Pearl Jam is still Alive

Pearl Jam plays night 2 at the Gibson Amphitheater tonight and they ALWAYS put on a great show. Looking forward to getting some merch too as apparently this tour they are personalizing all the shirts for the local sports team. Last night was a dodgers theme and tonight is apparently Lakers. Bummed I missed out on the Seattle poster with my favorite 'father to 9 children by 8 women'/NBA player, the ReignMan Shawn Kemp. eBay is looking a bit pricey on this one. Darn.

David Fincher’s Nike Fate Commercial

David Fincher’s Nike Fate Commercial: "“Fate” tells the life-long journey of pro football players LaDainian Tomlinson and Troy Polamalu as their destinies collide in an NFL football game."

Definitely the recipe for one of my favorite commercials...directed by my favorite director, scored with one of my favorite composer/soundtracks (Ennio Morricone) and starring 2 of my favorite NFL players. Its up there with another great Nike commercial from a year or two ago:

Top 4 Sports Moments of 2006

#4: Texas vs. USC (Rose Bowl)


#3: Dodgers vs. Padres (4 HR's)


#2: UCLA vs. USC


#1: UCLA vs. Gonzaga

Ski Dazzle

Woohoo...it's almost snow season and snow season is always kicked off in my world with Ski Dazzle. The annual snowboard/ski expo is coming up (Nov. 16th-19th) at the LA Convention Center and always offers the "free*" lift ticket to Big Bear with your paid admission. I think I've gone just about every year for the last 8 years...yup, I'm cheap...err, poor..err, thrifty. I never seem to buy anything...never spend more than 15-20 min in the hall...just happy to get my "Free*" lift ticket.

Word on the street (aka, the resort websites), Big Bear won't open until "mid to late November" and while Mammoth is set to open Nov. 9 (holy crap, tomorrow), they only have a bit of man made snow at the main lodge. Snow showers are forecasted for Saturday though...sure hope its the start of a white winter (El Camino Nino is on right?). I also just read that Mountain High has put nearly $2 million worth of renovations into its resorts. Should be interesting to see what $2 million can do...

In honor of snow (which is basically just cold water) and in honor of seeing Damien Rice at the El Rey on Monday...one of my favorites from O :

Damien Rice - Cold Water (.mp3 - on Conan O'Brien)

*Your "Free" Ticket comes with 4 options:

OPTION ONE: Any Day. A coupon that is redeemable at Bear Mountain or Snow Summit for a FREE adult all-day interchangeable lift ticket ANY DAY until December 15, 2006.
OPTION TWO: Mid-Week. A coupon good beginning January 8, 2007 through the end of the 2007 season for a mid-week (Monday - Friday) , non-holiday 2 for 1 adult all-day lift ticket.
OPTION THREE: Night Sliding. A coupon for a FREE adult non-holiday night session at Snow Summit during the 2006-2007 season (weather permitting).
OPTION FOUR: Season Pass Discount. Attendees can get $30.00 Off any $100 or more 2006-2007 winter season pass right at the show.

Holiday Dates: January 13 - 15, 2007; February 17-19 2007.

NBA Action...It's FANtastic!

And of course the best part of the NBA...fantasy sports. Here's my team:

White Shadow

Rd Pick Player Position
1. (5) G. Arenas PG
2. (20) Y. Ming C
3. (29) L. Odom SF,PF
4. (44) P. Stojakovic SF
5. (53) S. Marbury PG
6. (68) R. Hamilton SG
7. (77) D. Gooden PF
8. (92) S. Livingston PG
9. (101) T. Chandler C
10. (116) J. Przybilla C
11. (125) K. Martin SG
12. (140) R. Rondo PG,SG

Damn You Jeff Samardzija

Well, my weekend trip to Chicago and South Bend started on Thursday night and ended on Sunday afternoon. This means that I can safely say that out of a possible 63 hours of fun, I had an amazing trip for exactly 62 hours, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. Who stole those 30 seconds of joy from me?

Jeff 'friggin' Samardzija that's who. Or was it? Actually, I'm gonna pardon that punk for now and point the finger at Offensive Coordinator Jim Svoboda. So all in all, I'm blaming anyone with an F'd up last name. Feel free to let Jim know how you feel about his decision to run straight up the middle on the last possession at jsvoboda@athletics.ucla.edu.

But I'm jumping ahead of myself.

Highlights from the weekend include:

• A Bruin-filled Southwest flight from LAX
  
• Matt forcing the flight attendant from her spot in the back by destroying the bathroom even before we took off
• Playing hold 'em poker using Southwest peanuts as chips
  
• Staying at the trendy W hotel on the lake (for only $150...thanks Priceline.com)
• Going out until 4am (I heart Chicago)
• Packing into Dave's Tundra and driving 2 hours to South Bend and MISHAWAKA!
  
• Checking out Casa Nguyen/Francisco - homeownership rules!
• Rockin' Friday night in the Bend: TGI Friday's, Walmart and Trivial Pursuit until 1AM

Then...Gameday!

We had an amazing tailgate (within 200 yds of the famed stadium) and an all in all amazing game (our seats were SO close). I don't feel like talking about what happened in the actual game anymore so go read about it somewhere else.

The post trip highlight...of course, getting on the airport shuttle from Budget Rental with the one, the only... Gallagher (and his mallet of course). Coincidentally we were all chewing watermelon flavored bubble gum...no joke.

UCLA @ Notre Dame

Great seats...but my heart...is...broken...
-more details to follow-

UCLA +14...take 'em!

No. 10 Notre Dame awaits stumbling UCLA

"The Bruins and Fighting Irish (5-1) are meeting for the first time in 42 years, with Notre Dame having won both previous games -- 27-12 in 1963 and 24-0 the following season."

Been waiting for this one since it was added to the schedule about 2 years ago (I think). The weekend has finally arrived. I fly Thursday from LAX to Chicago and will be driving to the mighty South Bend (yes, that's in glorious Indiana) on Friday to prepare for what looks to be a somewhat chilly tailgate come Saturday morning. We've got 7 Bruin fans in our immediate group and 4 tickets - anyone got extras? Looks like we'll be ponying up $200 each for the last few. Why oh why would anyone pay that much money to watch UCLA play #10 Notre Dame? I don't know either but I just may be one of those people. Something about the tradition and history of Notre Dame. I mean, they have Touchdown Jesus for Christ's sake (pun intended). Should be a good time no matter the outcome. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that the Bruins take the Irish on a last second QB keeper TD (as he's pushed into the endzone by Chris Markey).

Speaking of the UCLA QB...check this out:

Complicating things for the Bruins this week is a freak injury to backup quarterback Patrick Cowan, who will make his second career start Saturday. Coach Karl Dorrell said Monday that Cowan got punched in the throat while being sacked, causing him to lose his voice on the final series. Dorrell relied on receivers to shuttle plays to the huddle and communicate them.

On the trip back to Los Angeles, Cowan's throat swelled up and he coughed up blood, Dorrell said. Cowan was under a doctor's orders not to speak Monday.

So what if Cowan has little or no voice come Saturday in noisy Notre Dame Stadium?

"We're going to have to find a means of communication," Dorrell said.

That can't be good for the team...