It's A Blog's Life

LEADER OF THE BLAND
The Dave Matthews Bland was in town here last week, and their fearless leader took the opportunity to salute his adoring fans.  I don't know how these guys manage to sell out their shows every time they blow through town, but they must be doing something right.  I personally think they're the most overrated "soft Rock" band this side of Hootie & The Blowfish, but that's just me...

YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST, FOLKS
I've made my annual pigskin prognostications for 2007, and it'll be the Saints and the Patriots in the Super Bowl, with the P-Men prevailing in Arizona.  I have San Diego, Pittsburgh, Indy and the Pats as AFC division winners, with Baltimore and the Jets as wildcards, and in the NFC it'll be Seattle, Chicago, New Orleans and Dallas winning divisions and Frisco and the Eagles as the wildcards.  El Chiefos will not even sniff the playoffs this year, unfortunately, and will once again be referred to as the "Chefs" until further notice.

THE HIGH PRICE OF MEDIOCRITY
Okay, tell me again why George Steinbrenner is paying Roger Clemens all those zillions of dollars this season?  For a 6-6 record with a 4.5-something ERA and a wounded arm on an aging pitcher who doesn't know when to quit?  And guess what?  The Yankees ain't gonna catch the Red Sox, either.  I don't even think they'll win the wildcard in the A.L., even though they're ahead in that race—for the moment.  Go Mariners!!

A REAL STRETCH...
Was rather amused by the ad in the paper this week for one of our local dinner theaters, where Father Mulcahy from "M*A*S*H", William Christopher, is currently starring in a play, and get this—he even plays a clergyman!  To each his/her own, but I can't quite fathom why anyone would pay upwards of 50-60 bucks a ticket to see peripheral TV people like him (or Larry from "Three's Company" or the mother from "ALF", etc.) in these cheesy productions when one can just as easily see them nightly on the tube for free...

CLASSIC MISHEARD LYRIC #49
"Sixteen Candles"--THE CRESTS (1958)  "You're the prettiest, loveliest girl I've ever seen."  I used to think singer Johnny Maestro was contradicting himself by singing, "You're the prettiest, ugliest girl..."  A little trivia for you: Johnny Maestro was also the lead singer for the one-hit wonder group Brooklyn Bridge, who scored with "Worst That Could Happen" in early 1969.  Dreadful song, IMO, but a hit all the same...

WELCOME TO "WHITE TRASH THEATER..."
In a sure sign of the apocalypse, I was less-than-amused to learn that this Neanderthal Steve the bouncer from the "Jerry Springer Show" will have his very own talk show this fall. It figures.  This big oaf probably endorses his paychecks with an "X", yet he's going to be dispensing his sage advice to his viewers?  Just kill me now...

NOBODY BACKS BABY INTO A CORNER...
I caught Dirty Dancing on the tube over the long weekend, and was a tad rattled to realize that freakin' movie is 20 years old already!  It's one of the better chick-flicks of all-time, although I never quite reconciled its anachronism of being set in 1963, yet featuring 1980's music throughout, and even '80s dancewear at times.  Jennifer Grey was a real cutie in this one, though, and I've never forgiven her for getting that nose job later on—I liked her the way she was!