YES!

We did! The Brewers made the playoffs! I don't believe it. The first time in my life. Seriously, all I need now to die a happy man is to get married. Really.
26 years!

It's been a great 24 hours, especially after Saturday was so rough for Wisconsin sports. But we did it.
I still can't believe it. I really, really wish I was in Milwaukee yesterday. It looked pretty awesome from what I saw. Seriously, some of my earliest memories come from the bleachers of county Stadium drinking Kool-Aid from a big jug, eating peanuts, hearing my father yell with Bbob Uecker on the radio, even mustering up 55 cents to buy a pack of tops baseball cards looking to get Rob Deer or Glenn Braggs.
Seeing Ryan Braun jump for joy and high 5 everyone in site, CC gettting hype for the final out, and all the fans going crazy will stick with me for some time. The video below is simple, but great.
THE MILWAUKEE BREWERS ARE IN THE PLAYOFFS!

Purdue Killed Jesus

Yes, you read the title of this post correctly, "Purdue Killed Jesus"
From time to time on this blog I like to tell readers of the exploits/hinjinx of my youth. I used to be a pretty cool kid with a lot of potential. Then I started drinking, and pretty much all potentional was lost. This story comes in my early years of drinking, so I was not yet completely gone yet.

We're going back to my sophomore year of college here. I was very excited to read that College Gameday was coming to Madison for the Wisconsin/Purdue football game. For those of you that are unfamiliar, College Gameday is the college football Saturday morning preview show which is filmed on location each week at a different school. And ESPN loves Madison. People often times make goofy signs and try to get on TV. I wanted to be this is well.
So, after a Friday night of moderate drinking, I went home to make my sign. I even left a party early to do so. I did not let the lack of materials dissuade me from making this sign. I believe I used the bottom of a DVD box and a Sharpie. My roommate came home mid-creation and laughed a lot. I believe he said it was the hardest he's seen me work all year. (Probably true.)
But I made my sign. I was pretty ghetto, but PURDUE KILLED JESUS


So on Saturday morning I woke up early and walked down to the practice field. I got in. Everybody loved my sign. I got closer and closer to the stage. I felt it was my time to make it big, let the world know that it was actually Purdue who killed Jesus. But then, a security guard comes and rips my sign away. Really. Damn censorship. ESPN is weak, can't handle the truth.

A few side notes: The Badgers lost the game on a last second field goal.
The sign was never recovered.
And I must confess I actually didn't come up with the idea on my own. For some reason a group of us while in high school went to a Milwaukee Rampage game and rooted for the other team. Possibly because they got rid of the "Keebler Corner Kick" Anyways, the man I quoted in a previous post came up with the the chant, and there were about 30 of us chanting, "Rampage Killed Jesus". Good times.

Omen?

My CC Sabathia t-shirt jersey shrunk in the wash the weekend to an almost unwearable level.
Do you think that is a good sign or a bad sign?

1 game back with 1 week left

One game back with we week left. We still got a strong chance. We can do it. And for the record, as my previous Brewers posts show, I have never given up hope. BIG WEEK!

And just for the record again. The Brewers have not made the playoffs in 26 years, since before I was born. Damn. This is the longest current streak in sports, unless you count the Expos/Nationals, but really, what hardcore Montreal Fans now root for the Nationals? They know not our pain. And I'm sick of hearing all this Cubs fans about their 100 year curse and Red Sox fans up to a few years ago. At least they made the playoffs. I'm not asking for a championship. And to put it in further perspective. The longest playoff drought for football is the Cardinals at 10 years, the longest hockey drought is 7 for the Florida Panthers, and the longest in basketball I believe is 3. Yes, baseball is different, but 26 years! Jesus.

Ok, so this is the week. All you people in Milwaukee, get out to Miller Park. Make the city crazy. I know I would if I could.
Brew Crew!

Best High School Movies

Time for another Family Feud Category - Best High School Movies. Now this is movies that take place in high school or are primarily about high school. I think it is almost its own genre. So I'm leaving out sports movies. And unlike the previous Family Feud Categories which were factual, this is purely based on my opinion. So here you go.

BEST HIGH SCHOOL MOVIES


9. The Breakfast Club - This is a Saturday Super 18 classic. I think that I've only seen that version, not the entire unedited film, but yeah good stuff. People might argue that it should be higher, but I'm not too crazy about 80's movies. Great music, though, both for the decade and for the movie itself.

8. Rushmore - Probably my favorite Wes Anderson film.

7. 10 Things I Hate About You - One of my favorite chick flicks, but that is a post for another day. I'm not sure why, but I really like this movie. It's funny and sweet. The scene where he sings to her at soccer practice is great. And, the nice, somewhat dorky guy (The one from 3rd Rock from the Sun, not Heath Ledger) gets the girl.

6. Grease - Ok, I admit it, sometimes these songs get into my head. Olivia Newton John was hot.

5. Mean Girls - I remember seeing this one at the dollar movie in Oak Creek on a rainy Tuesday night. We weren't going to go, but decided at the last minute and did not have high expectations, but boy, were we pleasantly surprised. It was a great movie! Tina Fey was great.
Tim Meadows was hilarious. Lindsay Lohan was still hot. Girls got hit by buses. Asians slept with gym teachers. Mathletes. I love it.

4. American Pie - I guess this movie means more to my generation because we were actually in high school when it came out. It also really sent the trend for high school movies to come. Lots of memorable scenes.

3. Ferris Bueller's Day Off - I think people forget how great this movie is. Wow. It has everything. Fun lead, singing, baseball, dorky friend, parades, karaoke, hot girl friend, bitch sister, Charlie Sheen, douche-bag principal. Heck, a band is even named after it. I love it.

2. Dazed And Confused - This beats out # 3 because you definitely think of it as a high school movie, while Ferris Bueller you may not. You got your stoners, the seniors, the in-coming freshmen, the guy long out of high school (That's what I love about these high school girls, man. I get older and they stay the same age.), the sports references, the parties, the looking for a party, the outcasts. Yep this one had all the pieces, and it put them together pretty well. One of my favorite scenes was when the keg for the party was delivered when the parents were still home - reminds me of some high school hijinx of my own. Yeah, a lot about this movie reminds me of my high school experience. Don't know if that's good or bad. Pretty crazy this movie is now 15 years old.

1. Fast Times and Ridgemont High - C'mon did you expect any thing else? I mean High is in the name. All other high school movies aspire to be this one. That is fact. Spicoli was great, plus a little cameo by Anthony Edwards and Nic Cage, maybe Coppola at that time. Judge Reinhold was hilarious. And the girls were pretty hot. Oh, and Forest Whitaker. Some great scenes. Gotta love the stoners, jocks, dorks. Great stuff! Jackson Browne's Somebody's Baby (check out the somewhat related link) was such a great song choice for the dugout de-flowering scene. Oh, and Spicoli and his friends falling out of the hotbox van - classic!

Wii review

Ok, so I bought a Nintendo Wii. I thought I'd review it about two years late. Nice.

Wii- OK, the Wii itself is pretty nice. It is aesthetically pleasing and fun as heck to play. I'm still getting used to the controllers. I have two controllers and nun-chucks, Mario Kart, two wheels, Madden 2008, and Wii sports. I really think I could get by on these three games for the rest of my Wii life.

Wii Sports - Pretty much the game everyone thinks of when they get the wii. Bowling is obviously great. I love the practice one where the number of pins keeps getting higher and higher. I haven't yet played enough to become a pro, but it'll come soon. High Score - 238
Baseball is usually fun, especially the home run derby.
I've actually been playing golf more than any other sport. It's fun and easy. I could see it getting old after mastering the one course.


Tennis is disappointing. It is way too boring when playing by yourself.
Haven't boxed yet.

Madden 09 - I haven't had a Madden Video game for 6 years I think, and probably 6 years before that. Madden 95 was great. A young Brett Favre passing to Sterling Sharp and Robert Brooks. Very nice. I think the running back was Reggie Cobb, though. Ok, back to 2008. I'm still getting used to the Wii. The "all-play" feature makes it real easy, but it is pretty difficult without the latter. I love the fantasy draft franchise mode. Fun stuff. I got da bomb ass team with Tony Romo, Larry Fitzgerald, Reggie Bush, Darren McFadden, AJ Hawk, Shawn Merrimen and a slew of other young stars. Yeah

Mario Kart - This is the main reason why I purchase the wii. The 64 version is my favorite game ever, and been blogged about many times in the past. The 64 version is great. Tons of new tracks and characters. The AI seems more advanced this game which is good. More weapons. The wheel is real fun. The strength, like usual is the gameplay. It is just so fun and unpredictable. It hasn't reached N64 height yet, but I still got a lot to learn.

Critiques
- the controllers are expensive
- I have to change the controller for each game - Kart in the wheel, Madden with the Nunchuck, and wii sports without
- I don't have many friends. And we all know video game are better with more people. Damn you Nintendo
- sometimes the overdo the moving your remote to do stuff features


There you go. The moral of the story is Wii is fun.

Is it over?

I was going to label this post F---!!! (Dear Lord, that's the loudest profanity I've ever heard)
But I decided we are not yet at that point. I'm talking about the Brewers of course.
4 games ahead of the Phillies. 4 against the Phillies. 4 losses to the Phillies. Great. If we would have won just ONE of those games we'd still be 2 games up. Man. So now it's tied. The Brewers are playing bad. The Phillies good.


But I refuse to give up hope. The Brewers have not made the playoffs since I've been alive. This is their year. Things aren't looking good. 3 against the Cubs. Looking worse.
But last time the Brewers were down I wrote a post saying what the Brewers needed to turn things around, and they did. Check it out.
So here it goes this time. This is a bit more optimistic, though. Here is what will happen in the ideal Brewers world.


1. Prince and Braun get hot at the same time- This is pretty much all the Brewers need. Braun has been hot most of the year. Prince has had a bad year and been hot only for a few random weeks. Just imagine, though, if they were both hot at the same time. Seriously, that's all we need to make the playoffs.

2. Sheets, Sups, Bushy - These guys need wins. Sheets started the all-star game this year! He needs to bring that form at least 4 out of 5 starts, not 1 of 3. Suppan needs to be on his usualy late season game. I really have no complaints for Bush. He just needs some bullpen.

3. Bullpen - Speaking of the Bullpen.... shoot, what happened? Ok, the bullpen has really been trouble all year. Torres has great, but I'm no longer convinced. And who is our set up man? CC Sabathia? OK, my fix - Yovani Gallardo. Couldn't hurt. This one worries me.



4. Veterans - someone please step up. Cameron? Durham? Suppan? We need a veteran to light the fire, get things started, get people fired up, make them believe. The Brewers are obviously streaky. All it will take is a couple games and then we are back on track for the rest of the year. Do it!


Ok, so I'm being optimistic. But this is our year. I am convinced. Try to keep any faith you still might have.




UPDATE - Ned Yost Fired.
Wow. Maybe Doug Melvin is reading my blog.

Republican National Convention

I have to say that the Republican National Convention was weird.
That is pretty much the best word for it. I mean, look at that logo. The picture with the police is pretty B-A too.
Yeah, there was no regular people around. All there were were protesters. Yeah, we were super busy Monday and Tuesday, but aside from the protests, the city was dead. There was no commerce going on. They must not have allowed any vendors, cuz the city was nothing like Denver. Also, all the Republican delegates were bussed directly into the Excel Center, so there was very little mingling of people. I'd estimate I saw a total of 10 people sporting some sort of McCain apparel.
The week was pretty disappointing.



A few notes.
- Anarchists are stupid. Also, most of them are 130 pound white kids, so I don't see them doing much damage.
- Riot Police are no joke. Those guys got a lot of accessories. Most are older too.
- There was a free concert on Tuesday. It was the biggest hippie-fest I have ever seen in my life. Really. People were hula-hooping, hacky-sacking, twirling ribbons, rhythmic dancing. The smell of cloves was in the air and lots of dred-locks were seen in abundance . And guess who was playing.
Dead Prez - yes the most anti-white artists I know. Pretty funny stuff. But wow, these kids were hula-hooping like it was a matter of life and death, like it was better than sex, crazy stuff. Is that going to change the world?
- I got to see some of my old high school friends and drink a lot of PBR.
- St. Paul has some nice houses
- Thursday I went to the University of Minnesota just to pass some stuff out for a few hours. It was cool, busier, and much more like a regular stop. But, you know how they put out list of like the Top 10, Top 20, even Top 50 hottest students? Well, now I know what U of M never made the list.


So, it was a week dominated by protesters, being board, and PBR. I wish I could compare Republicans to Democrats or something like that, but I simply didn't meet enough of the former in St. Paul.

Private Bus Tour

Here's a little video of the us I've been blogging so much about. Enjoy. This is hot of the presses, special video, only available here at Big Dunc.