Earn This

In light of Memorial Day Weekend and the imminent bbq's and festivities that will ensue, I used a quote from Saving Private Ryan to give this piece its title."Earn This". Very simple. I like to think of myself, standing over Tom Hanks as he takes his last breaths as the moment I became aware of what I needed to do. "Ah, Ryan. I don't know anything about Ryan. I don't care. The man means nothing to me. It's just a name. But if... You know if going to Ridgefield and finding him so that he can write a blog. If that earns me the right to get back to my wife, then that's my mission".

We have a full slate of topics to get into including the always popular "Fab 5" from Pasquale, the very first gripe from Dicky, and we will check in with MP4, who is rebounding from his first cold streak. So, here we go.

"Fab 5"
Of all the topics and sections and contributions we've had so far, this is the most talked about section. It's burning up the blog-o-sphere and almost caused my system to crash last week after I posted it. This time I am prepared and have a backup program in place as I expect a similar reaction. Well Pasquale is back with a new edition and it does not disappoint. Today we have 5 things that Pasquale loves. If you missed his first "Fab 5" you can find it in the archive to right under "Summer Blockbusters".

1. Dwight Howard - Not so much for his performance in game 7, but for his comments afterward which were directed towards espn where he told them about a new stat, the magic are 3-0 when howard calls out the coach. definitely refreshing to see an athlete harass espn.

2. Joe Mauer - a great hitter and his play to get Brett Gardner at home was top notch. Not sure if he faked the throw to first on purpose or not, but either way a great play.

3. The Wire - the best show hbo has ever had, not watched by many people, but definitely one of the best shows in the history of television. do yourself a favor, rent the first season and give it a shot and you won't be disappointed. I will preface this by saying this show asks a lot of you as a viewer, but you definitely get a lot in return.

4. Hoodsie Cups - The perfect combination of flavors and the perfect amount of ice cream. if you don't like ice cream just go with a zarros black and white cookie, same concept and also delicious.

5. Reggie Miller - I know what you're thinking, how can a knick fan like reggie miller? I'm not talking about him as a player, I'm talking about him as an announcer. He's a a very good announcer. It could be that he's paired with Marv Albert and Marv elevates everyones game and conceals other announcer's weaknesses, but I think reggie is a solid announcer, and he calls ray allen jesus shuttlesworth, gotta like that

"Picks of the Unknown Gambler"
It was a tough couple of days for our resident gambler MP4. He went 0-3 on his latest rounds of picks. The two baseball games that he lost are not as unsettling as the sure thing pick he made. MP4 is a die-hard fan of American Idol. He hasnt missed a minute this year and from the first time he saw Adam Lambert, he knew he would be the champion. He even went so far as to recommend you "max out the credit card, and take out a second mortgage" because Lambert was such a lock. Well as you all know Lambert did not win. There are many theories as to why, but what I can tell you for certain was MP4 was visibly distraught. Therefore, he will be taking the day off to mentally recover. Feel free to leave a comment of encouragement for MP4.

"Dicky's Gripes"
It is upon us. I have had this day circled on my calender for nearly 2 weeks. Dicky makes his debut. Someday we will look back at this moment and it will be mentioned in the same breath as man walking on the moon. Ladies and Gentleman, it is my distinct pleasure to introduce Dicky to the blog....

I was originally going to gripe about a certain radio play-by-play tandem for a team that will remain nameless (rhymes with Blankees), but a few things happened this week that sent me in another direction. 1) That would have been way too easy, and people complain about them everyday2) I found something far more obnoxious that set me off this week.

In my extensive 2 year experience in the "corporate" world (if you consider sitting in a cubicle all day the corporate world like I do) I have noticed a very frustrating and totally unnecessary trend. People seem to feel the need to speak in a different language when discussing business. Before being isolated in the corner of my office (for reasons unknown) I sat next to all of the salespeople at my company. While I have nothing against these people personally, the way they spoke just irritated me to no end.

Is it really necessary to use the following sentence when describing how you attempt to close a deal: "Well I gave him our "net net" price but he still wasn't biting so I went back and "sharpened my pencil" a little bit. I might go a little bit lower and keep "dangling that carrot" in front of him until he goes for it."

I swear to you that was an actual statement made by an actual person.

Is it so hard to just say "I need to offer him/her a lower price."? Nobody is impressed by the fact that you were somehow able to get carrot and pencil into the same sentence. I know its the business world, but can we please continue to speak like normal human beings. Is that so much to ask?

"Video of the Day"
This one comes courtesy of Who Wants to Be A Millionaire.


"I pretty much have coffee running through my veins right now. I'm feeling good". I don't even need to touch that.

"Theme Song of the Weekend"
This song/video combo is not nearly as epic as last week's "Showdown" but then again not many song/video combo's can compare to it. However it should provide you with a good vibe going into this long weekend.



"What to Expect When Your Expecting"
I'll tell you exactly what you can expect. A solid blog post on Monday. While it is a holiday, and many of you will probably be at a party somewhere, I will promise you a post. We have a lot of sports to catch up with including Red Sox/ Mets as well as the Conference playoffs updates. Who knows maybe we will even have a movie review for you, I don't know. I don't know if I'll have time. Check out Sexy's blog too, he's got a new post up http://oursamedifference.com/. Until Monday....Stay Sweet.