Was Rickey Henderson the Greatest Baseball Player Ever?

Rickey Nelson Henley (Super Man) Henderson
Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Oakland Athletics, San Diego Padres, Anaheim Angels, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, Seattle Mariners, San Diego Padres, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers OF.

Rickey Henderson was enshrined into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY this past weekend. Henderson is only the 44th player ever to be inducted into the Hall on their first ballot. Over a 25 year career "Super Man" became the all-time leader in steals (1,406), caught stealing (335), runs (2,295), games led off with a home run (81) and interviews/conversations referring to himself in the third person (921,065). Rickey love him some Rickey. Henderson also still holds the single season record for steals with 130 ('82), caught stealing with 42 ('82) and steals in one post season series with 8 in 1989 ALCS. The career season highlights for Rick include being the AL steals leader in 1980, '81, '82, '83, '84, '85, '86, '88, '89, '90, '91 and '98. He led the majors in steals in 1980, '82, '83, '88, '89 and '98. He was the major league leader for runs scored in 1981, '85, '86, '89 and '90. He also led the AL in walks for the years 1982, '83, '89 and '98. Rickey was the AL most Valuable Player in 1990 (he was runner-up in 1981), the 1989 ALCS Most Valuable Player, a three-time Silver Slugger winner, ten-time All-Star, Gold Glove outfielder and the TSN Comeback Player of the Year in 1999. Rickey also has two World Series Championship rings, from Oakland in 1988 and Toronto in 1993. Now I wanna make this clear, Rickey Henderson's career statistics make him (by far) the greatest leadoff hitter ever. Period. These numbers and accolades alone do not make Rickey the greatest player ever though. Not even his Eazy E-like jheri curl he rocked from the first day of the 80's to the last. The "Soul Glow" that whipped off of Rick's hair while he was rounding second and diving for third is comparable to Brett's pine tar. He could've (should've) been thrown out of games for that foul. No the numbers and the amazing do only put Mr. Henderson in rarefied air, but, not the greatest. What makes Rickey Henderson the greatest baseball player ever is the numbers, the hair and Rickey's awesome behavior and classic phraseology. Before "Manny being Manny", there was "Rickey saying that Rickey was being Rickey". This cat took like eight minutes to run the bases after a homer. He was pimpish like that. The guy once took a limo from his hotel to to the ballpark, he was only a few blocks away and most of his teammates walked. Rickey don't walk! Teammates have reported seeing Rickey standing naked in front of a mirror before a game declaring, "Rickey's the best! Rickey's the best!" Now that's good stuff. According to Tom Verducci (of Sports Illustrated), during one off-season, Henderson called Padres general manager Kevin Towers and left this message: "Kevin, this is Rickey. Calling on behalf of Rickey. Rickey wants to play baseball." Now that's Hall of Fame stuff there! On the Mike and Mike in the Morning radio show Rickey broke this beauty out, "People are always saying, 'Rickey says Rickey.' But it's been blown way out of proportion. I say it when I don't do what I need to be doin'. I use it to remind myself, like, `Rickey, what you doin', you stupid Rickey....' I'm just scolding myself." Awesome. A Padres teammate (reportedly Steve Finley) once offered him a seat anywhere on the bus, saying that Henderson had tenure. Henderson replied, "Ten years? What are you talking about? Rickey got 16, 17 years." That's better than any single season record Rickalodean could've ever gotten. While playing for Seattle in 2000, Henderson was said to have commented on first baseman John Olerud's practice of wearing a batting helmet while playing defense, noting that a former teammate in Toronto did the same thing. Olerud was reported to have replied, "That was me." The two men had been together the previous season with the 1999 Mets, as well as with the 1993 World Champion Blue Jays. Wow. This one also happened in Seattle, Rickey struck out and as the next batter was walking past him, he heard Henderson say, “Don’t worry, Rickey, you’re still the best.” Yes Rickey. Yes you are. A reporter once asked Henderson if Ken Caminiti’s estimate that 50 percent of Major League players were taking steroids was accurate. His response was, “Well, Rickey’s not one of them, so that’s 49 percent right there.” Rick even had superior math skills. Rickey was asked by another reporter if he had the Garth Brooks album, with Friends in Low Places, and Henderson said, “Rickey doesn’t have albums. Rickey has CDs.” Music aficionado? Check. But the greatest and most Rickey moment was just after breaking Lou Brock’s stolen base record, Henderson told the crowd, base in hand and with Brock (hilarious) right next to him, “Lou Brock was a great base stealer, but today, I am the greatest of all-time.” Rickey should know, Rickey the best baby.

The Curious Case of Boxing Deaths in 2009

It has been reported that former WBC World Welterweight Champion Vernon Forrest (pictured left) was shot and killed in an apparent car jacking this past weekend. Forrest was reportedly shot seven to eight times, in the back, by two men that pulled up to the former champion while he was putting air in the tires of his Jaguar, at an Atlanta gas station. The Augusta, GA native was one of the real "good guys" in the sport. Forrest wasn't one of the most well known boxers, but during his run through the welterweight class he defeated "Sugar" Shane Mosely (considered the best pound-for-pound boxer of this decade) twice in 2002. On Sept. 13, 2008, Forrest reclaimed his WBC 154-pound title by beating Sergio Mora. The Mora fight would be Vernon's final fight. He suffered a rib injury while training for an April fight against Jason LeHoullier. That fight was canceled, and Forrest had to vacate his title. This news comes as a shock after the report of former two-time champion Arturo Gatti (pictured right), who retired in 2007, being found dead July 11 at a Brazilian resort. Gatti's wife, Amanda Rodrigues, is being held as the prime suspect. It's made me wonder what's going on with people connected to professional boxing this year. Even gentlemen who were on the verge of turning pro have been struck down this year. John Nii Kacsu Abbey, 26, was stabbed in the chest as he waited with his daughter Natalie at a bus stop in London Road, West Croydon, on January 30th, of this year. Abbey, who boxed as a featherweight for Ghana at the Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002, had been on his way to the Mayday hospital. Besides Forrest and Gatti, here is a list of those we've lost who were associated with professional boxing, and ask yourself if this doesn't seem like a curious case of boxing deaths in 2009 (and we still have five months to go).

Alexis Argello, 57, three-time world champion boxer and member of the Boxing Hall of Fame, July 1 (gunshot)

Chuck Bodak, 92, noted cutman and member of the World Boxing Hall of Fame, February 6 (complications of a stroke)

Vince Cervi, 41, Australian heavyweight boxer, March 9 (shot)

Benjamin Flores, 30, super bantamweight boxer, May 5

Ludumo Galada, 26, featherweight boxer, January 10(car accident)

Reg Gutteridge, 84, boxing journalist, television commentator and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, January 24 (stroke)

Ingemar Johansson, 76, former boxing world heavyweight champion, 1952 Summer Olymics boxing silver medalist and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, January 30 (Alzheimer’s disease)

Raul Macias, 74, bantamweight champion boxer, March 23 (cancer)

Greg Page, 50, former heavyweight boxing champion, April 27(complications from brain injury)

Giovanni Parisi, 41, former 1988 olympic gold medalist and lightweight boxing champion, March 25 (car crash)

Giselle Salandy, 21, top contending woman boxer, January 4 (car accident)

Jose "Chegui" Torres, 72, former world light heavyweight boxing champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, January 19 (heart attack)

Masatate Tsuji, 30, Japanese boxer, March 24 (brain hemorrhage sustained in boxing match)

Rest In Peace...

Brian's Best 3 of the Week 7/26-8/1

1. TV
ROBOT CHICKEN
STAR WARS
Episode II

"Brian's Best 3 of the Week" is usually about current stuff but I had to let people know about something that a year later is still pretty damn funny. First I'll explain the tv show. Robot Chicken is a sketch comedy show, from actor Seth Green (Dr. Evil's son Scott) and some other guys that aren't Seth Green, that uses stop motion animation. They incorporate clamation, dolls, action figures, toys and other random stuff into the making of the show. You can catch Robot Chicken on the Cartoon Network's [Adult Swim]. The show focuses on mocking pop culture, referencing toys, films, television, and popular fads. One particular motif often involves the idea of fantastical characters being placed in a more realistic world or situation (such as Stretch Armstrong requiring a corn syrup transplant after losing his abilities due to aging, Optimus Prime performing a prostate cancer Public Service Announcement, and Godzilla having problems in the bedroom). The program even had a 30 minute episode dedicated to Star Wars featuring the voices of Star Wars notables George Lucas, Mark Hamill (from a previous episode), Billy Dee Williams, and Ahmed Best. The Star Wars episode was nominated for a 2008 Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program (for Programming Less Than One Hour). That brings me to Star Wars Episode Dos (which aired in November of 2008). I thought the first Star Wars parody was balls out funny, but, Episode 2 was awesome. Here are some Youtube clips of Episode II. See for yourself, then buy the dvd, then start watching Robot Chicken.











2. Food
Godfather's Pizza
4840 S Broadway St
Wichita, KS 67216-3713
(316) 522-7111

There used to be four Godfather's Pizza locations in Wichita back in the day. Now there is only one, in south city, on 47th and Broadway and that's a shame. In my opinion Godfather's makes the best pizza I've ever had. Their Humble Pie, on original crust, with extra cheese and sauce would be my death row "last meal" hands down. I know Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Dominoes and even Little Caesars advertise more (does Godfather's even advertise at all?) and I know a city (more like a town) the size of Wichita can't can't possibly support every eating establishment ever opened (hello Emerson Biggins) but only one Godfather's? Out in B.F.E.? My car starts to run all jacked up every time I venture to the south side (probably from the sun reflecting off all the mobile homes) and doesn't start to execute efficiently until I hit Derby. So for me to sacrifice vehicular performance and take the pilgrimage to Thunderdome for pizza, well, it must be the tits. What really gets me about Godfather's only location is that the place isn't cheap. Other than putting a Scotch and Sirloin at 17th and Grove, having a pizza place that's so expensive in south city just doesn't make sense, and place was getting hammered when I journeyed there the other nite. I'm not being unrealistic when I say you could buy a nice Subaru Impreza (like a '98 or '99) for what it costs to get two large pizzas, bread sticks and a two liter of Coke. They must take food stamps or government vouchers or something I've never heard of, because there was a gang of people waiting for their carryout orders. Trust me, if you want a great pizza, with tons of toppings and employees that look like they were just released from Leavenworth, then run on over to the best pizza spot in town-Godfather's Pizza! Oh, yeah, if a bum stops you for a dollar on your way out, give him a little something before he stabs you with a rusty butter knife and takes your wallet. Thanks.

3. Athletes

Matt Holliday

OF St. louis Cardinals

First I'll start with Matt Holliday (.296 Ave, 11 HR, 56 RBI, .385 OBP, .486 SLG), the newest member of the St. Louis Cardinals, via trade from the Oakland Athletics. After being selected to the 2006 and '07 N.L. All-Star teams (he was also the N.L. MVP Runner-up in '07) and leading the improbable Colorado Rockies to the 2007 World Series, Holliday became a household name. After another All-Star nod in 2008, he was then promptly traded to the Athletics (an odd move for Oaktown) for the 2009 season before he could become an unrestricted free agent. Matt is now out of baseball purgatory (Oakland) and enjoying the heavenly skies in St. Louis. He will now bat behind Albert Pujols (yikes) and should get back to his Colorado numbers after having a sluggish first half in Oakland. Pujols was leading the N.L. in HR's, RBI's, Runs, Total Bases, Slugging%, Intentional Walks and third in Batting. Before Matt Holliday (double yikes). In his first game with St. Louis vs. the Phillies, Matty went 4 for 5 with one RBI. He killed the Phills after they walked Pujols late in the game and that's why he's there and that's why the Cardinals should be back in the World Series, unless...

Roy Halladay

SP Toront Blue Jays

...unless the Toront Blue Jays trade Roy Halladay (11-3, 2.62 ERA, 123 SO, 20 BB) to the Philadelphia Phillies. If Philly is willing to give up their two top young pitchers – major leaguer J.A. Happ and minor-league prospect Kyle Drabek – along with high-rated minor league outfielder Dominic Brown they can have this year's A.L. All-Star starter. So far the Phillies are unwilling to give up so much for the six-time All-Star and 2003 Cy Young Award winner (he finished second for the Cy Young in '08). Halladay has a no-trade clause in his contract, which is through the 2010 season and seems to only be interested in going to contenders like the Phillies, Dodgers and Angels (big shock) if he is to be traded. The trade deadline is July 31st and Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi has said he would like a deal done before Hallady's July 29th start against Seattle (so would Seattle). During all the trade talk ole' Doc Halladay keeps taking the mound every fifth day and carving people like a Ginsu. Toronto is terrible though and even with an entire rotation of Roy Halladays they have no chance of catching New York, Boston or even Tampa Bay. So Ricciardi mine as well get something for the greatest pitcher in Blue Jay history before he peaces out on them.

The Worst LEGO Set Ever...I Mean E-V-E-R

The LEGO Group was founded in 1932 by Ole Kirk Christiansen. The Company has passed from father to son and is now owned by Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, a grandchild of the founder. Now I'm pretty sure Ole Kirk is rolling in his grave with the knowledge that his beloved LEGOs have branched out into the 'Prophet Mohammed Play Sets'. Wow. Now you've probably seen the 'Jesus n' Friends Play Sets' (cross sold separately), with Jesus (really good likeness by the way), Mary Magdalene, the Apostles and many of your all-time favorite Bible characters. You can put the Savior and his homeboys in all kinds of wacky positions or recreate some of your favorite biblical moments. Who doesn't wanna see the LEGO version of the parting of the Red Sea? Now that would be intricate and time consuming. "Let my LEGO people go!" But I digress. The prophet Muhammad (not Mohammed) is the founder of the religion of Islam and is regarded by Muslims as a messenger and prophet of God. Pretty important stuff. Might not wanna poke fun at prophets for a profit there LEGO. I don't know if anyone has noticed, but, Islam is like the second largest religion in the world and I wouldn't say that Islamic extremists have a super cool sense of humor. Hey, who wants to run some Koran smack!?! Not a long line to jump into that nightmare while the water is warm. Look Kristiansen, stop the insensitive toy making and get back to what's in your wheelhouse, like the 'Jedi Starfighter with the Hyperdrive Booster Ring Play Sets'. Those are fun and they don't usually make bad guys wanna plant 747's into our skyscrapers, you Danish douche. Hey I could go on and on, but I just bought the kids a 'Yom Kippur and You! LEGO Play Set' and we got's some serious reconciliation to do! Peace bitches!

Lego Rap Album Covers

What Should Vick Do Now?

Suspended NFL star Michael Vick's federal dogfighting sentence ended Monday, freeing him to lobby for a return to the field. Vick's attorney Lawrence Woodward told The Associated Press outside Vick's suburban Virginia home that the former Atlanta Falcons quarterback had been released from federal custody as scheduled. That means Vick no longer has to wear the electronic monitor he's had on while under home confinement for the last two months of his 23-month sentence. Freedom will allow Vick to step up his efforts to resume his pro football career. Vick hopes to soon meet with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has said he would review Vick's status after Vick completed his sentence. So what should Vick do if Goodell reinstates him (and he should)? First there needs to be an NFL owner that wants to deal with the media scrutiny that will come with bringing Vick in. He hasn't played anything other than prison ball in two years, so a franchise needs to worry about him being in shape and being able to capably play the toughest position (quarterback) in sports. Also, training camp starts July 30th for most teams and that's awfully close. Can Vick show up, in shape and willing possibly to play a position other than Qb? Something he said he would never do. The "Wildcat" offense they ran in Miami last year is gimmicky, at best and wouldn't work on very many other teams, which would be a nice offense for Vick to run. I think Vick should go to say the United Football League for a year. Play nothing but quarterback. If he tears that league up, proves he still has the arm, the legs and the desire to play, he would be in a great position to return to the NFL for real. He would then be a free-agent and have more options than he currently has. The UFL ends it's season after Thanksgiving. He could then get on with a team possibly in need of a qb. The NFL seems to have qb injuries every year I've noticed. If Vick believes he can just show up and play a whole season in the most physically demanding sport, at the most difficult position with the media and PETA at every practice and every game trying to dismantle him; he's delusional. Get reinstated. Thank Goodell. Play in a chump league (UFL). Then come back and be what you used to be. I saw Vick play the Broncos (at Envesco Field at Mile High) in Denver and he was breathtaking to watch. He has the athletic ability (which is scary) to do that again I believe. He's just gotta do it right.

Photography from Bella's Birthday Bash

Child Abuse or the Building of a Champion? You Be the Judge. But Don't Judge Me Because I'm Definately Doing What's Best for the Boy Long Term...

When is too much, too much? That's a tough call and one that should be considered with thoughtfulness and compassion. I have neither one of those qualities, so the question means nothing to me. I strive for greatness. I want my children to piss excellence or at least Kool Aid (cause that would be cool). So when people (friends, family, clergy, etc.) ask me if maybe I'm pushing my youngest son a little too hard, I give my patented blank stare and keep my laser focus. Eyes on the prize baby. If you want your child to be a great reader: you get them a book. If you want your child to be great at math: you get them a calculator. If you want your three month old to be the greatest Nintendo Wii player ever: you duct tape Wii remotes to his chubby little hands, put him in his bouncy, flip on the vibrate mode for maximum comfort and let the training begin! Hey, I don't wanna hear from you tree hugging hippie liberals about that being an inappropriate way to develop a child. Go knit a quilt or something. I read once, in a real book, that Andre Agassi's father taped a ping-pong paddle to little Andre's right hand and fed him balls all day long, at like six months old! Now that's a father that showed his tennis prodigy of a son some love. Some attention. Some career development. Andre turned out fine. Married Brook Shields. Dumped her, upgraded and married Stefi Graf. Is your kid gonna marry either one of those chicks? No. No, I don't think your child will. Your kid won't marry either one of them because you haven't (and won't) tape anything to your kids hands or feet and force them (in a loving way) to become something more. Something better. As you can clearly see from the photo above, he loves it, he can't get enough of it. One of these days my son is gonna come to me and tell me how I, "made his life better" or "thanks dad, you're awesome" or "dad I still have no feeling in my left hand" or any of a number of great compliments that will make my heart swell up with pride. I hope your child isn't a loser. I hope your child is a winner like my son will be. I hope you have a game plan for your child that's as well shaped as my plan. It's easy just letting your kid live in a loving home, go to a nice school, have good social skills, go to college, become the CEO of a fortune 500 company, buy a nice luxury car (like a Honda Civic or a Toyota Tercel) so they can eventually vacation in Aspen or Haysville or somewhere like that. That's easy. Try the hard part of parenting. Try making your three month old a champion. A champion at anything. Yeah try that! Have you ever met a three month old? They eat, sleep, poop, pee and cry. That's it. But not my little champion. Hell to the no. My son eats, sleeps, poops, pees, cries and plays Wii Baseball like mutherf-ing Willie Mays. Calling SRS on me and questioning whether or not I take good care of my child, when his oblivious mother is at work, isn't gonna stop me. Now excuse me, I need to tape the Wii steering wheel to my boy's hands, we have six hours of Mario Kart training before his nap. If he doesn't cut three seconds off his time trial, he gets no mid afternoon bottle. Now that's fidelity...

Brian's Best 3 of the Week 7/19-7/25

1. Television
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia

Three quotes, from my three favorite episodes, in the last three seasons (theres been four total) of this incredibly funny show on FX. The fifth season starts in September, so I'm getting my Sunny fix on dvd. If you haven't seen this show yet...do it!


Quote from "Charlie Gets Crippled" Season 2
Charlie: [in a wheelchair and army vet attire] This costume, the chicks is gonna go crazy all over it.
Frank: Maybe you should let me do all the talking.
Charlie: No, it's like shooting fish in a barrel. So watch and learn.
Stripper: Awww, look at you sweetie, what happened?
Charlie: [shouting] Viet-goddamn-nam, that's what happened! Go get me a beer, bitch!

Quote from "The Gang Finds a Dumpster Baby" Season 3
Tanning Employee: You want to put your baby into a tanning bed?
Mac: We just want to put him in there for a couple of minutes.
Dee: Just to get a base.
Mac: [exaggerated] Just to get a base.

Quote From "The Nightman Cometh" Season 4
Mac: Whoa, whoa, whoa, Charlie. Hang on a second. I mean the first half of that song was kind of cool, but what's with the second half?
Charlie: It's about the Night Man, like, you know, like filling me up, and I become him, I become the spirit of the Night Man.
Mac: But it sounds like a song where a man breaks into your house and rapes you.



2. Music
Wale (pronounced wah-lay)
Mixtape About Nothing

You may have heard this guy's single on the radio, "Chillin" featuring Lady Gaga, from his forthcoming debut record Attention:Deficit due out September 22nd. I first heard this Washiington, DC native a few months ago when I was scanning the Internets for some underground rap. Mixtape About Nothing has a Seinfeld tv show theme, using the sitcom's theme song as the background to Wale's vocals and rapping about some the show's characters. Very inventive and a nice change of pace from the bling, bling shoot 'em up rap now a days. Wale has received Jay Z' blessing (comparable to Bill Clinton endorsing your presidential campaign) and already has a hot song with the hottest artist in radio right now (Lady Gaga). Attention:Deficit is said to be Outkastish in sound and that suits me just fine. But, until then I suggest you get to know this guy from his tremendous mixtape. You can get a free download of Mixtape About Nothing on Wale's offical site walemusic.com, or just Google it, and enjoy.

3. Food
TJ's Burger House
1003 W Douglas Ave
Wichita, KS 67213
(316) 269-3770

So I'm hangin' with my pops, at The Pumphouse in Old Town, watching the All-Star game and I come across a local Wichita magazine talking about the best burger in town (by the way, Pumphouse' burger was nice too). The mag's pick was Bomber Burger, a local dive that has received even the Wichita Eagle's (newspaper) endorsement as the best in town. I looked Bomber Burger up on the Internets and got several reviews on the place that all sounded the same: Huge burgers, huge hand cut fries, @$$hole owner (Chris Rickard) who has a big mouth and the place is a dump. Sounds like just the place to get a great burger if you ask me. Now I will say I've never been to Bomber Burger (I will this week) so I don't have a handle on the place's burger prowess. There used to be this p.o.s. looking burger joint on the corner of 29th and north Broadway, called The Burger Station, that I thought was the best burger in town. I'm guessing Bomber Burger makes the defunct Burger Station look like the Taj Mahal. The place was a true hole. But it's closed, so I had to look for the best burger in town and it happen to be in my old backyard as a kid. TJ's Burger House at Douglas and Seneca is hands down my favorite burger in the land. I ordered the double bacon cheese burger with grilled onions, full order of fresh cut fries and the best root beer this side of NU Way in a tall icy mug. It was a lot of food. Don't worry, I handled it, but it was a lot. What a great burger. The seasoning was excellent and it was grilled to perfection. The place is very good sized, so theres plenty of room, even at the lunchtime rush. I'm gonna give Bomber Burger a try, but, they better have their game face on to defeat the greatness that is TJ's.

The New Nintendo Shii

My wife is very good on the Nintendo Wii, but, I think she would dominate the Nintendo Shii.

All That I Can't Leave Behind

High school doesn't seem that long ago. It's been many years now that I've stopped missing Wichita West High. When I look back it seems better (and funner) than it probably was. I was lazy in school, especially high school, and I should resent my memories of the place because I didn't effectively use every opportunity I had there. I'm two marriages and four children removed from high school and worrying about the fact I didn't advance my education beyond that point is long gone. It's my job now to assure that my children do better. So, if I didn't use West as a tool to go on to college (or community college or WTI or DeVry or...well you get the point) what did I take from high school? Well I thought I took friends. I thought I took some guys and a few girls that I (naively) thought would be in my life forever. Maybe not day in-day out friends, but, at least people I would keep in touch with and see occasionally. I graduated in 1995 and I know thats (Jesus) fourteen years ago, so of course things change, I'm just coming to grips with the fact that I may never see or be close to those people again. I still see Melissa and for that I'm glad. Her ex-husband Cameron became a good friend (I knew Melissa first) in high school. Cameron went into the military and became a globe trotter with Melissa in toe. If not for Melissa and Cameron getting a divorce, forcing her to move back to Wichita, I would probably not see either one of them, instead of just Melissa. Luckily for Melissa she has remarried and is doing fine. I do miss Cameron though. My other good friend from high school, Jason, who unfortunately passed away eight years ago, is the big "what if?". Jason went to Kansas State after graduation and established a whole new set of friends. Frat guys. I met a lot of them while he was in the hospital and even more at his funeral. It was weird to meet a different set of his friends, like they were from another planet, far removed from the world I knew that involved the high school version of Jason. I spent very little time with Jason after he came back from K-State. His health wasn't great and I was married with two boys. He was back in Wichita but I lost four years of time with him other than the occasional visit here or there. In the end his fraternity brothers had the advantage of knowing him more recently, not necessarily better, just more recently. I miss Jason. My friend Justin has been the hardest to understand. Justin wasn't my best friend in high school, but, he was the most like me and I considered him a truly great and long lasting friend. Justin was a guy that a lot of people really liked or a lot of people really thought was a dick. I could see why people thought he was a dick. He was. He is. But I thought he was a great guy. Justin moved to Greeley, Colorado (just outside of Denver) not long after West. His family is deep in the car business. His father moved there and he soon followed. His brother is a dealer here in town. Other than a brief stint with Budweiser (too much work) Justin has been in the automotive sales industry at almost every dealership in the area. He's still single and lives the opposite life as me. I would love to talk about all the single guy in Denver stuff he was doing. The girls (many), the sports (Broncos, Rockies, Avalanche, Nuggets), the concerts (Bon Jovi!) and all the other things living in a large metropolitan area affords a single dude with bank. I didn't get to see Justin much over the years. He didn't particularly enjoy coming back to Wichita much, but, he did every once in a while. My wife and I went and saw him when we were first dating. It was a great time as I remember and I fully understood why he chose to live there instead of here. The place is awesome. When my wife and I got married in '04 Justin flew in and was one of my groomsmen. I've only seen Justin once since then. November of last year was the last time I talked to him. He won't return my calls. I heard from another friend from high school I bumped into a while back that she saw him out and about. He was in town to buy a suite for his mom's funeral. I couldn't believe it. By this time I hadn't talked to Justin for a few months. Surely he would reach out to me now right? Nope. I finally left him a message and said that I was very sorry to hear of his mother's passing. I said that I was disappointed that I had to hear the news from someone that we both have six degrees of separation with. So if he no longer had the time (or desire) to stay in touch I understood. I lied. I don't understand. It's not like I take up a ton of his time. A call every month or so. A beer every other year or so. Who knows. I miss Justin a lot. The heart breaker though is my boy Tony. I've lost sleep over Tony. Cameron is a million miles away preparing to blow something up in the military, Jason is resting in peace and Justin is m.i.a., but Tony is right here in town. Right here. I've bumped into Tony about a dozen times over the last, say, ten years. Every time I see the guy I'm so glad to see him and think that this will be the time we reconnect and go back to being buddies. I mean I loved this guy and not in the viking way. I mean I really cared about this guy. Each time I saw him he gave me a different cell phone number that worked the first couple of times I called, then didn't, then I would go another God knows how long before I saw him and the cycle would start all over again. Just last year I bumped into him at Wal-Mart. He gave me his number. I called. We got lit at a sports bar a few days later. He apologized for not staying in touch, for not being a better friend, for just about everything you could think of. It meant a lot to me because I never got any of that over the years from Tony. He never used to care, I thought, about flaking out on me. My wife and I then spent an evening at a comedy club with Tony and his wife. I haven't talked to him since. His number was disconnected. I guess all that, "We'll stay in touch." from Tony isn't gonna happen. Don't get me wrong, Tony has a lot on his plate, to say the least. To make a long story short, Tony is currently married to his second wife who he cheated on his first wife with when him and his first wife were in high school. Are you still with me? I hope so. Therefore, Tony has a son with his first wife and two children with his current wife. His current wife had four kids with her first husband and rumor has it that the last two of those kids are Tony's. So actually Tony has four kids with his current wife and one with his first wife. If I'm doing the math correctly that gives Tony five mini-Tonys. Do not quote me though. Getting anything this deep (and embarrassing) out of Tony has been impossible. The whole thing is a mess. To put the icing on this hideous cake, I still communicate with Tony's extremely bitter ex-wife. Latino women don't like being cheated on. Here's my problem. I don't care about any of this. I never picked sides. I don't care what stupid @ss s#!t Tony has done over the years. Haven't we all? Man, I just don't care, I just want my buddy back. I didn't pick sides with Cameron and Melissa. She just happens to live here. Cameron doesn't. I didn't piss in Justin's cereal. I can't bring Jason back. I don't want to go back to high school, but I want my favorite part of high school, or at least a little part of it. This doesn't take anything away from my current friends (which are great) and my main man Davey and my longtime friend Desi. I don't think Cameron, Jason, Justin or Tony would be my best friend right now anyway. Davey is irreplaceable. I just can't leave these guys in the past. I read an article once that said; the average person changes a third of his/her closest friends every seven years. That means I've lost my friends from high school two times over...

UFC 100 Muthaf#@&ing Beatdown

I'm not a huge (or any) fan of UFC, but, I caught UFC 100 with my boy Crockett at his brother-in-law's and I gotta say this Henderson dismantling of Bisping was awesome. Check it out.

Brian's Best 3 of the Week 7/12-7/18

1. Sports
2009 MLB
All-Star Game
July 14th on FOX


Major League Baseball's All-Star Game is the best of the all-star games in sports today. I used to love the NBA All-Star Weekend with the Slam Dunk Championship, 3Pt Shoot Out and the Rookie Game before the actual all-star game. The NFL's Pro Bowl is a joke where guys go half speed or don't show up at all. The NHL All-Star festivities are cool but I can't find the Versus Network. So that leaves MLB. I stopped watching the Homerun Derby for a couple of years until last year's Josh Hamilton (what a swing) explosion, that was fun. What I really like is that the League winner gets home field advantage in the World Series for their respective league representatives. To me this years' names aren't as sexy as years past (Raul Ibanez anybody?), but, that's alright. Times change, steroids get tested for and the big names change. Here's to Manny not being in St. Louis!

2. Cinema

Bruno

If you saw Borat then you should fully understand how truly out there Sacha Baron Cohen is. If you haven't seen Borat, let me tell you how out there Sacha Baron Cohen is. SBC is the king of character comedy and will go to no lengths to rip a laugh out of you. Now that may rub some people wrong, but, not me. Borat played on this country's pride and prejudice against foreigners. Bruno looks to me like it plays on this country's homophobia and homophobia. It's gonna be awesome. When I heard SBC was gonna make a Bruno movie I didn't think it could work though. I liked Bruno on Da Ali G Show (HBO) but I loved Ali G and Borat (all played by SBC). After the Ali G Indahouse movie and Ali G's cameo in that Madonna video I really wanted SBC to go away or at least back to HBO. Then four years later he kicks us in the package with Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan and SBC is back! But, Sasha Baron Cohen is now famous, which leads me back to my original point, would Bruno work? One thing Baron Cohen did was change Bruno's look from the original on Da Ali G Show (this version of Bruno is even gayer!) and targeted backwoods people who probably didn't see Borat. By looking (and laughing) at the trailers for this movie I take it back, Bruno will work and I can't wait to urinate myself.

3. Hobby

The World's Fastest

Remote-Control

Car by Nic Case

After a terrible motorcycle accident, Nic Case needed a new hobby, he found one in the building the world's fastest remote-control car. Nic's "Pocket Rocket" travels at a mind numbing 161 miles per hour (nearly 30 mph faster than than the previous world record). At $4,000.00 (yikes!) Nic seems to have built the world's most expensive toy. Built with a handcrafted carbon-fiber chassis, that was designed to aerodynamically keep this little beast on the ground, and reinforced foam underbelly to protect the all-wheel-drive (cool). Nic also used an 11-horsepower R/C motor and a 12-cell battery pack normally used in hobby airplanes. The car has no brakes (huh?), so Case dials back the power to the motors to decelerate. To prevent flipping, he added a gyroscope-based steering-correction system more commonly used in remote-control helicopters. No wonder this thing can fly, Nic used remote-control helicopter and airplane parts. Nic has only actually raced the car twice and he still thinks it can reach his ultimate goal...200 mph (double yikes!).

The 20 Year Anniversary of Detlef Schrempf's 1989 Basketball Saeson

Detlef Schrempf
6'9", 214 lbs. Forward
Born January 21, 1963
Leverkusen, Germany
Indiana Pacers

1989 Season Stats

32 Games/13 Starts

162/315 Fg, 51.4%

5/19 3pt Fg, 26.3%

146/189 Ft, 77.2

475 Pts, 14.8 Ppg

229 Reb, 7.2 Rpg

93 Ast, 2.9 Apg

29 Stl, 0.90 Spg

10 Blk, 0.31 Bpg

The stats don't lie. In the 32 games Schrempf played for the Pacers after being traded from the Mavs he dominated. The Pacers were terrible before that blockbuster trade that gave Detlef a killer $440,000.00 annual salary. The play of Schrempf and Schrempf alone is the reason Indiana finished strong at 28-54 overall, for 6th in NBA Central Division. Sixth out of six to be exact. That is awesome. Hey, I'm a "glass is half full" type of guy and sixth is pretty sweet. If not for the Pistons, Cavs, Hawks, Bucks and Bulls, who knows what the Schrmpf-ster would've done. So here's to you Detlaf Schrempf and your kick ass 1989 NBA half season after the trade from the Mavs with Indiana.