Celebrity Picks

A vast collection of celebrities and kinda sorta celebrities made their Super Bowl picks in the 18th Annual Scripps Howard Celebrity Pool.

Shouldn't be surprised I agree with Jennie Finch, Kendra Wilkinson, and Robert Loggia (I picked the Colts because Robert Loggia tells me to!).

Bill has one piece of eye candy on his side. 24's Marisol Nichols, although her explanation for her pick isn't that comforting. "They're due".

My SECOND YouTube!

From the last time the Super Bowl was in Miami. Shannon Sharpe vs. Ray Buchanan. Hilarious stuff.

Sad Day

Received my FINAL issue of FHM Magazine yesterday. It's parent company Emap is ceasing publication of the print version of the US edition of the magazine, replacing it with a solely online magazine FHM Online.

No other reason than oversaturation I see for the magazine folding in print. The articles were useless compared to Maxim but its pictures were well done and their knack for getting always big boobied celebrities always made FHM day a welcome day of the month.

While that day is over, they put every photo spread they had in the can in the final issue of the magazine, so this month's is a must own collection full of pictures of FHM's best boobies.

If I had A Hundred Dollars

This is how I would bet Super Bowl XLI...

Game: $50 Indianapolis Colts (-7) over Chicago Bears- This just seems like one of those 80's Super Bowls where the media spends two weeks trying to convince themselves the team from the inferior conference has a chance. Plus this game is eerily similar to the 2004 World Series with Manning and the Colts able to be loose after climbing their biggest hurdle. I expect Indy to break away late.

Over/Under: $25 Over (49)- If you take the spread and the over/under and use some High School algebra Vegas is predicting Colts 28, Bears 21. I like the Colts by at least 10 after Grossman tries to do too much to win the game and gives up at least one pick-six.

Jersey Number of First Player to Score a Touchdown: $10 (would payout $8.70)Under (61.5)- The question here is whether or not a Running Back or Wide Receiver/Tight End will score the first touchdown. I couldn't find odds on each player without attempting to go on gambling websites which my company has deemed NSFW. Seems like a no-brainer here. Deep down Lovie Smith doesn't trust Rex Grossman in the red zone, Indy likes to get the ball to 4th and Lynches' own Joseph Addai in the red zone, if Rex Grossman throws an interception for a touchdown it'll be to a Colts DB wearing a number in the 20's.

Cross-Sport Prop $10 (would payout $8.70): Colts (-.5) over LeBron James Points vs. Detroit- This seems like a lock considering LeBron is coming off a toe injury and only scored 26 in his only other game against Detroit. I really like the Colts in this game, can't you tell?

Coin Toss $5 (would payout $4.75): Bears over Colts- Gotta pick the Bears to win something but this is a blind coin flip (ba dump ching) Betting the Coin Toss is a good way to get into the gambling mood all game long.

Only in Boston

An outside the box marketing campaign sent Boston into a frenzy all day Wednesday.

Turner Broadcasting's Cartoon Network in an effort to promote the new Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie set up several "Lite-Brite" like images of a "Moonanite" a heel character from the show all over public spots throughout Boston and nine other cities. The problem was the images were put on some bridges and other infrastructure and resembled bombs, causing all Homeland Security departments, Federal and Local to investigate and decommission the devices. Boston Mayor Thomas Menino was furious at the "hoax" and vows legal action will be taken against all involved for the resources spent investigating the devices.

Like most people who have had sex, I have never seen Aqua Teen Hunger Force and this marketing campaign and the events of today make me no more likely to see the upcoming movie. So to this consumer the marketing campaign has failed. And while I hate to take the side of Cartoon Network and this crunchy fellow

This seems to be a gross overreaction on the part of the Boston authorities and now that the source has been revealed to be realtively innocuous, all must feel a little embarrassed, whether they admit it or not. Prosecution would only set a dangerous precedent that people and companies could be held responsible for misperceptions of terrorist activity.

This event has spawned a couple mainstream media appearances by the SCZA which he will surely post on his blog.

Ohio State Blog is Done!

For anyone that read during the day. There is still more to read! Scroll below to read the COMPLETE Ohio State Weekend Blog III!!

Welcome to the Third Ohio State Weekend Blog

Below is my recollection of my third trip to Columbus, Ohio in a year and a half. Two differences between this blog and previous Ohio State blogs. This blog will be posted in several small columns for easier readibility. Also this time Paul from Paul's Poop came with me. You can read his recollections here.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: JetBlue

JetBlue provides the transportation for this trip. From Boston Logan to Port Columbus and coming back Port Columbus to Boston Logan via New York-John F. Kennedy. JetBlue warrants its own blog and next time I fly them I'll do one. An experience which had me wondering "why doesn't every airline do this?" TVs behind each seat, 36 channels of DirecTV, XM Satellite Radio, complimentary Dunkin' Donuts Coffee and Sprite Zero, flight attendants who don't look like they should be teaching High School gym (not to say they were hot, just not as hideous as most flight attendants have become). If I could ever start an airline this is what I would create. I felt like I was flying JetDerek. The only thing that kept the experience from being perfect was the snacks, these disgusting, dry, flavorless blue chips they served for snack.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Paul

A slight delay in my flight lessens the time I wait for Paul. I've covered who Paul is in other blogs before. Witty, funny, opinionated, blunt and steadfast in his opinions, some would say stubborn at times. He once argued with my mother in her house over the sexuality of a figure skater, the premise of which my mother was wrong, but you get the idea. He also REALLY LOVES sports. I found out on this trip that he DVRs Pac Ten Basketball games to watch when he gets home from work. While my brother is the reason for me to visit, seeing Ohio State's basketball team and their blue chip (and by blue chip I mean, good young player, not flavorless dry snack) NBA prospect Greg Oden is the focal point of this trip for him.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Friday Afternoon

After friendly greetings we claim Paul's luggage and hop a cab to my brother's apartment. An entirely seamless process. For the record, I have gone 29 years without one significant flight problem. Not one cancelled flight, not one lost piece of luggage, not one lost cab from the airport. I have just cursed myself for the next 29 years, I know.

Upon arrival Paul and I entertain ourselves, waiting for my brother to get out of work, with some uninspired games of pool. Took three games for someone to win without the 8 ball being scratched on or hit in by an opponent. Makes you wonder how the people on TV get as good as they do in pool. Did Minnesota Fats or that Asian on ESPN2 ever scratch on an 8 ball? Better yet, what if other sports worked liked Pool? Could Indianapolis be beating Chicago 42-0 then have Chicago win because Marvin Harrison knocked over a pylon or Adam Vinateri wiffed on a Field Goal? I hate Pool. A rebroadcast of the Giants Super Bowl win over the Bills knocks us both to sleep like only those old Giants teams could.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Mongolian Barbeque

Daren comes home and its off to one of the great small restaurant chains Columbus provides, BD's Mongolian Barbeque. They offer some appetizers and small entrees but Daren, myself, his friends and just about everyone that goes there goes for the Unlimited Stir-Fry. For $12.95 you get a bowl to fill at three stations 1) With raw meat, chicken, and seafood 2) Vegetables. eggs, and noodles 3) An array of sauces and spices. After you fill the bowl you hand it to one of six stir fry cooks surrounding one large stir-fry grill. They mix and cook your ingredients and hand you back your cooked bowl. I'll give you an example. One of my three bowls was New York Strip Steak and Shrimp over Lo-Mein noodles with Mushroom and Onions with an egg added for thickness, mixed with a combination of Chili Garlic and Barbeque Sauce with half a spoon of Cayenne Pepper. If it sounds delicious it was, if it sounds disgusting it probably was. You'd have to have been to understand.

Our group was Daren, his longtime girlfriend AnnMarie, good friends Jamie Natalie and his wife LAURA, Jon Marc and his fiancee' Abby, Mike Racanelli ("Rac") and his expecting wife Amanda, Paul and Myself. I did not get the name of our waiter but he was gay, of course and was surprised we were passing on dessert. I was so happy to see LAURA. I couldn't imagine a trip to Columbus and not seeing LAURA. My heartburn-enducing overly seasoned mound of slop and rice tasted that much more delicious because LAURA could watch me eat it. Yes, I'm overcompensating for writing two Ohio State Weekend Blogs and NEVER mentioning Laura. I am so sorry.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Ugly Tuna

While everyone else had to go to bed to get ready for early mornings the next day. Daren, AnnMarie, Paul and I went to an Ohio State bar called Ugly Tuna on its newly renovated Gateway complex on High Street. Syracuse alumni when trying to picture Ugly Tuna think Lucy's with more space and hotter bartenders (Pretty Tuna). I'll take this time to mention that I still, even at 29, do not feel out of place in college bars. I consider this a very good thing, whether its true or not. Would I feel out of place in a college dorm or a college sorority house? I don't know, but I'd love to find out!

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: ESPN College Gameday

Saturday morning Daren, Paul and I wake up and drive to Value City Arena to take in a live broadcast of the basketball version of ESPN's traveling College Gameday show as they and the ESPN A-Crew are visiting Columbus too. The basketball version which is nowhere near as highly rated or attended as its football counterpart is hosted by Rece Davis, Hubert Davis*, Former Drug Czar Digger Phelps and Duke/North Carolina/Syracuse shill Jay Bilas. About 500-600 Ohio State fans attended all positioned to show up on camera. Even we made it on a few times, I'm sure and we were positioned in the back of the crowd. A couple highlights:

1) A story on Michigan's "Fab Five" from 1993 was greeted by the usual boos until they replayed the entire play before Chris Webber's infamous timeout call. The Ohio State fans cheered urging Webber repeatedly to take a timeout until he finally did and then the crowd erupted in ovation. If it isn't the most hatred any fanbase has for any team, Ohio State's hatred for Michigan is the most entertaining. Very funny stuff.

2) A computer graphic marking Jim Boeheim's 1,000th coached game at Syracuse brought a non reaction to all but two fans in attendance. Paul and I clapped respectfully and for the sole purpose of being conspicuous.

3) The ultra catchy "Hang On Sloopy" and the Ohio State Student Song/Chant:

"We Don't Give a Damn 'bout the Whole State of Michigan, the Whole State of Michigan, the Whole State of Michigan. We Don't Give a Damn 'bout the Whole State of Michigan, cause WE'RE FROM OHIO"

*Davis is African-American, put on for diversity reasons playing the role of Desmond Howard, Curt Menafee, Shannon Sharpe and Ron Jaworski.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Ohio State Hall of Fame

Gameday ends and we politely decline Digger Phelps request to stay for two canned segments, and stop and walk the Ohio State Hall of Fame located inside Value City Arena. It is an impressive display of Ohio State history. I will break my code of silence in avoiding Hall of Fame talk to say that Daren Lynch absolutely belongs in the Ohio State Hall of Fame. National Champion both team and individually, All-American, Multi-time Academic All American, one of few Ohio State athletes to graduate in four years. Seems a college Hall of Fame would be setup to recognize such an athlete and I'm sure other people's brothers fit this kind of criteria too and they should be honored in such a way even if they didn't win a Heisman Trophy.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Eddie George's Grille

I pickup AnnMarie and head to Eddie George's Grille for lunch. Add Eddie George to the list of Don Shula, Michael Jordan and Wayne Gretzky of former sports figures who lend their name to a restaurant run by a family member, friend, or acquaintance and skim a little off the top to help get that restaurant off the ground. I get the club wrap with chili, even while suffering from the previous night's Mongolian Barbeque, I'm determined to blow out my intestines this weekend. The TVs are showing different televised basketball games with cards with logos put on each TV to tell you what game is on what TV. Apparently these are made VERY CAREFULLY as from our table we could see some Photoshop genius milking at least an hour designing the cards for the next day. Good food, good service, good times, apparently at night half the restaurant turns into a Martini bar named "Bungalow 27", good idea.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Poker Story

Still there are hours to kill before the 9:00 tipoff for the Ohio State-Michigan State game, so whenever four or more guys have time to kill. One word always comes up, POKER.

I am out early, went all-in with a pocket pair of Queens after the flop, even though there was an Ace on the table. Dumb move and one I'd never make if any money was on the line. My brother on the other hand has a run like I don't think I've ever seen. Not once, not twice, not three times, but FOUR TIMES he went all-in with a short stack resigned to an early exit and caught his cards. FOUR TIMES. Ended up winning the entire game. Unfortunately this wins him nothing but another place in my blog.

After exiting, Paul watches the first half of the Syracuse-Louisville game and decides to record the second half determined to not find out the score before we get back home from the game and watch it on my brother's DVR. At 8:00 its time to go to the centerpiece of the trip. Syracuse is up by I believe 8 and seems to be in control as Louisville can't hit shots and Palacios is scoreless.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Basketball Pageantry

For the makers of "Script Ohio" and "Neutron Dance Man" and "The Best Damn Band in the Land", Ohio State Basketball games lacked the expected atmosphere I built up from years of going to football games. No pyrotechnics or rock music during the lineup introductions. Just the usual college arena stuff. They even use that ESPN song from the first "Jock Jams" CD that Syracuse used when I was in college and probably still does. The basketball program does declare tonight "White Out Night" asking all fans to arrive wearing white. The results are cool to see and probably came out well on TV. It also allows Paul and I to make the joke to our families "can you see me on TV, I'm the one wearing white".

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Ohio State 66, Michigan State 64

Ohio State came out to a 20-point lead and almost gave it all up, escaping with a two point win. The second half comeback by Sparty was led by Guard Drew Neitzel. Among the Ohio State fans becoming restless at this time was the 70 year old guy next to us who apparently also doesn't feel out of place at college bars. He's just a little intoxicated and is slurring speech. Also when intoxicated the line between his thoughts and his words is clouded. So whenever the referees make a call against the Buckeyes, Drunk old man is thinking "The refs are blowing this game" and wants to say "You've got to be kidding me!". What comes out? "You've got to be BLOWING me!". He says this about five times, causing me to giggle each time. For if the refs were blowing him, I think even he'd know it.

Ohio State Weekend III: Greg Oden Thoughts

As for Oden, he scored Ohio State's first 8 points and led all Buckeyes with 20. All hook shots and free throws (for a center he's a fantastic free throw shooter). Had a couple blocks which the crowd oohed and ahhed. There are flaws though. He doesn't finish shots strong instead takes too many finesse hook shots. Maybe he's just trying not to get hurt this year but he looks tepid when he gets the ball down low for a guy who's 7'1". Also he only played roughly 32 minutes despite never being in serious foul trouble. If you want to be a 48 minute guy in a 80+ game NBA season, you probably should be a 40 minute guy in a 30+ game NCAA season. Still, tremendous upside, long, has great ceiling. All those good things people say during the NBA draft. He could sell a lot of Celtics tickets.

Ohio State Weekend Blog: "B-Dub's"

The night ends at Buffalo Wild Wings' known affectionately at "B-Dub's" by Daren's friends and I imagine a few other locals. "B-Dub's" is another restaurant chain that advertises nationally despite having no presence in New England and the Northeast. Which only serves to make me mad when I see their ads, want to go there and find out I can't.

Anyway we sit down and I try to locate the name of their hottest flavor of wing, because this weekend as previously mentioned I'm punishing my insides. It's called "Blazin'" I order six, if I finish twelve I get my name on a wall, but I decide to stay with six because my body's still kind of full from crappy arena chicken tenders (I always fall for those, why?).

I finish the wings fine, mouth pretty hot, sinuses flaring but I'm doing okay. I wipe my hands and since my eye is itchy I rub my eye. BIG MISTAKE! I didn't get all the sauce off my hands and he heat causes me to temporarily go blind and keeps my eyelids from being able to open. I rush to the bathroom and splash water on my eyes. When I come back I look like I just ripped bong hits for three hours, my eyes all glazed and bloodshot. But I do regain eyesight.

Paul decides to play trivia, the kind with those tacky word puns to tell you what the answer isn't. And I see on ESPN next to the trivia screen that Syracuse has lost and Doug Gottleib is talking above the caption "Syracuse Should Press the Panic Button". I know I'm due for a Paul fit when we see the second half on DVR and agree to watch with him.

Ohio State Weekend Blog: Louisville 76, Syracuse 71

Syracuse is up 13 with 8 minutes left and I'm wondering exactly how they lose this game. Well they don't score for 6 straight minutes and Louisville eeks out a five point win. Terrance Roberts and Darryl Watkins are the targets of Paul's fit and rightfully so. They really do both suck. The eternal optimist in me believes that if Paul Harris stays for a second year to get his confidence back, SU has a really good team in 2008. This is clearly not their year though.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Bentley

Woken up by a kiss hello from AnnMarie's dog Bentley. Bentley is a source of weakness for me. I love this dog like a son. In fact I call him "my son", which rankles "Uncle Daren". Since the last time I saw him, he learned this trick where he walks on just his front legs dragging his hind legs. He shows this off to Paul and I. I spoiled him with treats less often than Daren feared but still. He makes me want to get a pet, or just steal Daren and AnnMarie's.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Buckeye Corner

We take Paul to Buckeye Corner, where he buys his wife a nice Brutus hooded sweatshirt. I buy another t-shirt and marvel at what else I could buy. Ohio State lamps, coasters, even a grill cover designed to look like an Ohio State football jersey are available at Buckeye Corner. And unlike Manny's in Syracuse, you can actually walk around without bumping into people.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: The Claddagh

After a trip to Buckeye Cafe' which I was going to marvel about before realizing they are owned by a company that runs places like it at Louisville and Marshall. We head downtown for a nice Irish lunch at a place called The Claddagh. A friendly sign reminds us to leave our gun in the car as there are no guns allowed in The Claddagh. Oh well. Daren and AnnMarie take this lunch to pick Paul's brain about things to do while in New York and hear CNN stories, I quietly listen while enjoying a Corned Beef and Slaw Sandwich (apparently "Reuben" wasn't from Ireland) and fries. I'm also Hurtin' from the Blazin' the night before. I'm hurting from all the eatin' I've done this weekend. First thing I'm doing when I get home is hitting an Elliptical.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: Paul Leaves

At last we part with Paul at Port Columbus, we enjoyed his company and hope he had a good time. I guess we'll find out on his blog

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: After Paul Left

After Paul left and AnnMarie got some stuff from her apartment, we went to the AMC in Lenox to see The Departed. Now I had seen it earlier, but wanted to see it again knowing what happened to figure out the rest of the story. Daren also loves everything Irish and everything Boston so I knew he'd like this movie.

I don't think I'm spoiling anything for anyone saying a lot of people get shot in the head in this movie. While in a Surround Sound Stadium theater these shots sound all too realistic, causing people to scream and some grown woman to cry in her boyfriends arms at the end. The impressionable AnnMarie comes out wanting to shoot everyone in the head, the guy that ogled her coming out of the theater, the guy in the car in front of us. But especially this group of guys sneaking into the movies as people were leaving. I never seen AnnMarie this upset over anything not effecting her. Pretty funny actually.

We get Happy Meals with toys that make farting noises and the lovely AnnMarie irons my shirts for tomorrow and Tuesday. AnnMarie was my favorite of Daren's girlfriends before this, way ahead of the one that didn't talk and the one that wore snakeskin pants. This just confirms my already glowing opinion of her.

Ohio State Weekend Blog III: The End!

I doze to sleep, for my flight is at 6:35am on Monday. Another enjoyable Ohio trip with all the people and places that keep me coming back for more. Go Bucks!