Sports and Women

So, I was checking out the history of today, and I see that today is Kate Beckinsale's birthday.

If only...

(You really don't want to know what I'm thinking.)

Apparently there was a Miss Universe Pageant that I didn't watch. I did see pictures of most of the contestants. Honestly, yes, there were a few I "wouldn't."

In other news, Anthony Johnson is officially a Maverick. Also, there are ongoing contract negotiations with Devean George.

I'm still happy with all of these offseason moves. We brought in two veteran guards to play defense, a forward that's better than Van Horn, and we could bring in a player with a championship ring. We have built a playoff team.

Back to females.

I need more.

Badges?!?!

Just typing out of boredom.

Avoiding people like the plague. Well, more like hiding myself before anyone starts looking. I'm not one to announce my arrival back in my home town. I'd rather sit at home and relax. I get my hair cut, I do some small shopping, and then I go back home to eat/drink/sleep.

By the which, I got some new jeans and some new shoes today. Real nice.

I also feel like there's a secret being hidden from me. Everywhere I go, some girl is checking me out. Cingular store, Wal-Mart, Walgreen's, Best Buy, you name it. It must be the haircut. The reason I think there's something up is because this didn't happen as often when I lived here full-time. So, when I come home for a little while, it's like I'm fresh meat in a lion's den. Guess it's nice, in a way.

Ok, I'll throw this out there. Personally, I believe that if you have to ask a girl about her age, she's too young. If it's not obvious, don't mess. But is there a rule about asking for age? I mean, if she looks 20, but there's that small possibility that she's 16, you have to ask. And if she says "16," I'd say, "I'm out of here." Then there's those girls who look 16, but are 20. How does that factor come into play? Do you never ask since she looks illegal? If I even think they may be too young, I don't even bother.

This is why I keep saying that I'm not going to get married until I'm 28. It's easier to spot females your age.

I swear, college freshman keep looking younger, and it causes a ripple effect. Next year's sophomores are going to look younger. Then juniors in 2 years are going to look younger. Argh.

People should have ID badges on at all time. That way, while you're talking, you can glance at their badge and either keep it going or get out. "Oh, you look nice! Wait...you're 17. Sorry." Oh, and the badges could be color-coded. White for 17 and under, pink for 18 to 20, and red for 21 and up.

I'm a genius.

Personal Ad

So, I'm a few days late, but I hear Carmen Electra is single again.

In case she should ever randomly find this blog...

My name is FBombAndy. I am 6'5, around 230 lbs, and that's with 3% body fat. My hopes of playing in the NFL diminished when I discovered my passion for astrophysics.

I won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for saving 1,000 small children from a burning orphanage. I have adopted 20 of the children so far.

I am fluent in 4 languages, including Italian and Spanish. Not many people know it, but I give Emeril advice on what recipes he should use for each show. Everytime he says "Bam," he is secretly thanking me.

I can play nearly every musical instrument in existance today, but I specialize in performing Classical Guitar pieces. In candlelight.

Most importantly, I listen to every word as if it's the last I'll ever hear.

Ok, so most of it is a lie. Except for the last thing. Isn't that the most important thing? Call me.

Surprising Myself

I looked at the course schedule for the upcoming Fall semester. That's when it hit me.

I miss going to class. I miss waking up in the morning with a purpose. I miss walking to the bus stop.

It's stuck in my head. The cool morning wind. Half of the sky lit up by the sun, and the other still dark from the night. The sound of cars on the road as people travel to their workplace. But I don't miss the sounds of the birds. I hate birds.

This is the first semester that I've felt this way. Usually I think about how my vacation has flown by. I count the days left and dread that first morning. But then again, that's probably because I haven't had a break this long since the summer between my freshman and sophomore years. At that point, I didn't look forward to class. I looked forward to living in the dorm and eating a danish for breakfast.

Eh, most of those mornings were spent eating Krispy Kreme donuts and/or croissant sandwiches. And I usually came right back and slept more.

I still have nearly a month-and-a-half before school starts. I didn't realize that until today. I know I shouldn't, but I wish it was closer than that.

Oh, and I'm only 6 classes away from graduating. 18 hours.

Neither

Today didn't have too much and not enough.

Woke up, watch some Iron Chef America. I'm about 3 steps away from really learning how to cook. I don't mean reading instructions. I mean grabbing random things and making tasty food. And I like grabbing random things.

Went to some Super Wal-Mart. I'm not a big fan of Wal-Mart, so I was beat down. Did find some nice mechanical pencils, but even that is kinda sad.

Don't remember much after that. At some point, I watched the original 1978 Superman. I didn't realize how many lines are the same as those in Superman Returns. Almost too many. I laughed at the special effects, but I guess they were good enough for back then.

Before I go on, I have to quote my dad on something. My dad, my mom, Pat, and I were all coming back from Fry's Electronics. I mentioned something about buying a 'crotch rocket.' My dad replied with, "You better get a model." At this point, I wasn't sure what he meant, but Pat and I just started laughing. Apparently he meant the thing you put together with model paints and glue. We thought he was talking about a female model. Ha, 'crotch rocket.'

The highlight of today was something I heard while watching Nip/Tuck.

"I'm just looking for a woman who's company I can stand once her mouth is free from obstruction."

-Christian Troy on Nip/Tuck

Amazing.

Fight It Out

I was wrong about the deal that Buckner received yesterday.

The first 3 years are guaranteed for $10.5 million. The next two would provide $8.5 million if certain conditions are met. Not a bad deal really.

Ate lunch with both of my parents. Then Brandon met with my dad and I for a 2nd lunch. Brandon is about to go to Germany, and I may not be here when he gets back.

Afterwards, my dad and I went to a Cingular store to look around, and then to Best Buy. They had a Guitar Hero setup there, so after a little pushing from my dad, I played a song in the middle of the store. Went after Cream's Crossroads on Expert. I nailed most of it, but I screwed up some parts of the solo. Just got nervous I guess.

I went to 1310AM The Ticket's Fight Night 2006. We got there about 10 minutes before the first fight started. Greggo was knocked around. Real funny. But things became crowded real fast and it was ridiculous by the 4th fight. The one thing that surprised me was how tall all of the radio personalities are. I think Corby was the closest to my height, but he was probably 3 inches taller than me.

Packed day. About time I did something.

But now I'm worn out. Going to get some sleep. Maybe 10 hours worth. Eh, hopefully not.

First Free Agent Signing

Reports from Dallas say that the Dallas Mavericks have signed Greg Buckner to a 5-year deal starting at the mid-level exception. ($5.125 million)

Good defender. Has the right size. Will probably guard Kobe and Wade. Not a bad pick up, but it seems like a little too much on the bank.

Word is that they are trying to re-sign Adrian Griffin. I don't know about that. I'd much rather get another power forward as a precaution. Or a forward in general.

Exhibit 2A

I noticed something earlier today.

NBA Live 02: Steve Francis
NBA Live 03: Jason Kidd
NBA Live 04: Vince Carter
NBA Live 05: Carmelo Anthony
NBA Live 06: Dwyane Wade

NBA 2K2: Allen Iverson
NBA 2K3: Allen Iverson
NBA 2K4: Allen Iverson
NBA 2K5: Ben Wallace
NBA 2K6: Shaquille O'Neal

Is it just a coincidence that 2006 is the only year that features two players from the same team? And that they won the championship?

The cover of NBA Live 07 has Tracy McGrady on it. Still no word about who is on the cover of NBA 2K7.

I guess I wouldn't mind seeing T-Mac in the Finals. If he's healthy, he'll do what Wade did without relying on foul calls.

Almost 100% done with it. The only thing that really makes me mad now is the one foul called on Terry where Wade came down and fell to his side. Replays everywhere showed that nothing touched him. The announcers were saying, "Umm...what?" He just fell for the sake of falling. Wuss. That's bush league. Weak sauce. Disrespectful to the game. Charles Barkley probably rolled over in his grave.

Alright. Enough about that.

One Gets Away

Mike James agreed to a 4-year deal with the Timberwolves.

I love KG and his game. But come on. We went to the friggin' Finals! KG and the Wolves haven't been in the playoffs for two years now. Oh well. Having Terry, Devin, and Stack is fine. Not to mention Maurice Ager. If we can use our mid-level exception on another power forward, then I'm all for it. Still sucks that Drew Gooden is a restricted free agent. I don't know what we could use in a sign-and-trade.

Notice how there's no word from Van Horn. Nobody wants a stiff who is injury-prone and can't rebound.

Wouldn't mind trying to get Songaila from the Bulls. Still not likely though. He's restricted as well.

Slowly

Well, things are going slow. So, why not give an update?

Things are going well, I guess. It still sucks to live in Texas. The temperature is climbing towards 100 degrees. I thought 90 degrees was killing me. But I just have to survive until mid-October. That's usually when the weather calms down.

I have a project I'm working on. I'm not going to say I'm writing a book. I'll just say that I have plenty of material to write about. Given material, motivation, and a unique idea, anything is possible.

Im tired of seeing the preview for Lady in the Water. Whispering is not cool. It only makes me hate the movie.

James Blunt sucks. Billy goat voice.

I saw Wedding Crashers last night. Funny movie. Rachel McAdams looked good. Real good.

And lastly, here's a short video I think is hilarious. It features the very talented Olivia Munn.

First Mavs Trade

Dallas swapped Marquis Daniels for Indiana's Austin Croshere.

They move one piece that wouldn't see much playing time this season for a veteran power forward. He'll back up Dirk, and he's not a bad choice. He can shoot. That's more than anyone can say about Keith Van Horn.

Just have to wait it out as far as Mike James goes. I'm guessing that we won't get him. But anything's possible.

First Prediction

All 5 teams from the Southwest division will make the playoffs.

Phoenix will win the Pacific. Denver will win the MidWest.

The 8th team will be the Clippers.

Of course, I won't predict the order yet until the season starts. There's still plenty of trades to be completed. And this can change if there is a major injury.

Dallas, San Antonio, and Phoenix are locks for the playoffs next year. Denver is in by default. Houston is a playoff team as long as T-Mac and Yao are healthy. New Orleans is going to be really good this season. Chris Paul can run an offense and score. He'll have Peja spotting up at the 3-pt line and Chandler down low to rebound. If they need some low post scoring, they can dump it into David West's hands. The only questionable team from the Southwest is Memphis, but they haven't lost much from last year.

The only reason I'm picking the Clippers over the Lakers is because Elton Brand has more support around him. The Lakers will most likely be right outside the playoffs in the 9th spot.

Not Even

This is exactly what I experience every night...

Alright, it's 5:30. I need to go to bed.

But there's still stuff to do.

Every night. Or morning.

I look at my bed, and I just find excuses. I love sleep and all, but it feels like this is the only time I can get anything done. Most people are waking up right now. They eat breakfast and go to work. But I am just now walking over to my bed.

And even when I get to bed, my mind goes full speed...

What am I going to do tomorrow? What is something I can talk about in my next podcast? What are some cool ideas for a book? Am I missing the obvious? What are the Mavs going to do until November? Are the Cowboys for real? Why has MySpace been so boring lately? How many people have forgotten me? Was it my fault? What can I do to be a better person? What do I need to focus on? How can I help my parents in the future? What time is it? Should I be talking to that person? I really like this song. I wonder what the next song is going to be. Do I need to change my sleeping playlist? Are there too many energetic songs? Do I have a sleeping disorder? How much longer until I'm taking a prescription on a daily basis? Will I be able to fix everything?

Yea. It sucks.

Hypocritical Reporters

Dirk made comments a couple of days ago how Mark Cuban should try to control himself during the game. During Pardon the Interruption, they showed clips of Cuban reacting to bogus calls, and at one point was spinning(!) onto the court. Quickly, the Mavs' bench grabbed Cuban and dragged him back to his seat.

Somehow, Dan LeBatard doesn't see how Cuban hurts the Mavs. Or he just ignores it. He is, in fact, a writer from Miami.

David Stern even admitted that Cuban hurts the Mavs. At least he can acknowledge it.

Either way, I only see one possible explanation for this series of event.

Dirk is trying to wrestle away the status of being "the face of the Mavs" from Mark Cuban.

Let's look at this step by step. First, Dirk calls his contract extension a "no-brainer," but decides to wait a while before signing it. Then he calls out Cuban to act with more self-control. And next on his list is to play with the German national team.

He's telling Cuban, "I'll sign it, but only when I want to." And, "You need to take a backseat." Dirk is asserting his power in the organization further than any player ever has before. He is giving orders to the owner.

This is going to put more pressure on Dirk to be even better. Given that he improves over every off-season, we should expect a better Dirk. He always adds something new to his game. And, as ESPN quoted from an interview with his trainer, Geschwindner, "When [Dirk's] training is complete, he will be able to play all five positions, on offense and defense." (I might be wrong on the wording.)

As far as the rest of the Mavs go, DJ Mbenga was signed to a new contract. Keith Van Horn is out of here. Adrian Griffin is probably done. And the first thing accomplished was signing Terry to a new deal.

We were chasing Speedy Claxton and Mike James. Claxton has agreed to terms with the Hawks and Mike James is still undecided. James is hearing offers from Houston as well. From what I hear, Drew Gooden is on the block via a sign and trade. Gooden is a restricted free agent who made near $4 million last year.

Marquis Daniels will most likely be traded before the season starts. If the Mavs want to get new talent through free agency, they will use him in a sign and trade. If it's Mike James, I'm fine with that. However, I would not mind seeing a deal with Cleveland for Gooden. This would give us a legit backup power forward.

While I am fascinated by the project center Podkolzine, I also think we should test the market with him. We need to focus on the next 3 years, and he is not part of that plan.

As for the rest of the NBA, I'm curious to know why LeBron hasn't agreed to his new deal yet. We know it's been offered, but we haven't heard about a verbal agreement. Carmelo already said yes to Denver. Is something going on in Cleveland?

Yes, I know it's 6AM. Bedtime.

Oh, The Possibilities!

I've been thinking about it.

I think I'll go home for a week or so.

My parents are going to be here on Wednesday, the 5th. They will leave on Friday, the 7th. My dad is going to fly to El Paso the following week, and my mom is going to come back to Austin. I think that would amount to 10 days at home. Long enough to be worthwhile, but short enough to where The Kid won't forget me.

Honestly, The Kid is the reason I didn't go home following the end of the semester. He's really attached to me. I really believe that he likes me more than his parents.

Speaking of which, my sis-in-law is pregnant. 2 months along from what I understand.

That's my current motivation. I want my degree and I want out. As soon as possible.

Oh, and about post-graduation plans. My parents are talking about moving to Austin within the next 3 years. Given that I only have 2 friends in the DFW area, I don't see much reason to settle in Dallas once I'm done. At the same time, I hate the weather here in Texas. I would love to move to the border between New York and New Jersey. My sister lives there right now. But, my sister is talking about moving to Sweden within the next 5 years. She works for Siemens, and apparently they have a world office there, or something.

So, this is what I'm looking at.

• I can stay in Austin and live close to most of my family, but I'll suffer during most of the year because of hot weather.
  
• I can live in Dallas, but I'll only know a few people. There's also the chance I will run into people I went to high school with that I don't want to see again. The weather sucks there too.
  
• I can move somewhere up north, but then I'll really be on my own and even further from most of my family.
• I can beg my sister to hook me up with a job in Sweden, where the weather is relatively nice.

At least I have some time to think about it.

Best case scenario? I win the lottery, share it with friends and family, then move to Sapporo, Japan. After settling down, I'll find a cute (or extremely hot) Japanese school girl in her early 20s. I'll send pictures of myself with my middle finger extended to everyone I hate.

Why Sapporo? Incredible weather. Tons of activity. And the Sapporo Beer Museum. Just look at this picture...