Archive for October, 2007

Football Fit For A Queen

Giants vs. Dolphins Kick Off Wembley Bowl

Mark Roberts’ Halloween[ie] costume.

Nevermind the tingles I experienced after hearing Paul Potts sing the UK National Anthem. The Brits welcomed the Miami Dolphins and New York Giants with a deafening cheer as Lawrence Tynes, a native of Greenock, Scotland, sent the game into play. I was impressed with the crowd; their enthusiasm didn’t fade despite a ho-hum aerial show.

At the onset of the game, the commentators advertised the game as having a “super bowl atmosphere” with a “big game feel”. Agreed. The players even had a cool little commemorative jersey patch. Ok, well actually that part was disappointing. I was expecting some NFL Europe-type stuff with ads plastered all over their jerseys (am I the only one that thought that would have been cool).

All in all, I was quite impressed with the game. Despite early criticism from analysts, it was a success. So zip it, Bradshaw! Quit cryin’ about L.A.’s lack of a football franchise. I can’t wait to see this again next season…complete with excessive ads and muddy turf.

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Trinity University Crushes Milsaps College

When I say “crushes” certainly I’m referring to the mental anguish felt by the Milsaps players after this amazing effort by Trinity University. I didn’t take the time to count, but this series of laterals is jawdropping. FYI, Trinity is in my hometown of San Antonio and is often referred to as “Harvard of the South”. Whether or not that’s the case (it is a good school), they’ve been perennial Div III title contenders. They improved to 7-1 on this win.

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How To Properly Repair A Split HVAC System

A few weeks ago when our landlord had 3 different A/C contractors out to evaluate our HVAC systems, one thing stood out like a sore thumb in all of their reports. Apparently this split system was rigged up to work by using a system you would see cooling a home. I know nothing about HVAC systems except where I like to set the thermostat. I was told that this was one of the funniest things they’ve ever encountered. I’m sure all you HVAC folks will appreciate this photo.

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It’s Been A Year…And It’s Been Awhile

It’s Been Awhile…
It’s been almost a week since I’ve posted anything. RETOX has occupied most of my time. With my “day job” not to be interrupted, the bar comes second. This week, I decided to use some of my precious vacation days to be there and get things done. Speaking of which…it’s truly amazing how quickly the day passes when you’re high-stepping it like the Enegizer Bunny.

Here are a couple of pictures of RETOX BAR to whet your palette. We open on Halloween and have so much going on that I wonder whether or not we’re going to make it. But we’re certainly hussling. Our prized piece so far is the bar. While dismantling the existing bar to its frame, we discovered alot of rot, mildew, and missing spaces. Needless to say, we replaced some of the framing and started from scratch. While the top is still incomplete (but in process as I type), you can see how beautiful the face has turned out.

The face will be finished off with some LED lighting underneath; the top with some gorgeous molding and 18-inch tiles flattened by polyurithane; and a pair of 50″ plamsa HD TVs on the back wall.

It’s Been A Year…
Just a short little FYI…October 12th was the 1-year anniversary of Derrich.com. My first post was about how my son’s first soccer experience quickly exposed my competitive spirit…in a negative manner. Now, I can look back on that and laugh. I get a kick out of watching my 4-year-old chase the ball and get distracted by a passing dragonfly or a patch of dirt.

Anyway, while my 1-year anniversary is relatively lame (no cool contests, balloons, or pinatas), I’ll make up for it when RETOX BAR open on Halloween night. Thanks to everyone that has inspired me along the way, and thanks to those of you (readers and bloggers) that have stuck around since your first day to Derrich.com.

NBA 2K8 by 2K Sports
About 2 weeks ago, a guy by the name of Michael from Rocket XL emailed me to see if I’d be interested in doing a review of 2K Sport’s NBA 2K8. I gladly accepted; however, my busy schedule has prevented me from honoring my end of the bargain. I ‘ve played it a few times, but not often enough to write a solid review. I will be sure to make it happen soon. In the meantime, here’s a little sample of what to expect.

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Friday’s Finds — 10/12/2007

This week was another jam-packed week for happenings not only in the Blogosphere, but in the news. Michael Vick has done wonders for Derrich.com. I think I’ve received somewhere in the neighborhood of 8,000 page views this week from Michael Vick-related searches alone. So, enough of that guy. Here are some other links I found to be interesting.

• Brian Clark over at CopyBlogger poses the question, Is Google Evil? in his post, Here’s How to Stop Worrying About Google Once and for All. The part I found interesting is the discussion of how Social Media has made the push for quality, nonrepititive content. Like Brian, I’ve posted less but have received more traffic thanks to Digg and StumbleUpon.
• Speaking of Social Media, the always helpful DoshDosh posted some helpful tips on How To Influence Social Media Users. Getting the big dogs on your side will do wonders for your traffic.
• As some of you may know, I played football for Southwest Texas State University, which is now Texas State University. In December 2002, we were included on the ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 in the #1 slot because Katie Hnida of the University of New Mexico became the first female football player to score in a Division 1-A game. Last night, we were included at #1 on the Top 10 because Central Arkansas Quarterback, Nathan Brown, threw a school-record 7 TDs against us on National television. Save for our Divisoin 1-AA Championship run a couple of years ago, that’s the extent of our SportsCenter appearances. Great. Good thing my high-school squad is undefeated.

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Vick ‘Em Shirts Create A Stir In College Station

As if Michael Vick needed anymore attention…thanks to Texas Tech University student Geoffrey Candia, Vick’s gaffe becomes his gain. The shirt was created for the Red Raiders’ upcoming game against Texas A&M this Saturday. The game will be nationally-televised on ABC. As the Texas Tech Red Raiders attempt improve its 5-1 record, the last thing they need is negative attention.

The front of the shirt says “Vick ‘Em” — a play on words to the Aggies’ “Gig ‘Em” — and the back includes a silhouette of what appears to be Michael Vick (thanks to the #7 jersey) holding a dog that resembles Aggie mascot, Reveille, by her leash.

One of my friends — and Texas Tech alum — Matt, had the following reaction to the shirts:

This is disgusting on every level imaginable, and some fool is gonna make a profit on these cause college kids, teenagers many of them, are influenced to the highest level [especially in Lubbock, where there is nothing to do but drive out past the county line to get booze] by their surroundings.

I’m all for cool t-shirts to show off during the game against your arch-rivals, if you can call A&M and Texas rivals of that lowly school in Lubbock (of which I attended classes occasionally in 1990 and 1991), but show some class. In fact, I have a great one that simply states WRECK ‘EM TECH with some lyrics from the fight song on the back. No pokes at other schools or players from Va Tech.

The thing about this one though, only a small portion of kids will be donning these as the majority of fans at the game and the team won’t acknowledge it at all, but it will take away from the atmosphere if they’re shown by the ABC cameras. Hopefully the production team gets the memo on this and refuses to air a shot of the crowd with these shirts to save us all from having to hear about this after Saturday night in what should be a great game.

The game is what matters most if you’re Tech. Defeating A&M at home is what gets you noticed and moves you a step closer to the rival status you so desperately crave, but kids will be kids.

Remember, they let me into that school, too, so they’ve already got a “standards” problem going on 17 years now. Now, let’s talk about the game. I got Fran’s latest insider email and it said he needed more money to start up a new web site, pleasekeepmeeventhoughiamanidiot.com

I’ll admit…I let out a little snicker at first, but this is definitely a bad idea. What are your thoughts?

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College Football [Un]Explained — A Fluke Or Parity?

I can’t decide what was more shocking this season — Michigan losing to Appalachian State or the new list of Top 10 teams in Div 1-A (to be released on Monday). But can this string of “upsets” be described as parity? Or are teams just getting lucky? I personally think the level of competition across the board is higher. Arguments can be made for any number of teams to be at the top of the polls…and not simply gauged by their record, some of which already have one loss.

I have to say, it makes me giggle when I hear college football analysts refer to USC as the “Titans” or some other overblown moniker. USC is not the best team in college football this season. And I’ve thought that since Day 1. Say it with me, Ron Thulin. “Touchdown, Stanford!” Nevermind my obvious dislike for the USC football program. I’m just happy to see some new names in contention for the crown. Back in Week 2, I made some “odious observations” about the outcome of the weeks to follow. Here’s a refresher.

• Washington, Oregon, Clemson, and Georgia Tech are Top 15 teams. The Huskies in particular will validate me or make me a liar over the next 3 weeks.
• Why is Cal ranked #10?
• When Michigan loses, it should no longer be regarded as an “upset”.
• Oklahoma and LSU will play each other in the Superdome at the end of the season. I haven’t seen more dominant teams than these through Week 2.
• Only Wisconsin & West Virginia will make the previous statement null and void.
• Get over USC already.

College Gameday: Don’t Tase Me, Bro!

While they’re still solid football teams, Washington, Clemson, and Georgia Tech won’t be making any significant climbs up the ladder this season. I still believe Oregon is one of the Top 10 teams in the nation. With a playmaker like Dennis Dixon at the helm, they should have no problems beating anyone. After a near win against Cal, I’m convinced of that. Laugh now. We’ll revisit this prediction in a few.

Speaking of Cal…I still think they’re overrated. Not only are they not #10 anymore…they’re frikken #3. Top 5? Maybe #5…as long as they stay undeafeated, I’d give them that.

I still can’t believe Oklahoma lost. I still think they’re the 2nd best team in the nation behind LSU, who narrowly escaped a slide down the ladder last night against a stout Florida squad. As far as my Wisconsin and West Virginia claims for top spots…again I revisit my “make an argument for any number of teams” idea. They’re both still great teams. Heavily penalizing Wisconsin for losing to Illinois would be disappointing, which brings me to my next set of observations. However, I’ll promote them from “odious” to “implausible”. Who knows? Maybe next week, I can move up to “believable”.

Implausible Observations

• Will someone rank Illinois already? They feature an all-purpose running back in Rashard Mendenhall and a secondary equipped with radar. Speaking of underrated teams, get Kansas in there too.
• Why is Cal ranked #3? In fact, please don’t rank them above LSU next week. That might bring disparagement to the polls. Maybe.
• Despite a 5-interception performance last week, Colt Brennan is still a bad-ass, but Matt Ryan is the best Quarterback in the nation.
• I’m still not sold on Arizona State or South Florida, but I hope they both keep it up.

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