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NOLA 2007 Pt. I

Went down to NOLA last weekend for a great friend's bachelor party. A quick recap:

Landed @ 9pm Thursday night, after a quick drop-off of the luggage at a mini-mansion in the Garden District, took cabs to Fat Harry's to watch the end of the USC v. Tennessee game. My hunch on Tennessee blew up in my face, so I was left to hedge with THC for a few cups of vodka, which helped loosen the edge from the loss. A quick run to F&Ms led to a quick departure to Harras. Overall I was down, but give the place a B-, as friends were able to hang at the table and BS while not playing (not hovering, not minded at all) and gave us an opportunity to teach a buddy the basics (he is getting a hit/stay card for his birthday).

Friday - Golf went out the window when our AM tee time ran into our prior night. Found po' boys and Abitas down the street and hung out later at the pool. Chips were replaced with Pinto beans, which worked well enough to kill time until dinner, at Felix's downtown.

Great dinner, multiple doz. oysters and Crawfish Vonnie for dinner. I think we sped up the depletion of seafood by 3 years. Post dinner finally hit the Quarter for a quick hurricane at Pat O's before the party split. Proceeded to drink like prohibition was coming back on Monday at hole in the wall place until going home. Drank with my bud's boys from NOLA. Great crew, were more than willing to throw down and ignore my shenanigans. Got good reviews on my JR Reynolds slow/low five. Thanks for the pity.

Saturday - Grab card from prior night's bar, hit up a crawfish boil at the Racetrack, went back and got to dinner at Antoine's @ 8. Food was decent, especially the potato poppers. Was pretty done after dinner so called it an early night.

Great trip, hopefully I'll have the cobwebs out before returning for the wedding in a few months!

The Tuna Melt

Take a second and check out some of knewjack's tunes at TTM. I hadn't been to the site in a while but can't get over Luchini, that was such a first year staple. Hard to believe it was over ten years ago. Good to know I had (semi-decent) taste in music while in college.

Got some good exercise on my knee yesterday, 20 minutes on the elliptical. It is good to be able to do something. Also took a few practice swings in the yard, and was able to make a manageable swing. I am giving thought to buying a polo with a collar to my nipples, six buttons, dark pants and white golf shoes to fully embrace the Arnold Palmer imitation this weekend.

Columbus, Ohio

Aside from Virginia getting their heart ripped out on Sunday, my trip to Columbus for Rounds 1 & 2 of the NCAA tournament was very enjoyable. I've never met a city with nicer inhabitants, proved by the two hour bar conversation, post UVA's win over Albany, with two locals (OSU and Cincinnati grad) started on the almost completely random ?, 'so what is a Hoo'? Actually, it was prefaced by the two hours they spent trying to ask a decent looking Virginia fan, to no avail. As noted in that particular conversation, and with other OSU interactions, OSU fans were everywhere (outnumbered all fans at the games), were excited about their team, but pessimistic in their chances to reach Atlanta. They were also bemoaning the bad draw in Columbus, considering they had Kentucky, Cincinnati, and the UAB upset in 2005, I am partial to full agreement. As much as I want to side with OSU v. UT, I have great respect for a dangerous UT team. They played great both games in Columbus, and have the offensive firepower to beat OSU. I am certain they will win. As much as I don't care for Bruce Pearl's mannerisms during games, he was all class regarding Leitao, JR, and SS, but it's easy to be magnanimous after a W.

Had some great meals in Columbus (Betsy's, Katzingers, and an all-out bender at Jimmy V's that included numerous St. Patty's day jello shots). Everyone was just extremely pleasant, helpful, and willing to go the extra miles, from printing out my boarding pass at the front-desk of the hotel, to walking us through a map of the German village and where to grab drinks. High Street is a trendy/nice area.

Why not...

Our inputs are being captured on the >Sabre. See the BWI input.

Oh, and ask my next week how my torn ACL is going (golf: see you in 2008!).

Guys in Vegas, jeaous. Next year, phoenix from the ashes.

KL

While the majority of my attention has recently been paid to the NCAA tournament, I wanted to take a second and shake my head in disbelief at the ridiculous success of Kenny Loggins. KL is responsible for the music underlying the followinng greats:

Top Gun
Caddyshack
Footloose (also screenplay credit)

Additionally contributed to:
Summer Rental (vastly underrated)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Today I was astounded to learn he also wrote and performed The Masters theme! Insane!

NCAAs

I must be drunk with the optimism of a (barely deserving) 4 seed, but I see good things in Virginia's future for the weekend. Not to overlook Albany (I am looking in your direction EZ, for a counterpoint) but Tennessee is a streaky team, and the last time we had a good tournament run, our first weekend games were in Dayton (Columbus this year). There is a slight chance I could be going to the games.

Big fan of the Blue Ribbon yearbook, although I don't understand why someone would pay an extra $40 for overnight delivery versus pdf. That is a really expensive glossy coaster.

I haven't gotten into the details of the brackets, but teams I like are A&M, Wisconsin (I'm the only one), UCLA, and UNC. I don't like Ohio State, Kansas, Florida (UF losing would be good for America), Texas.

Outstanding Sean Singletary Article

Impressive

7,8,9,10

UVA will most likely be seeded 7-10 in the NCAAs, the proberbial lamb being led to slaughter in the 2nd round, against (my guesses) Georgetown (2), Memphis (2) or Ohio State (1). An 8/9 UVA/Kentucky game in Rd. 1 is not out of the question.

I don't know what was the worst feeling, while watching UVA piss away a 14pt 2nd half lead to NCSU (handily), watching Sidney (the valet) Lowe outcoaching Leitao, or UVA's offense consisting of Reynolds (1/13 at one point) and SS running off piss-poor screens, and watching our big men huddled around the free-throw line. Completely uninspired offense. I put the loss on the team, not Leitao. If UVA gets shipped out West in the NCAAs, it is going to be a tough win, regardless of the opponent.

1200

Why I may never eat out again.

I enjoy going out for dinner, and probably eat at restaurants to a greater extent than I probably should. I've often patted myself on the back for ordering the chicken dish and brocolli, and turned a blind-eye to the dousing of butter and fat it most likely received. Glad to come across the attached article, as I will now approach dinners out with a raised brow of skepticism (unless I'm hungery, or have had a few beers, or it is 3am and the neon lights of Taco Bell are beckoning, in which case all bets are off).

Worst Buy

Next time you purchase an item from Best Buy based on internet pricing, be sure to print out a hardcopy and take it to the store for validation .

What a load of garbage. The negative publicity will exponentially outweigh the potential gains.