Close Call

If you recall, during Memorial Day weekend last year, my dad and I were involved in a car accident. Well, it wasn't over the weekend, but today I came pretty darn close to being involved in another one. Granted, you can argue that when you drive in Detroit, you're always on the brink, but I was very, very close and very lucky today.

I'm driving home from work, going west on Grand River approaching Beech Daly when a car pulls slowly out of a parking lot in front of traffic. The woman was talking on her cell phone and was paying no attention to the fact that it was still a green light and that she basically blocked the two right lanes of traffic (I guess she thought she was important enough that we were going to stop for her). I slowed down, but didn't hit the brakes because it appeared she would turn into the lane next to me. But no, she kept coming, still talking on her cell phone and I literally braced for impact. I thought we were going to touch. I hit the brakes and coasted, somehow by her without hitting her. I looked behind at her to make sure we didn't touch, and there she was driving, talking on her cell phone as if almost getting in a wreck wasn't as important as her cell phone conversation. That is the reason why when my family comes up for my cousin's wedding in a couple of weeks, I'll be doing the driving because they have no idea how incompetent drivers are up here.

Oh, what can we talk about tonight:

• This is a great sports town, but they've become a little bit spoiled. First, the Red Wings, the NHL's best team during the regular season, lost in the 1st round of the playoffs (although Edmonton has reached the Stanley Cup finals). Now, the Pistons are on the brink, trailing the Heat 3-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Pistons were one of the best offensive teams in the league during the regular season, thanks in part to new coach Flip Saunders who is a good offensive coach and let the players have more freedom on offense. But, anyone can have a great offensive regular season, but it takes a truly great offense to be just as successful in the playoffs with the increased intensity on defense. The Pistons just aren't that good of an offensive team, and they're realizing it now. Pistons, defense was your calling card. You won because of your defense the last couple of years, not because you were great offensively. The last couple of years, there were stretches where it looked like the Pistons' opponent wouldn't score. That isn't the case anymore. And what's Coach Flip doing when going to a 3-2 zone? The 3-2 zone is the EASIEST zone defense to score against. Flash a guy from down low to the foul line, dump it to him, then post the other big guy down low, or kick it out to the guard who floats from the top to the wing for a jump shot. Flip didn't win anything with good talent in Minnesota, he's not going to do it in Detroit. But it's not all his fault, the Piston players need to stop being full of themselves and actually do what they claim to do, which is "go to work".
• The 2nd best studio team is the TNT team of Ernie Johnson, Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Charles Barkley. They are knowledgeable and entertaining. It's too bad they come on so late most of the time, I'm already asleep when they're on. BTW, the best studio team is, of course, the ESPN College Gameday crew.
• The French must look at the French Open as sweet revenge against the Americans since we either don't show up or aren't around for very long. ESPN's Brad Gilbert made a great point yesterday. He pointed out, the Euros and South Americans that grow up on clay, are taking those skills and applying them to the other surfaces (green, hard), and are getting better on those. The Americans only know how to play on hard courts and grass, don't learn how to play and move on the clay, therefore not gaining any extra skills they can use on the clay and the other surfaces like the rest of the world. So is it a coincidence then that the best tennis players these days are NOT coming from America??? I think not.
• Ben Affleck going to the hospital because of a migraine was newsworthy on the Detroit local noon news. First of all, is it that slow of a newsday here? I guess since the search for Hoffa has been called off, they needed something. And second, what a woos!!!! Terrell Davis played most of Super Bowl 32 (and won MVP) with a migraine, while poor Ben went to the hospital.

Have a good one.

Summer is finally here!

The last couple of weeks in Meeechigan it's felt like football weather. 60 degrees, some sun, a lot of wind, not terrible, but not what you want in late May. This week it's warming up gradually. We broke 70 today and we'll be in the mid 80s by the end of the week.

I'm still amazed with how people treat sports up here. Granted, Dayton isn't really a sports town. There's UD basketball, and most people like the Buckeyes and the Bengals, but their homes are in other towns so Dayton isn't a real sports town. Detroit, however, is a serious sports town. All the talk's about the Pistons, on every local newscast, on every local radio show, they're everywhere. And with their hot start, the Tigers are starting to get some attention, which I'm happy about. I've actually watched several of their games on TV. Yes you heard me correctly, I've watched several baseball games on TV. The Tigers play hard and with passion, two things you don't see every day in pro sports. If you play hard and show some emotion, I will get behind you, it's infectious. So I hope the Tigers do well and one of these days I'm going to a game (maybe next week when the Yanks and Sox are in town).

I wonder what it will be like during Michigan football season? I'm kind of curious.

So I watched this whole American Idol thing from start to finish this year, first time since the 2nd season. I thought the top 12 were strong at the beginning of the finals, yet they turned out to be mediocre.

• There was Mandisa (I apologize for spelling errors), by far the best female vocally, except on country night, which gave the producers the excuse they needed to kick her off.
• And there was Bucky, how was he on for as long as he was. The Buddy Holly song he did was awful.
• I liked Lisa McGee, I think she was too young. The producers wouldn't have made as much money off of her record since her target audience doesn't compose of people with much disposable income.
• Kellie Pickler. I don't think she was putting on an act. She wouldn't be able to make a good pop record.
• Paris was awesome at the beginning, but she tried to be too much of a grown up at the end. I liked little girl Paris, not made up trying to be 25 Paris. Her audition was her best performance.
• Elliott has a great voice, but not the personality that's gonna make you buy a record, although I liked his competitiveness down the stretch. He knew he was the underdog and he came to play.
• And there was Chris, who should've won, but the producers went for intriguing TV. And something tells me Chris already has a record deal.
• So that leaves McPhee, who has an unbelievable voice, but no musicality. And by no musicality, she sings the song note for note perfectly, but there's no feel, no consistent emotion put into the song. When she keeps it simple like in Somewhere Over the Rainbow, she's dynamite. But when she tries to show off (I Believe I Can Fly), it's tough to listen to. But she can be made into a star, that's why she's still around.
• And there's Taylor. The feel good story from the hurricane ravaged South. He can sing Soul, he's popular, but can he sell a pop record? That's why I get the feeling McPhee will win because she has the most money-making potential. It worked with Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood, but not with Ruben and Fantasia. They're all great singers, but Clive Davis & Co. want to make some money, and I don't know if Taylor can make them a lot of money.
• And do you REALLY think they count all of those votes?!?!?! It's all about TV, read the disclaimer at the end of the show. The producers can make whatever decision they want in the end, which means, in the words of Roy McAvoy (Tin Cup, played by Kevin Costner): DOLLAR BILLS!!!! I love the "close" vote last week, great made up totals.

And they're digging for Jimmy Hoffa not too far from here. Right now, the bill is around $500,000, trying to find a guy who's been dead for quite awhile.

Diana, Princess of Wales

So I went home for Mothers' Day weekend, which was great. Great, but short. One very cool thing I got to do was visit the Princess Diana exhibit at the Dayton Art Institute. This exhibit has toured the country, and contains many photographs and other personal belongings (toys, diary, books, etc.). But a few things stand out:

• Her wedding dress. Yup, the one she wore to her wedding with Prince Charles was on display and it was my favorite thing in the exhibit. You see it all the time in old pictures, but to see it in person, the 25 foot long train. That's more than 8 yards!!!
• The number of personal condolences she received after she died. I don't know if it was just a sample or the whole collection, but either way, there was book upon book of them. And not just personal journal size books, these were encyclopedia volume type sized books.
• The sampling of outfits she wore to events. Diana still defines class and taste. Add to that her big heart (she was involved with 100 different organizations at one point) and she was truly one of a kind.

I had just gotten off work at Kroger and was flipping through the channels when the story first broke. I went to bed, assuming she would be ok, hurt, but ok. When I woke up the morning after, I couldn't believe she was dead. I was immediately transformed back to that past moment when I visited the exhibit today. To be able to view the exhibit was definitely a privilege and an honor.

I also got to see my neighbor's new Pontiac Solstice while I was home. I am officially now saving up for one. I usually don't get excited about cars, but the Solstice, mmm mmm, must have.

Crash

I went out and bought the Best Picture award winner and watched it today. I had been repeatedly told how good it was and finally I got the chance to see it and it was worth the hype. It's one of those movies that you get mad at because that's now how life it really is, but as you continue to watch, you realize the racism shown is racism that unfortunately takes place somewhere. I won't ruin the movie for those who haven't seen it, but I think the lesson is meet as many people as possible, that way you're exposed to different cultures, habits, races, etc. The more personal experiences you have, the more respect you gain for one's way of life, the less likely you'll have racist attitudes toward someone. I still have a lot to learn, but I have been fortunate enough to have met a lot of people and learned about them and the way they live their life, and every new person I meet, it makes me a better person after the fact. The only other Best Picture nominee I saw was Cinderella Man, and Crash was clearly better.

Congratulations to the Miami University Class of 2006. I hope you are having a great weekend. I can't believe it's been 2 years already since I completed my undergraduate work. Add to that I'll be 25 in a little more than a month and I feel old. Then I think about how much I've been able to accomplish before the age of 25 and it's amazing, I've been lucky to be given as many opportunities as I have to succeed. I'd like to think I've taken advantage of those.

Lance Armstrong is featured in this week's SI, I suggest you take a look. He continues to do great things for cancer patients, but I can't help thinking about him possibly cheating on his first wife, then Sheryl Crow. Is it ok for our heroes to have flaws. Lance does so much good, but his breakups hang over him. Is it ok that I admire certain things about him, but not all things? Does that make him a true hero? I don't know. One thing's for sure, it'll be strange not seeing him ride in the Tour in a couple of months.

Whoa Nellie!

I'm watching the USC/Texas Rose Bowl on ESPN Classic, Keith Jackson's final game as a broadcaster. He has retired, for good (if you remember, he retired back in 1998 but stayed on). It's always great hearing Keith's voice, because his voice is college football. When he decided to stay on, I wasn't in favor of it. I'm not a fan of people unretiring after they get the big sendoff. And Keith wasn't as sharp as he used to be, but still, Keith Jackson is a staple of fall Saturdays and I will miss him. The great play-by-play announcers are a dying breed. Now, you get these types that get excited about every little thing and are more worried about what their memorable calls and quotes will be instead of sticking to announcing the game and letting the excitement come naturally.

Speaking of USC, Matt Leinart and Paris Hilton are now an item?!?!? I really am not a Leinart fan now. It looks like he's more worried about his image than his football. He thinks he's one of the greatest things ever created. It looks like he has a huge ego. Hopefully I'm wrong, but after seeing him almost cry after falling to the #10 pick, firing his agent (Ben Roethlisberger's agent), and appearing in People's Most Beautiful People issue, I don't know.

My afternoon commute just got longer. So wouldn't you know, my backup route (Grand River) is going to be down to one lane. It took me an hour to get home tonight, ridiculous. This is supposed to only last 2-3 weeks, but who knows. Another highway note, someone left their couch on the ramp connecting I-275 and I-96. You know , your average couch on the side of the road, in pretty good condition, something you see every day, right haha?

Tiger Woods's dad died today, succumbing to prostate cancer. When he and Tiger first hit the national stage, I thought they were brash and cocky. But you know what, they got it right. Earl ended up right about how good Tiger was going to be, on and off the golf course. In fact, Tiger has been better than advertised, becoming one of the greatest athletes of all time. And Earl stepped out of the spotlight once Tiger turned pro, simply becoming a proud dad at a tournament rooting on his son. At first glance, it appeared that Earl was living through Tiger, pushing him to be a pro golfer. But the way Tiger talked about him and the way he broke down after last year's Masters, Earl got him started, but Tiger did the work and is grateful for his dad being there.

Tomorrow, Steve Forbes is coming to the Fed as part of a conference we're assisting at. Yup, that Steve Forbes, as in Forbes magazine and the Forbes 500. Should be interesting.