Sunday, January 13, 2008

Drugs, Alcohol, Teen Pregnancy, and Basketball

  • What I'm Watching/Listening To/Reading:
    • "Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew" is fantastic. It takes the wacky voyeurism of VH-1's other, crappy shows and adds legitimate drama. Jeff Conaway (Grease, "Taxi") is really f***ed up.
    • Didn't watch much of the Packers game once it became apparent that it would be a blowout. Did watch the whole Pats game. Jacksonville put up a respectable fight. Now it's up to Indy next week.
    • Went to the movies and saw Juno. I can't believe that anyone wouldn't like this movie. It's one of the rare well-made feel-good films in recent years. Hilarious and so well-written, with solid acting all around. Ellen Page's Golden Globe nomination is very well-deserved. Most of the best-written comedies of the last few years have been independent, like Juno: Little Miss Sunshine, Thank You For Smoking (also directed by Jason Reitman), Garden State. This movie is right up there with all of those.
  • Random Thoughts/Links:
    • Those two playoff games (and the Wizards' upset over the Celtics) were not the biggest sporting events of the day (for me, at least). It's all about 14-0 #4 Washington State going to Pauley and losing to 15-1 #5 UCLA, despite a crazy 7-for-7 from beyond the arc in the last two minutes to make it close. Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love are the truth.
    • This morning, at synagogue, the rabbi made a Martin Luther joke during services. It was actually pretty funny, if only because it was so surprising. You don't hear many people referencing Martin Luther in any way.
  • Your List Sucks!:
    • Top 5 Athletic Performances I've Seen in Person:
      • 5. Kwame Evans against #1 UMass -- Evans scored 32 to lead the Colonials in the school's biggest upset, with President Clinton in the stands. He hit from everywhere and displayed his leadership in the win.
      • 4. Tiger Woods (Summer, 2007) -- Steve and I saw Tiger Woods up close and personal at the Tiger Woods Invitational at Congressional. He didn't do anything spectacular; he was just Tiger Woods playing a few feet in front of us.
      • 3. LeBron James in High School -- James' high school team toured the nation when he was a senior and we went to see him at the best venue for basketball in the country, The Palestra at University of Pennsylvania. He was twice as big as anyone else, three times as fast, and a million times as skilled (particularly with his passing). I never saw Magic play in person, but I imagine it was something like that.
      • 2. Jamal Lewis Sets The (Then) Record -- Before Adrian Peterson broke it this season, Jamal broke Corey Dillon's record of 278 rushing yards in a game with 295 against Cleveland. He was unstoppable -- running guys over and then turning on breakaway speed.
      • 1. Pedro's Masterpiece -- After being suspended for throwing at someone during his prime in Boston, we got the tip that Pedro Martinez would be making his return at Camden Yards and snatched up some tickets. What followed was mind-blowing -- a one-hit shutout with 17 strikeouts. He was so overwhelmingly brilliant that in the bottom of the ninth, all of the fans, including us Orioles ones, were on our feet cheering every pitch. The final swing-and-miss led to one of the larger ovations of which I've been a part.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

So what was the Martin Luther joke?

Josh said...

It was the Sisterhood's Shabbat, so the women ran the services, which meant that the men were running the kiddush (the reception after services). So the women were joking about getting the men to serve people as the services were winding down. Right before the end, the rabbi was doing his announcements and he said something like, "If you're a man and you're signed up to help at the kiddush, leave now and go into the social hall. Your assignments are up on the wall, right next to where Martin Luther put his stuff up." Referencing the "reform" of men serving women. Not really funny out of the moment, but it was surprising so funny at the time.