Angry Post: Weathermen (and ladies)

Readers of 501 (if any) i am sure you have read my previous post about my anger with the USA mens curling team. Well i am officially over that and onto a new annoyance in my life (worst then when you have an endless wipe after taking a dump). Over the past 3 months i live breath and die on snow (ask any of my roommates or friends) i live for the white stuff (get your mind out of the gutter). I just can not take it anymore............ WEATHER MEN AND WOMEN SUCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have never heard of a job where you can continously f*ck up and keep your job and sometimes get a freaking raise! if i knew this shit growing up i would have taken getting beat up in middle school because i was staring at the clouds because today i would be laughing at all those kids who beat me up and now have no job and work hard! Weather people are constantly wrong and it pisses me off! can you please do your job right and predict how many inches of snow i can go play paintball in or get a day off of work for! i can understand when weather people were wrong 20 years ago but now with all of the technology they should be spot on everyday!!! So all you loyal readers out there; do me one favor in future...... tell your kids to become a weather person because you can be right 50% of the time and still make more money then the average joe!

A Third Perspective

Well we've heard Jay's criticism and we've gazed at Cips' snowbunnies (Damnnnn Claudia Toth!), now time for my thoughts on the Olympic Games. I'd like to look at it from the fan's point of view...why do we watch, do we enjoy what we're watching, how's oft-criticised NBC doing as our host?

First off, I must admit, I sweat (like a sausage wrapped in casing...sorry Hannah!!!!!!) the Olympics...the pageantry, the background stories, the nationalism, the side bets regarding who falls in the 500m speedskate (thanks Cips!)...I crave it like a Power Breakfast crafted by the caffeinated hands of Sven!

Now, it wouldn't be the Olympics without criticism and complaints...the tragedy of the Georgian luger, the objectification and sexification of women (i.e. Mrs. Vonn's well-toned rump on the cover of Sports Illustrated), the controversial outfits worn by the Russian ice dancing team, the constant questions of are we forcing these young athletes into too much at such an early age? What we've heard perhaps most from this particular Olympiad though is NBC's telecast. Ahhh, the ole' Peacock is at it again!

What's with all the tape delayed action!

I already know the outcome of this event!

I want to watch skiing live!

Folks, let's step back for a moment and realize the world we live in. A world of incredible technology and speed, a world where you can literally operate your life from your smartphone...guys, info is going to get out! You don't want to find out if Bode Miller missed a gate on the Giant Slalom? Go live in a f*cking hole for a day! Even then, the mice invading 501 Huguenot would probably tell you the often inebriated man failed to medal!

NBC and my main man Robert Costas (by the way, has the man ever worn the same suit twice!) continue to provide excellent journalism...fantastic personal stories of the athletes, in depth coverage, and as much live action as they could possibly provide.

I find it funny how so many people criticize the Olympics as boring and unimportant, yet it significantly out drew American Idol!! Hey, maybe Dick Ebersol does know what the hell he's doing!

I'm dumbfounded when I hear people complain on the radio about NBC's primetime package. They bitch about the network jumping from event to event, generally offering little bits and pieces of highlights from earlier in the day. Umm guys, those of us who have jobs and more importantly, a life, don't have time to watch the NBC coverage during the day. We love the small highlight package! So what if we know the outcome!

I liken the Olympics to the NFL...they give us just enough to keep us interested, and leave us wanting more. All these people wanting the NFL to add games? I think you're crazy...the weekend after the Superbowl, what did we all crave? Some more gridiron action! But now we must wait until August to see it again...this keeps the product fresh and viable. Unlike the regular seasons of basketball, baseball and hockey that are watered down and last an eternity.

The Olympics (including the summer and winter games) come around every two years. Imagine if we had skiing, swimming and God forbid, curling on every weekend? We'd get sick of it! But every four years? Sure, I'll tune into watch Johnny Weir's ridiculous man cleavage and to see if Apolo Ohno's soul patch got any longer!

Folks, ask yourself this question the day after the Closing Ceremonies? What could I use a little more of right now? Ahh, the Olympics! That's the beauty of it! Two weeks for us to rout for our home country (or Germany if you're me!), two weeks for your grandmother to get familiar with the snowboarding exploits of the "Flying Tomato," two weeks to learn how you and your Uncle Bill can freeze down your driveway, grab mom's best china, dad's favorite broom and dream of your Olympic curling debut!

The Olympics are a great thing my friends... and as we used to say in the Eastern Bloc...Brah, Brah!

The Lighter Side

Going with Jay's thoughts on the Olympics, which I have to agree with, I feel its necessary for post 201 to be a little bit brighter. I'll try and give the positives of the 2010 Olympics from back yard of our neighbor from the north.

First off we (USA) are leading in overall medal count, which for Brendan is a terrible stat. Brendan unlike my self bet against his mother land and picked any other country in the world. Shame on him, I guess the little guy thought Ireland would run away with it in Vancouver.

Both US hockey teams are doing quite well, both the women and men have made it past pool play and are now in the elimination rounds, best of luck to them both. Lindsey "I can break my shin and still win" Vonn won gold in the women's downhill, while her counterpart Bodie "I could care less" Miller took home a bronze.

No one from the US has died...still a plus.

Shaun White raked up another 50 medals in the "so called" sport of half-pipe. I really don't see why snow board halfpipe has to be an Olympic sport. Well, I guess I do, it appeals to the younger generation, and since White nets 10million+ a year theres probably a boat load of money it. Tell that to Jay's boy Schuster who's a bartender.

Now onto probably the best positive of them all...

The ladies of 2010! This would most likely be a better category for Mikey5 if he ever gets out of a that coma he suffered in the spring. I'll name a few, but please by all means comment back if you've noticed any other skibunnies up there in Vancouver.

Denmark's Madeline Dupont

USA's Lindsey Vonn, Tanith Belbin, Allsion Baver, Allison Pottinger, Natalie Darwitz, Gretchen Bleiler,

Canada's Ashleigh McIvor, Shannon Rempel, Cheryl Bernard

Great Britain's Eve Muirhead, Chemmy Alcott, Penny Coomes

Finland's Kiira Korpi

Belgium's Isabelle Pieman

Germany's Aliona Savchenko, Andrea Henkel, Anni Friesinger

Sweden's Jenette Hargin

Korea's Kim Yu-Na

Russia's Liudmila Privivkova

Australia's Claudia Toth

Thats just few that I could think of...

200th Post - An angry one!!!

If you ask anyone over the past week and a half what i have been up too and paying the most attention too, it is not my bank accounts or my girlfriend, it is the Olympics. I have a hugeeeeeeeeeeeeeee soft spot for the Olympics. I stay up all night watching them hoping to see my country win a medal and be the best. What has impressed me over these Olympics is how we have the country's "best" in all Olympic sports competing. Some sports we cant touch such as Ski Jump or Cross Country skiing, other countries such as Germany and Russia are better than us. But what really really really gets my blood boiling is when we are very good at a sport andddddddddddddddddddddddddddd SHIT THE BED EVERY-TIME WE PLAY!!!! That is what is occurring with our USA Men's Curling team. In Torino we took home Bronze and played well. In Vancouver this year we flat out have had the opportunity to win every match and have lost them all except 2! You guys are supposed to be the best curlers in AMERICA!!!! Very routine shots that you have made you're whole life...... you are missing!!!BADDDDDD!!!!! (just to give the readers an idea, a routine shot for them is like a breakaway dunk for Lebron James) The thing that really gets under my skin is how it is the same guy who is supposed to be the leader and veteran on the team- John Shuster (see picture below). He is the Brett Favre of Curling except he is choking and then says "sorry guys i missed that one" and puts that stupid smurck on his face(see picture below). Hey John i got news for you, its not sorry, its "man i have sucked this Olympics let me take myself out!" After losing your first four matches that's when the old skipper (himself not a baseball manager) should have motioned to the bullpen and brought out the young guns who if they had made a mistake i could deal with but the young ins would be so naive that they wouldn't get nervous and we probably would be in the hunt for a medal instead the team is in hunt for an early plane ticket home. I hope come 2014 we have a brand new young team who goes out and wins Gold. Thanks for listening to me rant!

Crunch Time

Have you ever felt enormous pressure in what seemed like the smallest of spaces? Its almost spring and I am already 3 months behind schedule in finding a new career and a new profession. I feel like I'm living in an apartment with a bunch of mice telling me to get the hell out of there and get on the road! The road to my future that is...

I'm starting to majorly regress, not giving up, but clearly I have started to feel the clouds darken. The only thing I'm looking forward to right now is waking up Saturday morning and watching Ireland take on England in the Six Nations Tourney with my friends!

Brendan, Mikey 5, Danny and my self will be traveling to NYC early that morning to indulge our selves with a traditional Irish breakfast and all the room temperature ales we can devour!

So join us at Arctica Bar & Grill, 384 3rd Avenue, NY on Saturday at Saturday 27th February 10am - 2pm !!!

Snowed In

If most of you are like me then you were giddy as all hell when you found out that the Metro area was going to be hit with a monster winter wonderland storm. If most of you were like me then you pissed off when you went to bed last night and still you saw none of that white shit falling from the sky. But as you awoke the next morning your eyes widened and your jaw dropped just as it did when you used to walk down the stairs on Christmas morning staring at a bunch of presents under the tree when you saw that your whole world was a bright white!

One of the perks of working in higher education is that you can still benefit from SNOW DAYS! That's right I'm 25 years old and I don't have work today due to inclement weather! Jealous? I bet you are sucka!

Now I don't get as excited as Jason does but I'm pretty stoked that I can just lounge around the couch, playing video games, eating gigantic bowls of cereal and watch 5 movies if I want.

The only thing that sucks about a snow day at 25 is...the inability to pound beers. Remember during the years of 18-21 when you were in your dorm or apartment and classes were canceled? Do you remember what you and friends suggested, planned, and executed? It was one of the most exciting days of the winter season, just sitting around doing exactly what I stated above only add in the catalyst of BudLight! I can see Mikey5 right now anxiously checking the school website and calling the school's number just waiting to read or listen to, "Today, February 10th 2010 all Day and Evening classes have been canceled and all administrative offices are closed." Well when he heard that he went nuts, waking all of us up jumping up and down, powering up the XBOX, setting up the pong table, grabbing what money we had together to run to CTown and pick up a 36!

Ahh the good old days...Well for all of you that can still enjoy a snow day, go crazy for me!

Why Do I Run?

The blog has been full of deep thoughts lately...questions regarding old life, new life and job status. I lightened it up a bit yesterday with my thoughts on Rex, Kurt and Kobe, but now I'm about to delve into more personal waters.

They say it's good therapy to write things down so let's give it a shot. There's some stuff in here the members of 501 likely don't even know.

The only reason I have ever been good at sports is because of my feet. I can run, and not particularly fast mind you, I can just run for a long time. Whether it was basketball, soccer, baseball, lacrosse, even tennis, my endurance carried me. Others were getting tired just as I was getting started.

I admit though, I was lazy as an athlete. It's something that I can't stand to say, but I know it's the truth. I rarely practiced my craft...I just enjoyed playing. Whether it was throwing the lacrosse ball against the wall, kicking around the soccer ball down at the park or playing hoops in the street until 9:30PM, I wasn't doing it to get better.

It's around 7th and 8th grade that you begin to identify which sports you have a potential in and which you're better off leaving behind. Junior high school of course meant tryouts, cuts and the occasional tears. I probably weighed about 100lbs soaking wet at this time...no physical specimen, but I always felt I had the mental edge.

It was at this time that I was introduced to cross-country. I decided to give it a shot, after all I was that kid you hated during the annual physical fitness challenge in elementary school. Remember those? Pushups, situps, sit and reach, the rope climb and of course, my favorite, the mile. I always fared well in the other events (mostly because I was as light as a feather), but the mile...ahhhh, I looked forward to that one. Lapping the fat kids, showing off to the girls, I owned that event.

I ended up running throughout my junior high school years, oh don't worry, I didn't give up lax, hoops or soccer...they were just put to the side, ready to be pulled out at a moment's notice. One sport stood out from the rest though...that orange leather ball, 10 players hustling up and down the hardwood floor, running, jumping, diving...it was like a Broadway play with sweat. It owned my heart.

After running cross-country the fall of my freshman year, it was time for bball tryouts (I put lax and soccer out of my mind...stupid and stupider!!). I had been going to summer camps for years, I played almost every day; still wasn't the biggest or strongest, but I had those feet...endurance would be my ticket!

I didn't make the cut. You see, out on the playground, in front of my house, shooting around with the guys...there were no nerves in those situations, that was all about having fun. Tryouts made me nervous, tense, reluctant. It took me a while, but I shook it off...I'll get 'em next year!

In place of basketball, I ran indoor track in the winter and then outdoor track in the spring. Hey, I was pretty good at this! His name was Kevin Buckley, he was my coach, and he quickly became my friend, mentor and father away from home. Oh and he was a diehard Giant fan! I loved the man, I listened to everything he said. He was a man who belonged in the 70's...beat-up tweed jacket, old-school personality, hundreds of great sayings and quotes...he did things his way. "No good deed goes unpunished Droge," he used to say.

Back in school for my sophomore year, I had a great season running cross-country...never quite hit the times Buckley wanted, but he knew I still had time to develop. I was a phenomenal runner in practice, one of the best he ever had in 20 years he'd say, just gotta get you more confident come the meets. No worries coach, it'll come...it could wait until next year anyway, I was off to get my revenge on the sport I loved.

I'll never forget the sarcastic tone he said it in,"Droge, you're not gonna make it, why are you wasting your time."

I didn't tryout for the team that year, I was crushed by what the man I'd grown to love said to me. Sure, he was probably right, but I didn't even give it a shot. I'll never let myself live that down.

Flash forward to my final race of my high school career....May of my senior year, on the fast track at Mount Saint Michael's. I was running the mile that day. At that point, I had still never broken 5 minutes in the mile (I want to put my hand through a window just writing that)...not because I wasn't good enough or fast enough, I never gave myself the chance to do it. I blew the field away in practice for 4 years in high school, but I never put in the extra effort when no one was watching. I never reached my full potential.

My teammates, friends, girlfriend, parents and grandparents watched as I flew around the track easily on pace to go sub 5. As I turned the final straight-away, I still thought I had it in the bag. As my foot crossed the line, I felt a knife go through my heart. I walked off the track and saw the man that I'd spent more time with in four years than some members of my family.

"I can't lie to you Droge, you saw the clock."

I had planned on running in college, but opted against it midway through that summer. Did I ever really enjoy this sport? Could I ever get over the heartbreak of that race? Could I ever forgive myself for not trying out for the basketball team my sophomore year?

It took me a while to get over the sting of that last race. I drank my face off freshman year and left the keeping in shape to others. It wasn't until the rugby team was being put back together that I saw a chance for rebirth, maybe new life?

I told myself from that point forward that I would never leave anything in the tank, I'd work when no one else was watching. As rugby started becoming more a part of my life, ironically so did running. It started out as just as way to get back into shape, but slowly it started once again feeling like that mile in elementary school.

After graduating, it started to consume my life. Every week, I looked forward to that weekend's race. 5k's, 10k's, half-marathons, full-marathons, even triathlons...I couldn't get enough of them. I loved the feeling of out kicking someone down the stretch, the feeling of blowing by someone who hadn't put in the work I had, the pain that circulates through your body from start to finish....I crave it all. At last, I started exercising those demons from high school.

To this day when people ask me why I run, I really don't know what to say. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I hate it. Sometimes I wonder if it's simply a representation of how I deal with problems in life...just run.

One thing is for sure though, tomorrow morning, around 5:15AM when most of this country is sound asleep, I'll lace up my sneakers, throw on a pair of shorts and a shirt, head out my door into 20 degree weather. And right before I take that first step, two things will flash into my head (they're the same two things that come to mind any race I've done...whether it's on the start line at the Fourth of July 4-miler or starring up at the towering Verrazano Bridge before the New York City Marathon)...sophomore year basketball tryouts and the time I saw as I crossed the finish line that day in May of 2005.

5:00.7...sometimes 7 tenths of a second is all it takes to motivate someone for a lifetime.

Back to the Fun Stuff!

Alright faithful 501 readers, I admit, like young Matthew, I'm sitting here at my desk asking similar life questions....what road will mine lead down, will I forever be doomed to a life on Long Island, when will my desire for a New Life reach an uncontrollable height, but I'd like to get back to one of the many things that makes life worth living...SPORTS!!!

Let's take a look at some of the latest news in the world of everything balls:

Super Sunday

Can I get anybody to take the Under on this game? Should be an old-fashioned shootout between The Pass Happy Colts and Formerly the 'Aints Now The Who Dat Saints. Speaking of Who Dat, did you hear the NFL is looking to take credit for the saying, though fans in the Big Easy have been proclaiming it from high-rises on the French Quarter since the days of Archie! Come on Roger, the fans in Norleans have been suffering for decades, give them a break! Prediction for the Matchup in Miami: Colts 37 Saints 30...just can't see Peyton losing this game, the man prepares for a football game like a Army general for war!

Sexy Rexy

Now Rex, I know your brash personality and bold predictions got your boys to the AFC Championship, I know you're a chip of the ole' Buddy Ryan block, I know the NY media adores you, I know part of the reason you're like this is because Woody Johnson is in your ear reminding you that the franchise still needs to sell a gazillion PSL's, and I know you're allergic to Subway, but flipping the bird to Miami fans down in South Beach....come on, who are you Titans owner Bud Adams or something! Grow up bud, you're the head coach of an NFL franchise!

The Greatest Athlete...Ever?

Now I'm not saying he is, but is it ridiculous to at least broach the question? 16 major championships, 22 major championship appearances, at least one win in every major, held the number 1 position for a record 237 consecutive weeks and has a propensity to literally steamroll his competition? Sure you can say Roger Federer didn't have to deal with the Sampras', McEnroe's, Connor's, or Lendl's, but you can't deny that this man (and pretty quietly without much fanfare by the way) has owned center court for almost a decade. Ask yourself this question...how great would Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and Rafael Nadal be without this man in the game?

A Call to the Hall?

Let the debate begin...Kurt Warner...Canton? Don't give me stats, I debate potential Hall of Famers this way...say his name...does he sound like a Hall of Famer? Kurt, I think you're great, you've had an incredible career that took you from bagging groceries, to the Arena League, to NFL Europe, to 3 SuperBowl appearances, but I just don't envision that gold jacket when I hear you're name. Congrats on an unbelievable career though!

Celtics/Lakers

The two teams that account for more than half of the titles given out in NBA history played a thriller on the new parquet floor yesterday. Had the game been played for three quarters, you'd have turned off the TV saying The Men in Green are perhaps the best team in The Association. Unfortunately for Beantowners, another 12 minutes were played in which Kobe, The Zen Master and rest of The Lake Show proved that they continue to be the bar by which the rest of the league is measured. The Black Mamba (worst nickname in sports) sucked the life out of the New Garden crowd when he hit a 15-footer with Ray Allen all over him like white on rice.

Draft Day Sleeper

Nobody is talking about him, but they soon will be...Texas all-world wideout Jordan Shipley...now let's be mature adults. White wide receiver...who comes to mind? Wes Welker, Brandon Stokley, Ed McAfferey...classic slot receivers. Not here though folks, Shipley runs routs like a black man...most mock drafts have him going in the middle to late second round. Consider it a five-finger discount if he lands in your team's lap!

College Hardwood

A few months ago I picked UNC, Tennessee, G-Town and Kentucky for my Final Four. Permit me a mulligan! My have things have gone downhill on one side of Tobacco Road...Roy's young guns haven't quite developed the way he hoped. In a toss up between 'Nova and 'Cuse, I'll take the Orange Crush!

Elaine Alden

Ya, I know I stole her from Barstool, but with good reason. Google her, Yahoo her, Bing her and you'll see why...hottest woman on the planet hands down!

What's Next?

I don't know its the age, the cold weather, the job, the woman, Brendan's New Light New Life theory or just the uncertainty of life that is making we feel this way.

Holy cow I feel like I have aged 10 years in just a month! All I want is to succeed in this life and I feel like the powers to be are slowing me down just a tad.

Where will this long and winding road take me? How will this all play out? I'm trying to take the initiative or create the spark but I just don't know how? I've taken all the necessary steps or at least taken a similar road that all successful C's(CEO, CFO, COO) have taken, living on my own knowing what it feels like to pay rent, utilities etc all on my dime, what else do I have to do! Regents diploma, 4 year college degree, MBA, real life work experience! Whats the issue here? Someone just tell me what the next step is or at least point me in the right direction I'm more than willing to walk!

Is my Long Island upbringing the problem here? Not poor enough to have that burning fire in the pit of your stomach to never be at the bottom again, and not well off enough to be handed the keys of the kingdom.

I'm having a quarter life crisis right now and my only outlet is........well I guess I don't have one! "Your 20's are the best time in your life" bull! My 20's have been filled uncertainty waiting for the next phase in life. I feel like that saying only applies to the generations of the past who didn't worry as much as we do during our 20's.

I can't wait for this weather to get the hell out of here and for the sun to shine! Looking forward for paintball on Saturday I will be looking to do some damage!