Tag Archives: sports

Fleet Feet

My training with my WPTC buddies continues to go well. On Wednesday, I ran a mile, a half mile, and a quarter mile with short brakes in between. I ran them in 7:36, 3:36 (7:12 pace), and 1:34 (6:16 pace), respectively. I look forward to running a mile in less than 7:00 – perhaps even less than 6:45 – at next year’s Pittsylvania Mile. πŸ™‚

Something to Be Proud Of

Here’s one of Pitt’s finest talking about the riots after the Superbowl.

"Ò€œI expect nothing less from the city of Pittsburgh. I love it, itÒ€ℒs just crazy. People were uprooting little trees in front of the Cathedral and passing them around, and they had a keg up on the Cathedral front balcony and people were doing keg stands. It was awesome." – student Lauren Judy

Any other Pitt students or graduates out there get warm fuzzies from this?

Superbowl Commercials Super Duds

Is it just me or are Superbowl commercials getting worse with each passing year?  Every second costs a fortune, so you’d think advertizers would make good use of their time by producing the best, the coolest, the funniest, the freshest commercials.  You’d be wrong.  Here are my very brief thoughts on this year’s commercials.  If you’d like another Pittsburgher’s take, check out Gclectic.

Bud Light (office) – funny but the message is apparently “beer makes people stupid”
Burger King – pathetic and awful
Sierra Mist – chuckle, but weak
Bud Light (magic fridge) – freakin’ hilarious
16 Blocks – eh
Toyota – yawn
FedEx – not hilarious, but original
Bud Light (bear) – so-so
V for Vendetta – deja vu 1984
Diet Pepsi (P. Diddy) – catchy but forgettable
Aleve – pathetic use of the ST license
Ameriquest (fly) – kinda funny
Bud Light (roof) – πŸ™‚
Diet Pepsi (Jacky Chan) – chuckle
Cars – looks dumb
Nationwide (rope swing) – eh
Budweiser (lamb streaker) – chuckle
Mobile ESPN – yawn
CareerBuilder (monkeys chart) – yawn (wasn’t funny last year)
Cadillac Escalade – dumb
MI:3 – could be interesting
Dove (self esteem) – touching but doesn’t belong in a football game
Shappy Dog – dumb, poor Tim Allen
Ford Escape (Kermit) – cute (I’m a big Muppets fan.)
Michelob (tackle) – great πŸ™‚
GoDaddy (wardrobe malfunction) – I have no idea what they were advertizing.
Poseidon – could be OK
Gillete Fusion – not new, still lame, how many blades do we really need?!?
Overstock.com – boring
Sprint (deterrent) – funny because it’s odd
Ft. Lauderdale – Dan Marino sucks as a spokesman. Ad is boring.
Ameriquest (airplane) – kinda funny
MotoPEBL – dumb
Sharpie (pirate) – chuckle
Budweiser (pulling cart) – cute
Nationwide (Fabio) – funny πŸ™‚
NFL mobile – eh
H3 (monster love) – amusing but odd
Practical Solutions (clean suits) – eh
CareerBuilder (jackasses) – the joke has jumped the shark (or monkeys or asses or whatever)
Taco bell (crunchy wrap love) – weak
Slim Fast – boring
Gillette Fusion – dumb once, dumb twice
Toyota (webcam beach) – different, but eh
Sprint (Benny Hill) – chuckle
Degree (3x risks) – dumb
Emerald Nuts – amusing
Fidelity (McCartney) – not new, still boring
Budweiser (stadium signs) – creative and mildly amusing
Pirates of the Carribean 2 – hope it’s good
MasterCard (MacGyver) – cool! πŸ™‚
Mobile ESPN – yawn
Beer Institute – educational, Irish only ones with real beer
World Baseball Classic – intriguing
GoDaddy – huh? (again)
Running Scared – definitely not Hines and Crystal
Outback – eh
Westin (nonsmoking) – simple but effective, smoking sucks

Well, that’s it.  I’m sorry if my descriptions aren’t memorable, but I was writing quickly when I took notes.

Did anybody else notice the switcheroo from last year?  We went from erectile dysfunction every other commercial to Lifetime.  I half expected “Mom, do you ever get that not so fresh feeling?”  The attempt to reach women was too obvious and overplayed.  Subtlety would do wonders for these advertizers.

Anyhow, the final verdict is that this year, except for Bud Light and a couple others, was a dismal failure for Madison avenue.  I suspect there were some firings this morning.  Let’s hope next year’s better.

Horrendous Halftime

Wow. That halftime show really sucked. The sound was terrible for at least half of the first song due to a guitar was left out of the mix, amonst other things. Even if the sound was perfect, though, the Stones would have sucked. First of all, I think they’re one of the most overrated rock bands. Sure, they have a number of good songs, but so do a lot of bands who don’t get nearly the attention these guys do. Secondly, they’ve been a band longer than the Superbowl’s been played. I’m impressed by their longevity and I wish them all the best, but they’re way too old to be an appropriate act for the biggest ratings event of the year.

Mick Jagger was an ugly dude when he was in his prime. Now he’s like the crypt keeper. Worse yet, the crypt keeper was wearing a shirt that showed off midriff and was gyrating like he’s still (or ever really was) a sexual icon. Watching him hump the air in the audience’s direction was like watching old people having sex. Thank goodness there weren’t any wardrobe malfunctions. *shudder*

Idiots On The Road

The Steelers just won the Superbowl, which means parties are over, the bars are emptying, people are going home, and there are countless idiots driving around the city honking like it's going out of style. Making matters worse are the groups of drunken college students staggering in and out of the streets with less appreciation for the fragility of life than usual. The icing on the cake, though, is the snow. There's a thin layer of icy snow on every road in Oakland and Squirrel Hill (and probably elsewhere) making driving a rather hazardous endeavor. Don't tell that to the heros in the SUVs, though. They're invincible. (They're loonies.)

My apartment building is off of one of the steepest roads in the city, Forward Avenue. Every time there's snow, freezing rain, or sleet it becomes a skating rink. That doesn't stop General Patton in his almighty SUV tank. No siree. There ain't no mountain high enough to stop him.

Right.

Most of them end up sliding back down. Just tonight, for instance, there was a fender bender caused by fools who thought they could tackle Mount Forward. Idiots. I hope nobody was hurt.

Of course, the drivers aren't the only ones to blame. The city takes a big chunk of that. You'd like to think the ridiculous taxes we pay would buy us decent snow and ice removal. As if. I doubt there'll be any salt on my road before sunrise. We're not on a major city artery, so we're chopped liver. I thought the new 61D bus route would mean better road maintenance. I suppose on weekdays before 10PM it might. It's Sunday, though, and the 61D doesn't run on weekends. So the ice capades continue as folks try to get home.

I don't think Forward will be taken better care of until a major accident happens. Even then, it'll probably take a law suit to overcome political inertia and get something done. Why give a damn about your electorate when your party has effortlessly controlled the city for decades?

*sigh* I should stop ranting and go to bed. I hope everyone, especially my readers, got home safe and sound from their Superbowl parties. Goodnight.