true story

My Creative Director: (looking over at me) What the hell is that?
Me: (holding a sandwich) It's a sandwich.
My Creative Director: No, not what's you're holding. What's on your screen?
Me: That's also a sandwich.

Mark Fever

We started Sunday at Red Rocks. We hiked an epic 1.4. Slayed it.

And then we went to the Coors brewery tour. A fine thing to do, but one I probably don't need to do again.

After that it was off to Park Burger where I fulfilled the 2011 burger bet. And then this evening we went bowling. Mark won the first game with a 122. I won the second game with a 122. And then I won the third game with a 162, including a turkey.

the best ever olympic torch lighting

It blew me away when I was 8. Still does 20 years later. Holy crap.

bob ross is dope

Brittany ate a pork egg roll by accident

...and I don't have the heart to tell her.

The Bank

Since this awesomely Comic Sans letter in which Dan Gilbert "personally guaranteed that the Cavs would win one before LeBron" and "you can take that to the bank"...

The Cavs have won 40 games.
The Heat have won 134 games.

Including two consecutive Finals appearances, 1 title, 1 Finals MVP and 1 Season MVP for the self-proclaimed king.

So which bank can I take his guarantee to?

8th Seed Hoists the Cup

Here's what I wrote in freaking December:

Going back for the last ten years, here are the regular season records for the Cup winners:

2011: Bruins (7th best record in NHL)
2010: Blackhawks (3rd)
2009: Penguins (8th)
2008: Red Wings (1st)
2007: Ducks (4th)
2006: Hurricanes (4th)
2004: Lightning (2nd)
2003: Devils (4th)
2002: Red Wings (1st)
2001: Avalanche (1st)

I think this is pretty revealing. For seven seasons, the Cup winner had a top-4 record in the league. Over the last three years, it's expanded, but not by much. The Bruins were a 3-seed and the Penguins were a 4-seed.

So in modern hockey, in a league where SIXTEEN teams get in the playoffs, you still have to be a top team to win it all. I suppose the 7-game series nature helps that quite a bit.

The LA Kings had the 14th best record in the NHL. And only lost four games in four playoff series on the way to hoisting Lord Stanley's mug.

For the last ten seasons, only top-4 seeds have won it all, and usually a 1 or a 2 seed. This year? A freaking 8th seed.

Colorado Sky

I've seen better sunset and sunrises in a year in Colorado than I have the rest of my life. Maybe Colorado's not the best in the world...maybe the midwest is just dreary.

Anyways, about two months ago I put our point & shoot in my car. Here are some shots that I happened to catch while getting groceries and driving to curling.

This next shot features downtown Denver in the distance and the Rockies beyond that.

nhl 11 screenshots

My current go-to free time activity is playing though the GM mode on NHL 11. I took over the Avalanche and made some free agent signings and trades to make the best team I could. 

Here's my first line center getting a hat trick in the final two minutes of the game. It was 2-2 with two minutes to go and Marleau breaks the tie, adds another, and then gets the empty netter. 

And then this just happened last night. My team is something like 64-8-1 as the season winds down. I clinched the 1st seed before any other teams clinched a playoff spot. So I was pretty surprised when the Maple Leafs came in to my building and got up 5-0 on me, the largest deficit I'd ever faced. 

I managed to get three in the second period, including a Duchene goal with 26 seconds left in the period.

With 9 minutes to go, I tied the game. And got the game winner with a shorthanded goal with 6 to play. 6-5 win.

nuggs

Don't have TNT so I can't watch the Nuggets game 7 tonight. Which will bring my Nugget live game total for the year to...zero.

So I haven't jumped on the Nuggets bandwagon. But I don't have any other NBA teams so it would be nice to see Denver advance.

MCA

Not only did MCA rap, but he directed all of these videos under the best pseudonym ever: Nathanial Hörnblowér. When I was 14 the Beastie Boys were the coolest thing ever. They still kinda are.

a wunderstrike!

When this gets taken down you can see it here.

Denver BBQ Recap Update

In the last few months I've been to three more barbecue places in Denver. I've been writing full reviews on yelp, since that's where I've been doing all my restaurant reviews. But I wanted to update the full BBQ record. I've linked to my yelp reviews.

Brothers, carryout, Greenwood Village (2/18/12): B
Boney's, eat-in, Denver (3/9/12): B+
Yazoo, eat-in, Denver (4/12/12): A-

Notably, Yazoo raised their grade by a full letter since last year.

For The Record:
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (11/22/10): A+
Arthur Bryant's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/21/10): A+
Gates, eat-in, Overland Park (2/13/09): A+
Jack Stack, eat-in, Overland Park (11/21/10): A
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (10/6/07): A
Gates, stadium, Arrowhead (10/7/07): A
Yazoo, eat-in, Denver (4/12/12): A-
Concessions, eat-in, Arrowhead (11/21/10): A-

Gates, eat-in, Kansas City, Kansas (6/4/11): A-

Jabo's, eat-in, Denver, (12/1/10) A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Overland Park (10/6/07): A-
Oklahoma Joe's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/23/10): A-
Corky's, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): A-
Carsons, eat-in, Chicago (2/7/09): A-
Jack Stack, carryout, Overland Park (2/13/09): A-
Smokehouse BBQ, eat-in, Overland Park (2/14/09): A-
Boney's, eat-in, Denver (3/9/12): B+
Zarda: eat-in, Blue Springs (6/10/11): B+
Smoke Daddy, eat-in, Chicago (5/23/09): B+
Rum Boogie Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B+
Brothers, carryout, Greenwood Village (2/18/12): B

Neely's, eat-in, Memphis (5/25/08): B

Yazoo, eat-in, Greenwood Village (6/9/11): B-
Famous Dave's, eat-in, Peoria (11/26/10) B-
LC's, eat-in, Kansas City (4/24/10): B-
Blues City Cafe, eat-in, Memphis (5/24/08): C

the rich get richer

Outside of the top six picks, the two guys I heard the most about were DeCastro and Hightower. They go to the Steelers and Pats at 24 and 25. Seriously?

P.S. No Chiefs fans like the Poe pick.

NFL Draft and Game 7 are 1.2 miles apart