear that thing properly jack ass. You're letting all of Taco bell down. Anyway, onto the ratings. I will be rating each product on the "Happy Mexican" scale. The better the food, the happier the Mexicans.

Beef Crucnchwrap Supreme-The first problem with this particular crunchwrap was that the outside tortilla was burnt on one side. The other was fine. I wonder if one of the heat settings on part of the grill is too high? The slight burnt taste was disappointing. Also there was not enough beef filling. 5 Happy Mexicans out of 10

7 Layer Crunchwrap Supreme-This is a new product to the Bell, so even though I was disappointed with the beef crunchwrap I decided to give it a shot. It had the same burnt one side as the beef one. The filling was quite good. 6 Happy Mexicans out of 10

Cheesy Gordita Crunch-Could have used slightly more beef. But was good.
8 out of 10 Happy Mexicans

Double Decker Taco-Lots of Beans between the two tacos. Well constructed.
8 out of 10 Happy Mexicans

Chili Cheese Burrito-Lots of Cheese, could have used a bit more beef.
8 out of 10 Happy Mexicans

Fries Supreme-Again these people appear to be skimping on the beef.
7 out of 10 Happy Mexicans

7 Layer Burrito-I stand by my belief that a good Taco Bell can really be judged by the quality of it's 7 Layer Burrito. As I carefully removed the packaging I gave it the old weight test, in my hand. It seemed quite good. Well stuffed. As I devoured the beast I was content. My one comment would be that it needed a bit more sour cream, but I was very happy with the Guac explosion in my mouth, and many places skimp on the Guac, so this was good.
8 1/2 Happy Mexicans out of 10 (one was a midget).

Spicy Chicken Burrito-The best so far. Healthy amount of rice, and chicken. The tortilla was slightly chewy, but all in all this was the best thing I've eaten.
9 Happy Mexicans out of 10

The Weekend to date

2007-04-08T08:54:00.000-04:00

Hello faithful reader. So the Chocolate Bunny weekend started off with a good ole trip to the Brantford Casino on Friday. Maybe a bad idea. The place was a mad house. Absolutely packed. Apparently everyone else had the same idea we did. We put our names on the wait list for poker, but I really didn't intend to play any poker looking at that list. Two of my friends had their names on a 2 lists, and finally got seats at the $5-$10 table 3 hours later. I decided I'd just fool around. Things started off very well at the Price is Right "Plinko" slot machine. Immediately into the Plinko bonus game I managed to drop both my Plinko chips into the centre slot for a cool $100. We moved on to Let it Ride, which is pretty much the only other table game I will play, besides Black Jack. I played Let it Ride, for quite a good while, and ended up down $50. Not bad at all for some good entertainment. As two of my friends finally got seated at Poker, Mr. James Ward and I decided to go for dinner. Dinner was Moose Winooski's, and my lord, the place kicked our asses. The portions of food were very big, and there's was also a giant garlic bread that apparently comes when someone orders steak, that I wasn't expecting. Leaving food on our plates Ward and I felt like we had let ourselves down, but we were both just too full to finish up. We headed back to the Casino, talked to the guys and they asked for 45 minutes more of poker. What was I gonna do for 45 minutes? Back to Plinko. Bad idea. $50 gone in around 3 minutes flat. That sucked. After the Casino it was back to Milton, and the Ivy Arms for a little Karaoke. At first we thought it wasn't going on , as basically no one was there, but the karaoke dude showed up, and soon things were rocking. The highlight of my night was definitely Matthew Prevost singing Don`t Fear the Reaper. There was a lot of air cowbelling going on in the audience.

Yesterday involved a trip to Casa de Comrie, which is always good times. Sean's wonderful wife Janine has never let us down, and the place is filled with good eats. I arrived to find copious amounts of Easter Chocolate (and only the best Laura Secord at that), Fruit platter (with whipped cream), and two homemade quiches. The quiche was fantastic. Sean`s place is where I do most of my video gaming, and on today's schedule was Guitar Hero 2, which has just become available for XBOX 360. The game is the Nuts (which means good). I only attempted songs on "easy" but man, what fun. I could seriously play that game for a long time.

The night was finished up by watching the Toronto Maple Leafs destroy the Montreal Canadiens and crush their Playoff dreams. We still need New Jersey to beat the Islanders today to allow the Leafs to get in the playoffs. That games coupled with the Masters will basically be my afternoon.

Bizzle Out

Easter

2007-04-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

Chocolate. The Resurrection of Christ (depending on what you believe), and a day off work. Such a day should not be wasted, and so it is that we'll be off for the casino very shortly. Texas Hold'em will be the order of the day as long as the wait for a table isn't gigantic. In such an event I'll probably just hit the Black Jack tables. After the casino, I will be performing at the weekly Karaoke at the Ivy Arms Pub. With me will be a new participant, Matt (Solid Gold) Prevost. Matt's premier performance is being eagerly anticipated. I will have full updates on the poker and singing tomorrow. In other news, I hate weather. Honestly, I was really enjoying the spring weather, smoking a cigar outside everyday. When I woke up this morning it was a fricking blizzard outside. Bull Crap!

I got two boxes of cigars from Blair last week. The Oliva Serie G Belicoso is one of the best cigars I have ever smoked. This cigar has to be the best deal in the world. Really. The box cost about $75. That is $3 a cigar. Absolutely unreal. The Oliva's are one of the most respected tobacco growing families in the world. It was only about 10 years ago they started making their own smokes, instead of just selling the tobacco to other makers. To compete in the industry they kept their prices very low. I can't wait to try the Serie O, which is also a critical hit. The other box was of Onyx Reserve Mini Belicosos. I was first interested in trying this cigar a few years ago when it received a 93 rating from Cigar Aficionado. Later that summer, the man himself J. Reid Maxwell and I were talking, only to discover that the Onyx Mini Belicoso was one of his favourites, and that he had some with him. Almost every time I see Reid he has one for me, and now I can repay the favour. More smoke will be coming up in two weeks with Tyler Fry, and I am VERY excited about what is in that delivery. More on them when they arrive.

American Idol is officially the worst season ever. It's just really bad.
Survivor has been not bad. Yau Man, is The Man. Between finding the immunity idol and then making a fake one, and his mad skillz with the bow and arrow, he keeps the show entertaining.

How hot is Avril Lavigne? Her video for "Girlfriend" is on Much Music right now, and I have never seen it in my life. I can't decide who I live more, Blond Avril, Black haired Avril, or Red Head Avril. I'll take all 3 then.

I've seen 300. It's good. Loved how the camera sped up, and slowed down in action sequences.
I've also watched Babel. It's really good. I think my favourite story was of the Japanese girl. I didn't like it as much as the Departed, but it is high in my list of movies from 2006.

I should get moving.

Bizzle Out

2007-03-20T21:09:00.000-04:00

Jordin Sparks just totally blew this episode of Idol out of the water. Crazy good. Mad vocal skillz.

What's up Peeps?

2007-03-20T20:31:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gents welcome back to G Bizzle Entertainment. This is my first pots of 2007. Wow! I know. That is laziness at it's best. So what's graham been up to. Well the year has been filled with travelling. I've been to Kansas City for a drumming contest (2nd place), and Indiana, Ohio, NYC, and Baltimore teaching. It's been fantastic. I had another drumming contest a week or so ago which I won. I'm back in Indiana in April as well as New Hampshire, before heading to Scotland for a week in May.

Currently we're in the middle of NCAA March Madness. I'm not doing too bad with my picks. My final four is Florida, Kansas, Georgetown, and Texas A&M, with Kansas beating Georgetown in the final. I would throw Memphis out there as a team to look out for. Like most of the pundits I wasn't sure what to do with Memphis before the tournament started as during the regular season they didn't play a lot of tough teams, but so far have looked very good.

American Idol is in the think of things, and it has to be the worst calibre of contestants ever. The ones I like from the guys are Chris Sligh, Blake Lewis, and Phil Stacey. And from the girls Lakisha Jones, Haley Scarnato, and Melinda (no neck) Doolittle, and Jordin Sparks.

Dancing with the Stars started last night and I'm cheering for John Ratzenberger. This of course was Cliff on Cheers. He'll probably go out early, but c'mon, he's the man. Billy Ray Cyrus is garbage. Line dancing is not one of the dances so he's in trouble. There's a miss USA on there. so there's always hoping that she'll fall out of her dress at some point. Anyway, back to watching idol for now.

Bizzle Out.

The List 2006

2006-12-31T09:35:00.000-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is December 31st. Besides much partying and eating of a 6 foot sub, today of course marks the unveiling of the "Graham Brown Top 25 Women" year end list, and Awards. There are a few new faces this year. For those following from past years, last years rankings are in the brackets. Without further ado, we'll start as always, with the Honorable Mentions:

Jessica Biel, Nikki Cox, Nicole Kidman, Kristen Kreuk, Anna Paquin, Charlize Theron, Daisy Fuentes, Gabrielle Union, Monica Belluci, Reese Witherspoon, Salma Hayek, Shania Twain, Cheryl Tweedy, Rachel Stevens, Nadine Coyle, Brooke Burns, Shannon Elizabeth, Laura Prepon, Hilary Duff, Adriana Lima, Linda Cardellini, Maura Tierney, Julie Bowen, Teri Hatcher, Tyra Banks, Jessica Simpson, Charisma Carpenter, Faith Hill, Eliza Dushku, Sandra Bullock, Halle Berry, Eva Longoria, Carly Pope, Elin Nordegren, Eva Mendes, Rachel Hunter, Petra Nemcova, Nelly Furtado, Neve Campbell, Parker Posey, Molly Sims, Mandy Moore, Kelly Brook, Kelly Ripa, Elle MacPherson, Elizabeth Hurley, Gwen Stefani, Gwenyth Paltrow, Heather Graham, Evangelline Lilly, Allison Lohman, Lindsay Lohan, Kate Bosworth, Claire Forlani, Jenny McCarthy, Rihanna.

25 (-). Shannyn Sossamon
24 (11). Katie Homes
23 (-). Jennifer Connelly
22 (-). Stacey Kiebler
21 (-). Amanda Bynes
20 (19). Sienna Miller
19 (-). Alyssa Milano
18 (17). Rebecca Romijn
17 (18). Rachel Bilson
16 (-). Bridget Moynahan
15 (-). Jordana Brewster
14 (16). Brooke Burke
13 (9). Kirsten Dunst
12 (8). Elisha Cuthbert
11 (13). Kate Beckinsale
10 (12). Vanessa Marcil
9 (6). Jennifer Love Hewitt
8 (14). Rachel McAdams
7 (10). Keira Knightley
6 (7). Jessa Alba
5 (5). Scarlett Johannson
4 (4). Jennifer Garner
3 (3). Heidi Klum
2 (2). Denise Richards
1 (1). Natalie Portman

Hall of Fame inductee- Audrey Hepburn
Whore of the Year- Britney Spears

Holiday Fun

2006-11-21T20:45:00.000-05:00

Well everyone, I've decided to steal a page from the book of my good friend Michael "Danger" Croft, and unveil my first ever Birthday/Christmas wish list. Feel free to purchase me any items on the list.

Jerseys:
Notre Dame Green Football Jersey, #10
Toronto Blue Jays, Frank Thomas, Black Jersey
Minnesota Twins, Justin Morneau, Navy Jersey
St.Louis Cardinals, Albert Pujols, White Jersey
San Jose Sharks, Joe Thornton, Home Jersey

Notre Dame "ND" fitted hat, size 7 1/4
Any Sweet Jays New Era hats (fitted)
Notre Dame Hoodie

DVD's:
Deadwood Season 1
Indiana Jones Box Set (Widescreen)
The Godfather Box Set
Seven Samurai
The Last Emperor
Infernal Affairs
One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
The Last Temptation of Christ
Schindler's List
All Disney Classics
and any dvds from my list on IMDB http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=6867880

Magic: The Gathering
Booster Packs of Time Spiral

Nintendo DS Lite, with Super Mario Bros. Game

Cigars:
Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte-"Madrid"
Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial- "Churchill", or "Rothchilde"
Onyx Reserve- "Mini Belicoso"
Bolivar- Robusto, Churchill, or Toro
Punch Rare Corojo-"Pita"
Joya De Nicaragua Celebracion- any size
Joya De Nicaragua Antano- any size
Romeo y Julieta 1875- "Exhibicion" or "Bully"
CAO Brazila- "Gol!"
Partagas Black Label- "Piramide"
Oliva "O"- "Torpedo" or "Robusto"
Partagas Spanish Rosado- "Ramon Y Ramon"
El Rey Del Mundo- Robusto
Punch Gran Puro-"Libertug"

Xikar Cigar Cutter
Leather Cigar Case
Travel Humidor

Books:
Harrington on Hold'Em vol. 1,2,3
Phil Gordon's Little Green Book, and Little Blue Book

The Heat is On

2006-11-17T23:33:00.000-05:00

Michigan/Ohio State is less than 24 hours away. I'm pretty damned excited. I guess I'll throw out an actual scoreline. Ohio State 17, Michigan 14. Disney's "The Adventures of The Gummi Bears" volume 1, was released on Tuesday. This is fantastic news. I'll be picking this up hopefully on Sunday. With this being released it leaves the list of "TV Shows Most Wanted to be put on DVD" at 2; The Wonder Years, and Perfect Strangers (How can you not love Balki Bartokomous?). The Jays have signed Frank Thomas to a 2 year 18 million doallar contract. Thomas was one of my favourite players all through the 90's. So I guess I'm pretty happy. I'd still like to see another pitcher added. But I'm pretty sure I'll be picking up a Thomas Jay's jersey come next Spring. BTW, how sexy would a Barry Bonds Oakland A's jersey be? I really hope he stays with the Giants, but I'm gonna get a Green A's jersey, and if Bonds happened to be on the team, that would be perfect.

Boo to me :(

2006-11-12T14:12:00.000-05:00

So as I mentioned in my last post, yesterday was my first Magic the Gathering Tournament in 3 years. At any tournament, your first goal is to make the top 8. Big tournies usually have 6-9 rounds of play, and then a cut to the top 8 players who play off in single elimination for the win. How'd I do? 9th, on tiebreakers. Boy did that suck. Top 8 would have won me atleast a box of Magic Packs, and ofcourse first place (which I felt was obtainable had I made top8) was the invite and airfare to Pro Tour Geneva in February. I was pretty happy with how I played throughout the day. I definitely made a few mistakes, but I also played really well in some games, especially when they were tight and I was under pressure. In the past these were spots where I would make more mistakes (aka "Choke"), so the fact that I performed well in those spots is a good thing for me. There's another qualifier for Geneva in a month, and I'm really looking forward to it already.

Football yesterday (and Thursday!) was crazy. Lets recap the National title picture: Auburn? Done. Louisville? Done. Cal? Done. Texas? Done. Tennessee? Done. Florida? Escaped by a blocked FG with time expiring. Wow. If you read last weeks blog you'd see I predicted a lot of this happening. So, here we go with some National Title predictions. First for next weekend-Ohio State beats Michigan. I think it'll be fairly close, and as I mentioned last time, how far Michigan (or Ohio State if they do lose) fall in the polls is gonna be huge, because it's looking even more possible that there could be a rematch. Florida will lose in the SEC Championship game to Arkansas. That's right folks Arkansas. I think West Virginia will beat Rutgers, so that's them out. Then we have Notre Dame vs. USC. If USC still only has one loss, and beats Notre Dame and finishes the season with one loss I think they'll be playing in the title game. So the Irish have to step up big. If the Irish do win they'll be 11-1. I have Arkansas finishing 12-1, Michigan 11-1, and Ohio State 12-0. So in that scenario who out of Michigan, Arkansas, or Notre Dame will play Ohio State? Michigan in the rematch. How torn I am. If USC beats the Irish I think they'll play for the title, but if ND beats USC I think that will let Michigan play for it. Either way one of my two most hated teams gets a shot in the title game. Crap.

I've watched a few movies this week. Hero, House of Flying Daggers, and The Last Samurai (see a theme?). They are all excellent. I love Hero, and was slightly surprised how much I liked the Last Samurai. I knew it would be good, but I actually think it's really good, so that was awesome. Today I'm going to see Borat. Should be fun.

Bizzle Out

Catch Up

2006-11-03T09:04:00.000-05:00

So again, I've been doing a great job keeping the blog updated. Here's what's new. I was in Northern Ireland last weekend for the World Solo Drumming Championships. Once again I made it to the semi-finals but not through to the 12 man final. I was disappointed as I thought I played better than last year, and had a good shot at qualifying. As for the final, I was very disappointed. There was a lot of "uninspired" playing, and a lot of judges results I do not agree with. As far as I'm concerned 3 players were WAY in front. They were, my brother Blair, Steven McWhirter and Jim Kilpatrick. Congrats again to Steven. He's one of my good friends in Pipe Bands and it was amazing to see him win. For the record, the rest of my top six would have included Barry Wilson, J.Reid Maxwell, and Phillip Bell. Another Congrats must go out to the under 19 World Champion (and my host for the weekend) Chris McNichol. I have a few months relatively pipe band free until January which is Winter Storm. I intend to write a lot of music in the next few months, and keep getting things ready for my book that I'd love to have published by next summer.

In other news, I've started playing Magic: The Gathering again. "Magic" is a card game that's always been described as a mix between Chess and Dungeons and Dragons. The Dungeons and Dragons thing is really just to say it's fantasy based. You could also compare it's world to Lord of the Rings. As far as I'm concerned it is the best game in the world, ever. Magic is extremely difficult to master. When a lot of the top Magic Pro's were leaving to become top Poker pro's, people were debating what game was tougher. I originally said Poker, but the more that I've thought about it I think it's Magic. Next Saturday will be my first Magic tournament in 3 years. The event is a Pro Tour Qualifier for Pro Tour Geneva. I'm hoping I can drag some of my friends along, but if they bail I'll still be heading out with "Hayseed" Jamie Archdekin, who for the past 3 years we thought had died in a horrible Tractor accident. My friend Boyd and Archdekin once drove the tractor all the way down to Florida for a tournament...

In movie news, I saw "The Departed" a few weeks back, and it is simply awesome. I'm trying to think what else I've seen this year, but I'm pretty sure "The Departed" is the best movie I've seen. The cast is fantastic, and for me Mark Whalberg stole all the scenes he was in. Brilliant!

Well isn't college football interesting? Last week my second most hated team (Southern California) lost, and last night West Virginia fell. So, as of now there are only 3 undefeated teams with a shot at playing in the National Title game (sorry Boise State and Rutgers, you don't count). Those teams are Louisville, Ohio State, and Michigan. Barring any huge upset, Michigan and Ohio State will meet November 18th, ranked as the Numbers 1 and 2 teams in the country, with a spot in the title game on the line. Then there's Louisville, who I don't think is safe just yet. They still have to play Rutgers in New Jersey, and Pittsburgh, in Pitt. Neither of those games should be easy. So if Louisville loses, what one loss team is gonna play against the Ohio State/Michigan winner in the final? Right now the two leading 1 loss teams would be Florida and Auburn. But both of them might lose another game in the regular season, plus there's the SEC title game. Texas is next in the rankings. They've still got to play Texas A&M (who are currently 8-1) and most likely the Big 12 Championship game. Believe it or not, my Fighting Irish still have a chance. If some teams currently ahead of them lose, and ND beats USC, the Irish could probably get as high as 3-4 in the Harris and Coaches polls, and right now they're ranked 5th by the BCS computer average which would most likely also improve. Whether that would be enough for the BCS computers to have them finish the season at number 2 I don't know. Lost in this is the Michigan/Ohio State loser. I hate the fact that losing your one game at the end of the year as opposed to the start affects things so much. After a late season loss if the pollsters drop a team too far down the rankings then they have no more games to play to make it up, and they end up missing out on a big game because they lost late in the season instead of early. If say Michigan loses to Ohio State in a close game, and the voters don't drop them farther than 3-4 in the polls, they could still finish number 2 in the final BCS standing. Needless to say, the next few weeks are going to be great.

Well I think that's enough for one post.

Bizzle Out

Chad Vader, Day Shift Manager

2006-09-17T10:17:00.000-04:00

Go to YouTube and look up Chad Vader (he has a famous older brother). Funny Stuff.

College football yesterday was not good to me. Notre Dame was bad. Really bad. Brady Quinn looked nervous, and his poor play seemed to rub off on the whole team. No excuses from me. Michigan came in pumped up and absolutely took it to a scared Irish team. I still think we can bounce back and end up in a BCS bowl, but Michigan State next week is no cake walk, and if we come out flat again it could be a long night in East Lansing.

My other boys the Oklahoma Sooners, atleast kept their game close but still came up short against the Ducks of Oregon. Ducks. Honestly it must seriously suck to lose to a team called the Ducks.

Auburn's win over LSU was big. With Notre Dame now out of the National Title picture I'm really pulling for the Auburn Tigers to end up in the championship game hopefully against Ohio State. Auburn should have made the title game a few years back, but the BCS system snubbed them. Hopefully they can get their revenge this year.

Other thoughts: None of the Florida teams are that good. FSU is garbage, Miami is probably gonna end up firing coach Larry Coker, and Florida was lucky to get past Tennessee (who I was really hoping would win).
USC just might get through the season undefeated again and I will probably throw up. The one bright spot is that the team is under investigation over Reggie Bush allegedly accepting money and gifts during the 2004 season. The team could lose their 2004 National Championship (which would then go to Oklahoma?), and Bush could lose last years Heisman (which would go to Vince Young).

In Poker news the WPT event at the Borgata is down to 69 players. My buddy Gary Wise is doing live blogging for the event and you can read his updates at www.worldpokertour.com

And finally for anyone that's hear from the Pipe Band world, the BBC aired a program on the world championships the first weekend of September. You can view all the pieces here http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/musicscotland/wpbc2006/

Bizzle Out

Kickoff!!!!!

2006-09-07T18:55:00.000-04:00

A new season of the NFL kicks off tonight, and I am definitely pumped. Ben "Hamburgler" is injured for the Steelers, so I'm predicting a Dolphins win under new QB Daunte Culpepper.

There's gonna be a contest today. A possibility exists that by this time next year I may be running a Comic Book store. What every good Comic store needs is a good name. So, lets have some suggestions. Best name wins a prize.

As I said the other day, I've been downloading a lot of music from artists I heard a lot of over the summer. I've decided to list some of the stuff, so that you's out there can have a listen for yourself.
Good Stuff:
The Kooks- Naive (also find the version by Lily Allen. It's awesome).
Lily Allen- Smile, Alfie, LDN (three great songs. Plus she's really cute).
Nerina Pallot- Damascus, Idaho, Patience, Sophia, Everybody's gone to War (this might not be everybody's cup of tea, but I think she rocks. And she's cute.)
Regina Spektor- Us (I love this song).
Jose Gonzalez- Heartbeats
The Kaiser Chiefs- I Predict a Riot (rock out!)
Nina Simone- Ain't got no I got Life (old school).
Scissor Sisters- I Don't feel like Dancing (Disco Fever)
The Streets- Fit but you know it, Dry your eyes mate, Never went to Church
The Zutons- Valerie
The Automatic- Monster (also find the cover of Gold Digger. Amazing)

Just a heads up for everyone, Saturday is a big day for College football. My team, Notre Dame is at home to another team I always rooted for Penn State, and later on my 2nd favourite team #1 Ohio State, travels to Austin to play #2 Texas. Should be one heck of a day.
Bizzle Out.

The Return

2006-09-05T18:52:00.000-04:00

Hello my dedicated audience of, oh I don't know, 10? The summer's journey is over and I'm now back in the M.Dot. With new Cogeco internet instaleld today, I'm back in the 21st century, and ready to attempt to keep my blog up to the standards set by Mikey, and Jav. I spent today trying to get myself reaquainted to the wonderous thing that is the "Information Super Highway" (name coined by future US President Al Gore). Some work was done on my myspace site, adding some pictures from the summer (site can be found at www.myspace.com/gbizzle13). Also, I finally got to download some music! Baywatch Theme, and Sexy Back, welcome to the iPod. If you're into British Pop/Rock check out the Kooks. Good stuff. Finally has everyone heard the Killers new song? It took me a few listens to come around, but now I love it. Anyway, that's me for right now. Just about to head out with the Baron to head to TS's (ha, I'm like Javed). Bizzle Back. (that should be a song, "I'm bringing Bizzle Back").

I'm the Juggernaut Bitch

2006-07-10T12:26:00.000-04:00

So, I still don't have regular internet access but I thought I'd throw up a post while I'm online. Zinedine Zidane has taught everyone the new way to take down your enemy, the Head Butt to the chest. That thing was crazy. I don't know what he was thinking but he must have been some pissed off. Apparently it didn't upset everybody as he still managed to win the Golden Ball as the tournaments best player. I love Zidane, but I would have given the award to Italy's Fabio Cannavaro. That man was a monster the whole tournament, where Zizou didn't really turn it up until the last few games. I've been watching quite a few movies lately. Superman Returns was very good. Bryan Singer has shown again that he understands the comic book genre. X3 was a mess without him, and if he had never taken over the Superman helm we could have seen Sean Penn as the last son of Krypton fighting a giant spider. Thank God that crap didn't happen. Anyway, the best movie I've seen in quite a while is the 1994 gem Hoop Dreams. Dreams is a documentary that follows two inner city kids from Chicago as they enter high school with aspirations of one day making the NBA. Honest, and brutal, the film almost uses basketball as the backdrop as you live through the real life problems these kids face. Family troubles, teen pregnancies, drug use, all while facing the pressure of trying to perform on the court, keep grades up etc. Clocking in at just under 3 hours, I was enthralled the whole way, and never realized it was so long as I couldn't turn away. Everyone should see Hoop Dreams.

The World Series of Poker is in full swing and the pros are showing again why skill is more important than luck. Final tables are filled with recognizable names, with many pros taking down the bracelet. My main man Phil Ivey just missed out on another bracelet the other day finishing 2nd to another pro Sam Farha. It's good to see Ivey on his game, and I'm predicting he'll be leaving with at least one bracelet before the series is over.

Finally, I was at the Chatham highland games on Saturday and may have seen an angel. Honestly, she was probably the hottest girl I've ever seen in person. So even though she will never see this blog, Mad Props to Mackenzie. Damn you are fine.

Bizzle Out.

Musical Acts

2006-06-03T16:47:00.000-04:00

Man, trying to put together my list of top musical acts was tough. Totatly different than say Movies, here I'm looking over the artists entire collection of work and finding my favourite 20 wasn't easy. But here they are:

20. Tim McGraw/Dixie Chicks (gotts give country some love)
19. Stone Temple Pilots
18. Neil Young
17. Pink Floyd
16. The Who
15. Green Day
14. U2
13. Stevie Wonder
12. Red Hot Chilli Peppers
11. Smashing Pumpkins
10. Weezer
9. David Bowie
8. Joni Mitchell
7. The Beach Boys
6. Queen
5. Simon and Garfunkel
4. The Band
3. Elton John
2. The Beatles
1. Led Zeppelin

2006-06-02T02:53:00.000-04:00

I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker!

This Online Poker Tournament is a No Limit Texas Holdem event exclusive to Bloggers.

Registration code: 3944002

Poker Player Change

2006-05-31T17:05:00.000-04:00

There's been a change in my favourite poker player top 10. Although it's gonna be tough to break into my top 3, if someone could do it, it's Gavin Smith. If anyone out there is a poker fan and does not listen to Card Player magazine's "The Circuit" you are crazy. The show is hosted by an amateur player and enthusiast, and man who has the job I want, Scott Huff. The pro co-host used to be Mike Matusow, but "the Mouth" was recently replaced by Guelph, Ontario native, Gavin Smith, and Joe "the Cub" Sebok. These two are funny. Seriously funny. I constantly find myself laughing out loud on the bus, only to be stared at by crazy Scottish people with two teeth. So besides being an awesome poker player, Smith makes me laugh. So, up the list he goes. Current top 10

10. Joe Cassidy
9. Johnny Chan
8 Jennifer Harman
7. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi
6. Doyle Brunson
5. Daniel Negreanu
4. Gavin Smith
3. Barry "The Bear" Greenstein (father of "the Cub")
2. Ted Forrest
1. Phil Ivey

Excrement

2006-05-27T17:34:00.000-04:00

X-Men: The Last Stand is excrement on a 30 foot screen. What a colossal dissapointment. And this is from someone who wasn't expecting it to be amazing. The direction is bad. The acting is bad. The story is bad. The dialogue is horrific. The screenwriters should not be alowed to make a film again. There is one scene that was freaking hilarious, which I will not ruin here. Besides that though it sucked. I'm even pissed that in the UK we didn't get the preview for the Snakes on a Plane movie that the US audiences got. Apparantly people were laughing their asses off at that. Just imagine Samuel L. Jackson yelling, "There's fucking snakes on the fucking plane". Now that is a movie. Tomorrow I'm going to see "Down in the Valley" with Edward Norton. I'm sure it will be one gagillion flagillion times better than X-Men. That's right, I said Flagillion (crazy words copyright of Joe Sebok). In comic news, I picked up the hardcover of Winter Soldier vol.2 as it just came out this week, and I can't wait for the softcover. 52 #3 sucked. Honestly I am afraid for this thing. There is just too much going on to give everything the attention it deserves. And this is supposed to be "real time" There was no Question and no Ralph Dibny this week. So, if this is real time, what, they just didn't do anything that week? Crap. I may give it a couple more weeks and then ditch it. We'll see.

Bizzle Out.

Fastball Special?

2006-05-26T05:13:00.000-04:00

I'm going to see X-Men: The Last Stand in about 2 hours. I'm excited and nervous. Is it going to be good? Is it going to suck? Will Halle Berry ruin the movie? Will the Juggernaut be the stupidest looking character ever in a Comic Book Movie? But the most important question is, will Collosus throw Wolverine at something? For non comic fans, this is known as the "Fastball Special". One of the greatest moves in comics. There's nothing like seeing Wolverine thrown, Claws out, right at the head of a Sentinel. I have a feeling the movie is going to be better than I'm anticipating, which is always good. I'm not expecting it to be as good as X2, but think it'll be as good as the first one. I'll also be picking up my comics today. I'm looking forward to Secret Six. This is the follow up to Villains United which seriously rocked. Big Brother is going on over here and one of the contestants said that she did a porn movie once. Well, I knew it would only be a matter of time before it was on the net, but I didn't think it would be a day and a half later. For the sake of research, I of course have seen said video. She seems to like to say "That's Nice" alot. Like constantly. "Mmm, that's nice. Oh, that's nice. Yeah, that's nice". No wonder her porn career died after one scene. Anyway, I need to start getting ready to go. I'll write again later with my views on the movie.

Bizzle Ouuut!

So Dark the Con of Man

2006-05-22T07:10:00.000-04:00

I guess it's time for an update. Last week was extremely busy. Being the week leading up to a Championship we had band practice every night. I also worked 3 days. I did make it into the city on my days off. I bought the new Spain soccer jersey so I'm ready for the World Cup. I picked up more trade paperbacks which were, Captain America: Winter Soldier, Thor disassembled, Fantastic Four 1234, I can't believe it's not the Justice League, and Ocean. Ocean was okay, and I'm on Winter Soldier which freaking rocks. No wonder Wizard called Captain America the best book of 2005. It is really good so far. As for the contest on Saturday, the band tied for 1st but lost on ensemble preference. It's disappointing to lose when it's that close, but we played well which is important. We won best Drum Corp, so that was good. Yesterday I saw the DaVinci Code. Obviously it's not as good as the book, but I still thought it was okay. It's getting bad reviews, which I understand because some of the stuff is cheese, but I'm still glad I saw it. Ooh, before I'm done talking about comics I should mention 52. The 2nd issue was much better than the 1st. I'm still not sure if this thing is gonna succeed or flop on its ass, time will tell. Big Brother has started on TV over here, and it could be the best one yet. One of the contestants has tourettes, so he of course is my favourite. The guy is fucking hilarious. I'm waiting for him to start swearing when they're on live tv. It'll be great. I've also booked my flight home for the summer. I get back to Toronto June 28th and leave again July 18th, so it's almost 3 weeks.

Bizzle Out

Not much new

2006-05-14T10:16:00.000-04:00

Not alot happening over here. I was in Glasgow again on Friday to practice and hang about. I went to see "Brick" at the movies. It's a Film Noir mystery set in a high school setting. I thought it was really good and would watch it again. The star is "Tommy" from 3rd Rock from the Son. He was pretty good. And there's a hot chick. Always good. I picked up the first issue of 52. It was okay. I'm actually not convinced this "Real time" thing is gonna work. The story seems to have to move too quickly. It keeps jumping back and forth between characters, and each "day" is only like 3 or 4 pages. Not a lot of room to flesh out a good story. We'll see how it develops. I also picked the 2nd trade paperback of "Girls". I'm halfway through it and it is not bad. I've been playing a bunch of Poker, with modest winnings. I need to build up more Frequent Player Points to score more free clothes. I bought a Scotland Rugby jersey Friday aswell. It's sweet. Blair gets here tomorrow, so we'll have to share the bed :(

Bizzle Out.

My name is Dalton Russell, Pay strict attention to what I say...

2006-05-10T06:16:00.000-04:00

Monday was my first day at the store. Fairly uneventful. The sandwich store across the street has slushies, which rocks, because there's not many places over here that have slushies. On Monday night I watched Secretary with maggie Gyllenhall. It was ok. Kinda screwed up, and not funny enough. Gyllenhall does full frontal. Not bad. Yesterday I went back into Glasgow. Lunch was a trip to "Best Kebab" for my first kebab of the trip. It kicked ass. The guy made it huge, clearly sensing that I was a hungry fellow, and that I love my kebabs. It was then back to the movie theatre again. This time the movie of choice was Inside Man. I really liked it. Gripping the whole way, with good performances by the actors, and good dialogue. There's no Clive Owen full frontal, but it kicks Secretary's ass. It was better than MI3 aswell. I'm not sure what comes out this weekend but I'll probably see something on Friday.

The Big G-Bizzy

It's time to come out of the closet Tom...

2006-05-07T16:30:00.000-04:00

Well, my first weekend in the the old country is almost over, and it wasn't terribly exciting. On Friday I went into the Royal Academy with Jim. We did some practicing, and a lot of screwing around with the drum meter, which measures speed. Afterwards I went to get comics. The store had the Planetary issues I was missing so that rocked. I was also able to pick up the Teen Titans Annual, and the Villains United special, which I missed getting at home. My trips to the local Cigar shops weren't as encouraging. The prices at one were insanely expensive. Padron 1964 Anniversary are regarded as some of the best cigars in the world, but holy crap man. They wanted $50 a cigar!! In the States these should be between $15-25 a cigar, so you can see the difference. And the other store I went to, Graham Tobacconist, it's closed! There was a sign saying that they're still doing mail order, but the store is under construction. Not sure if they're just renovating or closed for good. Onto Saturday where I left the house exactly zero times. I managed to watch Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Elf. Close Encounters rocked. Everyone told me I'd like it, and they were right. Today I had the opportunity to go to the first Highland Games of the season, aswell as an invite to go hill walking. Seeing as how it was cold and rainy, I did neither. I ended up going into Hamilton this afternoon to see Mission Impossible 3. I don't know if I had read bad reviews or if it was just my friends that said it was going to be bad, but I actually liked it. I still really like Tom Cruise, too bad he's crazy. Oooh, that's what else I did last night. I watched the South Park episode on Scientology. It is good. Tom Cruise may lock himself in a closet and there may be lost of comments about it being time for Tom to come out of the closet. Too funny. Anyway, I start work at the Pipe Box tomorrow. I'll catch up again in a few days.

Bizzle Out.

Scotland 2006

2006-05-04T11:05:00.000-04:00

So I made it over. Natasha dropped me at the airport at 3:30 and it was time to go stand in some big line. I knew my bag was heavy so I'm watching the weights of other people at the check in counters to see if they're charging anybody. Apparently not. I get up there and hear "Sir your overweight, you're going to have to pay". To which I reply "I have to pay for being Fat?", "No sir" she says, "Your bag is overweight. Give me $50." Whatever. Once I clear security, which was relatively painless (once you've had a hand up there, a few fingers is relatively painless), It's off to the duty free where I was scheduled to hand out Cigar advice to the morons looking at the humidor. The best deal was actually a full box of H.Upmann Cubans. I didn't really want to spend that much money, so I left them, but man they were a steal. The flight itself was boring, except for one drunk asshole a couple of seats away. He was told off by other passengers numerous times, and then eventually passed out. The movies sucked so I didn't watch them, although I never do. I busted out the iPod and listened to a couple of episodes of The Circuit. Apparently it's good luck to yell "Hasan Habib!!". If you listen to the show with him on you'll get it. Freaking hilarious. People around me probably wondered what I was laughing at. I actually slept a fair bit, which is extremely rare for me, so I was really happy about that. We had to stop in Belfast to let the crazy drunk guy and 150 other people off. And then Glasgow is just another 25 minute flight. It wasn't raining when we landed which was amazing. Once back at the house I jumped on the computer to see how bad the flames whipped the Ducks. Ohh. That didn't go so well. Maybe next year, if you sign some players who can score a fucking goal. Can they trade Tony Amonte for stick tape? I'll trade them the stick tape and Amonte can be y personal bitch. That's a plan. Anyway, Go Sharks!! I've now had a nap, and showered and I have band practice tonight. Tomorrow I'll be into the city to buy a new phone, get comics, and meet some friends. That's it for now.
Bizzle Out.

Top 10 Favourite Poker Players

2006-02-25T15:22:00.000-05:00

If you're a fan of professional poker you've probably heard of, or been following the Andy Beal saga. Beal is a Texan billionaire who over the past few years has been testing his poker skills heads up against a group of the worlds best known as "the Corporation". The most recent sessions had Beal up about 10 million. That was until this past week. Beal returned to Vegas for another round, this time his competitor being Phil Ivey. In 3 days Ivey won back the 10 million and managed to put the Corporation up an additional 6.5. That's 16.5 million dollars in 3 days. Did I mention Ivey is the freaking man? Well he is. Now, here's my current top 10 list,

Favourite Players

10. Joe Cassidy
9. Johnny Chan
8. Jennifer Harman
7. Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi
6. Doyle Brunson
5. Gavin Smith
4. Daniel Negreanu
3. Barry Greenstein
2. Ted Forrest
1. Phil Ivey

Olympic Fever

2006-02-25T15:09:00.000-05:00

With only a day and a half left in the 2006 Winter Olympics, I'm not feeling the sadness I thought I would with the impending ending, but rather increased excitement for 2010. The Canadian athletes have performed exceedingly well, and look like they've set themselves up for a fantastic 2010 in Vancouver. Obviously the major dissapointment was the Mens Hockey, but we shouldn't let that failure over shadow the great accomplishments of so many. I'm not entirely convinced that speed skater Cindy Klassen isn't an android. Honestly, she's scooped up 5 medals. 5! 1 Gold, 2 Silver, and 2 Bronze. It's the best single Olympic performance ever by a Canadian. By the way, she's only 23 so expect more big things in 4 years. Cindy has the potential to put the all time medal count by a Canadian way out of reach. I for one can't wait.

Oscar Nominations

2006-01-31T22:46:00.000-05:00

The Oscar nominees were announced this morning and my first thought was what a waste of time the Golden Globes are. Three of the Best Picture nominees, Crash, Munich, and Capote, weren't even nominated at the Globes. The two that were nominated at both are Brokeback Mountain, and Good Night and Good Luck. Of those five I've only seen Crash. I liked it enough to buy the DVD, so I'm happy it was included, although I also bought the Constant Gardener expecting it to be nominated, and wanting to watch it before the awards, but it got snubbed. So, having seen almost none of these movies, here are my early predictions (which will be followed by later predictions closer to the show).

Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain
Best Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman-Capote
Best Actress: Reese Witherspoon-Walk the Line
Best Director: Ang Lee-Brokeback Mountain
Best Supporting Actor: Paul Giamatti-Cinderella Man
Best Supporting Actress: Rachel Weisz-The Constant Gardener
Best Original Screenplay: Crash
Best Adapted Screenplay: Brokeback Mountain

The Wonderful World of Animation

2006-01-30T22:57:00.000-05:00

I love Cartoons almost as much as I love ice cream. And although I haven't gotten around to ranking my favourite ice creams yet, here are my top 35 Cartoons of all time.

35. Voltron
34. Astro Boy
33. Duck Tales
32. Smurfs
31. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
30. Gargoyles
29. Ren and Stimpy
28. Muppet Babies
27. The Jetsons
26. Laff-A-Lympics
25. Wacky Races
24. Pinky and the Brain
23. Superman
22. Tom and Jerry
21. Tiny Toon Adventures
20. Gummi Bears
19. Spider-Man
18. X-Men
17. The Flinstones
16. G.I. Joe
15. Super Friends
14. Yogi Bear
13. Futurama
12. Scooby Doo
11. Transformers
10. Justice League
9. Looney Tunes
8. South Park
7. He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
6. Star Wars: Clone Wars
5. Family Guy
4. The Simpsons
3. Thundercats
2. Batman: The Animated Series
1. Justice League Unlimited

Long Time

2006-01-24T19:31:00.000-05:00

Man, another two weeks and I haven't bothered to add anything. I seriously need to keep up with this. Big TV tonight as it's the second week of American Idol. Last week was classic Idol hilarity and I'm sure tonight will not disappoint. Another show I've been totally digging is Dancing with the Stars. I caught a bit of the show last year, but didn't get into it at the start. This season has been great. George Hamilton is simply "the Man", Stacey Kiebler is hot as hell, Master P is retarded, but his dance partner is gorgeous. And best of all, is the crazy judge Bruno. So far the only disappointment was that Kenny Mayne went off in week one. That guy could have been weeks of entertainment, if only he could dance.

In Poker news, I got to watch the WSOP Tournament of Champions the other week. With both Phil Hellmuth, and Mike Matusow at the table, this was probably the most entertaining televised poker I've ever watched. Great play, great banter (except from Steve Dannenman, what a moron) exciting the whole way. In my own poker play, things have for the most part been good. A couple Saturdays ago, I had a pretty good run at the Limit table at Casino Croft. There was some drunk giving his money away, and some of the other players seemed to be distracted by the female at the table. Last Saturday however was probably the worst session of poker I ever had. My cards were cold. REALLY Cold, like they were in the Antarctic cold. Only one hand truly pissed me off, the rest I just couldn't get anything. I scooped one full pot all night, and one I split. Online things are not bad. I've slowly been grinding my bankroll back up. I better get working at things if I'm gonna be playing poker full time come September (that's the pipe dream). And finally, the WPT event at the Gold Strike casino finished up yesterday. The final table was a doozy, featuring Scotty Nguyen, Michael "The Grinder" Mizrachi, Gavin Smith, and An "The Boss" Tran. When the dust had settled two men were left standing. Scotty Nguyen, and Michael Mizrachi. Almost equal in chips, we were surely in for a great heads up battle... or not. Heads Up lasted exactly one hand. The money went in pre-flop with the Grinder holding everyone's favourite Backstreet Boy, AJ, while Scotty held AQ. Scotty ending up making a flush, and as he had slightly more chips than the Grinder it was all over Baby.

Anyway, Idols on so I'm off.

Bizzle Out.

Favourite Movie Characters

2006-01-09T14:15:00.000-05:00

Below are my top 10 favourite movie characters, and as always, the honorable mentions.

Honorable Mentions:
The Dude/Jeffrey Lebowski-Jeff Bridges-The Big Lebowski
Jesus Quintana-Jon Turturro-The Big Lebowski
Roy Munson-Woody Harrelson-Kingpin
Scott Howard-Michael J. Fox-Teen Wolf
Rupert "Stiles" Stilinski-Jerry Levine-Teen Wolf
Herman Blume-Bill Murray-Rushmore
Tony Montana-Al Pacino-Scarface
Sam-Natalie Portman-Garden State
Jack Byrnes-Robert Deniro-Meet the Parents
Teddy KGB-John Malkovich-Rounders
Worm-Ed Norton-Rounders
Rudy Ruettiger-Sean Astin-Rudy
Neo-Keanu Reeves-The Matrix
Gordon Gekko-Michael Douglas-Wall Street
Marv-Mickey Rourke-Sin City
Sgt. Elias Grodin-Willem Dafoe-Platoon
Willie Conway-Timothy Hutton-Beautiful Girls
Verbal Kint-Kevin Spacey-The Usual Suspects
Dean Keaton-Gab Byrne-The Usual Suspects
Russel Hammond-Billy Crudup-Almost Famous
Woody-Toy Story
Happy Gilmore-Adam Sandler-Happy Gilmore
Ron Burgundy-Will Ferrell-Anchorman
Dr. Peter Venkman-Bill Murray-Ghostbusters
Warren Schmidt-Jack Nicholson-About Schmidt
Jeffrey Goines-Brad Pitt-Tweleve Monkeys
Bob Harris-Bill Murray-Lost in Translation
Marge Gunderson-Frances McDormand-Fargo

10. Sam Gamgee-Sean Astin-Lord of the Rings
9. Spider-Man/Peter Parker-Tobey Maguire-Spider-Man 2
8. Will Hunting-Matt Damon-Good Will Hunting
7. Forrest Gump-Tom Hanks-Forrest Gump
6. Wooderson-Matthew McConaughey -Dazed and Confused
5. Captain Jack Sparrow-Johnny Depp-Pirates of the Carribean
4. Lester Bangs-Phillip Seymour Hoffman-Almost Famous
3. Max Fischer-Jason Schwartzman-Rushmore
2. Han Solo-Harrison Ford-Star Wars
1. Indiana Jones-Harrison Ford-Raiders of the Lost Ark

The Lists

2006-01-06T13:15:00.000-05:00

Taking a cue from my good friend Matty P (aka The Baron), I'm going to start my series of useless lists. First up is movies. This is damn tough. I'm gonna list what I think is my top 25. I say I think, as it would probably change if I had to sit down and do it again tomorrow, and I might miss some. There will also be honorable mentions becuase they deserve to be noted. Also, I've broken the rules and listed some as the trilogy's. Beside them is my favourite of the 3.

25. Rushmore
24. Garden State
23. The Matrix
22. Saving Private Ryan
21. Wall Street
20. Sin City
19. The Godfather (part 2 the best)
18. Donnie Darko
17. Fargo
16. Forrest Gump
15. Dazed and Confused
14. Goodfellas
13. JFK
12. Platoon
11. Lost in Translation
10. Good Will Hunting
9. Rudy
8. The Shawshank Redemption
7. Beautiful Girls
6. Rounders
5. Indiana Jones Trilogy (The Last Crusade)
4. Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Return of the King)
3. Star Wars Original Trilogy (The Empire Strikes Back)
2. The Usual Suspects
1. Almost Famous

Honorable Mentions: Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Princess Mononoke, Toy Story 1 and 2, Batman Begins, Wonder Boys, Appocalypse Now, Boogie Nights, Scarface, Fight Club, Moulin Rouge, Braveheart, Traffic, Pulp Fiction, Full Metal Jacket, All Kevin Smith movies, American Beauty, American History X, Gangs of New York, Spider-Man 2, The Virgin Suicides, Interview with the Vampire, X2, Born on the 4th of July, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Life of Brian, Pirates of the Carribean, The Professional, Drop Dead Gorgeous, Happy Gilmore, Austin Powers films, Billy Madison, The Muppet Movie, Gladiator, Twelve Monkeys, Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Stand By Me, The Outsiders, Snatch, Bring it On.

I'm Back

2006-01-04T00:40:00.000-05:00

Man, I can't believe I went almost 2 weeks without internet. But it's back up now and so is the blog baby. We're nearing the end of the bowl season and so far it's been pretty exciting stuff. Unfortunately Notre Dames' game against Ohio State went kind of like I thought it might. The Buckeye's picked on ND's defensive backs all night. Two long touchdown passes, and a long run, Ohio State made the big plays and Notre Dame didn't. The Sugar Bowl was a classic. I told everyone I thought West Virginia was for real, and they showed it, beating one of my favourites, Georgia. As I write this Penn State and Florida State are in triple overtime!, and we've still got Texas-USC tomorrow night. Good Stuff. Already looking ahead to next year, here's a few to keep your eyes on:

West Virginia- Their key play makers are Freshman! These guys could be representing the Big East in the BCS for a few years to come.

Florida- Urban Meyer has turned the program around, and Florida has the top ranked recruiting class in the country. I would expect to see them in the top 10 for most of next year.

Ohio State- Could they start next year at #1? It's possible, but I would say definitely top 3.

Oklahoma- Adrian Peterson is still one of the best backs in the country, and the Sooners will prove a much tougher opponent for Texas next year.

Auburn- Good coaching, good returning players. I like the Tigers.

This just in, Penn State wins the Orange Bowl! Party time in Happy Valley.

Bizzle out.

Welcome

2005-12-15T21:21:00.000-05:00

Welcome one and all to G Bizzle Entertainment. I'll be using this space to talk about everything that interests me. Comics, Movies, Sports, Pipe Bands, Poker , if I feel like talking about it, it'll be in the blog. So without further ado...

What Might Have Been
When talking about college football, fans love to discuss what might have been. With a single loss often spelling the end of any National title hopes, reflecting on near misses is a common occurrence. Notre Dame is my favourite college football team, and quite possibly my favourite team in any sport. I am a die hard Irish fan, and have seen them struggle through ups and downs (more downs than ups) over the past 10 years. This season saw a resurgence in Irish football, led by new head coach Charlie Weis. The team finished with a 9-2 record and will be playing Jan.2 in the Fiesta Bowl, one of the premier 4 Bowl games held each year. The key game of the season came against hated rival Southern California. The 2 time defending champs came into South Bend with a perfect record and the Irish were 4-1. Ranked #9 in the Country, there were still 7 teams ahead of the Irish in the polls who hadn't lost a game, and it appeared that Notre Dames' National title hops were already shot. The Irish lost the game in the final 3 seconds and it was heart breaking. I tried to stay positive claiming that it was a moral victory that the team had played so well against the top team in the country. It was only the other day that I really started to think about what might have been. If Notre Dame wins that game they probably jump to #6 in the polls, with USC behind them at #7. Some would claim that USC would stay ahead of the Irish, but I can't see the voters keeping the Trojans ahead of the Irish had they beaten them head to head (USC had also struggled slightly in a few games up to that point). The way the season played out every one of the unbeaten teams ahead of the Irish save for 1 lost at least 1 game before the end of the regular season, while Notre Dame finished without losing again, as did USC (remember in the real world they never lost). So where would that have left us? Notre Dame probably finishes the season ranked #2 with USC #3. Then it's up to the crazy BCS system to determine who would be playing Texas in the National title game. It's possible that USC may have ended up playing Texas anyway just like they are in real life, but when the USC-Notre Dame game happened I never thought it would have had such implications and that had the Irish won, they would still have had a chance to be playing for the National title. Man, what could have been.