How Did They Get Here?

Things to Do: Red Brick Brewery

Another thing to add to your to-do list is visiting the Red Brick Brewery (Atlanta Brewing). The brewery is located near Howell Mill in an industrial park area. They have tours and tastings on Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 5-8 and Saturday from 2-5. The sampling room is perfect, they just recently started some other things to get people in the building. On Wednedays they have a gaming challenge, playing vintage console games. On Thursdays they play team trivia. On Fridays they have live music and on Saturdays they have sports on tv and ping pong. Just like at Sweetwater you pay a set rate for 5 tickets, each ticket is good for one sample beer. Red Brick is the oldest operating craft brewery in Georgia.

TDA...

On a recent trip to the North Georgia mountains the girls started playing a game, "What would you do for a million dollar?" Well ladies I hate to break it to you, but this guy took the game seriously and has a Craigslist ad to prove it. Travis Broyles (aka TDA, Travis Does Anything) is an out of work writer and has a listing of things that he will do and the cost for him to do it. He does have a few bugaboos, no murder, stealing or rape. Also, he will not have sex for money, but is willing to have sex. The list starts at the reasonable price of $5. How many days or weeks before Travis goes viral and is on the Today Show?

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/atl/crs/2205300002.html

This always begs the question though, what would you do for money??

Do you foul when up 3?

It is something I have wondered forever, if you have the lead in a basketball game by 3 points and time is running out, why doesn't the team winning foul the other team not allowing them to shoot a 3-pointer to tie the game? Then the other team gets two free throws and cannot tie the game. It forces the other team to have to make the first free throw, attempt to miss the second free throw, get the rebound and score. It really hit home when Georgia was playing Florida a few weeks back, in OT Georgia was up three and Florida ran the ball up the court and shot a long three, making it, tying the game. Florida ended up winning in double OT. Mark Fox, Georgia coach, was asked about it and said that he instructed them to foul, but the message did not get heard, obviously. Not to mention Georgia had a timeout, might have wanted to use it so you could make sure they understood to foul. There is no doubt in my mind that you foul in that situation! This happened again when Georgia was playing South Carolina. USC was down by 20 points and made a run to get within 3, Georgia chose not to foul again, this time it worked out with Georgia blocking the three point attempt and holding on to win the game.

It's Bakon!

Bacon flavored vodka is the latest flavored vodka to hit your liquor stores. As well as the next line of food/drink item to be flavored like bacon. I must say I did not see this one coming and I am one of the biggest fans of bacon there is. Bakon Vodka is made Black Rock Spirits and they advertise it as the perfect vodka for your bloody mary or bakon mary. Check out the site above for a bloody mary recipe, other drink recipes and how they make the vodka itself. Definitely looking forward to trying this vodka soon. Wonder how it would be straight up with some waffles and syrup....

Heard this line yesterday that would apply here. "If pigs could fly, bacon would be much more expensive."

New Show Review: Chicago Code

It is that time of year again when new shows come on to replace the ones that have stunk up the place or have been slotted as mid-year additions. One such show is Chicago Code. Chicago Code is a crime drama, obviously based in Chicago. The plot has Jennifer Beals playing the first female Chicago police superintendent who is eager to stop corruption in the city. She has made that her mission to get rid of the bad cops and take down whoever is heading up the city corruption. The main cop in the show is played by Jason Clarke, a homicide detective, who goes through partners on a daily basis and does not like cops using profanity. Jennifer Beals character wants to put together a police unit to flush out the corruption and asks this homicide detective to lead the team. The main character in the show who they assume is corrupt is played by Delroy Lindo, who is the Chicago alderman. The one thing about this show is that I have learned some new job titles....alderman for instance. Overall the show is pretty good, just do not know how long they can string out the corruption piece, not much more than one season for sure. I do like the homicide detective as he is different than most other cops on the 1 zillion other cop shows on tv now. It comes on Monday nights on FOX at 9.

The hardest part of watching this show is all I can think of when I see Jennifer Beals is "Flashdance."

3 out of 5 beers.

Must See

If you have been around me recently then this will be something you already know, but those you have not been you must rent, Netflix, etc. to watch "She's Out of My League." It is a movie about an average Joe played by Jay Baruchel, who meets and starts dating a really hot girl. The whole movie is based on everyone saying that there is a scale and that he is only a 5 and she is a 10. His group of buddies in the movie that make the movie, especially T.J. Miller who plays "Stainer." A nickname he had as a kid due to wetting his bed. It is one of those movies that I can watch over and over again and has a few lines that are great for quoting with your friends. "Slapshot Regatta!!"

Here is a little sneak preview, a deleted scene and some Stainer.

New Show Review: Shameless (Showtime)

Stacy and I try to always watch any new shows that come on HBO or Showtime as they are usually pretty damn good. Well Showtime did not disappoint this season with the new show "Shameless." It airs on Sunday nights at 10 and stars William H. Macy. As with a lot of shows that come to us, this is based on a show with the same name from Britain. The show premiered back in January and every episode has been good. It is based in Chicago and is about a family (The Gallaghers). The single father (Macy) who is a dead-beat, drunk has six children that learn to live survive for themselves since Macy spends most of the day at the bar getting wasted. The show focuses on the children and what they do to get by and the neighbors who the Gallaghers always borrow stuff from. There is one kid who is really smart and makes money by taking other students SATs and writing term papers for them. The oldest daughter is like the mom of the house and it deals with her trying to figure out her love life with the local cop and the new guy she just met who happens to be a car thief. Every week there is some story about one of the kids to bring them more into the story. Another different part that makes it good is Macy's character introduces the "what you missed from last week's episode" every week differently, and of course is drunk. As long as the show does not sway too far away from how it started it should last a while. Here is the trailer.

This show is a must see for everyone, if you have access to these shows you should catch up On-Demand. 5 out of 5 beers for sure.

Things to Do: Starlight Six Drive-In

In searching for something different to do for Valentine's Day I remembered a friend of ours, Nick, saying something about a drive-in over in East Atlanta. Well the drive-in is called Starlight Six Drive-In and is on Moreland about 5 minutes off of I-20. The theater opened back in 1949 (picture below from 1949) and pulling into the place there is not a lot that has changed since then, which made our trip out there even better. When you pull up you let them know which theater you want to go to and they give you your ticket, it is only $7 per person and is good for the double feature.

During this time of the year they have 3 of the 6 theaters open. It was already dark so they had lanterns on to light the way to your theater. On this night there were not that many people there when we showed up so we had the choice spot, it was just an open asphalt lot with rows where your front wheels would be elevated for better viewing of the screen. They had a snack bar with what you would call drive-in classics (hot dogs, nachos, popcorn, coke, candy). The prices for the food were cheap too, we got a large popcorn, large nacho and hotdog for $10.

One of the best things of going out here is you can bring whatever you want, almost like a tailgate. We brought a cooler and a bunch of snack food. In the warmer months it would be a great place to take a big group and tailgate during the day and then watch the double feature. The bottom line is that everyone should check out the drive-in, two thumbs up!

Spitting....Really

Over this past weekend Tiger Woods was fined for spitting during the final round of the golf tournament out in Dubai. Spitting is against the rules on the European Tour and since he violated the rule he was fined, Tiger also went on Twitter and apologized for it. So I wanted to see what the fuss was all about, and here is the video.



The part that caught by eye about the story were the comments by the commentator Ewen Murray of Sky Sports. Here is what he had to say about it during the broadcast. "Disgusting, what he has just done there, but there are some parts of him that are just arrogant and petulant. Somebody now has to come behind him and maybe putt over his spit. It does not get much lower that that." "One of the ugliest things you will ever see on a golf course." So after reading this I did some research to find out who the hell is Ewen Murray since he seems to have such a stance and does not mind getting on his soap box. I have a feeling Ewen would never say any of this to Tiger's face, no doubt! Seems like another opportunity to kick a man when he is down, does no one spit on the golf course. There are a lot of so-called "rules of the game" when it comes to golf or the unwritten rules. Just get your nose out of the air and realize what you are talking about before you shoot off at the mouth. I guess he is European so he thinks he is better than everyone else, do not think that spitting on the golf course constitutes you getting on your high-horse. Here is Ewen's article on the skysports website, he speaks of a disgrace to the game, etc. Ewen look in the mirror, I guess you are perfect. Also, I was looking for your article on the players that smoke cigarettes on the course and could not find any, to me that is way worse than someone spitting, which happens on every hole, you just happened to be following Woods when he did it.

http://www.skysports.com/opinion/story/0,25212,12065_6752122,00.html

Tiger has a lot of work to do in his personal life, which is his life and who are we to comment on it, but starting to dig at the guy for spitting to this level is irresponsible as a journalist and commentator.

Things to Do: Sweetwater Brewery

If you are like most people you always wonder what can we do this weekend. Well here is something to try for sure. The Sweetwater Brewery is a great visit. Near downtown Atlanta, the brewery has tours and tastings Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays at 5:30 and Saturdays at 2:30. You have a few options once you get to the brewery, you can take a tour or just hang out and taste the different beers, also they have a merchandise counter for some Sweetwater schwag. The tour only takes about 20 minutes and is a must for your first visit. The tasting room is big and has plenty of room, they also have a huge outdoor area in the front of the brewery. On certain days in the warmer months they have live music outside. The other plus is that you can bring your dog to hang outside.

http://www.sweetwaterbrew.com/BreweryTour.php

Pitchers and Catchers

Just when I thought the sports world was going to get rough now that football was over (Spring game is just around the corner though), it is a month plus until the NCAA tourney and the NBA playoffs don't start for months.....pitchers and catchers started reporting yesterday for baseball Spring Training. While the baseball season can seem long, it is great to have it starting again. Not a lot better than going to the ballpark for a hotdog and cold beer. Spring Training definitely seems the one time in MLB where it is back to the basics; hustling down the line to first, not watching your homeruns, just playing like the game is supposed to be played. Not to mention that players on the edge of making the rosters are busting it trying to get noticed and make the opening day roster.

One of these years I definitely want to take a spring training trip to Florida. Here is some more info on spring training 2011.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/spring_training/

Not to rub more salt in the wound, but hopefully Brooks Conrad takes some extra time taking grounders.....

Addicting

First off, Happy Valentine's Day to all!

If you have not done so yet, you must sign up for Twitter. Twitter like many other forms of social media is addicting. It can't get any simpler either, create a username, then search and select who you want to follow. It is that simple. Just about every celebrity, athlete, media type has a Twitter account. While some of the tweets I just skip over some of them are classic. If you are a sports freak, you can get a lot of information quickly about what's going on in the sports world.

Here is an article about the creator of Twitter (thanks Wiltin).

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/technology/2009/02/twitter-creator.html

Do yourself a favor and sign up today! Here is a link to how to create an account.

http://support.twitter.com/entries/100990-how-to-sign-up-on-twitter

Time with Family...

I am not one to tell someone how to run there life or judge them for their decisions, but the whole Urban Meyer hiring as ESPN makes me wonder. Urban Meyer stepped away as the head coach at the University of Florida. His only reason for leaving was to spend more time with his family and his work was not allowing him to do that. Well his new job at ESPN will have him calling games on Saturday and being a part of the coverage leading up to the weekend. That will make it tough to spend time with your kids, since they both play sports in the fall much of the time playing on Saturdays. Just want to hear people not try to play everyone, just say why you are leaving.

The best part of him taking this job is he can see what it feels like for a coach to be an ass to the media, this time he can be on the receiving end.

The good part of the story was the he had to cut his ties with Florida, he still had an office in the Athletic Department and was still on the payroll. Needless to say in the era of NCAA violations, him being on the payroll and having an office could have been an issue with him being on ESPN and talking with recruits.

Regardless of all that, hope he is ready to still get criticized. The media is just as scrutinized as the coaches at times, especially in big time college football. Good luck Urban!

Great Kick Off

Back in January to promote the start of another tennis season Nadal and Federer played in an exhibition match in Qatar. The thing that made this unique was that they played on a floating court in Doha Bay. Definitely a cool marketing idea, too bad no one I know knew it happened.

The ultimate question is what happened to the ball boys?

Let There Be Beer (and wine)....On Sundays

On February 2nd a bill hit the Georgia Senate floor that would allow beer and wine to be sold on Sundays starting at 12:30 PM. The thing that never made sense to me was that I could go to a restaurant or bar to have a beer on Sunday and then drive or get a ride home, but I was not able to go buy a six pack and drink it at home. I cannot wait for the freaks to come out to tell us why we do not have the right to have beer and wine sales on Sunday. They say it is a morality issue, but in reality it is an issue of fairness, competition and common sense. The leaders of the Christian Coalition said they will switch their focus to a local grass roots approach since they believe it will pass with the Governor's enthusiasm. The president of the coalition stated that "Sunday is a special day, whether it's because of religion or tradition or habit. We just want to keep it this way as much as we can." What the hell does that mean!!

Governor Deal has stated that he would sign the bill should it make it to his desk. The down side is that local authorities will have the right to choose whether or not to allow beer sales on Sunday, but with the economy I cannot see someone not wanting the additional income. The bill, if passed, will allow local municipalities to allow local voters to decide if they want sales on Sunday. Even if you are not a drinker, vote yes if this comes to your city, town or county. It is just something that is past due and it is time to get out of the dark ages!

Heirloom Market BBQ...next stop

 Recently made our next stop on the BBQ tour of Atlanta, this time it was Heirloom Market BBQ. It is tucked away on Akers Mill near where Powers Ferry dead ends into it at I-285. The restaurant smelled incredible when you pulled into the parking lot, the inside is a perfect size, it had one big table with 8 chairs and about 10 bar seats against the windows. They also had additional seating outside when the temps warm up. They have a pretty extensive menu with unique choices. I had a two-meat plate with brisket and spicy italian sausage with mac 'n' cheese as my side. I asked them to chop the brisket and needless to say it was a huge portion, the meat was extremely tender and had good flavor, my favorite though was the sausage, it had great flavor and was a perfect combo with the mac 'n' cheese. They have an open kitchen so you can see them prepare all of the food, the food is served on a metal tray, sides in little tin bowls and they had numerous sauces on the table for you to taste. Both of the owners are trained chefs who have worked in some great Atlanta restaurants including the Ritz-Carlton Buckhead. After listening to everyone around while I was eating I definitely want to come back for some other food, I want to try their burgers and the alligator sausage.

Menu: http://heirloommarketbbq.com/Texas_Volt.html

4 out of 5 beer rating.

Time to Make an Example

Nothing like capping off last week's positive momentum for the Georgia Bulldogs football program with news of Washaun Ealey being indefinitely suspended! Then I heard the reason for the suspension, Ealey failed to show up at 6:00 AM last week for a penalty run for some undisclosed reason. While I realize it is a minor issue, this is not Ealey's first rodeo. He was suspended for driving on a suspended license and being involved in a hit and run last season and missed the opening game for it, which hurts the team. To make this issue worse, he told the coaches and promised them he would not get behind the wheel. While it would be easy for UGA fans to say you are not Florida, Tennessee or other schools where people seemed to get arrested for felonies on a consistent basis, that is irrelevant, this is getting ridiculous.

While this issue is only about Ealey, there have also been issues with Caleb King, including missing the bowl game this past season for academic reasons. At some point it is time to cut your loses and it seems like this is the perfect time to start. Richt's entire approach and attitude have seemed to change in this off-season, nothing like a 6-7 season to kick you in the arse. He even made the statement on national signing day, "I wouldn't be shocked to see him run that rock in the Dome against Boise State on the opening play if he does what he's supposed to do." Him being Crowell, incoming freshman. Well that statement does two things. First, gives Crowell some incentive to work hard to make that statement a reality. Second, it should get King and Ealey jacked up and want to work hard to keep their starting gig. From an interview this morning on the radio with Mark Schlabach, seems like neither Ealey or King are getting the message and nothing has changed. They continue to make knucklehead decisions.

Time to make an example to the rest of the team that this type of stuff will not be tolerated. Let Crowell, Carlton Thomas and Malcombe step up and provide leadership at that position! Cut ties now!

Moments in Sports History

With the story of Ben Roethlisberger's decision to grab a beer a few days before the Super Bowl it reminded me of the one of the not-so-great stories in Super Bowl history. In 1998, the Atlanta Falcons had a dream season and made it to Super Bowl XXXIII in Miami against the Denver Broncos. In one for the dumbest man in America award, Eugene Robinson, starting safety, was arrested for offering $40 to an undercover officer posing as a prostitute for oral sex. To make it even dumber it was the night before the Super Bowl. To make it even worse, he earlier in the day received the Bart Starr Award from the Christian group Athletes in Action for his "high moral character." It obviously had an effect on his play as he struggled during the game, alllowing a big touchdown pass and missing a key tackle late in the game.

Here's to you, Mr. Robinson, bone-head decision is an understatement!

RIP: UGA VIII

Another sad day in the Bulldawg Nation. UGA VIII has passed away. He was a Damn Good Dawg!!

RIP, Big Bad Bruce!!

"Dream Team"

So the UGA recruiting season finally came to an end with the commitment of John Jenkins, a nose tackle JUCO transfer. He was sorely needed in the 3-4 defense and is a welcome addition to Grantham's defense. Here's to the coaches allowing the best players to be on the field and if it happens to be true freshman, then so be it. Do not pull another Knowshon and redshirt one of the best players on your team. Great job by the entire coaching staff, Go Dawgs!!

Do Not Know Where to Stand on This.....

Should they or shouldn't they.....

As you may or may not have read on my blog I am a big fan of teams sticking to their tradition, especially when it comes to uniforms, etc. Well a few years back Georgia went with a black uniform against Auburn and then later in the Sugar Bowl against Hawaii, needless to say that year they experience success and it was almost something that you could never recreate. Well that was proven the next season when Georgia went over the top and even painted the end zones black for their home game against Alabama, when Georgia fell behind 31-0 at halftime. As soon as I walked into Sanford Stadium that day and noticed the end zones I knew we were screwed. It definitely creates a different vibe in the stadium for the fans and can only imagine what it can do for the players, but once the players are hit in the mouth the color of the jersey is irrelevant.

The link below is to a Bleacher Report story stating 10 reasons Georgia needs to bring back the blackout. What do you think??

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/596470-ten-reasons-the-georgia-bulldogs-need-to-bring-back-the-blackout