Playoffs, Championships and Parades

Spring is here and in Boston, that means sports galore. The Bruins and the Celtics are playoff bound and the Red Sox are in full swing.

Bruins

I have a great feeling about how the Bruins will fare in the playoffs this year. They hit a little funk about a month ago, but have come back with vengeance. The last game against the Habs was more like the Haggler / Hearns fight back in the 80s, not a hockey game. I think it'll be the B's and the Sharks in the finals - the two top teams, beating the crap out of each other for the right to hoist that heavy peice of metal over their shoulders. That would be an instant draw and GREAT marketing opportunity for the NHL as Joe Thorton would make his return to Boston to try and beat the team that traded him away a few years ago.

First test will be those pesky Canadiens. B's in a tough and physical six games.

Celtics

If the Celtics are going to repeat, it's looking like their road to another parade might start against Philly and finish in LA (with a pretty good detour in Cleveland). Both LA and the Cavs are playing great ball. The Magic are a threat in the East, but I just don't think they are physical enough to stick with the C's in seven. I do worry about KG's knee and the depth of this team that's taken a hit because of injuries. Then again, Doc might just be holding the walking wounded back so that they come back in full force come playoff time.

Red Sox
It's way to early to talk about the Red Sox because I'm focused on the C's and B's. However, I was able to snatch a couple of opening day monster seats. That experience alone got me thinking about when baseball really kicks in for me, which is about after the NHL and NBA playoffs (once our teams have been eliminated or won). I will mention one thing about the Sox that's ticked me off so far...starting pitching? All the starters look like AAA pitchers, with the exception of Beckett who pitched a gem on opening day but then earned a six-game suspension by throwing at Bobby Abreu's head in his last start.

Championships
Speaking of playoffs and championships, I have to tip my cap to the Boston Unviersity Terriers. It hurts to say that as I'm a Northeastern University Husky, but their dramatic overtime win in the men's hockey national championship was quite a thrill to watch. It also helps knowing that the Huskies were beat by the national champion. (I still owe @jimrattray a 12 of Magic Hat #9s via a Bean Pot bet).

Maybe, just maybe, the Terriers are kicking off parade season in Boston.

Read more!

Underwater Photography

Great behind the scenes look at the Boston Globe's All Scholastic's coverage, specially the story about one of the state's premier high school swimmers:

Read more!

Unorthodox Bowling Technique

We recently got the Wii. It's great. The kids love it. I love it. The wife loves it. We can all play it together. That's the best part of it all.

My oldest does a pretty good job in playing the bowling game. Her technique is a bit unorthodox because she really doesn't know what she's doing. Then again, it doesn't matter what it looks like, right? You just have to knock the pins down however you can. Almost like this guy:

Read more!

I never understood why...

...fans have the urge to rush on to a field, whether it be baseball or football.

Did you hear what happened to Junior Seau yesterday?

Talk about crazy.

However, when the do rush the field, it makes for great YouTube content.

Read more!

Kudo's to Doug Flutie

Out of all the personalities that played collegiate or professional sports in New England, Doug Flutie will always will be welcomed in any bar, coffee shop, stadium or living room (unless your a Miami Hurricanes fan).

Yesterday, Boston College immortalized "The Miracle in Miami" with unveiling a statue of the famous pass.



Congrats Dougie Boy.

p.s. give the Patriots a call. They might need you at some point this season. Read more!

Hating pink hats makes me a bad dad?

This whole pink hat thing has taken on a life of its own. Universal Hub picked up my rant about the topic. Since then, a couple folks have taken the liberty of throwing me under the bus for being a overbearing and dictator-ish dad.

Are you f-ing kidding me?

I love how folks try to take something as small and insignificant as my hatred for pink hats and ASSume they know me personally. Here are some snippets from the anti-big guy morons who know me so well:

"You sound like those feminists who shit a cow when their daughter falls in love with Barbie dolls. How about just letting the girl find what pleases her, and not being Dictator Dad?"

"I suppose the whole point is that it shows just how much he loves the Red Sox and, without a willingness to admit it, how overbearing he is when it comes to his children and people he does not know in matters of minuscule significance except to other pink hat-haters."

From these comments, I take away that I'm keeping my daughters down and not letting them do what they want to do. I'm a dictator and rule with an iron fist. I'm over bearing to my kids as well as to others when it comes to this small, I will admit, insignificant, opinion. These comments are far from the truth. Folks that know me, know this to be true.

This started with a fun media opp for the Boston Globe. Having folks I don't know talk about my parenting as overbearing and as a dictatorship is brutal and almost comical.

The funniest part of all this is that my wife was out shopping with the girls a day or two prior to the pink hat Globe interview. They were in a sports store and came across various Sox hats. My oldest wanted one like daddy and when presented with two hats - a pink and regular one - my youngest picked the regular hat. She's one, so I'm 100% sure that she picked the regular hat NOT because of my dislike of pink hats. It was random. I know this. Needless to say, I was happy they both "chose" a traditional colored hat. Not "original" as I stated in my very first post (I was corrected by a follower of the thread that red, white and blue aren't the "original" colors). I knew this (Google the history of the Sox franchise), but used the word "original" when I should have used traditional (which would have covered any red, white, and blue combinations). My bad, I guess.

Long story short, I was going to let all the banter just blow over me, but when you call me out as a parent, I take offense. To those of you who know me, please gander over to Universal Hub and voice your opinion. Show some support for the Big Guy as a dad, not as the pink hat hater.
Read more!

Pink Hats, GTA, High Def surround sound, and Bugs in my Salad

Got another hodge podge of a post for you this morning. On the menu today is a further discussion about Pink Hats and my 15 mins of fame; a plug for a future post regarding GTA and one long-time gamers opinion; my new love for TV via high def and surround sound; and finally, bugs in my salad.

Not sure you remember my rant about pink hats and how a Boston Globe reporter wanted to interview me for my unique position on them (and similar non-traditional professional team merchandise). Well, the story has yet to run and apparently, the reporter wants to add some art work to the piece. That's where me and my girls come in.

Before I get to that though, I just want to clarify my stance. I hate pink hats. I'm not saying that those who wear them aren't fans, but they just have no place at Fenway. I am a traditionalist. I don't like anything out of the norm (not including retro stuff), especially pink Red Sox hats.

So, being a father of two girls, I basically have banned them from wearing pink hats or similar gear. They are going to be raised as traditional fans. They wear enough pink so at the very least they can represent out home town teams in the right way.

So, back to my 15 mins. The Globe will be here today doing a photo shoot of me and the girls in our Red Sox gear. The article should appear this week sometime. I'm really excited about it and think it's very cool. I know there will be a lot of people out here who think that my stance on pink hats is crazy (including my statement that all those that wear them at the game should be banned for life). That's ok though. It's my opinion and one that I'm sure is not a lone opinion. Those who agree with me, please comment.

I'll keep you all posted as to how the shoot goes. Being a photographer myself, I'm leery about telling what the photographer should shoot. I'm just interested in what sort of gear he/she has! Needless to say, this is my 15 mins of fame and subsequently, the second time my PR skills have gotten my kids into the Globe.

Speaking of media coverage, there has been a ton about the new Grand Theft Auto game. Now, I used to be a hard core gamer. With kids, that's kinda tough. However, I'm really interested in getting back into it (you'll read why in a second). I have some pretty poignant thoughts on GTA and all the naysayers out there who hate the game, the violence, what it's doing to kids, etc. However, a friend of mine and a true hardcore gamer, has some VERY interesting thoughts on the GTA craze. This is a plug for a future Q&A type post that you all will find interesting. Stay tuned.

Speaking of "tuned," I am totally tuned into high def and surround sound thanks to George W. This week Mrs. Big Guy and I basically did a living makeover. Thanks to the fact we have two little tax breaks running around, we got a bit more $$ in our stimulus package that those without kids. With the money, we decided to "fuel" the economy via 42" inch plasma, surround sound system and new decor for the living room. It has energized us to do more around the house. And we did it pretty much on the cheap - with the exception of the equipment we purchased. So thank you George W.

Speaking of high def, the best thing to watch IMHO is sports. The colors are fantastic. The sound is great. It's a fantastic experience. I now know what I was missing. I will be diving into the HD experience with game three tonight of the Celtics and Cavs. While the C's are up 2-0, I have a feeling that we might go down in flames tonight. There's no way you can keep Lebron quiet for three games straight. He's gonna have a monster game...maybe 30-40 points. The key though, is if we can keep Z and others quiet. Lebron can't score ALL the points. What I really hope will happen is that we sweep the Cavs and get the guys some rest. Then again, let's just keep rolling and winning. That's all that really matters. Momentum is all about consistency so maybe another tough series is what we need and NOT a sweep. The deeper we go into he playoffs the tougher it's going to get. However, it's a long road and it's nice to be able to watch it in high def.

One of the cooler high def channels is Nat Geo. Watching stuff about animals and bugs never really interested me, but with high def, I'm glued. And speaking of bugs, my wife and I decided to make chicken caesar salads last night. I went out and got all the stuff and was excited for it. It's a nice healthy meal (as long as you use the right ingredients). One ingredient that we weren't expecting was a bug that flew out of the salad bag. Luckily enough, we had other roughage in the refrigerator. It amazes me though that a bug can live in that bag for who knows how long and still be alive after it's packaged, shipped, shipped again, shipped again and put on a shelf where I so happen to pick it up. Then again, maybe it ate it's way INTO the bag versus already being in the bag. Either way, it was kind of nasty and made me rethink our dinner plans - for about a second. After all, if those crazy outdoor types can eat bugs, bark and all types of nasty stuff, I don't mind a little creepy crawler along with my caesar salad.

Read more!

Marine team running in marathon

This was a great sight. There was a group of marines running in the marathon with full packs. It was incredible to see them cross the finish line together with flag. The crowd reaction was nice too. Read more!

Boston Marathon 2008 Winners

Here are videos of the men and woman's winners coming into the finish line.





Read more!

Celtics advertising

I love what the NBA/Celtics are doing to pump up the C's.

Read more!

Pats vs Jags recap

Check it, over here. Read more!

Taking sports to another level

This guy has some issues or watches too much ESPN. Read more!

Sweet Caroline revealed

Finally, an answer to the question all Red Sox fans have been asking for years. Read more!

ヤンキースサック

Don't know what it means? Check it out. Read more!

Bad news from the Doc

Went to the doc today. Bad news. I've come down with a case of RSFS. Read more!