March Madness!

It's the most wonderful time of the year! (I was singing that, in case you couldn't tell from the sterile emotions that a keyboard elicits - yes, I was singing the Christmas tune). Woooooooooo! It's March! This is the best month of the year, as you would know if you read my rankings of the months, which was on this blog but I am too lazy to link to right now. Oh March 2009, how I love thee; let me count the ways!

1. The Weather - I'm no fan of winter. I don't like cold. I resolved back in May that I wouldn't allow the weather to dictate my happiness, and I've been pretty good on that, but still...nobody likes winter. You are lying if you say you do. March is when the pattern finally breaks; when we are reminded that there are things other than snow, frost, frozen nostrils, and seeing your breath. There are still remnants of the winter (see: this morning), but that is what makes March great: it has such a personality. It's a little like Jekyll and Hyde, which is how I see myself...which might help to explain why I feel its such a glorious month.

2. The Basketball - Oh, the basketball! It's such a simple game, and I know there are people out there who don't like it; I don't know how they don't like it, I just know they don't. Consider the basketball schedule for every week and weekend this March.

First week (Mar 2-8) - Final week of the regular season. Many things are decided here in the major conferences like the Big East. Where will my Panthers end up seeding-wise for the Big East tourney? As a fan, I have dual rooting interests here. I root for the regular season conference championship, obviously, because that's what you play for: championships. However, the #1 seed plays a noon game in the Big East tourney. I work...therefore, I don't mind if they get the #2 or #3 seed, which play at 7 and 9 pm respectively (but I'm getting ahead of myself). That is all to be decided this week, when the Panthers play top 15 Marquette and #1 UConn, both at home. Quick question: what has two thumbs and will be at both of these games? Answer: THIS GUY! (Quick realization: that doesn't work over the computer). Also in this first week of March, the smaller conferences begin their conference tournaments. These are the most fun. I have made it a life goal of mine to see all 31 conference tournaments in person. So far, I have seen I think 4: Big East, America East, Patriot League, Ohio Valley. I am going over to Robert Morris for a game or two of the Northeast Conference Tournament, which will be#5. These tournaments are so sweet because you see teams that are legitimately excited to win, and you always get teams that come from nowhere to steal an automatic bid from the NCAA tournament. When those teams do the March Madness dance on the court...I get tears.

Second week (Mar 9-15) - This is when the Big Boys come out to play. All of the major conference tournaments start between Tuesday and Thursday of this week. The basketball is at a major high. In fact, if I'm being honest, Championship Week is probably my favorite week of the year. So much at stake, so much good basketball. I really try not to leave my house during March. It's just a bad idea. The week culminates at 6pm on a Sunday (one of the only things ever known to make a Sunday night bearable): the NCAA selection show. Who's in? Who's out? Who are the one seeds? Who's playing where? It's probably the most fun administrative show that's ever been created. Literally the best hour of the year. EVERY YEAR.

Third week (Mar 16-22) - Now we get to the nitty gritty. Everybody is in a daze Sunday night, but Monday morning, everyone is back in form. Brackets are printed out en masse, and people start analyzing every matchup.

"Well, Cornell is a smart team...but they are playing the only other smart team in the tournament, Stanford. Plus playing in California is a bonus for the Cardinal; Cornell travels across the country."

"I like Long Beach as a sleeper. They can really shoot the three, and Vandy has trouble defending. I like the 49ers in the upset!"

"Memphis, I don't trust them as a #1 seed. I think they could lose to McNeese State!"

Seriously, from Sunday night until Thursday morning I will probably have 15 conversations and spend about 5 hours dissecting the field with friends like Keith, Colin, Greg, Chris, Luke, etc. This doesn't include the seemingly countless emails that will be sent. We will all make arguments for why we have X going to the Sweet 16 (and by X, I mean fill in the blank, not Xavier). Then, on Thursday, the fun starts. As two days go, Thursday and Friday of the tournament are unbelievable. I will always in my work life save two vacation days for these two days, because I just won't be able to work knowing that Coppin State is in the process of upsetting a 2 seed like South Carolina. I just can't do it. The first weekend of the NCAA tournament...continues the trend of the month.

Final week (Mar 23-29) - Now is when the big boys play, again. The Sweet 16 matchups pit great teams against each other, seeing which comes out on top. Hopefully this will be the year when my favorite team advances beyond this round.

If you couldn't tell, I ran out of energy talking about basketball there. It's mentally exhausting!

One more reason why I love March before I go:

3. Spring training - baseball starts, and I love baseball. In fact, it's hard for me to pick what I like more, basketball or baseball. I would guess I love whatever season it is more. Anyway, hope springs eternal in March for all teams, even the Pirates.

Well, that was an uneven analysis of why I love March. There are many other reasons, but I think this is enough! March Madness baby! Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

The Calhoun Rant

This is only semi-sports related. After his team's victory over South Florida last Saturday, UConn coach Jim Calhoun sat at his press conference, ready to ask questions. The first question came from a political activist acting as a reporter, and from there it got ugly. It began innocuously enough, with the guy asking about his salary. Calhoun attempted humor (he's a very caustic individual) by saying he's not giving a dime back and that he wants to retire someday. It quickly escalated, with the "reporter" talking about the budget crisis and Calhoun's high salary. After attempting humor again with his "I make a lot more than that" remark (that admittedly some could find off-putting), he became angry and started citing his statistics. The UConn men's basketball team makes the university $12million a year, according to Calhoun, and that's from where his salary is generated. It ended with him screaming at the guy to come back at him when he gets his facts straight. The "reporter" also angered the real reporters in the room by making a comment along the lines of "if you guys covered this, I wouldn't have to", for which he was roundly booed.

The fallout from this incident has been severe. He has been on every Sportscenter episode since, talking about the reaction to his comments. The governor of Connecticut spoke out and said that she is sure that Calhoun regrets the "embarrassing" incident. Mike and Mike on ESPN Radio have been discussing it all week. It reached its nadir for me this morning when I flipped on Good Morning America and it was the topic of discussion. Obviously, people are heated about this question.

So, I am jumping into the ring. It may or may not surprise you, but I side firmly with Jim Calhoun on this one. There are many problems with the "reporter" and his line of questioning. First of all was his timing. The press conference came about 15 minutes after the victory. This is no time to catch people in a trap, unless you are trying to set him up to look bad by catching him off guard. I think its important to note that Calhoun's victory over South Florida was the 799th of his career. With his win at Marquette last night, he became only the 7th coach in college basketball history with 800 career wins. It seems disrespectful to me to ask about his salary in wake of his momentous personal achievement.

Secondly is whether the question is right to ask at all. I will say this: I don't have a problem with the discussion taking place. Is $1.6 million (or more if you believe Calhoun) too much for a state employee to be making during a tight budget (not to mention a possible budget deficit)? Mike and Mike said that they had state workers from Connecticut calling in all week saying that they were being forced to take a reduction in salary, so why shouldn't he? This gets back to a pet peeve of mine with Americans. We have this tendency to want everybody to have it as bad as we have, when in my opinion we need to focus on getting everybody to have it as good as Calhoun has it. Why hate on someone who's worked hard and gotten to the pinnacle of his profession and is now being rewarded for it?

Lastly, there is the question of markets dictating the going rate. Obviously if Connecticut cut his salary, Calhoun could find approximately 324 schools that would fire their guy to hire him in a second. He's been loyal to UConn and built that program by himself, so it seems like he wouldn't do that. If he did, however? He'd be lambasted and hated in New England. That just doesn't seem right to me.

So, on this question, I fall decidedly into Camp Calhoun. I'm not a huge fan of the guy, but I think he's dead right about this. And, he speaks out on a lot of issues surrounding college athletics, and I think he's usually right. I just don't like his whiny press conferences after his teams get manhandled by my Panthers. Where do you fall on this issue?

Here's the link to the Youtube clip, if you haven't seen it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hdz05ql-j_E

A New Pirate Generation

So, I don't know if you know this, but in January I became a first time Pittsburgh Pirates season ticket holder. Sure, there were a few seasons (maybe 2 or 3) back around the turn of the century when my dad split a 40 game package with Shrec (that was just to ensure our seats at the newly built PNC Park). But I don't count that, because at that time, I went to those games on my dad's dime. This January, I made the decision to become a season ticket holder by myself and for myself.

I bought one seat. Left field bleachers, section 135, row B seat 17. I'm basically in the good part of left field, not down the line but not too much down the center; probably right where a good left fielder would normally position himself. Here's the kicker: I bought the full season plan. Yes, that's right, 81 games!

Now, the nice thing about the plan is that it's more like 81 tickets than 81 games. What do I mean by this? I mean that I have 81 tickets for people to go to games. I'm hoping to go to somewhere between 40-50 myself. For the games I don't go to, I can trade them in ahead of time and get another ticket to a certain game. So say Patty calls me up and wants to go to the game tomorrow. I can take my Sunday ticket (just as an example, but I probably don't plan on going to too many Sunday games) and trade it in for a ticket next to me, for my mother. It's really a first class operation - which lends credence to the fact that the Pirates are first class all the way, right up until the product they put onto the field.

So this past Saturday was the season ticket holder open house at the ballpark. I scheduled an appointment with my account rep (Kevin - a nice guy). I met him at 12:30 and he took me on a tour of the park. I went into the locker room and saw the weight room, batting cages, film room, etc. We went down the tunnel and up the stairs into the dugout. I stood on the dugout steps, looking out at the view of both the most beautiful ballpark and the most beautiful city in the country. I went to see my seats, which I knew were good, but it was cool just to be there anyway.

Kevin was telling me about all of the perks of being a season ticketholder. They will have a few battice practice sessions for us, so before games I'll go down into the batting cages and take some cuts against the machine (the machine knows every pitcher in the game and can pitch like it; same arm angles, same pitches, everything. I will stand in against a 98 MPH fastball from Randy Johnson, or maybe Mariano Rivera's devasting cutter). Then after the season, they have a "field day" for us, where we go out ONTO THE FIELD and take BP and shag some flies. My dad is very concerned about my performance on this day. I think he's ready with my medical insurance card and an ambulence - luckily AGH is a few blocks away.

Anyway, it really is a new Pirate generation for me. I've always been a fan but this year I am taking it to another extreme. I'll be looking for people to go to games with; let me know if you are interested!

My Pittsburgh Problem

Well, I will respond to Blake's desire to have another blog from me. I've had a bunch in the hopper recently (like when I met the comic Larry Miller...)but I find that after spending 8 hours a day at work in front of a computer, the last thing I want to do when I get home is type more. I started a new shift at work this week, working from 8:30-4:30, so I have to catch the 7:27 bus to make it on time. This means that I'm at work between 7:45 and 8...so maybe I'll have time to blog in the mornings.

Anyway, I've been living on Mt. Washington for almost 8 months now; in fact, my lease runs out at the end of June at my current place. Recently I've been thinking of whether I want to move or stay where I am, and I'm thinking of moving for many reasons, the least of which is I can save some money. It's like an artificial raise; I pay X for my apartment, then I move somewhere that's, say, $50 cheaper a month. All of a sudden, I'm paying X-50 and saving $600/year...that's a raise! So this is one consideration. The most important consideration, though, is what is referenced ominously in the blog title. It's not what you think though. My Pittsburgh problem is that I love this city so much, and I love so many areas of it, and I think that so many places would be fun to live for various different reasons. So, when looking at apartments, I have a hard time deciding where I want to look and I end up looking at all of them. I could see myself living in at least 7 different Pittsburgh neighborhoods. Let's look at the list:

1. Mt. Washington - obviously my current place of residence. I love the commute from up here, at least to work, having the choice of a bus that is 20 yards from my door, or the incline. The views are great, and its centrally located - I can get to the airport, Monroeville, Gibsonia, Cranberry, and down 51 all pretty quickly. On the downside, it's a tough place to live in the snow when the roads get bad. Ultimately, if I stayed on Mt Washington, I think I'd strongly consider moving to the other side.

2. Northside - There are various neighborhoods over here that I would consider but I'll place them under the "northside" umbrella. I love this idea because it's walking distance to PNC Park (I'm a first time Pirates season ticket holder this year) and it could be walking distance to work as well, at least when its nice out. The bad part is that the Northside is maybe the most "dangerous" neighborhood I'm considering (dangerous for Pittsburgh, that is).

3. Southside - It's probably tied for the most expensive place that I'm looking. However, when I imagine city living, Carson Street is what I imagine. I think of waking up on Saturday mornings and walking down to the corner to get breakfast or coffee and a paper. I imagine going out on Friday night, being able to walk to bars and clubs, and being able to come and go as I please. I imagine being able to get all different types of ethnic foods in a matter of minutes. I love the Southside and would love to live here.

4. Squirrel Hill - The other expensive place I am looking at. Murray Avenue has the same sort of feel as Carson St, without all of the young people. Still, it's a cool neighborhood with many of the things I'm looking for. Downside is that I don't want to move to the east of downtown, it's by far the worst way to get where I need to go. Of course, I'd take the bus, but still...

5. Brookline - The "T" (subway) has a line through Brookline, which is one of the main reasons I like it. It has the feel of the suburbs while being in the city, which is a good and bad thing.

6. Beechview - Another neighborhood that has a "T" line running through it. That's really the only reason I'm considering it.

7. Bloomfield/Lawrenceville - While these are two distinct neighborhoods, I will condense them because they are beside each other. Lawrenceville has the reputation of being where all the artists are moving, so I'd like to stay away from there. But I love Bloomfield, Pittsburgh's Little Italy. It has a great "Carson St" street that runs through it, the section of Liberty Ave. When I originally thought of living in the city, Bloomfield is what I had my heart set on. I will continue to look here as one of my primary options.

So those are my choices right now. I have started the process. Any feedback? What am I forgetting to consider? I know one thing I didn't originally consider was the title of my blog... Josh in Brookline doesn't have the same ring. Anyway, I welcome any thoughts that you may have.

Super Steelers

Well, in honor of our six time Super Bowl champs, I will offer six thoughts on the big game:

1. I am the original Santonio fan in Pittsburgh. Draft day 2006, I lived in Knoxville. I was watching while writing a paper, and the Giants were on the clock with the 25th pick. I called Keith and said "Dude, I have a feeling we're trading up here to take Santonio." As we were on the phone, Tags went to the podium and said, "With the 25th pick in the 2006 NFL Draft, the Giants..." and I started to say the words with Tags..."trade the pick to the Steelers. The Steelers select..."and by now I'm shouting..."Santonio Holmes, WR, Ohio State". I was ecstatic. I hate Ohio State, but I loved this guy, and one thing said all I needed to know. They showed Santonio in his living room, and somebody there busted out a Terrible Towel and started waiving it, and he was genuinely thrilled to be a Stiller. He had a rough rookie year (remember when he fumbled punts seemingly every week?) but ended that year with a long TD catch to keep the Bengals out of the playoffs, and he's been pretty good ever since. Breakout star waiting to happen.

2. Ben is very, very, VERY underrated. People talk about his ability to keep plays alive, and he's fantastic at that. But he has become great in the pocket, making his reads, checking down when he has to. He hasn't even reached his prime yet.

3. I love Coach Mike. I was very skeptical at first, and I still don't think he's reached his potential as an X's and O's guy or a game manager. There were lots of mistakes in the game yesterday that a more seasoned guy I hope wouldn't make (the admission that he would take a safety scared me - that's the wrong call there). Still, he pushes the right buttons and guys respond to him. He seems to have a great relationship with Ben, and that's important. And it said it all when Willie complained about running, and Mike responded: "I walk past 5 Lombardi's, not 5 rushing titles." Eat it, Willie.

4. Larry Fitzgerald is a man among boys. He's my favorite player in the league, bar none. Of course, he starred collegiately at Pitt, and that's why I love him. I started loving the Cardinals when they drafted him, and then obviously the Cards became Pittsburgh West. He's still the best in my book, and it was a Steeler/Pitt fans dream yesterday with Larry having a huge game, but the Steelers still winning. I have to admit, I wasn't crushed when he scored to go ahead with 2:30 left in the game.

5. It's not enough to win a Super Bowl anymore. You have to do it in an historic way. The 2005 Steelers became the first 6 seed ever to win the game. This years' team has a few marks in history. First of all, they overcame the hardest schedule in league history, with opponents winning percentage just below 60%. Second, the defense was impenetrable for most of the year. They got All Pro seasons from Polamalu and Harrison, but other guys stepped up so well too. Woodley was a terror on the edge. Aaron Smith remains one of the most underrated DEs in the game. Casey is a huge bowling ball in the middle. Timmons, Farrior, and Foote held the middle down. However, the most important aspect to me this season was the coverage skills of the DBs. This was the best defensive backfield that the Steelers have had since 1992. They had legitimately 7 DBs that could cover (Ike, Deshea, McFadden, Willie Gay, Polamalu, Carter, Clark). That allowed LeBeau to sit back and let the 3 or 4 rushers do their job, which they were able to do a lot of the time. The third historical factor is in our QB. Ben will end up in the HOF if he continues this pace.

6. The Boss was good at halftime. Not nearly as good as Prince in the (purple!) rain in Miami in 2007. But Bruce was still good. I was hoping for Glory Days, it's my favorite Bruce song, probably because I remember it as a 7 yr old, and I was pumped when he and Little Stevie introduced it ("It's Boss time!"). Who could possibly play the halftime show next year? I have no idea.

Well, that's enough from me. What did you think of the Super Bowl?

Emerging from my January Coma

So seriously people...to find out that people want me to blog, I have to log onto my mothers blog? I'm a "words of affirmation" type of love language person; I need to hear that I'm wanted in order to feel wanted.

So anyway, I hate this month, it's the worst month of the year, and all this snow has been pretty depressing. What has been going on this month while I've failed to blog?

1. Steelers - I was at the AFC Championship game, and it was a blast. One of the best moments at a sporting event that I can remember was when "Here We Go" was playing and 65,000 people in unison were singing "Pittsburgh's goin to da Super Bowl". You could even heard the Pixburgh accent in the chorus. It was awesome. And, I think I blacked out during the Polamalu interception. My buddy Colin went with me to the game, and when he intercepted it and crossed the endzone, Colin squeezed me so hard in a hug, and I had tears of joy streaming down my face...then I don't remember anything for about 40 seconds. What a moment!

2. Cavs game - I went with Dave, Keith, and Luke to the Cavs game the other night. The weather was frightful on the way home and it made for a bad commute. At Cavs games, the fans are so lame that they have to flash hated teams logos on the Jumbotron while the opposition is shooting free throws, in the hopes of getting the fans to boo. So they flash teams like Michigan, the Yankees and Red Sox, the Celtics and Pistons, and the Ravens and Steelers. They did the Steelers more often than most. So the last time they do it, with about 4 minutes left, it got real quiet, and I just shouted: "Here we go Steelers, Here we go!" I was immediately booed, and I got a couple of people who screamed an "f--- you!" to me from the section next to us. Everyone around us was laughing real hard though.

3. Idol - well, the auditions rounds have kind of sucked. I'm afraid that America might not have any talent that is unmined anymore. I guess we'll have to wait and see. I do love the Hollywood rounds; they start next week.

4. TV - so the sound on my TV stopped working and I took it to Best Buy to get fixed. They ship it out and I pick it up three weeks later (last night)...only to find that its not fixed! I took it back tonight, it will take another week or two before it's back. Argh!

5. Pitt hoops - thinking of the 'nova game is just going to make me angry. Jer and I went to Morgantown, first time I'd ever been there for a hoops game. It was sweet, we played well and killed them, and all those dumb WVU fans...well, they just looked dumb.

6. Bachelor - I like the way the show is shaping up. I think I favor Melissa. I'm still waiting for someone to nominate me for the Bachelor. My mom won't do it, and dates like the one that they had last week in the tent aren't going to make her nominating me any more likely. So if someone else wants to volunteer, let me know.

Fortunately, this month is almost over.

Favorite Things: American Idol Edition

Well, the season 8 premiere just finished, and I have to admit, I will be hooked again to this show for at least the next 6 weeks or so. This favorite things edition precedes my favorite things about winter. You may ask this question: why? Well, I just can't come up with many things I like about winter. I mean, consider this: $200 gas bills to heat your apartment to 55 degrees, standing at the bus stop in 20 degrees, cold/flu season, cold floors with no socks in the morning, frozen nose hairs, having to warm up your car for 8 minutes...what is there to like? I suppose a few things. One of them is American Idol, which led me to this, the favorite things of Idol.

1. The auditions - I love the first few episodes because of the great mix of hysterical performers and good performers. There are certainly things you could get annoyed about, like how it seems the producers pick out their favorites and push them every year. Just let the cards fall! But, I like to see the start of the journey; therefore, I like the audition rounds.

2. Hollywood Week - this is the best part of the show. I love the drama that the pressure creates. I love the teenage girls that get into catfights because they are divas and prima donnas and they don't want other people screwing it up for them.

3. The Room Selection - I don't think they even did this last year, but by this I'm referring to the fact that they put Hollywooders into four hotel rooms and select entire rooms to continue on in the process. Who doesn't love to sit there and say, well this room is going home because of X, or that room...how did A and B end up in the same room?

4. Democracy - nobody can ever complain about who wins this contest, because you can influence it. OK, like most democracy, it's not pure; the producer problem discussed earlier comes to mind with this (they influence the "election" process, they are the media of the show). But, lots of people cast lots of votes for Idol; I am not ashamed to say that I have cast many votes before (usually for the cute girls).

5. The Sex Appeal - C'mon, we need more hot girls to look at every year. I need the sex appeal factor to be way up there this year. Need more Kellie Pickler's and fewer Gina Glocksen's.

6. Mike Slezak's reviews on EW.com - So Slezak reviews every show and he does a great job, DVR-ing, catching names and places, making sure to watch and re-watch...it's a great review. I don't have exactly the tastes that he has, but that's ok.

7. Elliott Yamin - still the best singer to be on the show since I've paid attention. I also was a big fan of Blake Lewis and his creativity.

8. The Opening - This...is American Idol. Classic. Gives me goosebumps, especially like tonight during the season opener.

9. Feel good stories - there are always people whose parents have died, or have cancer, or whatever else (kids involved is a plus). Tonight we saw the blind guy. Of course I'm rooting for Blind Guy; I love Blind Guy.

10. The Weirdos - For those who have ever been to a Curry family function, you'll understand. I like the confirmation that there are weirder people out there than my family, and I think this is universal. Like tonight, the Deep Voice Guy. High comedy at its finest.

11. Seacrest - My friend Colin swears he's gay; he points to tonight, when Bikini Girl wanted to make out with him and he was reticent. I think he's not gay, just very professional. He's a great host, I love his corny jokes, and I love his hilarious jokes. He gets good zingers in on Cowell too.

Well, those are some of my favorite things about the show. What are some of yours? Do you even watch?