Utah Concerts for November ‘07

October 31st, 2007 by david lay

November looks to be a busy month for concerts. Here’s a list of concerts in Utah: Some are good, some are bad, and a lot are merely “eh”.

I highly suggest Kalai, Old Crow Medicine Show, and TSO…

 

Kalai w/ John Allred

Electric Theater

Nov. 2

 

*Edit - Also, Billy Joel will be performing at Energy Solutions Arena on Nov. 29th. I missed that one…

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It’s Great to be a Bulldog!

October 29th, 2007 by david lay

5+1= B.O.W.L

On Saturday, Mississippi State defeated the 14th ranked Kentucky Wildcats for our fifth win of the season. That puts us one win away from bowl eligibility – a place we haven’t been in 6 years. With home games left against Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide of Alabama and Ed Orgeron’s Mississippi Rebels and a “neutral” field contest in Little Rock against the Reverend Houston Nutt’s Mighty Hogs of Arkansas, I like our chances. Winning in the SEC is NEVER, EVER a foregone conclusion (just ask South Carolina, and Kentucky) but with 3 chances, and two at home, I think we can do it.

I think that a 6 win Mississippi State team will be gold in the eyes of many bowl executives. Sylvester Croom’s hiring has really given many people a reason to get behind the Bulldogs and I think most bowls will use that as a reason to invite us. The downside is: It looks very probable that 11 out of 12 SEC universities will be bowl eligible, meaning that three or four of them are bound to end up disappointed. If we can win our home games, then I think we would be in for sure with seven wins.

Paps Gets it Done – Smith Doesn’t

If you’re like me, the only thing that compares to seeing your team excel, is seeing your rivals fail. This happened this weekend. Not only did the Mississippi Rebels fail to score a touchdown in route to a 17-3 loss against Tommy Tubberville’s War Eagles/Tigers of Auburn, but a former Rebel was the goat in the fourth and final game of the World Series.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Rockies were down by one run when Clint Hurdle sent in pinch hitter Seth Smith to face to Red Sox closer and former Mississippi State standout Jonathan Papelbon. Smith, a former outfielder and backup quarterback at Mississippi struck out swinging to end the inning, the game, and the World Series. As Smith walked back to the dugout, the celebration surrounded Papelbon.

It’s great to be an MSU Dawg!

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Sox Centerfielder “Steals” 300 Million Tacos

October 26th, 2007 by david lay

In the fourth inning of World Series game two in Boston, Red Sox centerfielder Jacoby Ellsbury stole second base off the Rockies’ Ubaldo Jimenez and Yorvit Torrealba. Ellsbury would end up being stranded in scoring position when the inning was over, but his stolen base proved to be more significant than most.

Earlier this season, Taco Bell announced a promotion with Major League Baseball dubbed “Steal a Base. Steal a Taco.” The rules state that: Taco Bell will offer every person in the U.S. the opportunity to obtain one (1) free Crunchy Seasoned Beef Taco (”Free Taco”) at participating Taco Bell® restaurants in the United States on the date designated herein (October 30 from 2pm-5pm across all time zones).

Chances are, I won’t even go in to claim my free taco, but the potential for chaos makes this one of the best promotions of all time – I mean, could you imagine if all 300 million+ Americans attempted to get a free taco?

During Game one, outfielder Coco Crisp and non-roster infielder, Royce Clayton discussed the promotion. I found it pretty funny…

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Did the Curse Move?

October 10th, 2007 by david lay

This week the Yankees were defeated by the Cleveland Indians 3 games to 1 in the ALDS. This marks the 3rd year in a row that the Yanks have failed to get past the first round of the MLB playoffs. Joe Torre is most likely out as manager, and many are crying for the removal of GM Brian Cashman as well. Derek Jeter hit into double play after double play against the Tribe and Alex Rodriguez (once again) had a sub-par post season – going 0-fer during the first 2 games.

Pitching was a problem all year for the Yanks, but in a surprising twist, it was the 19 game winning Ace of the staff, Chien-Ming Wang who was absolutely hammered during games one and four – giving the New York virtually no chance to keep up with the likes of Cy Young frontrunner C.C. Sabathia and scrappy junk-baller Paul Byrd. The Yankees led the league in Batting Average, RBI, and Homeruns (the franchise triple crown) but were still unable to slug their way past the Tribe.

The last time the Yankees made it passed the opening round was 2004. Does anyone remember that year? That’s right – After leading the Boston 3-0 in the ALCS, the Yankees fell in 7 Games to the Red Sox who went on to sweep the World Series for their first Championship in 86 years. The “cursed” Sox overcame the greatest deficit in sports history on their way to an improbable championship – leaving behind them all thoughts of a curse.

So I ask you this – Is it possible for a sports curse to be transferred from one team to another? Can one team somehow absorb a curse from another? If so, wouldn’t a record-setting comeback be just the way to do that. Remember the movie, “The Ring” and how the only way to remove the “7-day” curse was to replicate a VHS tape (which was the medium of choice, the last time the Yankees won the World Series, by the way) in order to propagate the curse, potentially leading someone else become afflicted?

I think this is what has happened to the Yankees.

Now, Joe Torre (the club’s 3rd winningest manager) is going to be fired and all indications are that A-Rod will opt out of his contract. Abreu, Posada, Pettitte, and Rivera are free agents – (I don’t expect Rivera and Abreu to stick around, but the other two might) the team looks to be on the brink of a major over-haul. Steinbrenner will, no doubt, be looking to make some serious changes in the organization during the off season. I don’t see Cashman going anywhere, but I am very sure that Torre is out and it looks like he’ll take Rivera with him.

Torre has had his job longer than anyone under The Boss’s regime – but don’t expect the next guy to be so lucky. The Yankees are in danger of falling into the same category as the Cubs may now be in – that is, a good team that is forced to endure so much pressure, that it shatters during the highly volatile post season. This year’s off season could very well shake the team up enough that each subsequent year causes more turmoil, which in turn yields more shakeups. This could be a difficult few years for the pin-stripers. Only time will tell.

Long live the curse! Here’s to 80 more years of failures and heartbreaks in the Bronx!

PS – My diagnosis for the Cubs is simple: Just get to the post season more often…Once every 5 years is not cutting it. You need to get there for a few years in a row - let the players and fans realize that this isn’t a once in a lifetime shot at greatness – get rid of some of the pressure and, eventually, you’ll win one… I think that played a huge role in the 2004 success of the Red Sox as well.

Go Sox!! I can’t wait to see you soon in Phoenix or Denver!

Posted in Baseball, Red Sox, Yada Yada | 4 Comments

Utah Concerts in October

October 1st, 2007 by david lay

Here is your Utah Concert outlook for October - There are alot of shows this month, but not too many that are going to be life-changing events…either way, we’re in for some good times.

Chris Cornell	at The Depot	Oct 6
Saves the Day	at Kilby Court	Oct 4
Mandy Moore	at Avalon	Oct 6
The Used, Social Distortion, Sum 41, Jimmy Eat World	at Utah State Fairpark	Oct 6
Jethro Tull	at Abravanel Hall	Oct 9
Collective Soul	at Saltair	Oct 9
Underoath	at Suede	Oct 12
Pat Monahan	at The Depot	Oct 15
Interpol	at In the Venue	Oct 15
Lucero	at In the Venue	Oct 15
Yellowcard	at Avalon	Oct 21
Ian Moore Band	at Urban Lounge	Oct 21
Dashboard Confessional	at In the Venue	Oct 23
Provoked with Henry Rollins	at The Depot	Oct 15
Public Enemy	at Suede	Oct 26
Tiger Army	at In the Venue	Oct 26
Junior Brown	at Suede	Oct 27
Vanilla Ice	at Teazers Bar and Grill	Oct 27
Tommy Chong and Shelby	at Wise Guys - WVC	Oct 28

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