Sights & Sounds

And to follow up with last week’s gigantic S&S post, here is an extremely short one. Just a few links.

Manoj : Telemarketer Elite.
An Acoustic cover of Toxic.
Here is some Zach Galifinakis Stand up for you.
And last, Nick Swardson on Jimmy Kimmel. The story about him and Jamie Kennedy is pretty funny….or at least I think.

Th..th..tha…tha…tha…that’s all folks.

Jeff K

Sights & Sounds

Here I am back in action after a holiday that included such highlights as a fever of 173F and losing my voice completely. Before I get things rolling here, I feel I should warn you about what you are about to read. After reading this post, you will likely ask yourself the following questions: “Does Jeff K work for a living?” The answer: “I do”. Next you might say “Then he has way too much time on his hands”. However, I assure you that the following theory and experiment took no more than one hour in total.

You read correctly, as a man of science, I have again decided to test out a theory. Every once in a while a strange thought will come across my brain and…well... I will try and walk you through how I came to the following tests.

MySpace is a great place to discover music, so, what I will often do is poke around the site for a while listening to music I haven’t heard before. I have found that the best way to filter through the junk is to go to the MySpace pages of bands/artists you already like, and then check out their friends and the people leaving comments. One day I was on the Lotus Child MySpace and I noticed that someone named Gina Loes had left a comment. The picture showed her with an acoustic guitar so I thought I would check it out. Sure enough when I clicked my way to Gina Loes' MySpace there was some music to be found, and I actually quite enjoyed it. All of the songs have anywhere between 12 and 212 plays. So, barely anyone has actually dropped into this page. Next I found myself clicking my way to Jason Molina’s MySpace page, who I really enjoyed. This clicking from MySpace to MySpace can go on forever if you let it, and you can find some pretty great undiscovered musicians out there on the Interweb. It is a bit sad, actually, that there is so much great music out there that you will likely never hear. In fact, you will probably never hear your true favorite song.

In any case, I got to thinking, you really can click from MySpace to MySpace endlessly to where you would probably end right back to where you started. This led me to wonder if everyone in MySpace actually is connected. Next I started thinking about the “Six degrees of Kevin Bacon”. This is the theory that any actor/actress can be linked to Kevin Bacon through film roles in only 6 degrees of separation. Naturally, I had to then wonder, could I link someone from MySpace to Kevin Bacon’s MySpace… makes sense… right? Why not start with Gina Loes who is basically unheard of on MySpace with only a little over 2000 profile views. Guess what, it took me a matter of minutes to link Gina Loes Myspace to Kevin Bacon’s in 6 degrees. Here is the break down:

1. Gina Loes is friends with Lotus Child

2. Who is friends with U2

3. Who is friends with Megan Light

4. Who is friends with Chip Greene

5. Who is friends with John Corbett

6. Who is friends with… wait for it… KEVIN BACON

To be honest, this kind of blew my mind how easy this was. I figured I must have been lucky, so, I emailed Luke (an external source) and asked him to give me the names of two polar opposite people on MySpace. My plan was to link them together in six degrees or less, and then possibly link each one to Kevin Bacon. What were the two names he came up with? Barack Obama and Rob Zombie. Pretty great choices. I can’t think of even one thing that Obama and Zombie have in common. I am sure there is even a joke somewhere here… but I can’t think of one.













So, after about 20 minutes, here is what I came up with...

1. Barack Obama is friends with Third Eye Blind (That is kind of bizarre isn’t it? Third Eye Blind is actually on Barack’s top friends list)

2. Who is friends with Hip Hop Lives

3. Who is friends with Demetri Martin

4. Who is friends with Tom Papa

5. Who is friends with… who could it be… Rob Zombie

That didn’t even take 6 degrees… now how about Kevin Bacon?

1. Rob Zombie is friends with Tom Papa

2. Who is friends with Demetri Martin

3. Who is friends with Hip Hop Lives

4. Who is friends with Tom

5. Who is friends with Hugo

6. Who is friends with… it couldn’t be... yes it could… Kevin Bacon

And lastly…

1. Barack Obama is friends with Third Eye Blind

2. Who is friends with Tom

3. Who is friends Hugo

4. Who is friends with … not already… only 4?... that’s right… Kevin Bacon

That one was especially easy. Again, this didn’t even take very long. None of these relationships even required me to click past the first page on any of the friends lists. Also, I am pretty sure some of these could be shortened to even lesser degrees of separation if I wanted to spend the time.

So there you have it, I am really not sure what this proves. Honestly, in doing this, I really did forget why I was doing it. I guess just to prove you can link anyone to anyone on MySpace. This actually led to a brief argument between my wife and I about Facebook. She spends more time on Facebook than can possibly be healthy. I told her that I was positive I could link her Facebook page to Kevin Bacon. She disagrees. If it wasn’t for my absolute hate for Facebook, I would prove her wrong… but this will have to wait until I can bring myself to actually browse the site.

There is one more observation that I feel I should bring forward from this whole study. You may already be aware of this, but here is one thing that became very clear when clicking around on MySpace… there are a lot of scandalous pictures! If you go by all the pictures, MySpace is made up of 33%-47% hot chicks. I would argue that this is probably not an accurate representation of the real world. Just to prove this finding, check out this list of friends from the Hip Hop Lives MySpace. There is a minimum of 10 semi-erotic photos on this page. Seriously, what is the deal with all the half-naked women on MySpace? It is ridiculous.

Now on to something a little lighter, here are just a few links that may keep you entertained for a few minutes if you happen to be bored… which if you are reading this, you probably are.

- Lets start with a few Conan O’Brien Clips:
Clip 1 - The Rock Band stuff is hilarious. Also, I am a big fan of Conan’s writers-strike beard. Apparently he is not shaving until the strike is over. Apparently Letterman has a strike beard as well.
Clip 2 - Chuck Norris is Back!
Clip 3 - Conan surprises people on their tours through his studio during the strike.
Clip 4 - Here is a bit of classic Conan. Norm MacDonald is hilarious.

- Do you have an hour to kill? If you do, here is a film which actually includes performances of every single song on the new Radiohead album. I am a pretty big fan of the new album, so I think this is great. This is just another example of how unorthodox Radiohead is. They actually posted a video with every song off their new album. Crazy. Also, if you happen to buy their new album you will find that it only costs $7.99. Why so cheap? Because it comes in a folded up piece of cardboard. In this envelope you will find the cd, two stickers with instructions on how to place the sticker onto a plastic cd case, and a cd book with the lyrics that can be placed into a cd case. So basically, they provide you with everything you need to make a normally packaged cd, except for the plastic case. Strange.

- Check the skills of this drummer. Mario Bros 2 like you have never heard it before. The part at 2:05 is awesome

- If you think I have too much time on my hands, check out this guys clips on Youtube - here and here.

- How about a couple clips from Jimmy Kimmel.
Clip 1
Clip 2

- And we better balance thing up a bit. I gave you some Conan and Kimmel… here is some Letterman.

- I still haven’t decided if this is actually funny or not yet. You be the judge.

- And, we might as well finish up the links section with this clip, that should have women around the world cringing. Another step backwards for feminism.

Before I sign off for the week, I feel I should also mention a movie recommendation. I recently saw the film Once - which is currently available on DVD, and it was outstanding. If you are a fan of independent films, Damien Rice, and David Gray… then this film is for you. Once is what they call a “modern day musical”. About 60% of this movie is music. However, don’t fit this in with what you have previously categorized as a musical. Basically the story follows Guy (Glen Hassard of the Irish band “The Frames”) who is a struggling musician. He meets Girl (there are no names… the leads are Guy and Girl) who plays the piano and she inspires him to record a demo. The majority of the movie is them playing songs. Again, if you like folk/acoustic type music like that of David Gray and Damien Rice, you should like this movie, if nothing else, for the music. I was going to link some songs from the movie, but I feel that if you heard the songs before hand, it would take away a bit from the film experience. If it wasn’t for a bowl game that I had to watch, I might have actually watched this movie twice in a row.

And there you have it… do I have too much time on my hands?

Jeff K.

Sights & Sounds

We're foregoing the headshot today, as Chris Simon has got that one all locked up for the week. It wasn't a headshot but it was a savage act of goonery. So we're putting up a special holiday Sights & Sounds and then the Sports As Life World Headquarters are going to be closed for a week or so. Happy Holidays from everyone at Sports As Life!


Sight & Sounds – Special Christmas Edition

I wasn’t planning on writing anything until the New Year, but then I came across a video which has left me asking myself, “Why are the Killers trying to ruin my Christmas?” For one reason or another, this year I have had a tough time really getting into the spirit of Christmas. I have yet to see the Grinch Who Stole Christmas or Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer on TV, my wife and I have been too busy to decorate the house, and there just hasn’t been much Christmassy stuff in my world lately. But then, just as I am starting to get into things, the Killers come along and stomp on my Christmas spirit. Take a few minutes to watch the video for The Killers new Christmas song. Wow….right? I should probably now apologize for ruining your Christmas by having asked you to watch this video.

Seriously… what the hell were the Killers thinking? Do they have something against Christmas? Did Brandon Flowers not get any presents when he was a kid? Did he have a bad experience with a mall Santa? This is just awful. First, let’s ignore how creepy the actual song is and go straight to the imagery put forward in this video. Did I actually see a reindeer skull? Did I see a beetle crawling in the desert? Did I see the creepiest puppet show of all time? Is this bearded freak show actually wielding an axe with the intention of killing Brandon? Is he digging a grave while dancing? What is with Brandon’s completely expressionless face? Can you also see the hate for Christmas in his eyes?

Then there is the song itself. Before I start in with the negative, I will give this song one, and only one, compliment. The chorus is catchy. The words are terrible… but the melody is great. If this wasn’t a Christmas song, I may even like it… but, it is a Christmas song. There is not one recognizable Christmas song characteristic in this song. The lyrics are terrible and in no way represent the spirit of Christmas. The vocals by Santa will only succeed in scaring the bejesus out of anyone under the age of 11 (and in my case 27). Aren’t Christmas songs supposed to contain G rated material? Terrible, that is all you can say.

So, to get me back in the Christmas spirit…here is what I had to watch. Nothing says Christmas like cleavage and legs. Thanks Mariah!

Have a happy holiday season to all! Sights & Sounds will be back in the New Year.

Jeff K.

Shake It... Shake, Shake... Shake It Like a Polaroid Picture

'Tis the season for Best of Lists and Phony Awards, so why should we be any different. Today Jeff K and I are giving you our picks for the best music of the year. Jeff's picks are up first and then mine follow...


So, Luke asked me to put together a list of my Top 3 albums and Top 3 songs of 2007. He asked me to do this about 3 weeks ago… and I am finally getting around to it at the last minute. Do you know what I realized in writing this? There has been slim pickings for music this year. It was actually a terrible year in music. I honestly had a real tough time coming up with 3 albums and songs. I am sure part of this is to blame on my laziness this year with music. I have not spent a whole lot of time looking for new music, and there hasn’t been much that has come across my desk. It seemed that every time I thought of a great album, it turned out to be released in 2006 or even 2005. I think another contributing factor to why I can’t find anything would be that I didn’t spend enough time thinking about all the music I listened to this year. So, if you disagree with something below, I don’t blame you. There are probably albums and songs I will think of after the fact. In any case, here is the quick list.

Top 3 Albums

1. Lotus Child – Gossip Diet: That’s right, if you know anything about this album, you will know that I am cheating right out of the gate. This album was released in 2006. I have, however, decided to break the rules (of which there aren’t any) and name this my favorite album of 2007. Why? Because I didn’t come across this album until early this year, and without a doubt, I gave it the most play of any album I own this year. This is an album that I just never got tired of. I am one of those people who is too lazy to change cds in his car, so usually listens to the same album for way too long. However, in this case, it was not a problem. The opening track “Lids” opens with one of the best piano intros ever written, and that pretty much sets the tone for the album. There really isn’t one song on the album I dislike. There is usually one song on every album that I will skip, but not with this album. If you haven’t heard of Lotus Child, check out their Myspace and listen to Archaeologists, Lids, and Kate….and the new track No Talking. So…check it all out.

2. Bloc Party – A Weekend In The City: Well, with my second pick I am now officially in the year 2007. A Weekend In the City is the Bloc Party’s sophomore album… and it is fantastic. Just as with the Lotus Child album, the first minute of the album really sets the tone. The intro to the opening track has the haunting vocals that are a big reason why I love the Bloc Party so much. The opening track is Song for Clay (Disappear Here) and you can check it out on their Myspace. The Bloc Party are definitely one of the top rock acts out there right now. I still like their first album, Silent Alarm, better - but this album is still outstanding… especially among all the weak albums of 2007. A Weekend in the City is a solid album from front to back.

3. Donovan Woods – The Hold Up: I am one of those people that seems to be always saying “listen to this song, this is definitely one of my favorite songs of all time” a little too often. Anytime something new comes along that I really like, I get pretty excited. So this may be why Donovan Woods has made my list. I recently came across this album, and haven’t stopped listening to it. Again, check out Donovan’s Myspace and listen to My Cousin Has A Grey Cup Ring and He Drinks Gas. If you aren’t sold after those two songs, well… you should get your music recommendations somewhere else. This album is outstanding, and the lyrics are phenomenal. I am not usually one to pay that much attention to lyrics, as I am more of a melody man, but I love the lyrics that Donovan lays out. The words combined with the way he delivers them really hits hard. Plus, Donovan Woods’ lyrics are very Canadian. I always appreciate bands like Sam Roberts and the Tragically Hip for writing words that you can relate to as a Canadian. Obviously, My Cousin Has A Grey Cup Ring is one of those songs, along with Car Won’t Start. I love this album, and it could have very easily been #1… but I like to give albums a bit more of a test of time that 1 month.

4. Honorable Mention: Tegan and Sara – The Con: This album didn’t make the list, but it almost did. However, I realized that it would have only made the list on the strength of their previous album So Jealous. That album is so good that I think it carried through to the way I look at The Con. Really, it isn’t nearly as good as So Jealous. Also, my four favorite songs of the album probably total about 6 minutes in playing time. They have too many 1-2 minute songs for my liking. Just when you are getting into the song, it is over. But, Tegan and Sara are the best band out there today, so I should include them in my list.

Top 3 Songs

1. Hey Ya – Obadiah Parker (Mat Weddle): That’s right, cheating again. This song was recorded in 2006… but again, I didn’t hear it until this summer. It turns out that you can listen to one song 10,000 times and not be tired of it. I won’t lie to you, this song did eventually reach a saturation point… but it is possible that I did listen to this song more times in a 6 month period that any song I have ever heard. I may have even listened to it 30 times in a row at one point. Mat Weddle’s vocals are amazing and this is without a doubt the best cover I have ever heard. This song is just down right catchy. Here is the YouTube clip that I stumbled across. Hey… I just listened to it again, and I still love it! “If what they say is nothing is forever, then what makes love the exception?”

2. What Goes Around – Justin Timberlake: I don’t see how I can go without listing a JT song and still be able to sleep at night. There is no point in hiding it. I like JT. He gets it done. Honestly, here is how it all started. Check this clip out of David Choi from YouTube covering What Goes Around. After hearing this I thought… that is pretty damn catchy. I immediately grabbed my acoustic guitar and started playing those 4 chords that make up the entire song and realized… this is solid music. Ever since then, I have been loving his music. Actually, I am still not sure that Love Stoned/I Think She Knows isn’t actually my favorite song. The reason I didn’t choose it is that it is the second half of the song that I really like. Check out this video for this song (which is actually a shortened version). From 3:29 on is amazing. I really dig it, and I think it may be the catchiest melody of 2007. As sad as it is, I may have a man crush on Justin Timberlake.

3. The Special Two – Missy Higgins: I don’t have much to say about this one other than the vocals give me chills. Missy Higgins might have made my top albums list, but I haven’t gotten around to listening to the albums I ripped yet. Here is the video.

And there you have it. I am sure I will change my mind in 15 minutes on every choice I have made.


And now...


Like Jeff said, we decided to put together this little Best Of list about 3 weeks ago – and I’m finishing my list even later than him.

And as much as I hate to agree with him, I’m inclined to agree that 2007 was a pretty sub-par year for music. And it really shouldn’t have been – quite a few of my favorite artists recorded albums… Against Me!, Tegan and Sara, Stars, The Weakerthans, and The White Stripes, among others. I think the problem for me was the almost total lack of solid albums from new artists – or at least artists I’d never heard before. Cold War Kids, The National and Donovan Woods are the only ones that really come to mind. I might be leaving out a couple but the fact that they don’t easily come to mind leads me to believe that I’m not forgetting anything.

But onward and upward – there was some great music released this year and that’s what we’re here to deal with. So here are my Top 3 albums of the year.

Top 3 Albums

1. Modest Mouse – We Were Dead Before the Ship Even Sank
This one is a gimme for me because Modest Mouse is hands-down my favorite band. While this is not even my favorite album of theirs, it is sufficiently fantastic for it to be my #1 album for the year. There are a lot of Modest Mouse purists out there who hate the last few albums because of the more polished direction the band has taken – but if I wanted to listen to a band who kept making the same record I’d listen to AC/DC. Are they pop-ier than they used to be? Absolutely but the albums are also a lot more consistent all the way through now. My highlights are Spitting Venom (which absolutely blew the roof off Doris Knight Hall last month - and should always be listened to a maximum volume) and Parting of the Sensory. Like Jeff, this album has been in my car for many, many months and I have pushed the limits of my stereo system, as well as my ear drums, with the volume I listen to this disc at.

2. Band of Horses – Cease to Begin
If not for the Modest Mouse album this would have easily been my #1. The funny thing is that I’ve only been listening to it for a month or so, that’s how good it is. There is not one bad song front to back. And I would rate nearly every song as “fantastic”. Originality is such a hard thing to come by these days and Band of Horses has it in spades. The fact that I can’t really think of anyone to compare them to is probably a big part of why I like them so much. Honestly, just go buy this album – there is absolutely no way you could be disappointed by it. Songs to hear are The General Specific, Ode to LRC and Marry Song.

3. Bright Eyes – Cassadaga
This is the Bright Eyes album that I’ve been waiting for. His past few albums have had moments of serious transcendence but were always lacking consistency. I’m unbelievably jealous of Bright Eyes (Connor Oberst) as a lyricist – and Cassadaga did nothing to change that. Lyrics like, “I tried to pass for nothing but my dreams gave me away,” and “it’s not that often, but I think of her sometimes – just something quaint, a couple ships in the night” just bring me to my knees. Tops for me are If The Brakeman Turns My Way (and if I hadn’t imposed a rule on myself that my album and song lists couldn’t overlap, this would have been my song of the year) and Classic Cars.

4. Honourable Mentions: Against Me! for New Wave, Rilo Kiley for Silver Lining and Wayne Petti for City Lights Align

Top 3 Songs

Here are my top 3 songs of the year. Like I said I wanted to pick 3 that didn’t appear on any my albums of the year. Another requirement was there be a YouTube clip of the song – which is why some, like “He Drinks Gas” didn’t make the list. Click on the name of the song to listen to it.

1. Fake Empire – The National
If we had been doing the Top 5 albums of the year, The National’s Boxer would have been on it – but since we only did the Top 3 I can include this song here. There is nothing not to like about this song: great piano, deep soothing brooding voice, and a phenomenal drum fill that kicks in about halfway through the song. I defy you to listen to this song and not tap your foot or nod your head.

2. Hey Ya – Obadiah Parker
I tried so hard to pick Obadiah Parker’s cover of Idioteque for this list instead of Hey Ya – just to disagree with Jeff. But I couldn’t do it. Hey Ya is just too good. If I was only able to listen to one song for the rest of my life this song would be on my short list. The song is just so simple and I think that’s part of its appeal. Mat Weddle’s voice is almost as impressive as his beard. The live version on their Myspace site is superior to this solo version though.

3. Virtue the Cat Explains Her Departure – The Weakerthans
Since Jeff already broached the subject of man-crushes, I’m not ashamed to admit that I have a serious man-crush on Weakerthans lead singer John K. Sampson. His lyrics are always phenomenal – not everyone can make a song about an imaginary cat tragic and powerful. This song paints such a vivid picture I feel like I know what it's like to run away - you know, if I were a cat. Virtue… really hits its stride, at least musically, towards the end of the song and it is potentially heartbreaking.

I think I could have about 15,000 Honourable Mentions – so I think I’ll just leave my list as it is.

So that's it for the musical year that was - come January 1st we'll start compiling our list for next year.

“Without music, life would be a mistake…” – Friedrich Nietzsche

The Sports As Life Utterly Meaningless and Totally Contrived Year-End Awards

The end of the year means two things - useless resolutions that will inevitably be broken approximately 1.3 days after January 1st... and made-up awards. We'll do the awards first - I'll wait 'til January to deal with my addiction to Duel.

We've got 4 award categories this year (as that's all I could really think of). All 4 of the Sports As Life contributors (as well as myself) were asked to pick one person/moment/story in each award category. So here we go...


The Mark Mangino Award (For Biggest Story/Moment of the Year)

Cooper: I am going to be a major homer on this one - but my choice for the biggest sports story/moment of the year (more moment than anything) is the Riders finally prevailing and winning the Grey Cup. I know I complained about this team as much as the next guy but it was still great to see them finally win one.
Jeff K: First, who in the hell is Mark Mangino? After Googling him, I did come up with this clip. After watching this, this award should probably be for the biggest blowup/meltdown in sports. How can someone of his health/physique have a fit like that and not go into cardiac arrest?
On to my pick for favorite sports story of the year - I would say Brett Favre. Brett is dominating at the age of 38. The Packers have been playing tremendous football all year and this all stems from Brett's play. After reading the Sports Illustrated "Sportsman of the Year" article where they gave the honours to Brett, I have decided this is the greatest thing in sports this year. Hopefully Brett can pull some sort of miracle out and beat the Cowboys and then Pats in the playoffs to take the Super Bowl... then he could retire already. Although, why retire when you are in your second prime?
Luke: I'm going to surprise everyone (and disgust myself) by saying this - but it's the New England Patriots. As much as I loathe that organization to its very core, I can't deny that what they're doing is unbelievable. We may never again see a team dominate with such ease and play so flawlessly (at least prior to the last few weeks). Through the first 10 or so weeks of the season they played football as close to perfection as is humanly possibly. And they just made it look so easy.
TH: England not making the Euro 2008 competition after being knocked out by Croatia 3-2 in their final match of the qualifying round. For a nation that worships European football this is a big one. Turkey made it. Romania made it. Poland made it. Even the neutral Swiss made it. Not only will England not be in the Euro Cup competition next year, they won't be in the World Cup in 2010. This will be the end of some of England's best international players' careers. I think that this will affect a whole nation's psychology and sense of self... and for that it is the biggest sporting story of the year. The award goes to England's collapse and the let-down of an entire nation.
Trebor: Kevin Glenn breaking his arm. That story meaning that the Riders, for the first time, wouldn't have to wait 23 years between Grey Cups... only 18.


The Pierre McGuire Mangasm of the Year Award
This award is given to a player who's jersey you would buy or makes you sit up and say 'wow' - basically your favorite player, regardless of sport.

Cooper: My choice for the Pierre McGuire Mangasm of the Year Award goes to Adrian Peterson of the Minnesota Vikings. As much as I dislike the Vikings and their horrific colour scheme, I am very impressed with how this kid runs. (Remember when you referred to a pro-sport rookie and couldn't call them 'kid') He is one of a few rare breed of running backs that possesses the speed and agility of a Gale Sayers and the brute power and strength of a John Riggins. It is a shame that he will most likely be gone from the NFL in a few short years. Taking pounding after pounding, week in and week out in the NFL eventually takes its toll (i.e: Ricky Williams, Priest Holmes, Jamal Anderson, Jamal Lewis). And with his history of injuries at Oklahoma (broken collarbone, sprained ankle) and now his torn LCL with the Vikings, it leads me to believe he will be going to the glue factory in a short time. Watch him any chance you get while he's still here.
Jeff K: My favorite player: Daniel E. Ruettiger... Rudy! Rudy! Rudy! Honestly, after thinking about it, I don't think I have a "favorite" player right now. So I guess I am taking resumes. There are a ton of players that I like, but none I would call my favorite. How sad is that? Later Edit: After more thought, I should have chosen Steve Nash as the winner for this award... simply for this.
Luke: With all due respect to Purple Jesus, who I've loved since the Jets game in the pre-season, my Mangasm of the Year is San Francisco 49ers linebacker Patrick Willis. He runs like a gazelle and hits like Ike Turner... oooohhhh. Because he plays on an awful 49ers team I haven't been able to watch many of his games - but I did get to see him play on Saturday night. He laid a licking on Rudi Johnson (or possibly Kenny Watson) that made me get out of my seat, pumping my fist. /crosses fingers - Patrick Willis jersey for Christmas, Patrick Willis jersey for Christmas.
TH: Brett Favre, no doubt about it. Who would have thought that this old man - who was great in the mid-to-late 90's - would be having the year that he is. And seriously, who doesn't secretly root for this guy to win it all. To go out like Elway. To recapture a bit of his youth, and in turn a bit of our own youth. I am not a Packer fan, but I would most assuredly buy a Favre jersey. The award goes to: Brett Favre.
Trebor: Patrick Willis... maybe it came from watching the highlight of him against LSU. Just get all kinds of fired up over that. And though there hasn't been that many big hits (the Leinart hit has alright), he had back-to-back games with 18 tackles... so pretty good. He's also incredibly fast. In one of those games where he got 18 tackles he chased down a WR 62 yards from the line of scrimmage. Also I'm a fan of defensive play, despite being in all sorts of Fantasy leagues.


The Apollo Creed Award (For sports story that was beaten to death)

Cooper: My choice for the Apollo Creed Award is a toss up between the Mike Vick saga and the Barry Bonds home run chase/should their be an asterisk debate. I have a feeling that I am not alone in this, but I could be wrong.
Jeff K: Well there are some pretty obvious choices here. You have Michael Vick and his great decision making. You have the most lovable player in baseball, Barry Bonds, and his record-breaking home run and indictment. Honestly, between Bonds and Vick don't you have a couple great role models? Next you have anything that has to do with the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots... just ask Luke, who has repeatedly proclaimed his love for Pats coach Bill Belichick. The "Camera-gate" scandal was all you could hear for... well, it still is all you hear about. Also there was the reffing scandal when Donaghy bet on games he officiated in the NBA. So, in the face of all these dead horses that were beaten, what have I chosen? How about the Beckham's moving to Los Angeles. This shouldn't have received more than one day of media... and let's fact it, Victoria Beckham drove the story. If you take her out of the equation, you might not have even heard that David Beckham was moving to L.A. Honestly, I can't even think of what the US soccer league is called. NSL? MLS? Who cares? I hate is when Hollywood and Sports collide. I shouldn't have to see or read about Victoria Beckham when I am watching or reading sports news. By the way, what ever happened to Victoria Beckham's reality show? Good riddance.
Luke: I'm going off the board on this one... sure there was Bonds and Vick and Brady and steroids. But at least all of those stories were legitimately newsworthy, despite all the over-hyping that followed. My pick is something that I don't think even qualifies as legitimately newsworthy, not yet anyway. And it's the imminent death of the CFL at the hands of the mighty and terrible NFL. I haven't seen this much hand-wringing since O.J under the bathroom faucet in '94. Too soon?
TH: This is a tough one. Brady? Unbeaten Pats? But I have to go with Barry Bonds chasing the home run record earlier this year. Does anyone remember this now? After it happened Bonds, the Giants and excitement in regular season baseball just disappeared. But while he was chasing it that was all that anyone talked about on all the sporting networks... heck it even made it into mainstream news. Every time Barry and his sub-.500 team were playing that was the game that was shown. When he was a few away from the record, he every at-bat was picked up by all the stations that could pick it up - just to watch this over-the-hill steroid monster swing for the fences (usually striking out or walking after 4 or 5 pitches). This was going to be the biggest event in sports EVER... but it wasn't and the media jumped all over it like a hungry hobo. The award goes to: Barry Bonds run for the HR record... with honourable mention going to the Brady-loving media and the Pats chase for 'perfection'.
Trebor: "Spygames", "Patriot Games"... anything Patriot-related. Yeah, they are going to go undefeated and all but I just don't need to hear about it all the time. Coming a close 2nd is the Mitchell report... maybe because it's fresh?? It wasn't much of a story but it was hyped and the conference was a waste of time and the report proves nothing and it's an hour of my life I'll never get back. I hate baseball.


The Award for Most Howard Cosell Grave Roll-Overs (For worst sports commentary)

Cooper: My choice for the Howard Cosell Award goes to Mr. Bryant Gumbel of the NFL Network's Thursday Night Football. I was all pumped up to watch NFL football on Thursdays, however Mr. Gumbel's ineptitude at play-by-play has completely turned me off tuning in anymore. I am sure that I am not alone in this. Remember his quote, "Two Minutes Morning," instead of "Warning"? Classic!
Jeff K: I am about to make a few people very unhappy. Are you ready?... Don Cherry. I have always disliked Don Cherry. He is an idiot, plain and simple. I hate that he is so loved in Canada and is some sort of symbol of hockey. He is a crazy old man. He should be in the grocery store yelling at the cashier, not on TV. I just can't stand him, and I don't even care to go into more detail than that. The very close runners-up would be Chris Walby and Pierre McGuire. Coach of the Year Award: (I added this award for an excuse to link to this clip) The winner is - Rickey Jimmy.
Luke: It's Bryant Gumbel - hands down. He doesn't know the names of the teams, he doesn't know the names of the players, he doesn't even know what night he's calling the games on (on Saturday night he thought it was Thursday). All I need to say is that he's called Todd Collins, Tom Collins and Frank Gore, Al Gore. Next question!
TH: At first, I came up with Emmitt Smith. He is just the worst public speaker that could ever be - and he can't be forgiven for being an amateur because someone was dumb enough to pay him to slaughter the English language. But then I noticed the play-by-play/colour limitation (Ed. Note: originally the award was limited to booth personalities) and thankfully for my sanity Smith doesn't/can't do that (a person who would make me stop watching football altogether). So with that in mind, I would have to nominate the CBC/TSN CFL coverage teams. It doesn't matter which one you choose - they are all terrible. Walby, Suitor, Black... all of them suck so much it isn't funny. Could anyone make the CFL a bigger laughing-stock? YES, the idiots calling the games. There is Rod Black apologizing for everything, Brian Williams seemingly doesn't like football, Walby is a know-it-all loudmouth and Suitor... well, he is just there. K-Jo?!? Need I say more?
Trebor: This should really be like a Top 10, since there are so many to choose from. Emmitt is up there. If I watched TSN, maybe Palmer - TSN says he's an expert... how many snaps did he even take in the NFL? Madden comes close, not for taking an hour to figure out and describe why it's Three Rivers Stadium, not even for talking about Turducken. I go back to the game I watched in Wershington - Indy and San Diego. Peyton is bringing the Colts back on successive drives, completion after completion... to which John says, "It's almost as if Peyton is doing this on purpose"... thanks John. If I had to pick one... Keith Olberman really just annoys me to no limit. He was just doing highlights - "He could go all the... maybe only halfway... no, all the way..." If there was a tackle attempt or something then that's understandable, but the guy was clearly in fact going all the way.


So that's it for the SALUMATCYE Awards for this year. Who knows, we might even be doing this again next year. Feel free to nominate your own award winners in the comments.

Sights & Sounds

Dela“where?” That’s right, as Luke posted Tuesday, I did win an all expenses paid trip to Delaware (a.k.a. business trip). However, I thought I would take a few minutes to write something up.

I decided to search YouTube for “Delaware” and see if I could find a couple Delaware related clips to post. However, to no surprise, I found nothing worth watching… except for this montage. This will be more entertaining if you follow the NBC series The Office, but even if you don’t… I think this is a masterful montage. Seriously, this is one of the most well edited montages I have come across. Powerful stuff. You can tell that every scene had a lot of thought put into it. The lyrics sync up with the images perfectly. I really can’t say enough about it. NBC themselves couldn’t do any better. As a testament of how well it is made, my Wife said she almost cried…which probably means she did. You can question my masculinity, but this is emotional stuff.

So, instead of a Delaware theme, here are a few songs that I think are great montage songs… in other words, here are a few slow jams. I was going to put up more montages, but all the roads led back to Jim and Pam from The Office. There must be 9000 montages of those two… and Jack and Kate from Lost. So instead, here are just the audio only videos or official videos for the songs.

Eyes – Rogue Wave
Mat Kearney – All I Need
(I just Don’t Think I’ll Ever) Get Over You – Colin Hay (I couldn’t find an audio only video or official video, so this guy’s video will have to do
Mad World – Gary Jules
In The Sun - Joseph Arthur
Hallelujah- Jeff Buckley
And of course... How To Save A Life – The Fray (no link…I think this one has played to death)
Of course there are millions more, but these are a few of the top of my head.

Now for something ridiculous. I am going to assume that you have already seen this clip of the song Chocolate Rain by Tay Zonday, as the clip now has nearly 12 million views. But now there is a new version that is for promoting Dr. Pepper’s new Cherry Chocolate beverage. Wow… I mean seriously… wow. I think this is the definition of selling out. I suppose he should cash in on this as much as he can, because let’s face it, Tay won’t be releasing any gold albums in the future… this is a 15 minutes of fame sort of thing. However, you have to seriously question his integrity as an artist and person after seeing this video. It is like a low budget rap video. Most importantly though, the end of this video revolts me. Tay being doused with what is supposed to look like chocolate syrup… disgusting.

How about something even more ridiculous? Check this out. When watching this, you can almost hear the sound of women everywhere cringing. I don’t watch The View, but I have overheard some conversations on the occasions that my wife has been watching. One thing is for certain, when these women start debating anything that requires any sort of intelligence they sound like complete morons (and I am unfairly lumping them together… Joy Behar is tolerable). They should definitely avoid religion and politics all together, that is for certain. I am sure everybody remembers this other display of Mensa level intelligence from Sherri Sheperd? And of course there were the 9/11 conspiracy theories spewed out of Rosie O’Donnell’s mouth while she was on the show. Trust me when I say that I am not sexist, but after listening to these ladies, I think they should spend more time talking about baking cookies. Hey Ladies! Leave the news to the news people… I don’t like your View.

Jeff K

Note - All baking cookies-related complaints can be forwarded in writing to the following address:

Jeff K
Department of Internet Research, Cultural Oddities and Sensitivity Training
Sports As Life Towers
Regina, SK

Sights & Sounds

I really don’t have a structure for this post yet, so I am just going to throw out my random thoughts in no particular order whatsoever.

First, thank you Trevor. I must give credit where credit is due. I know there are several Trevor’s that read this blog, so I will be more specific. Thank you to the Trevor that for the last two years has been telling me to pick up The Shield on DVD because he thinks it is a great show that everyone should see (or we could just say the Trevor that spells his name correctly). And for once Trevor, you know what the hell you are talking about. When I was in Costco a while back and saw the first two seasons packaged together for $49.99, I figured what the hell, I might as well give it a shot. I just wrapped up the first season at 1:40 am Tuesday night which lead to one of my DVD hangovers the next day. I just don’t know when to call it quits sometimes. But trust me, you can’t stop watching The Shield, especially when it comes down the last two episodes. (I watched the first season and a half of The Shield in one sitting) So, what can I say about The Shield? It was nothing like what I expected. First of all, it stars the Commish. (the exact reason I couldn't talk myself into watching the show - but once I started I couldn't stop) So I didn’t have high hopes. I am a pretty big NYPD Blue fan, and I kind of figured it would be similar… a stock police drama. I was expecting the usual solving of crimes where all ends well and everything is kittens and bunnies. NOT The Shield. On the DVD packaging there is a line that reads “The road to justice is twisted”… they are not kidding. The Commish a.k.a Vic Mackey, played by Michael Chiklis, is CRAZY. Seriously, I spent the first few episodes having a moral debate on whether I wanted to root for him or against him. There is some seriously disturbing material in The Shield, but my wife put it best, any show that can make you nauseous with either what is going on, or with anticipation of what is going to happen… is a great show. The Shield is now in my top 5 all time shows… but we will wait to see how season 2 unfolds. So, pick it up if you like to watch your TV on DVD…it is a good one.

Speaking of picking things up at Costco… I just bought a Harmony remote. Logitech has created a miracle in the form of a remote control. It literally blew my mind. While there are a thousand “universal remote controls” out there… this is the ONLY truly universal remote I have ever used. It has replaced 8 of my remote controls (with another 3 planned). I won’t bore you too much with how it works, but basically, with the click of one button (such as “watch tv”) everything involved with watching TV turns on and then it changes all the inputs to the correct setting. It is amazing. I am in love with my remote, and plan on getting a holster for it so that it never leaves my side. (you know - I wish I had something funny to add here, but I've got nothing)

Now to music. Luke recommended I check out Donovan Woods as he had heard him on Radio3, and I am obligated to pass him along to all those that read this, because Donovan Woods is outstanding. Check out his myspace and the tracks He Drinks Gas and My Cousin has a Grey Cup Ring. You may have even seen a CFL montage after the Grey Cup on CBC over which they played My Cousin has a Grey Cup Ring. I tried to find it on YouTube… but wouldn’t you know it, it was nowhere to be found… along with everything else CFL. (he is one Grey's Anatomy-type break from making it big time, we need to make this happen somehow)

Speaking of football, have you seen this clip? I wish all refs would free wheel it like this.

Dude...hilarious

You stay classy Rob Stone

And here are a few clips from the classic vault of YouTube.

The Free Hugs Campaign

David Blaine Parody

Spiders On Drugs

Urban Ninja

On to movies… Die Hard 4 – Live Free or Die Hard is awesome. I don’t know if there is much more to say about it. I think it is sad that Bruce Willis is the best active action movie star. Everything about this movie is ridiculous and not one bit of it is realistic, but I loved it. It is just Bruce Willis kicking some ass in the most entertaining way possible. I should mention that I didn’t want to like this movie, but I couldn’t help it. There just aren’t any good action movies anymore. If you liked the previous Die Hards, check this one out stat.

Last, I thought I should mention a bit about my experience at the Tool concert in Saskatoon on Tuesday. First, a bit of background. I am a pretty big Tool fan. I am not as big of a fan as I used to be in high school, but I am the owner of 1 Tool Bunnyhug (Hoody for any out of Saskatchewan readers) 1 Tool Toque (knit cap, for any out of Canada readers), and all in all I have probably owned 4 or 5 Tool shirts. As I was a fan of them more in high school then now, I am a fan of their earlier work… mainly the albums Undertow and Ænema. In fact, before the show started, I said “They could come out and play only Ænema and then leave the stage…and that would be worth it for me”. I won’t keep you in suspense, they did not play Ænema… or Sober (no Sober - wow, I'm glad I didn't go now)… or anything pre-Lateralus… except Stinkfist. But, I don’t want to talk a whole lot about the set list, but rather a few observations/notes from the show.

1) Where do all the people at this concert work? I can honestly say, I have no idea where these people exist during the day. They must be the night shift at every 24hr company out there. Seriously, you will only run into many of these Tool fans at a Tool concert. It was a strange crowd. (they hang out at the Cornwall Centre during the day, I can almost guarantee that)
2) Although I am married, if I were single, I would make it a rule to not date any girl who is a Tool fan. I am not saying that the ladies at the show were unattractive, because that isn’t entirely true… there is just something that doesn’t sit right with me about a girl appreciating this type of music… but that is just me. I should mention that the ratio of guys to girls was probably 50:1. (hey - just like Sheldon-Williams Collegiate, Class of '99)
3) The show started great. They rocked my socks off for about an hour…but then they proceeded to leave the stage while the worst sound I have ever heard was playing at full volume. I can’t describe the sound but it was basically feedback with a rhythm. This was the noise for the laser show intermission. Honestly, it felt like 1 hour of torture to me. I appreciate they like to play around with sounds, but it went on forever. This killed the momentum of the show.
4) After the laser show which included all kinds of flashing lights, Maynard (vocals) actually says “no flash photography please”. ? Seriously? They strobe the sanity out of us and then tell us the flashes are bothering them?
5) What is the deal with the four band members being so spread out on stage? Do they not like each other? (reminiscent of the Modest Mouse show)
6) Does Adam Jones (guitar) not like playing anymore? Or does he always stand perfectly still while playing….at least Justin Chancellor (bass) made up for it with his hard rocking style.
7) Danny Carey is the best drummer I have seen…ever. He is amazing. It is like my friend Jeff said “Did you see the third arm sprout from his chest during that solo?”
8) Maynard James Keenan is bizarre. I have never seen a show where the lead singer spent the entire show on a platform next to the drummer without even a spot light on himself. He was so hidden in the dark; it might not even have been him.
9) There were 7 screens in total showing the usual bizarre tool imagery (just checkout any of their videos). I have now seen a life times worth of creepy eyeballs.
10) Summary: The show gets a B from me. The first hour was an A+…but after the 45 minute laser show to the most awful sound my ears have ever heard, it lost a lot of steam. Also the 25 minute slow improv of 10,000 Days after the laser interlude really didn’t help. The second half was just okay.
11) I almost forgot. Would somebody please shut up this screaming girl behind us…please! The girl behind us screamed at the top of her lungs causing us permanent ear damage. I was hoping one of the lasers would hit her in the larynx.

And that is it for this week.

Jeff K.

Sights & Sounds

Here it is - the much anticipated debut of Jeff K's Sights & Sounds column that will be running every Friday:

As I am a fair weather blogger who briefly dabbled in his own blog but didn’t have the energy to keep it up, Luke and I have come to what I think will be a mutually beneficial arrangement. I will be taking some of the load off of Luke by taking over his posts titled “Artist of the Week” and “The Links”, although the new “Sights & Sounds” posts will cover a bit broader subject matter.

Truth be told, and I am sure Luke would agree, I have been a major contributor to many of the links posted previously on this site (and by major he means nearly all the links came from him). As a “senior researcher” for Sports as Life (that is a self appointed title), it seemed the next logical step was to help free up some of Luke’s time for his other posts and take over the Friday entertainment post. I don’t like using the word “entertainment” as I associate that with Perez Hilton, ET, and E!...which are obviously examples of everything that is wrong with society. In any case, I am sure this will remain a somewhat collaborative effort between myself and Luke as I still probably get a good 50% of my new music referrals from him. So, let’s dig right in.

I recently came across one of the strangest musicians I may have ever heard. He has been around for a few years, but I had never heard of him before…which isn’t surprising as his music is a bit of a departure from my regular musical tastes. However, the catchy Hassidic reggae/ska music of Matisyahu strikes some strange chord with me. I can honestly say I don’t own even one CD that is even remotely reggae. I have always enjoyed Bob Marley, and the next closest band of this style I have listened to would be Sublime. But…when I heard the track “King Without a Crown” I couldn’t help but bob my head in the most reggae way that I know how. (I prefer the Live at Stubbs version myself)

Don’t think that this is a sample of what is to come in the following weeks on this feature…like I said, this not a great example of my musical tastes. However, I thought I would give you a link to the song and let you be the judge. While the lyrics are lost on me, the guitar riff in the chorus of “King without a Crown” is fantastic and the drums have the funk that I always appreciate… I just love funk in my drums. Also, you may also want to checkout the song “Jerusalem”

Next…here are some links to checkout.

If you haven’t checked out these guys before, here are some links to a few of my favorite Barats and Bareta clips.
- The Other Son

- Windward Reports: Cubicle War 2006

- Mother’s Day

- Auto Insurance

- MANtage “Consuming American Soil”...hilarious

Here is a pretty strange Youtube cameo… Elevator – Gravel’s Gamertag

I also wanted to take a second to address something Luke brought up a little while ago in one of his posts. I tried to find the post…but I can’t…so I will paraphrase it the way I remember it. Luke said something to the effect of “I can’t stand that fake guitar has become more popular than real guitar”. This is of course with reference to the greatest video game of all time Guitar Hero. As a player of both the original string-based instrument and the new plastic version…honestly, I completely understand why someone would choose the plastic version over the real thing. You simply can not be blamed. In 30 minutes, even an uncoordinated person can be playing great songs (along with the band) and feel like a rock star. That same person with a real guitar will be making some pretty awful noise. Playing Guitar Hero is ridiculously fun. Also, let’s not forget the cooperative mode where you can play dual guitars. I won’t lie to you; there was a time when I thought that being a grown man playing a small plastic guitar with buttons that remind me of a Fisher Price xylophone was embarrassing. Honestly, when I bought a second wireless guitar at the mall a while back, I couldn’t get out of their fast enough. It felt like everyone was looking at me and judging (they were). However, I have come to grips with the fact that I am a Guitar Hero. I don’t know if Luke has played Guitar Hero or not, but I have to assume he hasn’t…because I haven’t met anyone yet who after 30 minutes of Guitar Hero could put the controller down (He has in fact played it a handful of times - usually between 2 and 5 am in varying states of consciousness. And I will concede it is a ridiculously fun game. However, real guitar being less popular than fake guitar just seems to sum up our entire culture to me - and not in a good way. I could probably write 2,000 words about this. I'm also probably a little bit bitter because I can't get Guitar Hero 3 for the Wii anywhere). So…again, why would you want to play real guitar which is way harder, and way more expensive? Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that Guitar Hero is better than playing actual guitar. If I had to give one up for the rest of my life, it would be goodbye to Guitar Hero. However, if Guitar Hero had been out when I was in Grade 10, I may not be able to play actual guitar today.

Also, I am one of many who eagerly awaits Rock Band, the new game that includes guitar, base, microphone (for vocals) and the drums. This will no doubt create some hilarious moments of me and my buddies looking ridiculous.


Speaking of looking ridiculous…YYZ on Expert

At least this guy will have something to show for 6 years of college (like a Political Science degree?). This is ridiculous. Unless you have played the game, you have no idea how crazy this is. This is the tops for Guitar Hero skills.

Last, I wanted to touch on one more topic. With Remembrance Day having just passed, I decided to watch Band of Brothers for the 5th time. For those of you who may not have heard of Band of Brothers, it is a 10 episode HBO miniseries that follows Easy Company of the US Army 101st Airborne division from the day they dropped into Normandy all the way to the surrender of the Germans. Why am I bringing up Band of Brothers? Because if you haven’t seen Band of Brothers, you are missing out on the best piece of film making ever. I don’t say that lightly, it really is the best cinematic experience of all time. My favorite feature length movie is probably The Shawshank Redemption… and it is a distant 2nd to Band of Brothers. If you haven’t seen Band of Brothers you should run out and buy it on DVD immediately. You will not regret it. I was going to make the guarantee that if you didn’t like Band of Brothers, I would refund your money…but I am not that bold, so instead, perhaps I will mail you enough money for a 900ml Slurpee as compensation. There really isn’t one flaw in this series. It has an awesome cast and amazing production value. If you have a home theater, when watching Band of Brothers, you will get sucked in to it to the point where when it is all over, you will feel like you were there…so make sure you have seen it.

If there is anything you have any comments or what to hear about something specific, feel free to leave a comment or email Sports as Life.

Jeff K.