SPORTS NIGHT IN AMERICA

Reconciling the flashback will prove difficult, but it is a good problem to have.  ARE THERE ENOUGH BREWS IN THE WORLD?

8:00 USWNT v. Nigeria

Photo courtesy of NY Post

SO AMPED UP

9:00 Warriors v. Cavs Game 6

Photo Courtesy of Latin Times

JACKED BEYOND BELIEF

Leave Josh Rogers alone, or better yet, cheer him on

Last night Josh Rogers worked seven electric innings for the University of Louisville Cardinals in their eventual 4-3 super regional loss to Cal State Fullerton.  He exited with a 2-1 lead and inning after inning mowed through Cal State's lineup, including a highlight reel catch to end the sixth and back-to-back strike outs to end the seventh.  This is a good thing (at least for U of L fans) right?  Well you would think so, but you see Josh Rogers did something so terrible, so disgusting, that all of that goodwill was erased after he exited the mound at the end of the seventh inning.  I do not even know if I want to repeat it on my blog, but here goes...please do not repeat this to your children...he yelled for a few seconds in the general direction of Cal State Fullerton's bench.

Dealing

I simply do not understand why everyone, including U of L fans, seems to be piling on Josh Rogers for the way he exited the mound after getting a huge strike out to end the 7th.  He was FIRED UP, he was JACKED, he was AMPED!  Isn't that what we want?  We guzzle brews, dew and red bulls just to get that effect ourselves!  He yelled at Cal States Fullerton's bench and one of their assistant coaches (a grown man) completely loses his mind, runs on the field and screams at everyone, including the umpire.  What did he want the umpire to do...taze Rogers?  I apologize, but I do not see how, in a sport where adjusting your jock and spitting in the norm, someone can become so offended by a three second verbal spat with an opposing team's 21 year old pitcher.  And he is not the only one, even U of L fans are saying "I wish he would not have done that".  Boo Hoo.

Josh Rogers is one of our guys and should be treated as such.  He did not hurt anyone.  He did not make a dirty play.  He was excited and did something that was the slightest bit regrettable.  Please remember, Josh Rogers was the wining pitcher in Louisville's last two regional finals and he certainly is not to blame for last night's loss.  He is a guy who thrives in big moments and that, in turn, makes him excited.  We, as U of L fans, should support this, instead of turning into the moral authority and "conceding" that if he played for the other team (or UK) that we would be upset.  Who cares?  You know what, he does not play for the other team, he plays for U of L.  And please, for the love of everything holy, spare me the bullshit about him "showing the other side up" or even worse "upsetting the baseball gods" and thus somehow negativity affecting the outcome of the game.  Did Cal State Fullerton all the sudden decide to start trying to win the game at that point?  They got to U of L's bullpen, pitched well, and played superb defense.  Something tells me they were planning on trying to do that regardless.  Finally, Madison Bumgarner stared down and talked to the Royals' dugout (before the game was over) en route to one of the greatest World Series pitching performances of all time.  Where were the baseball gods then?  And how outraged are we now?  Fortunately for Bumgarner and Giants fans, the Giants went on to win, but that does not change the fact that the actions were similar.

All in all, I am probably still just upset about the loss.  But I am certainly not blaming Rogers, I am cheering him.  In an 11 inning loss, everyone wants to place blame.  I do not think this is a productive practice in general, but I certainly don't think the blame should be placed on some kind of mystical power summoned from three seconds of Rogers screaming at Cal State Fullerton's dugout.  Luckily for U of L fans, Rogers is just a sophomore and will be back next year, hopefully just as jacked.

Gym Notes

1)  Someone needs to explain to me the deal with picking the medicine ball up above your head and violently throwing it on the floor.  At some points, it seems like half of the gym is doing it.  I have no doubt it is a beneficial exercise, most of the people doing it are fairly winded.  I just wonder who made it up and how it became so popular so quickly.  

Possibly, somewhere in a Crossfit garage far, far away, an extremely amped bro was letting off some steam and took some aggression out on a medicine ball.  After a few reps, a movement was born.

2)  A tip: when you are trying to get The Cranberries "Zombie" on repeat (in order to get severely jacked), be sure to type more than just "Zo" in the search bar.  Otherwise, this will end up in the mix:

There is nothing wrong with some S & G in chill time, but it will stop a vigorous medicine ball floor pound session right in its tracks.

Special Day At Kroger

I have a new routine going.  I do the grocery shopping on Wednesday mornings.  Today, the fantastic Hubbards Lane Kroger is hosting some type of educational tour for managers of other stores.

Are you serious with this produce?

There are many perks to shopping right now.  A polite man asked me what size cart I want.  Those on the tour are making great effort to get out of my way. But the BEST perk is the vast array of samples.  There are samples everywhere, including Starbucks.  The only downfall is the amount of times I have been asked if I am "finding everything ok", but the advantages far outweigh the disadvantages.  

The store looks great guys!  Keep up the good work.  

Calendar of Events

For many, it has been a rough, long winter.  The impending snow storm here in Louisville is not making it any better.  It is for this reason that I am presenting a list a of upcoming events for everyone to look forward to:

MARK YOUR CALENDARS AND GET JACKED!

1)  March 15th: Selection Sunday

       Find out the path for your favorite college basketball team (or if they have one).  Plus, this means no more in-game Joe Lanardi predictions such as "if x team can hang on to beat y team it will help x team's tournament seeding and hurt Y team's resume".  Even for fans of teams on the outside looking in, this is a fantastic thing.

2)  March 19th-20th: Round 1 of the NCAA tournament (I know this is now technically round 2, but that is absurd and this is an upbeat post)

      I hope I do not have to explain why this is fantastic.  For God's sake, men get vasectomies so they can watch basketball all day and night instead of working.

3)  March 23rd- Oberon Release 

Summer in a bottle

4)  MLB Opening Day AND The NCAA Men's Basketball National Championship Game

       

        Crack a few Oberons and watch baseball all day, yeah that sounds like a hell of a plan.  Then, after you have had enough Oberons to stomach it, watch (in all likelihood) those Wildcats cut down the nets.  At least it will make my family and friends that are UK fans happy...this is what I am telling myself anyway.


5)  April 9-12: The Masters

       Watch as golf's greatest (except maybe Tiger) compete for the year's first major.  There is an added bonus if you are into slow motion zoom-ins on blossoming trees accompanied by pleasant piano music.

They play golf too!

6)  April 30- May 2: The NFL Draft

        This is for all of you "football only" types.  Feel free to "grade"(on the fly) the selections made by professionals with decades of experience who have invested countless hours researching the players.  If DeVante and Teddy are reunited, be prepared for the jacked meter to explode.

7)  May 2: The Kentucky Derby

       *Insert Hunter S. Thompson Quote*

8)  THE GREATEST SUMMER SOUNDTRACK EVER:

Mumford and Sons "Wilder Mind"- May 4th

Brandon Flowers "The Desired Effect- May 18

Florence and The Machine "How Big How Blue How Beautiful"- June 2

Nate Ruess Yet To Be Named Solo Album- TBD Summer 2015

Top 10 Players in the NBA/ Top 10 "Cheap American Beers" (#3)

Catch Up:
 #4-10

#3 Chris Paul & Anthony Davis/ Busch Light

Courtesy of http://cdn.fansided.com

I am sure many (both?) readers who have been following this countdown for over a year are wondering why I keep taking the liberty to list two players in a single position.  Well, my best explanation is that a lot has changed since I started this list and I lost the original piece of paper where I wrote down the top 10.  It may be pathetic, but this is what I am doing.  Not to mention it would be an absolute travesty to not have AD on the list, which he would not have been if I wrote all of this in anything approaching a timely manner.  He is on pace to have one of the great statistical seasons in the history of the NBA.  Chris Paul is still fantastic even though the Clippers are annually the equivalent of losing hot water during a shower.

I know that Anheuser Busch have been some horrible dicks of late to the craft beer community.  But that being said, I love an ice cold Busch light.  The flavor is better than its big brother: the un-ranked Bud Light, and it is less expensive.  I think the world would be a better place if most places you went there were street vendors selling cans of Busch Light for $1.  Street vendor makes a little money on the markup, purchaser gets an ice cold Busch Light for a reasonable price, and of course the can will be recycled.

Condensed weather report

Snowed like a mug & cold af

Snow Storm RE: How To Survive

They are saying it is going to snow like the Dickens tonight and tomorrow.  Here are 10 survival tips for snow storms:

1.  Have on hand 3 beers for every inch of snow predicted.  If the prediction is a range, use the highest end of the range for your calculation.  For example: a forecast of 6-12 inches= minimum 36 cold ones at the ready.

2.  If the electric goes out do not just assume you should put your beers in the snow.  The temperatures are going to be dropping rapidly and your can/bottle may very well explode.  My recommendation is to have a collapsible cooler inside and fill it with snow and beer in the event of a power outage.

3.  A variety of beer is not ideal.  Sure, you may not know what mood you will be in, but that is all the more reason to just stick with the basics.  Find the staple of your choice and load up.

4.  Have DVD copies of replays of your favorite sporting events ready to roll in the event cable/internet goes out.  Crack a few and pretend like you are watching it the first time.

5.  If you take vital medication, make sure you have some.  Also make sure you have shelter, food, and water.

6.  If you are from Louisville, be prepared to discuss where you were in 1994 and how many days you got off of school/work.  Also, be prepared to feel old because that was 21 years ago.  The winter storm of 1994 is old enough to drink your beer you are stock piling, but do not let it.

7.  If you are transporting your beer and run off the road into a snow embankment, do not hesitate to start pounding the brews.  Then piss on the snow until it melts and you can leave.  Of course, you will be twisted so sleep it off.

8.  If the forecasters are off on the amount of snow be prepared for:

        a.  Social media posts about how terrible meteorologists are.  Quite possibly many of your                   friends will say that if they messed their jobs up that badly they would be fired.

        b.  Various snide items of memorabilia declaring "I survived the winter storm of 2015". Do not           purchase.

9.  If the forecasters are correct about the amount of snow:

        a.  Whiny ramblings about how adults should have snow days too.

        b.  Everyone saying everyone else does not know how to drive in the snow.

10. Do not lock yourself out of the house, especially if you do not have pants on.

   

Awesome News: Chris Dominguez signs minor league deal with the Reds

Post by Louisville Bats Baseball Club.

On one hand, I hope Dominguez can make the Reds, on the other I hope we have him here for the Bats.  I swear I saw Dominguez hit a ball about 450 feet out of Jim Patterson Stadium.  If the cheap beer stand had been there at the time, this shot would have cleared it by 10 feet.  So jacked for baseball.

Fries and mayo

After Pulp Fiction came out, variations of the following conversation were had all across the country:

Person 1 (assuming they are the only person in the world who has seen Pulp Foction): Can you believe that in other countries they eat fries with mayonnaise?

Person 2: Ew!  That's gross and fattening! 

"Cultured" Person: Believe it or not, it is actually pretty good!  You should try it, I did!

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Were people, especially Americans, really that surprised that French Fries dipped in mayonnaise taste good?