Counting Down......

7 days.......until the kickoff to the season for UGA at the Dome.

The only bit of new news for this game is Georgia unveiled their Pro Combat uniforms they will wear for the game. My first thought is I did not like them, the only two parts that look off to me are the red pants and the two toned facemask. Georgia did wear red pants back in '79 and against Tennessee again in '82, but they are known for their silver britches. Now the only question is should I wear red pants with my red shirt for the game??

I can only imagine what Nike has come up with for Boise.....

BBQ Tour: BBQ1

So in our long journey of bbq joints around Atlanta we had another visit. This place was mentioned by Robert Duvall when a movie he was filming had food catered by Sam's BBQ1. The restaurant is newly opened and is located over off Johnson Ferry and Lower Roswell Road in Marietta. The place was famous for its catering and its take out counter two doors down from the newly opened restaurant location. The restaurant is unassuming, which is a great sign of a good bbq spot. If they spend a lot of time on the decor that is time taken away from smoking the meats. It is counter service, where you walk up to order and they bring out your plate. We visited during lunch and hit it just right, we beat the crowd and had a great meal.

I went with the smoked sausage plate, which is hard to find in GA for sure. I had mac & cheese and fried okra. The sides were generous and the sausage was the lunch portion and it was almost too much for one serving. The sweet tea was perfect and the house Kansas City bbq sauce was good as well. They also host "Pork U" classes where you can sign-up to learn how to cook and prepare bbq pork.

I would recommend this place, especially if you are over in the area. I definitely would like to go back to try the brisket to see how it compares to Fox Bros. Overall I would give it 3 out of 5 beers. We have a few more spots on our list, so more to come. Enjoy!!

Faces of the 'Hood (Atlanta)

A recent review on the local sports station of the most popular or recognizable sports figures in Atlanta got me to thinking, so I thought I would give my thoughts on a few of the big cities, including those that have my favorite teams (Dallas, etc.).

So here is my top 5 for Atlanta, the only rule is they have to be a current player, coach or currently in the sports arena. So Hank Aaron, Herschel Walker and Deion Sanders would not be options for Atlanta.

5. Roddy White - Wide Receiver (Atlanta Falcons)
This was the hardest one to choose as there are a lot of players that could be #5 (Jason Heyward, Tim Hudson, Joe Johnson, Mike Smith, Paul Johnson, etc.). I selected Roddy mostly due to him showing up all over the place now, including a lot of national radio and tv spots. It doesn't hurt that his hair would be hard to miss.

4. Josh Smith - Forward (Atlanta Hawks)
Due to basketball players not wearing hats or helmets they are easy to recognize. Josh or J-Smooth is recognizable to the sport's fans in Atlanta, unfortunately mostly it is for whining or seeming to quit at times while playing. He could be one of the best forwards in the game, and he still has the chance to do it, hopefully it just does not happen after he is traded from the Hawks. He also loves his jump shot more than any one man should.

3. Matt Ryan - Quarterback (Atlanta Falcons)
Matt might be higher on this list and as his career continues as a Falcon he will be become more recognizable than now. He is by far the face of the franchise and is in a handful of local commercials. Matty Ice will be in the top 2 on this list when his career gets towards the end.
 

 
2. Mark Richt - Head Coach (University of Georgia-UGA)
This one seems easy to me to be high on the list in these parts. Whether it is for him winning in the early 2000s to his current place firmly on the hot seat, Richt is very recognizable even to the novice sports fan and women in this market. It does not hurt that he has been in this position for over 10 years now.

1. Chipper "Larry" Jones - 3rd baseman (Atlanta Braves)
Unfortunately he is #1 for not just his play on the field, he is by far one of the best switch hitters and 3rd baseman to ever play the game. When he finally retires after the 2012 season he will be a first ballot hall of famer and his #10 will be retired by the Braves. He is also known for his affairs with Hooters girls and a few children out of his marriage. With all that being said Chipper was an easy choice for #1 in the ATL.

More cities to come....look forward to hearing your top 5!!

Follow the Rules......or

29 days...

So I hear the saying that you get 3 steps in the NBA or they never call this or that or enforce a certain rule.

For those that played sports as a kid or even at a higher level, high school or college, why is it that when you start getting paid to play a kids' game that the rules are less stringent. If your job is paying you $400K at a minimum, should be easy to know the rules and be expected to play by them.

Perfect example is travelling in the NBA, you easily get 3 steps if not more. The best part is when the players are shocked when they call travelling. I can fix this issue, stop allowing the jump stop and it will go a long way towards getting back to the rules.

Another example that you do not notice a lot, but when I was in little league when you ran through first base you had to run straight right down the foul line. If you ran out of the line a little bit and got tagged by the first baseman or another player you were called out. I cannot tell you the last time I noticed a major league player run straight through, sometimes they run all the way over to the stands or near the dugout. I always scream for the first baseman to go tag him out. I know this one is a little silly, but it is a freaking rule, enforce it damn it.

What rules do you notice when watching or playing sports now that you know there is a rule for, but gets ignored??

NFL Lockout.....Over

30 Days......

I waited as long as possible to comment on the lockout, but I am glad it is over. The hardest part of the lockout was the over the top coverage daily on sports talk radio and ESPN. It is not easy for us to comprehend arguing over billions of dollars. I understand you need to feed your families, but don't say that in the media and let us hear that. It is not my fault you over-extended yourself because you are a dumb-ass and did not budget your money right. You made at least $400K last year.

On a positive note, I am glad the NFL will be back so that Sundays and Mondays complete the football weekends. I did not know what my friend Branden and Chris were going to do if there was no NFL this year, we were going to have to get them up on the college football bandwagon.



The best part since the lockout has ended is all of the roster moves, you will need a freaking media guide to know who plays for who come week one.

My prediction for the Super Bowl in February 2012.

New England vs Dallas!!

DVD Review: Hall Pass

On our recent vacation to Florida we watched Hall Pass. This is the movie with Jason Sudeikis and Owen Wilson, where they are both obsessed with sex and through certain circumstances their wives give them both  a week off from marriage, a hall pass. The wives in the movie are played by Christina Applegate and Pam from "The Office" (Jenna Fischer). I must say they do a good job making all of them look very ordinary suburban couples, but Jenna gets hot once she is off on her own during her husband's week alone. The best part about the movie is how the guys think they will have no problem hooking up with any girl they want, which they find out quickly is not the case. They figure they have a whole week for all the sex they can handle so they do not even try to go out or anything for the first few days, instead building up energy for the crazy end of the week they expect. One scene that is unexpected is the girl Jason's character brings back to the hotel from the club who just quit smoking, play close attention, it is good stuff.

This movie has a lot of quotes that have already been used in our circle with many more to follow. Jason Sudeikis' character is absolutely hilarious in this movie and has tons of one liners that make the movie even better. "Fake Chow" is now in the vocabulary. An added bonus is the repeated jokes about Kathy Griffin.

The soundtrack is pretty good for this movie as well, a lot of good songs throughout. Also, the movie was filmed in Atlanta so that was an added bonus! Overall this is good movie and I would recommend NetFlix, downloading, buying or renting the DVD. I would give Hall Pass 4 out of 5 beers for sure!!