Draft Recap

As many of you already know, the NFL Draft took place this past Thursday-Saturday. It was the first time ever that the event was put in prime time and I think it was an overwhelming success. Somehow, someway the draft was packed with drama at almost every turn. Now, sure, I can understand if some of you were bored with the overanalysis of players that you've never heard of, but I couldn't get enough.



I watched intently for a handful of reasons.

1.) To see who my beloved New York Football Giants would select
2.) To see where Jimmy Clausen/Golden Tate would end up
3.) To see where former Syracuse standouts Mike Williams and Arthur Jones would get drafted
4.) Because I was working on our radio coverage of Day 2 of the Draft
5.) To see which team would blow their load on Tim Tebow

Now I won't bore you with my analysis of the draft because no one can really evaluate the picks for at least 3 years, but I will say this.

-I felt like I was having flashbacks to '07 as Jimmy Clausen slipped mightily; however I think he will be a very good quarterback in the National Football League (all the analysts do it, why can't I?) and that he ended up in a very good situation in Carolina.



-On a related note, how do the Bills not draft Clausen or McCoy? Don't tell me that Brian Brohm, or as my buddy Browny likes to call him "The Buffalo Brohmer", is the long term answer there. I mean, I thought Brohm was awesome at Louisville and I just heard that he was trying to take advantage of second semester senior girls who are in desperation mode at Colgate over the weekend, but I don't think he's the next Jim Kelly.

-Lastly, and most importantly, a word about the Giants first round pick Jason Pierre-Paul. I've heard he's a freak of nature (and backflip extraordinairre), but I usually don't trust French people (because they surrender) and the "Pierre" portion of his last name has me a little worried. The only way I'll get over it is if he was hammmmered on draft night, because that's how we like our defensive players in New York.

Boomshakalaka

On Friday April 16th, an Iranian cleric named Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi blamed recent earthquakes on women who wear revealing clothing and behave promiscuosly.

He said, "Many women who do not dress modestly lead young men astray and spread adultery in society which increases earthquakes."

Of course, Sedighi's words fired up feminists everywhere. An English women, named Jennifer McCreight, was so perturbed by this cleric's comments that she organized a movement called "Boobquake" to prove him wrong. Within days of launching the "Boobquake" Facebook page over 20,000 females joined McCreight in promising to show as much cleavage as possible on Monday, April 26th (or as I like to call it, today).

“On Monday, April 26th, I will wear the most cleavage-showing shirt I own,” McCreight wrote. “Yes, the one usually reserved for a night on the town. “I encourage other female skeptics to join me and embrace the supposed supernatural power of their breasts. Or short shorts, if that’s your preferred form of immodesty. With the power of our scandalous bodies combined, we should surely produce an earthquake. If not, I’m sure Sedighi can come up with a rational explanation for why the ground didn’t rumble.”

I was all set to blog about this day and celebrate cleavage like I never have before. I even had this Seinfeld clip ready to go.



Then I saw this.....

Taiwan - A quake of Magnitude 6.5 hit Taiwan’s coastal area, the US geological survey said. The quake was so strong that it made the buildings sway in the capital, Taipei. There were no damages of collapse of buildings in and around Taipei or Taiwan, and there was no threat of a Tsunami too.

Yeah, that's right. McCreight rolled the dice and assumed that there wouldn't be an earthquake today, but boy was she wrong.

As the blogger for NYC.BarstoolSports.com (where I first saw this story) put it:

"Talk about your ALL TIME worst backfires. According to her blog, she’s making the rounds today on like every major media outlet in the world. I’m talkin BBC and CNN and shit. So have fun answering questions about how you caused a quake you destructive bitch. Somewhere that Iranian Cleric is lighting up a cigar like Red Auerbach celebrating this victory.

And as for Jenny Earthquake, she says the 6.5 quake in Taiwan is not “statistically significant” enough to prove theres a direct correlation to tits and tremors. Tell that to the poor bastards in Taiwan swaying in skyscrapers for half a minute. Cover those bombs up before someone gets hurt."

Hold on a minute here, a 6.5? That seems pretty significant to me. Doesn't the (Mike) Richter scale only go up to 9.9?

Either way it's still...

Iranian clerics 1
Feminists 0

The New Verbiage

The following comes mostly from an article on one of my favorite shows on TV: How I Met Your Mother (Mondays at 8pm on CBS). I have interspersed my own comments in italics throughout.

How I Met Your Mother: The New Verbiage

There have been a lot of great television shows over the years, but how many have made greater contributions beyond sheer entertainment? And we're not talking about educating people about AIDS or teen pregnancy or anything like that; we're talking about contributing to the English language. Not since Seinfeld introduced us to "close talkers" and "the manssiere" has a show taught us more catchphrases and terminology than How I Met Your Mother.

Even when they're merely using an existing word in a new way -- or just a funnier way -- it feels like the show is teaching us new ways to talk, and, by extension, to live. Here are just a few ways HIMYM has upgraded our personal lexicons.

As far as Seinfeld terms and phrases go I'd also add "you are soooo good looking" and "you think you're better than me? It's go time", along with many, many others.

Reachers and Settlers



In every relationship, there is a Reacher and a Settler. The Reacher is the one who has landed a mate who is in the upper end of their acquirability range, possibly even out of their league. The Settler is the one who has chosen someone in the lower end of their range, knowing full well that they could do better but choosing to go with a lesser catch. Because the Reacher knows that their grasp is tenuous, they are frequently jealous of other potential suitors, while the Settler tends to not be jealous, knowing that the Reacher is unlikely to find anyone better. Supposedly, Marshall is the Reacher in his relationship with Lily, although Lily's violent jealousy confuses the matter somewhat. (Note: If you are in a relationship, it is not wise to discuss who is the Reacher and who is the Settler. That way leads to hurt feelings.)

I've always referred to this phenomenon as "overachievers and underachievers", but this works too. In college I knew a girl that was a classic underachiever/settler. She was smokin' hot, but somehow always hooked up with kids that weren't even close to being on her level. I don't know if it was a confidence issue or what, but it was baddd.

Also, not that I'm in the life lesson giving business, but I don't think that people should ever settle.


On the Hook



When one attempts to steer a potential romantic conquest back to one's apartment, one uses "bait." That bait may be a record collection (Ted), a rap poster (Marshall), a slot machine, a trampoline or a teacup pig (all Barney), but whatever it is, it is designed to lure the object of desire and perhaps get them "on the hook," i.e. romantically interested. However, if someone is on the hook and their romantic feelings are not reciprocated, the "hookee" is doomed to stay on the hook until the "hooker" either reels them in (initiates a relationship), or throws them back in the water (spells out their lack of interest). To keep the hookee on the hook, perhaps as a "safety," the hooker will often say they can't be a couple "right now," implying a future in which them being together is a possibility.

Having someone on your hook is akin to leading them on and I think we can all relate to that. Either we've led someone on (perhaps unintentionally) or we've been led on ourselves. I mean, it's nice to know that you have options, but stringing someone along is cruel.

PS- I can't blame Ted for being on Carrie Underwood's hook. She's in my top 5 of current celebrity crushes along with Lea Michele, Natalie Portman, Lizzy Caplan, and Zooey Deschanel.


New Relationship Syndrome



Also called "New Relationship Smugness," this is the pattern of behavior demonstrated by new couples who think that they have relationships figured out because they live in a world free of conflict. Upon witnessing a couple that argues or disagrees with each other in any way, they immediately assume that that relationship is "in trouble" and try to fix it. Barney and Robin felt that way when they heard about Marshall and Lily's differing dishwashing philosophies, but then, we all know how long their relationship lasted, don't we?


The Mosby



So say there's someone who's interested in you, but you're not interested in them? Marshall has a surefire way to get them to back off, quick. It's called "The Mosby," named for Ted Mosby, who, on his first date with Robin, declared his love for her, thereby causing Robin to slow things down immediately. The two wouldn't date again for the rest of the season. So when Robin needed a way to let a smitten Barney down easily, all she had to do was tell him she loved him, and he immediately lost interest. Mosbied! Granted, that would probably only work on Barney, who typically sees declarations of affection (even his own) as a sign of weakness.

Yeah, no chance this would work in real life. Maybe I should have gone with, "Ted Mosby: Architect", but then I would've gotten into "The Playbook", etc.


Doppelganger



The MacLaren's gang has so far spotted doppelgangers for three out of five of its members. Robin's doppelganger is a short-haired lesbian seen walking in the street with a softball glove. Marshall's is a mustachioed Spanish-language lawyer named "Senor Justicia" who advertises on the sides of buses. And Lily's double is a stripper of Eastern European extraction named Jasmine. We expect to see the other two in due time.

Not only is doppelganger an awesome word because sounds like it's poop related, but it's actually very appropriate because it's another term for a look-a-like.

It's probably because I have a very keen eye (I got new glasses last week), but I've seen plenty of doppelgangers in my day. For example, there was a freshman that used to play basketball at the Rec Plex when I was a senior in college that looked exactly like one of my roommates. For a few months a bunch of us tried to arrange a meeting, but it always fell through. To be honest I feared that worlds might collide if the two were ever in the same room together, but plans for a meeting persisted. Finally the two met, thought that they were looking into a mirror, and about 33764763 pictures (actually more like 3) were taken, but for some reason I can't find any of them.

I would be remiss if I didn't include this picture of my friends and a kid (in the middle) that they seem to think looks like my long lost twin brother.




Front Porch Test



Whenever Ted's been dating a girl for a while, Lily subjects her to the Front Porch Test, in which Lily imagines herself, Marshall, Ted and the girl sitting on the porch of their beach house in their 70s. If Lily can't see it happening, she does what she has to do to split Ted and the girl up. After manipulating Ted to dump a string of girls in college, Lily planted an earring in Ted's bed to get Karen to dump him, then admitted to having kinda-sorta encouraged Ted and Robin to have the talk that led to them breaking up.

I think a lot of people do things like this when thinking about their boyfriend/girlfriend. The Front Porch Test is obviously a long term one, but I think there are plenty of "tests" that a potential mate has to pass. The Family Dinner Test, The Night Out with the Highschool Friends Test, The Concert/Sporting Event Test, etc.


Murtaugh List



Everybody knows what a bucket list is -- it's the list of things you want to do before you die. A Murtaugh list is the exact opposite -- it's a list of things you have to stop doing, right now, before you die. Named after Sgt. Roger Murtaugh of the Lethal Weapon franchise, these are the things that make you say, "I'm too old for this shit/stuff." Ted's Murtaugh list includes doing an all-nighter, going to a rave, sleeping on a futon, piercing your own ear and TP'ing a laser tag establishment, a list that Barney actually makes it nearly all the way through in 24 hours, although he comes out a little worse for the wear.

My Murtaugh list:

sleeping on the floor
funneling brews
smoking weed
video games


"Reading a Magazine"



Marshall has a problem. He doesn't like... "reading a magazine" with other people around. No big deal, it happens to all of us. But he really doesn't like it. In fact, he would rather go all the way to his and Ted's old apartment to "read a magazine" than use his office bathroom. Because everyone he works with can see him bringing the magazine in there, and they know what he's going to do: He's gonna take a crap. (No, Barney, he's not going to masturbate.) Luckily, Marshall got over it, and eventually learned to "read a magazine" with pride. Hopefully, the magazines have stopped speaking to him, too. No, not "magazines." Just regular magazines. That would be gross.

I'll be honest, for the majority of the episode I, like Barney, thought that "reading a magazine" meant masturbating. Pooping in public is a concern for many people though. I, a proud pooper, am even a bit hesitant when it comes to unleashing the fury at work. Turning a communal bathroom into a fume filled hazardous zone simply isn't fun for anybody. While I appreciate the show's handling of this issue, I don't think the term "reading a magazine" is applicable in real life.

On a related note, I was actually thinking the other day that girls are much smarter than guys when it comes to contributing to the flush fund. They take forever in the bathroom regardles of whether it's a one or a two on the agenda. Lord only knows what they're doing, but their indeterminant time spent in the bathroom serves as great cover when they actually have to pinch a loaf.

Guys, on the other hand, are much different. Whenever a guy has to pee he is all business. He drains the dragon, washes his hands, and exits right away. Staying in a male bathroom for an iota longer than they have to is unheard of for a guy. Maybe it's that we're competitive and feel like everything's a race or maybe it's that we're afraid of a girl thinking that we're plopping down in there.


The Naked Man



When a man is on a first date, he can tell whether or not there will be a second date, based on how attractive the woman is, how attractive he is and what sort of chemistry exists. Now, if a man finds himself in a losing situation, he can do two things: he can accept it, see the date to its conclusion, say good-bye and never see that woman again, or he can go for it. All or nothing. Cards on the table. One of Robin's dates chooses the latter. He chooses the Naked Man. When Robin is out of the room, he takes off all of his clothes and presents himself to her upon her return. There are a variety of poses to choose from (the Thinker, the Heisman, the Captain Morgan), and it supposedly works two out of three times. When it works on Robin, the rest of the MacLaren gang decide to try it out. Ted uses it successfully on a girl he doesn't want to take things further with, Lily pulls a Naked Woman on Marshall and ends an argument, and Barney... is thrown out of his disgusted date's apartment without his clothes, wallet or cell phone. Two out of three times, every time.

Now let me just say that this takes some serious kahunas to even attempt (pun, although terrible, intended). I also don't think it would work 2 out of 3 times. I'd go more with 1 out of 20.

I think the real question here, though, is what pose to present your Naked Man in. They offered some great suggestions in the episode and I'm still not sure which one I'd go with (probably because there's no way I'd ever even consider doing this).


Woo Girl



When Lily agreed to go out with a co-worker of hers and get a drink at a cowgirl bar, she had no idea that the woman was a Woo Girl -- that is, a woman who, when excited about something, raises her hand (or hands) or drink (or drinks) above her head and yells "Woooo!" They can be excited about pretty much anything -- it doesn't need to be particularly important, or even something anyone should be proud of. Woo Girls usually travel in packs, and "woo" in unison. Lily is further shocked when she finds out that Robin is also a Woo Girl, and finds herself being left out of Woo Girl gatherings. Lily then tries to be a Woo Girl, too, but Robin points out that she does not "Woo."

This term is incredibly accurate. Not to get deep on you, but "Woo Girl" is a sugar-coated way of saying immature. A lot of high school and college girls "Woo", but at some point they all realize that they have to grow up and become adults.


Suit Up!



If Barney were to give only one piece of advice -- and this is pure speculation, because the man gives advice about everything, whether it's asked for or not -- it would be to get a suit. Suits make you look cool and responsible, and that's why Barney always asks Ted to "Suit up!" before they go out to a bar. Unfortunately, Ted rarely listens, and when he does it's usually just a blazer, which is not a suit. The phrase can also be modified to describe the specific suit needed for a given event, as in "Snowsuit up!" (used when Barney was building the aforementioned igloo), "Flightsuit up!" (when Barney needed a wingman for his Top Gun Halloween costume) and "Penguin suit up!" (another Barney Halloween costume; he goes through about three a night).

This was one of the first terms that the show introduced and it's probably the one that fans of the show use most often. Whenever I wear a suit (which is maybe once a year) I make about 3-4 comments that are "Suit Up!" related. In fact, if I as much as saw a friend wearing a suit I would probably say something to the effect of, "Nice to see that you suited up."


Lawyered!



Marshall was often left out of the single-guy adventures of Ted and Barney -- not just because he was lucky enough to hook up with Lily in his freshman year at college and hang onto her for over nine years, but because he was studying to be a lawyer, which required a lot of late nights, heavy books and long research papers. However, his finely honed analytic mind gives him an advantage over the others, allowing him to see gaps in logic and to solve mysteries beyond the ken of an architect and... whatever it is that Barney does. Hence the rise of Marshall's lone catchphrase, "Lawyered!" While not as ubiquitous as "Suit up," he did put it to great use in proving that prostitution was not, in fact, the world's oldest profession. (It was fishing -- after all, where did cavemen get the fish to pay the prostitutes with?)

This is undoubtedly the best phrase that the show has created. By making the word lawyer a verb (unless it already was, I don't know these things) the show's writers have given Marshall the equivalent of a wrestler's finishing move. Whenever he knows that he has won an argument, legal or otherwise, he drops this phrase on the person he was arguing with and it's over. This is a great term to use among friends, but it's probably 87827353 times better if whoever uses it is actually a lawyer.


General Knowledge!



Technically an inside-joke between Ted and Robin, the use of common, everyday phrases as humorous military titles is not new. For examples, see The Simpsons' "Corporal Punishment," South Park's General Disarray," and Spaceballs' "Major A**hole." But Ted and Robin's penchant for spotting these kinds of phrases in conversations, repeating them in unison and then saluting ("General Knowledge!" "Major Buzzkill!") is exactly the kind of cute, couple-y behavior that friends would start to find aggravating after a while, which is what makes the whole conceit so believable. And while we would never repeat these phrases ourselves -- or, God forbid, salute them -- we can't help but smile every time we hear one spoken aloud, as we think of the adorable Ted and Robin, and how much we want to slap them.

I actually thought this was pretty funny and I think I would definitely laugh if I saw someone do it in real life.

Here are some examples that I thought of off the top of my head.

Major headache
Private matter
General vicinity
Lieutenant Governor
Major organs
Private quarters


The Hot/Crazy Scale



Perhaps Barney's most scientific contribution to the world of dating, the Hot/Crazy Scale is a handy chart indicating how hot a woman has to be in order to make her craziness tolerable in a relationship. As long as the woman isn't crazier than she is hot, she should fall just north of the Vicki Mendoza Diagonal, named for an ex of Barney's who would increase in hotness (losing ten pounds, getting a boob job) even as she increased in crazy (shaving her head, stabbing Barney with a fork). But beware -- if the scales start to tip in the favor of crazy, the woman can fall inside the Shelley Gillespie Zone, named for yet another of Barney's exes, who gained 20 pounds and tried to kill him with a brick. Was she crazy? Or did she just know about Barney's chart? Our money's on the latter.

Gotta love the reference to the Mendoza line, which for you non sports fans is a baseball term for hitting above or below .200.


And from Monday night's episode.....

Drunk or kid?



This term/game is currently sweeping the nation. The idea here is to guess whether someone was drunk or a kid when they did something ridiculous or when something ridiculous happened to them. For example, after Marshall says that he once dropped some bottle rockets in the toilet and then tried to dry them off in the microwave, Robin says that he must have been drunk off of his ass. Barney, however, thinks the act was too stupid for a adult to do, so he suggests that Marshall was a kid when it happened. Well, as it turned out, he was drunk.

Double Down

There are few things that I pride myself in. In fact, when I say a few things I think I mean just three: sports, knowledge, and gluttony (I think poop is somewhere in the crosshairs between knowledge and gluttony).

1.) I live, work, sleep, and breathe sports. You know this.

2.) I crave knowledge like there's no tomorrow. Case in point (you already know that I record Jeopardy every night and write down how many questions/answers I get right), last week my brother sent me this link and told me to try "Capitals 3-Expert."

http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/web_games.htm

So, try it I did. I've had the state capitals memorized since first grade, so I was furioussss when I got one wrong (try to beat my 98% in 195 seconds).

3.) If I haven't said this already, I've certainly meant to- I'm convinced that I have what it takes to be a competitive eater. I don't know if it's that my digestive system works so well, but I feel as if I could make an appearance at one of my favorite sporting events of the year, the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest on Coney Island, if I took a year off from work and trained. Now, I'm not saying I'd win. In reality I wouldn't even come close, but the competitors on the low end of this contest don't eat as many hot dogs and buns as you think. I swear, some of these "athletes" only eat about 14-17 hotdogs and buns. I definitely think I could make it into that range.

That all being said, we have some important news in gluttony today. About 15 months ago, I brought you the bacon explosion, which looks more and more appealing everytime I see it.



Today I bring you the Double Down from KFC.



Yes, that's right. It's a bacon and cheese sandwich, except the "bread" is two slabs of fried chicken. Oh and by the way, there's something called the "Colonel's sauce" slathered inbetween all that bacon, cheese, and chicken as well. They had me sold at bacon, but I'm a sucker for secret sauces.

Someone that was fortunate enough to eat the sandwich before the general public had this to say, "Oh my God. That is the best thing ever. I don't know what "Colonel's Sauce" is, but it is like a party in my mouth. This is completely worth the five dollars. Unfortunately I'm going to end up weighing 700 lbs after this, but it is simply amazing."

Seeing that I pride myself in gluttony, I was obviously the first (white person) in line today at KFC. As I waited in line I scanned the menu, but didn't see the Double Down anywhere. I was bracing myself for disappointment when I finally got to the front of the line.

"I don't see it anywhere on the menu, but I'm interested in trying the Double Down."

The woman at the cash register laughed and asked if I just wanted the sandwich or if I wanted the meal.

"Let's get wild. I'll have the meal. Can I have the macaroni and cheese with that, please?"

After waiting 9 minutes in anxious anticipation, it was go time. I brought the chicken/bacon/cheese concoction back to my apartment, sent a picture of it to 3 friends and then went to work.

I initially tried to pick up the sandwich by the "bread", but soon realized that I was going to have to use the wax paper. I figured it was go big or go home time, so my first bite was a healthy one. I got both sides of the chicken, bacon, cheese, and the colonel's sauce.

As I had hoped, it was delicious.

I took my time eating the rest-mainly to make sure that I didn't go into cardiac arrest, but also to savor the delicacy. I'm glad I did too because each bite was toothsome to the nth degree.

After polishing off the Double Down and macaroni and cheese and washing it down with a Dr Pepper, I felt heavy. I would compare the feeling to a Saturday/Sunday diner session after going out the night before. The caloric intake has put me in a food coma. I want nothing more than to lie on my couch all day, but I will soon have to rally the troops and go to work. I honestly think that if someone ate 4-5 of these in a week they would die.

Will I eat something for dinner? Absolutely, but it won't be a sandwich with chicken as the bread.

Hope Springs Eternal

Today is both opening day in baseball and the national championship in college basketball. Oh and by the way, Tiger Woods is fielding questions from the media at The Masters. Can a single day in sports be greater than today? Seriously, as a sports enthusiast, I have a full blown hard on (and thankfully I don't have to work until tonight). Now obviously opening day and the national championship don't always coincide (right?), but it got me thinking nonetheless. What is the best day of the year to be a sports fan? Of course, a lot of this has to do with personal preference, but I'll run through some of the top options. If I forget a big one feel free to call me out on it. We'll start with what I consider to be the best....

Opening Day in baseball- Football has definitely taken over as America's number one sport, but I still think that opening day is the best day to be a sports fan. Baseball fans all across the country are optimistic about their team's chances for success in the upcoming season and let me tell you that you don't find that kind of optimism that often. I think a lot of this has to do with the fact that the season sort of sneaks up on us. We know that Spring Training is going on, but we don't really pay attention to it. In football, on the other hand, there is so much attention paid to the pre-season that we sort of know which teams are going to do well and which teams don't have a chance at making the playoffs. In baseball, every team thinks they have a shot (except the Bluejays this year). The perfect example is the Tampa Bay Rays of 2007. Everyone picked them to finish 5th in the AL East, but they won the division and went to the World Series.

The Superbowl- The Superbowl has almost become more of an event than a football game. It's still a great day, don't get me wrong, but most fans don't have a dog in the fight and a large portion are more interested in the commercials than the actual game.

The BCS National Championship- I watch it every year, but I usually don't care who wins because my teams (Notre Dame/Syracuse) aren't in it. I actually think that New Year's Day is a better day for college football even though the games don't mean anything, whereas the BCS National Championship game does.

The Kentucky Derby- The most exciting two minutes in sports is very cool and I watch it every year to see which South American jockey Max's dad has gambled on and because it's easily accessible. What I mean by that is that you get all the information you need to know in the pre-race show and then you get the immediate pay off with the race. This makes for exciting television, but it's not really an event that consumes a sports fan's day. I mean, I usually don't even realize that it's the day of the Kentucky Derby until an hour or two before the race.

Selection Sunday- Hopefully this day doesn't get ruined by expanding the field to 96 teams, but Selection Sunday is awesome. There's drama (who gets in, who gets left out), intrigue (which other team's are in your team's bracket), analysis (who do the experts like), and participation by the fan (filling out your bracket). Also you have the ACC, Big Ten, and Big 12 championship games earlier in the day.

When it comes to college basketball, I think this is the best single day of the year. Of course the first weekend of the NCAA tournament is better, but that's a four day stretch. The national championship is great too, but I rarely care about the outcome. That being said, let's go Butler (If you can't beat them, join them).

The (first day of the) NFL Draft- In case you weren't aware, this is now a Thursday night primetime event, so it's hard for me to evaluate. In the past, the first day of the draft was a Saturday and it lasted for a solid 7 hours. I used to write down the team name, the draft pick, the draft pick's position, and where the draft pick went to college for all of the first round picks. I would literally watch the entire first round non stop for 4 hours. Now this is without a doubt a great sports day and it has received more and more attention as the NFL has ascended to the top of the list in terms of popularity among sports, but it is too long to be considered as the best day of the year as a sports fan.

The NBA Draft- Better than the NFL Draft in the sense that it's always been a Thursday night primetime event and that it moves much quicker. The problem with the NBA Draft is that (well first of all not enough people like/follow the NBA) outside of the top 5 picks, it's all freshmen and Europeans that no casual fan has ever heard of.

Sunday at The Masters- We are less than a week away, but even if we weren't this would definitely still be on the list. I don't care who's in contention, I'll be watching. Golf is definitely more of an old timer's sport, but if there's one day of the year to watch it's the Sunday of the Masters. CBS and Jim Nantz aren't joking when they say that it's a tradition unlike any other.

The Daytona 500- Maybe I pull this card too much, but I work in sports and I can't tell you who won this race and it happened about a month and a half ago. All I know is that there was a pothole that they had to replace about 37383 times. Also, the only reason that I know that the race takes place in mid-February is because I was in Florida with my family during Winter Break in highschool when Dale Earnhardt died.

The HR Derby- Who won it last year? It's entertaining to watch, but it probably doesn't even deserve to be considered. Speaking of which.....

All-Star Saturday Night in the NBA- You have the 3-point contest and the dunk contest (as well as the Shooting Stars and the Skills Challenge) which are consistenly a let down year after year. Let me know when LeBron decides to participate and then I'll care.

Week 1 of the NFL- A hugely underrated day in sports. This might be a top 3 day for me. Baseball's opening day still takes the cake for the reasons I mentioned above, but I find myself watching pre-season NFL games which means that I'm anxiously waiting for the games to actually count and this is the first day that they do. Also, fantasy football is an enormous industry nowadays and this is the first time that you get to see your team in action. The first day of the college football season is great too, but the fantasy factor gives the NFL the edge.

The presentation of the Heisman trophy- Although I can rattle off the past 20-25 winners, it's usually pretty clear who the winner will be. Also, I prefer the one on one interviews from the NBA/NFL drafts as opposed to the ones Kirk Herbstreit and Chirs Fowler do during the ceremony. And by the way, the winners of the award usually don't pan out in the NFL. See Wuerffel, Danny.

The Men's Lacrosse National Championship Game- This has no business being on this list, but Syracuse basketball lost to Butler and the Bluejays are destined to finish in 5th in the AL East, so the Syracuse lacrosse team is really all I'm hanging on to right now. This event takes place every year on Memorial Day, but it starts at 11 a.m., which is an absolute joke.

The Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Competition- I can't get enough of this event. Not only do the competitors enter like they're WWE wrestlers, but they compete for what is called The Mustard Belt. Also, national pride is on the line as the top dogs (no pun intended) are American (hero) Joey Chestnut and Japan's finest Takeru Kobayashi.


If I had to rank my top 5, I'd go:

1.) Opening Day in Baseball
2.) Selection Sunday
3.) Week 1 of the NFL
4.) Sunday at the Masters
5.) The NBA Draft