I Can't Sleep

A little too much going on upstairs tonight. Usually I'm the type to be out like a rock too.

What do you do when you can't sleep? When you've got too much racing through your mind. I've never taken a middle-of-the-night run but right now seems like a good time for one.

Speaking of Sports Radio...

I started another blog project with my friend Aaron. If you didn't just stumble across this blog, there's a good chance I've told you about it. If you're still in the dark, click here.

Not 100% sure if we're going to do the podcast, but keep your eyes open and please, please, please spread the good word.

Top 5 Dream Jobs

"Thank God dreaming's free, 'cause I spent all my money on make believe" - Ryan Adams

One of the characteristics of my personality that has definitely been evident over the course of writing this blog is my penchant for lists. Making lists of things to do, things I like and ranking things. It's definitely my main idiosyncracy. It's also a small reason (of many) that I love the movie High Fidelity. Outside of the standout humor scenes of the movie, one of my favorites is when Rob (John Cusak's character) breaks down his dream jobs with a top 5 list, the running motif of the movie. I saw the movie on t.v. a few weeks ago and thought about my own top 5 then and when popped back into my mind again today, I thought I'd make a quick post about it.

Now unlike Rob, I can accept at this point that it really isn't feasible for me to become a professional football player or a musician in a well-known rock band (a small-time band would be tough given my lack of experience on any instrument). Instead, I'm going to focus on things that I could actually do given my skills and potential ability to be successful in the position.

1. Independent record label owner (Second-tier: replace label with any business)
2. Writer/Producer for television or movies
3. Full-time travel writer/travel show host
4. Copywriter/Creative Director at my dream ad/marketing agency (ie. Crispin Porter, GSD&M, etc.)
5. Sports radio show host

Now looking at this list, it doesn't look like any of them would be impossible. The problem I always have is pinpointing one thing and dedicating myself solely to it. If I had to choose which would be easiest right now, I would have to go with the Copywriter gig, BUT it would be more of a hybrid creative communications position involving marketing copywriting, blogging, and marketing within social media and new media. Out of all of them, my ultimate gig would be a toss up between owning an independent label and being a writer/producer. I'd be quite happy owning any business that I was passionate as an alternative to the record label as well.

Sitting here reflecting on this list and the possibilities of my future, I know I can land one of them. I just need focus...and a whole lotta grit, determination and resilience. New goal? Be sitting in one of these positions within the next five years...that is, unless I've found something better.

Feelin' the music

I haven't written about music in a while and with the variety I've been rotating lately, I figured it was a good time. I've always felt like people listen to music for two different reasons: because of melodic enjoyment (the way it moves your body) and because of a lyrical message that resonates with them. Some people seem more geared towards one or the other, but I pretty much fall in between, favoring each type based on my mood and the setting. Here's some of the new music that I've been into lately and my reasons for "feelin' it."

For the former:
Wolfmother - Love Train
Jamie Lidell - Multiply (dope blue-eyed soul!)
The Roots - Doesn't Seem Right
Secret Machines - Lightning Blue Eyes (Saw them perform it Live @ First Ave - AWESOME)
Snow Patrol - Hands Open

The latter:
Mason Jennings - Be Here Now
The Raconteurs - Together
Rogue Wave - Eyes
Drive By Truckers - Dress Blues (Live on The Current)

Download those songs and you've got a start to a pretty hot mix. For more goodies, check out this live recording of Bloc Party's set at the recent Coachella Valley Music Festival.

Papa's got a brand new Mac

Soon enough anyway. After a long-awaited release, I jumped online this morning to find the MacBook glamourously featured all over the front page of Apple's site. About $1500 later (bought the Apple 3-year warranty), my spankin' new laptop is on it's way.

It can't come soon enough.

Finding purpose in what we do

If you've been reading my rants, raves and ruminations here for a while, you know quite well that this blog is more of an inconsistently updated personal journal than a themed or focused piece of editorial. While I often write about my passions and things I enjoy, such as music or sports, I also sometimes delve into deeper thoughts and personal stories. Well, here's one for the latter so leave right now if you were expecting fun.

If you did read a few months ago, you probably caught me sharing thoughts about my first "career" job and how I felt about the whole career thing in general. I was uncertain if I made the right choice taking the job I did, as I wasn't totally in line with the things I had been passionate about for a while. Well, since then it's been a lot better. As the situation has been, the position/industry is not ideal, but I'm getting great experience in a wide variety of things and seeing where my work impacts the business, so I've started to enjoy it more and see its benefits.

In addition to thinking about my initial career out of college and the life that comes with the 9-5 grind, I began thinking about the bigger picture. For one, how I might be in this type of work lifestyle for the rest of my life. On a deeper level, I began contemplating the purpose of what I do.

When you're bored at work or sitting in traffic on the way home, there's A LOT of time to think. Sitting in a car and looking out and seeing tons of other cars, you start wondering what the life of the person in the lane next to you is like - and then, how big the world is. And you're just one person on a globe that's filled with billions.

So this is something that has been on my mind lately. In addition to continuing to try to enjoy my work and eventually putting myself in the position where I love what I do, I've been thinking about my place in the world and validating what I do in that career that I go to for 8-9 hours a day. Sure this is easy to do if you're a doctor or a teacher, but if you work in Marketing or PR? Maybe the purpose of life is as simple as us just being here to experience life and enjoy it as much as we can. But I also feel an inherent push to find something greater in what I do. And that's an immensely added weight of thoughts for someone already questioning if they enjoy their job on a level of self-satifaction.

Do you have ever have these type of thoughts or do I just think about this stuff too much for a 23-year old with most of his life ahead of him? None of this would matter if I was content with "just getting by." But I'm not. My girlfriend questions my level of spirituality and though while I guess I don't casually bring up subjects this profound very often, there's a whole lot going on in the internal monologue. I think I've just started to scratch the surface of the spiritual exploration and it's not something you figure out overnight.

So recently I decided to get myself involved in more activities outside of work. I think more involvement these things will suck up the free time I have to ponder what I'm doing with my life and cure my need to question it in the first place.

This post has probably gone in circles so excuse me if it was a bit of a ramble.

CURRENT LISTENING: The Postal Service/Ben Gibbard - Recycled Air (acoustic)

I can smell the summer

It's getting gorgeous outside and that's enough to make many-a-Minnesotan happy. The season for hangin' out by the lake, pickup basketball games and scent of sweet bar-b-ques is right around the corner. I'm lovin' it.

Speaking of lovin' it, I had a blast watching the NFL draft and enjoying some cold lager in the company of good people over the weekend. The University of Minnesota Spring Jam was once again spoiled by rain but I wasn't really participating anyway, being a graduate and all. I won't get into it much but I was very satisfied with the Packers draft and it looks like I wasn't alone as they pretty much received high grades across the board from national sports reporters. While draft grading is pretty worthless since you don't know how good prospects will be in the NFL until they've actually played a few seasons, it's hard not to get excited by Green Bay's 2006 draft class. Spearheaded by the animal that is Ohio State Linebacker A.J. Hawk, the Packers rookies look like the core of a team headed in a new direction: intelligent, athletic, hard-working, tough and most of all, REAL football players.

I'm gonna leave it there for now. Here's my Top 5 for May:

1. Cinco de Mayo
2. Developing a blog for my employer
3. Border Battle
4. Lake Calhoun
5. Gnarls Barkley

CURRENT LISTENING: The Vines - Take Me Back

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas

That might seem strange given that the date on the calendar is April 27th. But it is, my friends, and it isn't the teenage Christmas where you know you're going to get a bunch of clothes and probably some stuff you don't like from your relatives. It's the 5-year old kid, "there's so many cool new toys this year" Christmas. Yes, if you're a Green Bay Packers fan, and even a fan of football in general, it's a good week to be a fan.

First off, came Tuesday's breaking news from 1265 Lombardi Avenue that Brett Favre had indeed informed the team that he was coming back to play for the Pack in 2006. This is great for several reasons: a) it gives the Packers a fighting chance; b) new coach Mike McCarthy has a more talented team to work with; c) it's another season of watching Brett Favre. To sweeten things, on Wednesday the Packers made their big free agent splash by signing veteran Cornerback Charles Woodson to a seven-year deal. This move increased the Packers offseason focus on shoring up its defense, adding a much-needed playmaker to a defensive backfield. With Al Harris and Woodson, the Pack could now hold one of the best CB duos in the league. Let's just hope Woodson can stay healthy this year - knock on wood.

As if the previous news wasn't enough to put fans into a state of Green and Gold euphoria, the 2006 NFL Draft still awaits us two days from now. Holding the fifth overall pick, Packers GM Ted Thompson has kept the team's intentions close to vest, though most mocks have them taking either Ohio St. LB AJ Hawk or the draft's most talented receiving playmaker, TE Vernon Davis, whom I must mention is a physical freak running the 40 yard dash in 4.38 seconds at 250 lbs. Either way, I'll be happy and I would expect the like from most of the Packer faithful.

Besides the Packers top pick, the entire first round looks to be quite a roller coaster ride with no picks seemingly set in stone except Reggie Bush at #1. There could also be an unprecedented number of first round trades this year with speculation running rampant about teams wanting to move up to get a player as the days to the draft grow shorter. It's going to be an exciting ride. I don't know what you'll be doing for the draft, but if you're looking to spice things up a bit, this will do the trick: The Official 2006 NFL Draft Drinking Game, courtesy of Deadspin.

To keep the football theme going, I have one more great tidbit to share. For all you '80s kids and other fans of Tecmo Super Bowl, there are emulator versions of the game (replica versions for your computer) floating around various sites on the web, with some even adding updated rosters. So yes, not only can you relive the joy of zig-zagging your way to 80-yard touchdown scampers, but you can do it with Edgerrin James or Antwaan Randle El. See this for more.



Have a great weekend. I know I'll be enjoying mine with the help of some cold brew, NFL draft coverage and tons of random fun via the University of Minnesota's annual Spring Jam celebration.

CURRENT LISTENING: ESPN Radio Podcast

Return of The King

Of course you already heard. But there had to be a post in honor of the news.

Are we in store for a record year? Only 24 touchdown passes needed to tie Marino, 25 to pass him.

Sometimes you just need to go home

For the third consecutive year in a row, I attented the Minnesota Twins home opener at the Metrodome on Tuesday. While every baseball fan gets excited for the home opener, the enthusiasm was a little bit tainted going into the game after the Twins started the season 1-5 on the road. Well, proving that the homefield really can provide a strong advantage, the Twins beat the Oakland A's after staring out the game down 3-0. It was a good time made even more exciting by a strong finish. The only thing that was lacking was the half day of tailgaiting which I missed out on due to not taking time off from work. I did end up sneaking in a few before the game with some friends who were out there all day doin' it up for the rest of us.

Proving that they weren't a one day home field fluke, the Twins won again yesterday after another disappointing early lead by the A's. It was done in dramatic fashion as Justin Morneau came through with a 3-run dinger in the third inning. The Twins never looked back. The funny thing about the start is they've actually got the bats going moderately well but their pitching has left a lot to be desired, which is exactly the opposite of preseason prognostications. Things came together today though as the Twins won 8-2 to complete a three game sweep. Maybe they're headed in the opposite direction of my other team - the Brewers - who have seemed to simmer down after a 5-0 start.

Speaking of going home, this weekend I'll be back in the homeland - visiting family in Wisconsin for Easter. I look forward to getting away from work and Minneapolis for the weekend. It's a quiet, small town environment and although that's quite far from my preferred situation for everyday living it's a nice one to be in a couple times a year. And even though the visiting routine is the same, it's easy to enjoy as I only see the relatives a few times per year. Plus, that side of the family makes the BEST bloody marys after mass on Sundays.

Almost two weeks until the NFL draft.

CURRENT LISTENING: Bob Dylan - The Man in Me

Sometimes you need this kind of validation

Some days I get really bored at my job. Whether it's not having enough to do, not being challenged or thinking about how I'd rather be concepting/writing copy all day, it happens. All there is to do is try to make the best of it and some days that's pretty damn hard. Especially the days when I have to call VPs of corporations ("soft" cold-calling) or put together another powerpoint presentation. Others it's easy, when I'm putting MY ideas into action, working on a B-2-B execution or online marketing initiative. Today has definitely fallen into the category of the former. Luckily, either myself or Mark Cuban had great timing because he wrote a post on his blog, Blog Maverick, about "getting paid to get experience." Cuban (Mavericks owner/billionaire) outlines the story of himself right out of college. Working at jobs he wasn't crazy about and having to cold call and do some things that you despise early in your career. The moral of his story is that in the end, doing those things on a regular basis will be better experience is sales and other types of skills that almost every career requires at some point than going back to school and learning in the classroom.

While I'm convinced I never want to work in a full-fledged sales career, it's easy to see what he means by this because in any creative career you'll always have to sell your ideas to people. I'm still convinced that I'll only be truly happy as a writer, brand manager or best of all - running my own business, but it's a bit inspiring to know that a billionaire who is incredibly passionate about his work was in the same situation in their young career and can illustrate how it benefitted them.

I don't know why I write about so much serious stuff.

Opening day and the comfort of new socks

One of the most awaited days of the sports calendar arrived today: the opening day of the MLB season. Baseball has lost much of it's luster for me since my childhood: big market teams can buy their roster due to a lack of collective bargaing system (what makes the NFL successful) and in general, I usually don't have much interest in watching a full game. But, I'm still a casual fan - attending a few games and watching the highlights of the rest on Sportscenter - and Opening Day still stirs my interest. There's nothing like the start of baseball to signal that spring is here and we have the warmth and fun of summer to look forward to.


This year, my Twins and Brewers are both being touted to be surprise teams in their respective divisions. For some reason the Twins were one of the only teams not to open today, taking the field tomorrow against Toronto (was today a Canadian holiday or something?). But the Brewers played in front of a sold-out field in Milwaukee and I'm sure the sausage was good and the tailgate lots were rockin'. In what hopes to be a sign of good things to come the Brew Crew won 5-2 on a two-run single by pinch hitter Jeff Cirillo, a former Brewer who returned this year facing the twillight of his career.

On a completely unrelated note, I bought some new socks this weekend. I needed them badly as it seemed every time I did laundry the number of socks diminished and the ones that remained gained more holes. After today I gotta say that wearing new socks has to be one of the most underrated comforts out there.

That's all for now. If you're bored this week round up a bunch of conservative friends and take them to see V for Vendetta.

CURRENT LISTENING: T.I. feat. Pharrell and Common - Goodlife

Awake is the new sleep

I am the antithesis of a morning person. Every morning I wake up and have to hit the snooze a few times before I'm actually ready to get out of bed. I've always been this way. In high school and college I would doze off to sleep during class - not because I was completely disinterested - because I just couldn't keep myself awake. You can probably see my natural connection to Red Bull somewhere here...

I've tried solving this by going to bed earlier, but even on the mornings when I've gotten a nice 7-8 hours of sleep it doesn't seem to help much. Well, the other day, BoingBoing, a blog I read from time-to-time - and probably the quirkiest one on the web - had a post that covered a "How to..." article someone had written on another site about how to become an early riser. I was a bit skeptical at first, but read on. The approach detailed by the author (who seems to have had the same plight as me) is actually pretty simple. In the author's words:

The solution was to go to bed when I’m sleepy (and only when I’m sleepy) and get up with an alarm clock at a fixed time (7 days per week). So I always get up at the same time (in my case 5am), but I go to bed at different times every night.

I go to bed when I’m too sleepy to stay up. My sleepiness test is that if I couldn’t read a book for more than a page or two without drifting off, I’m ready for bed.

So simple, but I can see how it might be easy on the body clock. So I've decided that I'm going to try this out starting this week. We'll see how it goes. If it works out you'll know. You'll start seeing more posts with a timestamp around 7:00 am.

CURRENT LISTENING: Matt Pond PA - Athabasca

Counting down the hours

Approximately 6 hours until tip-off of the first game of the NCAA's Sweet 16.

About 9 days until the Major League Baseball season opener.

36 days, 20 hours, 30 minutes, and 42 seconds until the 2006 NFL Draft.

Guess which one I'm anticipating most?

This is where I want to be right now

Well actually it ended a few days ago, but Austin's annual music industry SXSW (or South by Southwest) took place March 15-19 and it sounds like it was bigger than ever this year. Now in its 19th year, SXSW has been known for rockin' showcases that put bands on the map and create a buzz, and of course rockin' parties. As someone who interned at a major music distributor and once dreamed of being a record label exec (before I realized the only way to get hired was to be an unpaid intern for 3 years), this would be a dream environment to me. This year the conference expanded to include interactive and film components, most likely only exponentially increasing the fun.

I do have to say that last weekend was quite a blast. I spent two days consuming large amounts of basketball and beer in the company of some friends. I've come to the conclusion of no matter how much basketball you watched the first two days of the NCAA tourney, you still want more. Those upset moments are just addicting.

And of course march madness brings the ubiquity of NCAA pools. While they're usually referred to as "office pools," that term holds no significance to me because when you work at a 22-person industrial design firm there's none taking place. Luckily, I managed to enter three different pools with groups of friends. After sitting in the middle of the pack at the end of round one I've moved to the top three in each thanks to some nice sweet 16 picks. Gotta love having extra incentive to watch the rest of this thing play out.

I wasn't planning on talking about anything marketing-related in this post, but I just read about one of the coolest online marketing initiatives I've ever seen. Nike and Google have quietly launched the first invitation-only Web site for soccer-mad fans around the world. The site, Joga.com, went live late last week and will be running in 140 countries and 14 languages. It looks like the site will be incorporating profile pages, forums, video and rich media conent, and more. It sounds very similar to MySpace, but the bigger thing here is this is the first example I've seen of a brand getting the social marketing thing right. If the content is as good one would expect from these brands, this thing could really catch on with soccer hooligans worldwide and provide an authentic, interactive brand experience for Nike (not to mention further cement Google's reputation for amazing content). If it does catch on, we're also going to see A LOT of shitty, contrived attempts at the same sort of thing. Gotta love clueless marketers.



Alright, I'm out. Go UConn! (Daddy needs a new pair of shoes)

CURRENT LISTENING: White Stripes - Walking With The Ghost cover
LAST MOVIE SEEN: Good Night, and Good Luck

Meet idiot #2

Not to be outdone by Mr. Culpepper's idiocy, the most notable athlete to score under a 10 on the Wonderlic test since Vince Young is also demanding a trade: Javon "I wear my own jersey to the the club" Walker.

As reported by ESPN.com this morning, the Packers star receiver who sat out most of the 2005 season with a torn-ACL in the first game is seeking a trade due to what he views as "unfair treatment" stating that he has "no interest in being in a Green Bay Packers uniform or playing for Green Bay again." But it doesn't stop there. He even goes as far as to say that he'd rather retire next season than play for the team he has no desire to be a party of. Quite a threat for a guy who has no leverage considering he's coming off a major injury and has only performed at a Pro Bowl level once in his career.

Of course the Packers could not less let this mess pass without commenting. GM Ted Thompson issued the following statement:

"During his time as a Green Bay Packer, Javon Walker has been well thought of by everyone here. I like Javon, certainly as a person and as a player.

That said, Javon is under contract, which he signed as a 2002 first-round draft choice. That contract is governed by the Collective Bargaining Agreement, which was negotiated between the National Football League and the National Football League Players’ Association, and we expect him to honor it.

There have been several highly publicized cases of player discontent in the National Football League. I don’t anticipate us making any concessions in this matter.

We will continue to stay the course, and the Green Bay Packers will have no further comment on this topic."

Javon, meet brick wall.

All kidding aside I think the Packers will probably end up trading Walker as it would be more of a detriment to have a tantrum-throwing player like this around to become a cancer in the locker room. It's too bad. I used to really like Walker. He seemed like a hard-working player and improved each of his first few years in the league. But he's not the player he is in his own distorted, little mind and for that, I hope he gets traded to some team with a shit QB and learns how good he is when he isn't catching passes from a future Hall-of-Famer.

QUARTERBACK FOR SALE

If you give a rat's behind about the NFL offseason, you've probably noticed that everyone's favorite Sex Boat Captain, Daunte Culpepper, has been part of an ongoing soap opera thus far. Said soap opera also stars the Minnesota Vikings front office, including owner Zygi Wilf, and carries a varying plot-line based on the Quarterback being on the trading block, off the trading block, receiving his soon-due roster bonus, to finally demanding for a trade or release. The main catalyst for all the controversy has been e-mails to the media, who seem to be the only people in Minnesota who still love Culpepper.



Had Mr. Culpepper not suffered a major injury or been involved in the lewd acts of that Lake Minnetonka boat cruise last year, he probably would've been gone by now. But it turns out, while there has been interest for the QB, the Vikes haven't exactly been offered the type of value that they're expecting. But never fear Vikings fans, for one of your sharp-thinking faithful has found the solution: send Culpepper off to the highest bidder...on eBay!

The bidding starts at $1 million and the questions are already flying in like the strippers were last October. Damaged? Only slightly. Young? Definitely. Talented? That's debatable.

If only it were this easy (and fun!) in real life. In reality, it turns out the Vikings have found some offers and are getting ready to pull the trigger.

Speaking of trades, Green Bay bonehead receiver Javon Walker is seeking one for himself now as well. More on this crap later.

Are we ready to see it on the big screen?

On Saturday afternoon I went to see the movie 16 Blocks with my girlfriend. It was a great action flick with an outstanding performance by Mos Def, but that is not the significance of this post.

About halfway through the previews, I was completely taken-aback by the start of a preview that featured the visual of an airport flight-tracking grid that seemed to be depicting something eerily similar to the events of 9/11. It turned out, that's what it was.



The movie is called Flight 93. The trailer was not very telling, mostly omitting any actual film footage except for a small, blurred segment. But the audio told the story. It was filled with air traffic control checks, passenger phone calls to loved ones, talk amongst themselves and screams. And paired with the simple, but chilling digital depiction of the planes changing course on a monitor, it was enough to get your heart racing.

The first thing I thought to myself upon seeing the preview was "holy shit." The events of that tragic day are less than 5 years behind us. The movie comes out in April. Is it too soon? How soon is appropriate? This is the debate that's sure to be all over the media within a few weeks. Given that the movie comes out in April (the 28th is the release date I found upon some research), I couldn't believe I hadn't heard a thing about the film yet.

I'm completely compelled to see this movie. In fact, it's the only situation where I think someone could be moved to tears seeing and hearing a preview, as I almost was. But for how many people is this situation going to be the same? I remember that day as clear as any of my four years of college and maybe as clear as any day of my life. But I was blessed enough not to suffer the loss of any family member or friend, or anyone I knew for that matter. Many people were not.

As intrigued as I was by the preview, the first thing I did when I got home was jump online and do some research on the film background. Somehow I had missed this New York Times article that was published on January 1st (though I can imagine why I was not reading any newspapers that day). From this article, I not only learned more about Flight 93, I found that there are three other films in the works with storylines related to 9/11, including a picture by Oliver Stone. Not only is this arguably going to be too early, it could be too much.

The question must arise whether Hollywood studios are capitalizing off of America's pain, or if there are just too many Producers/Directors with a desire to show the world these events in a different way and spread larger messages. There isn't much information on the other three films yet, but I can tell you that Flight 93 fits the latter. The movie is being directed by Paul Greengrass, best known for directing The Bourne Supremacy and the less well-known, but more intention-showing Bloody Sunday, a 2002 movie that depicted the 1972 incident in which 13 unarmed civil rights demonstrators were killed by British soldiers in Londonderry, Northern Ireland.

Upon reading even further, and discovering this website devoted to the movie, I am convinced that Mr. Greengrass is serious about magnifying the true story of what the individuals on that plane experienced, and creating a dialogue about how these people were really the first conversation in how to deal with terrorist attacks in our modern world. According to the website, the movie "tells the story of the day through a meticulous re-enactment of events surrounding United 93, the last of the four hijacked aircraft, in the belief that by examining this single event something much larger can be found - the shape of our world today." The film run in real-time of the 90 minute flight with phone calls to loved ones and conversations between passengers, pilots, etc. being as authentic as possible. That being possible from the two dozen phone calls and 30 minutes of cockpit recordings that stand as the only true records of the events.

I'm preparing myself for an intense, emotion-wrenching viewing experience. Will you be going to see it? (View the teaser trailer here)

Speaking of movies, I just got done watching the Oscars. If it wasn't so inappropriate this would be an easy time to make a joke about a looming Armageddon after members of Three 6 Mafia won an Academy Award for "Best Original Song."

It's that wonderful time of year

When I was at the peak of my sports-crazed youth, in junior high, I once declared that March Madness was the second best time of the year only to Christmas. While I no longer devote quite as much attention to college basketball as I once did when I was playing the sport, I'm still a fan and the upcoming start of the greatest tournament-style playoff in sports still gets my blood rushing. I can hardly wait for that first day of simultaneous and back-to-back-to-back hoops contests. I even heard something on the radio the other day that with all of the people watching the games or checking for score updates online during the first two days of the tournament, U.S. employers lose something like $3 billion in productivity. Bummer.

Although the NCAA tournament is still a couple weeks away, March Madness officially started with a BANG yesterday with Florida State upsetting #1 ranked Duke at home, after arguably getting a Duke upset stolen from them earlier in the season with a lack of an apparent foul call. As any jacked-up fans would, members of FSU's student section rushed the court. The one tiny detail they overlooked was that there were still seconds on the clock. I could really care less about this. It happens all the time and the game was realistically out of Duke's hands. But the downside of this is, Coach K got the opportunity to take attention away from FSU's performance by acting all miffed about the whole thing. Sorry Coach K, but there are bigger fish to fry, such as is your team even going to beat North Carolina and when is J.J. Redick going to get his stroke back?

Unfortunately I will have no home team to root for in this year's tourney. While my Minnesota Golden Gophers have been playing their best ball of the season in the last month and beat several ranked opponents, they also started the season 0-6 due to injuries and an overall lack of identity. Thus, my loyalty will probably be turned to my home-state Wisconsin Badgers (and of course whoever I pick to go far in my bracket).

Anyway, it's been a while but I gotta get back on track with the Top 5. Here goes for March:

1. March Madness
2. St. Patty's Day - to steal from a sports blog I read I'll be "0% Irish, 100% drunk"
3. A big tax return
4. My new Panasonic digital camera (in the mail!)
5. Dave Chappelle's Block Party

Be cool.

"24 is a soap opera for men"

Said my friend Jon, also a devout fan of the show.

I never thought I'd say this, but I'm a soap opera addict.