Archive for the 'San Antonio' Category

San Antonio Is Crazy About Cornhole

I’m sure you’re wondering what the h3LL it is I’m talking about. Cornhole! You know…the game. In Texas, we know a game called washers…played in every backyard BBQ, tailgate, and college fraternity house in the Great State.

What Is Cornhole?
Well thanks to Incredible Technologies, the creators of the ever-popular Golden Tee, their latest video game BAGS is sweeping the nation. The game is based on midwestern sensation, Cornhole. The premise is similar to horseshoes…toss a bag filled with corn at a hole in a platform about 30 ft away.

Where Can I Play?
We’ve decided to start hosting Cornhole matches at RETOX on Sundays. My brother and I built some boards this week, stocked up on some bags…and we’re ready to rumble! You can find out where to play cornhole in your city on one of these Cornhole Forums: CornholePlayers.net and CornholeParty.com.

Cornhole In The Media
During a recent interview, Stephen Colbert talks to Congressman Zack Space about Cornhole.

American Cornhole Organization is an outfit dedicated to promoting this pastime across the globe. They manufacture products, organize leagues and tournaments, and promote the sport through various entertainment channels (TV, movies, viral, celebrity, etc) via its brand.

Of course, there’s also a movie. An indie so far, but don’t be surprised to see this one make the big screen. It’s about time for “the next dodgeball”. Go check it out at CornholeTheMovie.com.

Popularity: 49% [?]

Big 12 Championship — Oklahoma Meets Missouri In The Alamodome

Suggested reading for Sean & Tony

A tangent. Quickly.

Tonight, I was cursing the TV during the Monday Night Football game because I had to listen to Tony Kornheiser talk about how Erikk Lynne Williams (that’s Ricky Williams…I had no idea) shouldn’t be given a chance by the NFL and the Dolphins because he threw it all away. Whether or not you agree with that is irrelevant to my frustration. The fact that he repeatedly talked about it made my ears steam. He definitely reached “Sean Salisbury” on my pressure meter last night.

Anyway, I thought of Kornheiser because he and Michael Wilbon argued about the BCS versus the playoff system. I actually disagreed with Wilbon’s credulous point of view of the season. Has he even watched any college football this season? Parity, my friend…in its truest form. And the Big 12 Championship will be the perfect example of the “perfect season”.

Oklahoma comes in as a perennial powerhouse, and early on were contenders for the BCS Championship. Missouri not only enters the BCS Championship picture, but it does so with its first 10-win season since 1960. In its 117-year history, Missouri has never won the National Championship. So Oklahoma should automatically win, right? Just because? No? Yeah…I didn’t think so. Hey, Wilbon…you’re in denial, buddy. Get over it. The top teams are there for a reason. If they weren’t (if coaches and media didn’t think so), they’d be stuck out there in obscurity with undefeated Hawaii.

We already saw this matchup on October 13th in which the Sooners were victorious. And 41-31 is no rout. In a way, I’d like to see Missouri win. That makes the chances of Oklahoma playing LSU in a bowl game more likely. And I think that would be a sweet game.

Things To Do In San Antonio
Earlier this year, I made some suggestions on some downtown San Antonio destinations for the 2007 NCAA Tournament fans. But if you aren’t fortunate enough to grab tickets for this contest (I heard both schools already sold out of their allotments), and are looking for a place to watch the game…come plop down in front of our 120″ HD widescreen at RETOX. RETOX is about 10 minutes North of downtown.

College Football Tickets

Popularity: 6% [?]

RETOX BAR Gets Its First Review

Well. The first unbiased, to-the-point review. Despite having heard primarily positive comments from friends, family, and strangers alike, Hector Saldaña of the San Antonio Express News gives a very objective point of view.

Hector Saldaña/Express-News

My only gripe with the review is the fact that RETOX is spelled “ReTox”. Clearly unimportant. I’m definitely happy with the review. I found Hector’s description of the bar interesting: “back-to-the-future, casual 70’s vibe”. Cool. It’s definitely different for San Antonio. The rock face bar and the lighting are certainly focal points. But you can’t ignore the 120″ wide screen, which is in HD. The cool thing is that the screen doubles as a curtain for the live music acts. When the game buzzer sounds, up goes the screen…and voila…a band. He also hit the nail on the head with regard to the overall feel. RETOX BAR is “…not trying to be fancy or pretentious…”. Ain’t that the truth. We definitely believe we’ve created a happy medium: not an ultra lounge, but not a dive either. In case you missed it, I posted a few photos at RETOX last week.

To read the rest of the RETOX review, click here. Thank you, Hector, for an excellent review.

Get over 75 of your favorite national HD channels. Packages start at $29.99. Add HD Access to any package for just $9.99/mo. Get DIRECTV.

Popularity: 9% [?]

The Spurs Are Back…And So Are The Haters

With the NFL and college football coming to a close, my focus on them only grows stronger. But I do manage to develop an appetite for my San Antonio Spurs. Last night, the boys in silver and black ran though the Lakers…as they have most opponents thusfar. Having lost only to the Houston Rockets, the Spurs sit confidently at 7-1.

Courtesy GETTY IMAGES

Last night, Bruce Bowen put his lock down defense on Kobe Bryant holding him to just 18 points. Bruce Bruce also managed to add 23 points to the mix. Impressive for a 36-year-old veteran. Unlike this guy who thinks Bruce should retire already, I’m confident he won’t skip a beat. And to say that Bruce tends to “grab and hold [his] man” is just ridiculous. He’s lockdown. And although he likes to occasionally lay the smack down, his penchant for “white on rice” defense is frustrating to most players…and often mistaken for dirty play. Ok, so it doesn’t help matters when he decides to kick someone or throw the clothesline. But he does get the job done, and better then any defensive guy currently in the NBA.

Either way, it’s early in the season and most teams are just getting used to all of the off season changes. Luckily, the Spurs are operating under the same guise as last season. Hopefully, that simply means the team will be that much better come playoff time. Itwill be a necessity with the Western Conference as tough as it is.

Brokeback Mountain?
It should come as no surprise that Lakers coach, Phil Jackson, said something that stirred the pot. After sinking 13 three-pointers in last night’s contest, the Spurs’ performance led to questions about too much penetration creating open shooting opportunities. Phil Jackson’s reply?

We call this a Brokeback Mountain game, because there’s so much penetration and kickouts…

Brilliant, Phil.

Popularity: 5% [?]

A Few Pictures From RETOX

Well, we finally opened the place up this weekend. RETOX has been fortunate to receive rave reviews from our patrons, and the bands love the setup as well. Anyway, here are just a few pictures that my friends snapped this weekend (Leo isn’t the only one with hot friends). More to follow.

Click here

Popularity: 9% [?]

RETOX BAR is Almost Complete

For those of you that are curious to know how my bar is coming along…let’s just say we’re almost there. Needless to say< i've learned alot about this process. In a ense, we've made it longer than it should have been by cutting corners.

The bar is set and ready to go. However, there are 2 obstacles that prevent us from opening on time. We’ve encountered a finicky health inspector. He has found every little detail to shove back in our face. After disagreeing on several “requirements”, he kindly offered to bring his supervisor along, which I had no problems with. The supervisor was quick to notice our inspector’s behavior and set the record straight on a number of things. I was relieved. We’re addressing all of the issues, and let me tell you…RETOX will be the cleanest bar in San Antonio.

Second, and most importantly, our bar isn’t dry. Isn’t dry? Well, we chose a tile top covered with an epoxy which was supposed to take 48 to 72 hours to dry. It’s been 10 days and it’s probably 40% dry. Not good. Even as I type, my partner, Eddie, is removing it. At this rate it would take another 2 weeks to dry, and we don’t have that kind of time. The bad part is that’s about $600 down the drain. When put into perspective, each day we wait for it to dry is more expensive as we forego potential income. And each day we postpone our opening, we also put off bands and those aren’t relationships that we wish to mar.

RETOX Review
Last night while we worked diligently to address the health inspector’s checklist, our GM decided to invite a number of the bands in town to tour the bar. This proved to be a good move. You see…we took over an old “legend” bar called Iguana Bay. The place was known for having top notch bands and a great crowd…in the mid to late 90s. By early 2000, it had begun to take a dive, which led to its eventual demise. Many of the bands assumed that we did little to change the ambiance and layout of the place. So our GM, Dave, made a great decision to have them come see the new digs for themselves…something we should have done a long time ago.

One of the vocalists for one the bands decided to posit his own thoughts of our fair RETOX. Despite the fact that my partner and I got no mention as the actual owners, and that my Tour of Texas trip in which I treked down I-10 to El Paso round trip to pick up our blue velvet booths from Las Vegas, Scottie did us proud. Thanks for your detailed review of RETOX BAR in San Antonio.

…and don’t worry. Pictures coming soon.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Support The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk

Alzheimer’s Disease is something that hits close to home for me and my family. I had a grandparent that suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease (and one that developed dementia prior to her passing). So, what better way to participate in the fight against Alzheimer’s than to organize a team, raise money for charity, and get some exercise in the process?

The Alzheimer’s Association Memory Walk is the nation’s largest event to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer care, support and research. Held annually in hundreds of communities across the country, this inspiring event calls on volunteers of all ages to become champions in the fight against Alzheimer’s. Since 1989, Memory Walk has raised more than $225 million. Team captains are needed NOW! Team Captains need to sign up early to ensure they have enough time to recruit a team and raise funds for the cause! I signed up to be a Team Captain this morning.

In order to join or start a team, simply locate a walk in your area. Then, begin recruiting family, friends, and colleagues to join your team…and ask for donations. Our team name is “In Memory Of…”, and our fundraising goal is $1,000. If you do not have time to participate in the walk but want to help a worthy cause, please consider donating to our team.

Donate to my team IN MEMORY OF… and support the fight against Alzheimer’s Disease.

If you are a blogger and you donate to our team, I will provide you a link with the anchor text of your choice in my recap of the Memory Walk…regardless of your donated amount. However, a $20 offering would be appreciated. After you donate, please send me an email confirming your donation to derrich [at] derrichdotcom. Blogger or not, I will definitely list your name as a donor…unless, of course, you wish to remain anonymous. The Memory Walk in San Antonio takes place Saturday, October 20, 2007. Thank you in advance!

Popularity: 6% [?]

BlogRoll

• Milk Was A Bad Choice
• CrackBerry.com
• Stock Trading 101
• For The Love Of Sports
• Project Spurs
• Busted Coverage
• WallStreetFighter

Sponsors