Yet another reason to fly South West, as if you needed another one
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Dirty HGH Player vs T.O.
Let me get one thing straight: I can’t stand T.O. My disdain towards Owens has been well documented here and here, so it really messed with my mind when I write a post defending him. But here I go.
Last Sunday T.O. broke his streak of 185 games with at least when catch, when he went absolutely stat-less against the Saints. Obligated to go to the Press Conference, tried to be as short as possible, repeatedly saying “I just go with the plays that are called.” Owens was pissed, and whether that is right or wrong Rodney Harrison lashed out at him on NBC’s “Football Night In America”, with this gem of a quote:
"He’s a clown. He’s all about the circus show and the cameras, and it’s all about that. But you best believe he’ll have Shawn Springs in his grill and Brandon Meriweather will be putting his helmet down his throat. So I’m excited about seeing that on Monday." [From USAToday]
I think Rodney Harrison is the perfect example why players should have a TV waiting period, or spend a year in purgatory (aka the NFL Network) before they get these National Network TV Gigs. Harrison has a right to speak his mind, and I’m not going to argue that it should be taken away from him. However, for him to make remarks that disparaging on “Football Night”, with his national platform, shows pretty poor judgment. I really have no idea what NBC was thinking when they hired Harrison. Throughout his career he was continually voted the dirtiest player in the NFL, and he doesn’t seem to have that charisma that other former players possess when they’re on TV. It seems Harrison is only engaging when other commentators ask him a question, and when he responds it looks like the other commentators are hoping Harrison won’t punch them out.
T.O., through his Twitter account fired back, in pretty hilarious fashion:
"I could less about Rodney Harrison! Anybody tht using steroids, yes STEROIDS rodney, is a cheater & cheated the game! … Is tht Y u used steroids b/c u were worried about ur stats or ws it b/c u were losing it? Lol! U’re a loser & a cheater? Got any steroid … Hey rodney! Send me sum steroids 2 the Bills facility next week!" [From USAToday]
Owens is talking about Harrison’s 4-game suspension for using HGH in 2007, which was a pretty classic response. How did Harrison fire back? By completely ignoring the Steroid fact:
"When it comes down to it, I’m a champion. He’ll never have that on his resume. He’ll never be a champion. He’ll look at his stats and say I was a great football player, but I was never a champion. You always have to stand up and be accountable for your actions. As a football player you have to be accountable. Regardless of whether you had 10 catches or zero catches.” [Dan Patrick Show]
Classy Rodney, in the same phrase that you completely ignore the HGH comments, you talk about need to be accountable for your actions. As much as it pains me to say it, T.O. looks like the guy on top of this one. It was great that he followed up that phrase by demonstrating that he’s more of a Patriots mouthpiece than he is a studio analyst.
With these analysts booths growing as large as they are, is it too much to ask to put some kind of standards in choosing who they put in front of a national audience? Give players a year or two to get out of the player mentality and shift towards a better analytical contributor.
Honeymoon: Day 7 – More relaxation (this time with a Spa)
While the Honeymoon overall has been quite relaxing, we were especially looking forward to relaxing in the Spa at the Grand Hyatt. After sleeping in a bit, we got up and had breakfast at our resort, then prepared for a day of pampering and rest. We headed over to the Spa at the Hyatt for our Couples Massage. We’ve both gotten massages at day spas before, but we weren’t prepared for the serenity that surrounded us at this spa.
We were both lead to our respective spa areas (they had guys & girls sections), each which had their own set of amenities. After our tours and changing into our robes, we met back up at this relaxation room that had comfy chairs overlooking the beautiful scenery. While we sipped our tea and waters, our masseuses greeted us and led us back to our own hut where we would receive our massages. Bethany chose a relaxing massage, while I asked for one that helped relieve knots. After about an hour of being massaged, we headed back to the spa to enjoy the other amenities for the rest of the afternoon. We both enjoyed the Jacuzzi, as well as the private pool (for spa folks only). We swam a little then laid out in the sun and relaxed. We even ordered lunch to be brought to the spa. After enjoying our lunch and more relaxation, we both went to our respective areas and used the sauna, steam room, and the twelve-headed shower. We left the spa relaxed, refreshed and clean!
This was basically our only night in Hawaii where we didn’t have a dinner reservation, so we took this as an opportunity to grill out. We stopped at the fish market and grabbed some Ahi, then went to the other local market and grabbed some steaks. We picked up a nice Malbec from the Wine Shop, as well as some seasoning for the meat. While we waited for the dry rub to season, we took a stroll to the ocean rocks down by the ocean and took some pictures. While we were watching the waves come in, we actually saw a sea turtle by the shore (we unfortunately did not get a good photo of the turtle).
The grill was located by the hot tub pool, so in between meat flips we enjoyed the hot tub. We ate well and drank well, then grew tired from our long day of relaxation and turned in early.
Next Up: Long drives, tide pools
How can a band disappear correctly?
This week starts an exciting month for my band, Greenfoot. On Friday we released "Highwater", the first of four brand new singles over four weeks. We’re releasing one song per week to add some hype to the new songs, but also to help us out in a different way.
In the fall of 2007 we went though a lineup change. Getting a new member up-to-speed is always difficult, especially when you only have a 3 piece band. We were back in the basement for seven months getting up-to speed on all current material (essentially re-writing many of our songs), working on some new material and getting the lineup comfortable enough to play out again. In the summer of 2007 we were finally on a roll, playing over a dozen shows and getting our name out there. That all came to a grinding halt during the lineup change and we basically disappeared off the face of the Earth. When we finally re-emerged in the spring of 2008, we basically were starting fresh. We didn’t do a good job of maintaining contacts with booking agents – especially when we didn’t have anything to offer them (ability to play show). With the live music biz being what it is, many of our contacts had changed as well. It took a lot of work to try to get part of that momentum that we had before the lineup change.
Now Greenfoot is currently on a 5 week break from rehearsing or playing any shows due to our bass player traveling, as well as our lead singer welcoming their second child into the world. While this break was much-needed, it also has come at a time where we again had strong momentum. We were playing a steady stream of shows, writing new material and making good progress towards our goals. Being off the radar for 6 weeks would be another significant blow for our progress.
This time we’re trying something different, using these new songs to our advantage. Over the spring and summer we recorded these four new songs, with the typically “as soon as we get them done” release date in mind. When we realized we were going to be out over a month, we sat on these songs for a while, with the idea that we can at release something new and have some exciting developments at a time when we’re not playing shows or rehearsing. These songs aren’t tied to a new album, so rather than releasing these all at once, we’re putting one out each week to get people back to our web site, as well as checking out the new and songs we have posted. Hopefully we’re now able to “disappear” correctly, with fans not realizing that there’s no one behind the curtain.
We were fortunate enough to have these songs in our back pocket, but looking back at where we were a year ago I’m wondering what we could have done differently when we disappeared. Is there a right way to disappear, especially when it’s something as unexpected as a lineup change? Is there anything that bands on hiatus can do to keep contacts fresh, as well as maintain interest from booking agents? I’d be anxious to for any ideas people may have.
Off to Los Angeles
Writing from the Airport (courtesy of DIA’s free Wi-fi) getting ready to board a plane to LA. Bethany and I are heading out to the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress. I went back and counted and realized this will be my 6th time heading out there. I’m excited because in a few hours I’m going to see this again:
We’ve had a tradition going down a day early and going to this pier in Dana Point. We then spend the afternoon walking the beach, and then heading up to this bar to watch the sunset and eat some clams. It’s a great way to kick off a great conference.
I’m also excited because my sister and her fiancée are joining us. I’m also excited to be going with my buddy Joel and hopefully will get to see Andie as well.
LA here we come!