Today The Sticky Egg dedicates this space to its mighty alma mater, the University of Kentucky Wildcats, the first team to earn a spot in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2011 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament!
GO CATS!
It’s also the first day of Spring, and I can’t help but notice — everything is coming up blue!
But that’s March Madness for you.
Gotta love it.
Posted in Basketball, College, Green, Humor, Life, March Madness, Sports, Weather
Tagged alma mater, basketball, college, college basketball, green, Humor, life, March Madness, NCAA men's basketball tournament, seasons, Sports, spring, spring fever, Sweet Sixteen, The Sticky Egg, UK, University of Kentucky Wildcats, weather
I hate this column.
But that no doubt was sportswriter Greg Couch’s intent.
In the maiden days of March Madness, he has the nerve to suggest that NBA basketball is more exciting, its superstars more beloved.
Bite me.
College basketball will always be about more than agent negotiations and the biggest payday.
In the NCAA, bad behavior happens, yes, but it’s not celebrated and encouraged and splashed all over Twitter and Facebook and Entertainment Tonight. Breaking rules equals sanctions and suspensions and no tournament play.
The college players and teams on the floor this weekend and the weekends to come in March have earned their berth. With talent. Dedication. Teamwork. And with thousands of students and alumni behind them who won’t change their allegiance due to geography or money or scandal or a losing season or two.
The NBA can never buy that.
So, Greg, feel free to sit back and watch the overpriced players in the NBA run and gun every night of the week. Just don’t get too comfy.
Your favorite might be playing for the other guys tomorrow.
Posted in Basketball, Blogging, Blogs, Celebrities, Commentary, Family, Friends, Internet, Life, Magazines, March Madness, Philosophy, Sports, Television, TV
Tagged basketball, basketball tournament, celebrities, college basketball, commentary, entertainment, Entertainment Tonight, Facebook, friends, Greg Couch, Greg Couch sportswriter, Internet, life, magazines, March Madness, NBA, philosophy, pro basketball, professional basketball, Sports, sports agent, Television, TV, Twitter
On February 15, 1961, Sabena Flight 548 crashed en route to Brussels from New York City. The entire United States Figure Skating team was on board en route to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
There were no survivors.
Since this happened before I was born, I have no memories of the crash, or of the Championships being canceled due to the overwhelming impact of the catastrophe on the sport.
My first memories — sketchy at best at age five — are of Peggy Fleming winning a gold medal at the Winter Olympics in 1968. (Tim Wood won a silver medal as well.)
Knowing now that the US team lost all its skaters and coaches a mere seven years before makes these accomplishes even more incredible than they already are.
Tonight I’m going to learn more about the history of the 1961 US World Figure Skating Team — and the teams that have come after them — in a live event being broadcast from New York City to theatres across the country.
Rise commemorates the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the lives of the 1961 US World Figure Skating Team. Matt Lauer hosts the event, and several biggies from figure skating are scheduled to appear. Proceeds from ticket sales will be used to further the mission of US Figure Skating’s Memorial Fund, which was established on February 23, 1961, as a living legacy of those who lost their lives.
If you love figure skating like I do, and are interested in learning more about the history of the sport, join me at a theatre near you!
Rise will have an encore showing in theatres nationwide on Monday, March 7th. Visit www.rise1961.com for details.
Posted in Airplanes, Beauty, Celebrities, Entertainment, Life, Movies, Olympics, Sports, transportation, Travel
Tagged 1961 US World Figure Skating Team, airplanes, beauty, Brussels, celebrities, entertainment, figure skating, Figure Skating World Championships, gold medal, history, life, Matt Lauer, memorial fund, Movies, New York City, Olympics, Peggy Fleming, plane crash, Prague, Rise movie, silver medal, Sports, Tim Wood, transportation, Travel, Winter Olympics, World Championships
A year ago at this time, I was scouring the Interwebs, desperately trying to locate a pair of mittens from the 2010 Winter Olympics.
You remember them. Modeled after the Canadian flag, they were bright red, with the iconic maple leaf centered on each palm.
They were great looking, and at only $10 Canadian, quickly became the souvenir of the games… meaning, they were nowhere to be found.
Heck, I still want a pair.
Today is the anniversary of the day that Canada officially adopted the maple leaf as its flag….in 1965. I had no idea that symbol — which to me is as Canadian as saying ‘aye’ and ‘about’ — has been around for just a few decades.
Turns out Canada first flew Great Britian’s Union Jack flag when it became a British Colony in 1610. It adopted the Red Ensign — a solid red flag with the Union Jack in the upper-left corner and a crest in the right — in 1867.
The Privy Council began the search for a flag that would better represent the more independent Canada in 1925, but it was not until February 15, 1965 — National Flag Day — that today’s maple leaf design was raised over Parliament Hill.
And we thought the United States had trouble agreeing on anything…
Posted in Art, Commentary, Design, Education, Fashion, History, Holiday, Humor, Internet, Life, Olympics, Politics, Shopping, Sports, Travel
Tagged 2010 Winter Olympics, Canada, commentary, flags, Great Britian, Internet, life, maple leaf, Maple Leaf flag, Olympic maple leaf mittens, Olympic souvenirs, Red Ensign flag, Sports, Union Jack flag, Winter Olympics
I love the new ABC comedy series Mr. Sunshine.
What’s that, you say — it doesn’t premiere until tonight? And your point would be….?
I am already a huge fan of Mr. Sunshine. Seriously…the writers and producers are really gonna have to drop the ball on this one to lose me as a viewer.
First and foremost, the show brings Matthew Perry and Alison Janney back to prime time television. Just seeing their faces in the promos makes me happy.
And the promos themselves have been funny, too. Alison is zany, and Matthew is doing his thing. Heck, they even have Andrea Anders on board — who was on the very bad Joey with fellow Friends alum Matt LeBlanc.
If they’re willing to roll that die, the show has to be good.
Mr. Sunshine also doesn’t take place in a hospital or lawyer’s office. There isn’t a CSI to be found anywhere near the title. This show centers around a sporting arena, which on the surface at least, appears to be different.
I like different. I appreciate that at least one network recognizes that not everyone wants to watch shows about medicine, cops or lawyers. And based on the ratings from this year’s Super Bowl, a lot of folks find the idea of sports kinda enjoyable. Stands to reason they might like a sitcom set in a sporting arena.
I think ABC thinks this show is good, too…because they gave it one of the most sought after lead-ins in television right now, Modern Family. Ya don’t want to follow the best comedy around with schlock.
And I really don’t think Mr. Sunshine is schlock. Just look at that face. Would Matthew Perry bring anything but the funny into your home?
Of course not.
It’s gonna be great. I already love it.
Enjoy.
Posted in Advertising, Celebrities, Comedy, Commentary, Entertainment, Family, Friends, Humor, Life, Sports, Television, TV
Tagged ABC, advertising, Alison Janney, celebrities, comic delivery, comic timing, commentary, entertainment, Humor, life, Matthew Perry, Modern Family tv series, Mr. Sunshine, Mr. Sunshine tv series, network television, Sports, Super Bowl, Television, television lead-in, television producers, television promos, television series, television sitcom, television writers, TV
Happy Super Bowl-less Sunday!
That’s right — I am defying the gods and not watching the big game . I don’t have a team in this year’s fight, and I’m not one to watch football for football’s sake. Plus, I can watch the commercials online.
So I figure today is the perfect time to go…to Home Depot.
Think about it. This is one Sunday when I’d bet good money they see a lot less traffic. I will be able to browse the hardwood flooring and kitchen counters and countertops and backsplashes without being crowded by other people.
Help should be easy to find, too…not that I’ve ever had a bad experience at Home Depot. I’m just looking forward to more elbow room (cried Daniel Boone).
Of course, the people who have to work at Home Deport on Super Bowl Sunday may be a tad bitter. So I’ll have to be extra entertaining to make up for it.
I think I can manage that.
Posted in Business, Commentary, Entertainment, Home, Humor, Life, Shopping, Sports, Television, TV
Tagged Business, commentary, entertainment, football, football game, home, Home Depot, Humor, kitchen cabinets, kitchen countertops, life, shopping, Sports, Super Bowl, Super Bowl commercials, Super Bowl Sunday, Super Bowl-less Sunday, Television, TV, wood floors
Reason #1,485,208,771 to love New York City:
Alan Rickman
…the unforgettable villain Hans Gruber in the original Diehard movie?
…the tragically besotted boss Harry in the Christmas classic Love Actually?
…the outwardly evil yet misunderstood Severus Snape in the Harry Potter film saga?
(I also loved his portrayal of Dr. Lazarus in the hilarious sci-fi send-up Galaxy Quest, but I tend to get blank stares at that reference.)
Yes, Alan Rickman is consistently brilliant in whatever role he chooses to inhabit. Today I have the privilege of seeing him LIVE onstage at the BAM in Brooklyn.
Rickman is playing the title role in the Henrik Ibsen play “John Gabriel Borkman.” I had never heard of the piece until I got the postcard in the mail, but as soon as I saw his face front and center, I bought a ticket.
The storyline sounds a bit Wall Street 2 (if it were told by Ibsen at the Abbey Theatre in Ireland). And with Rickman, Fiona Shaw and Lindsay Duncan in the cast, I am primed for an amazing afternoon of entertainment.
While I’m at BAM today, I know many of my friends will be watching football, cheering on the Jets to bring home a Super Bowl berth. Heck, New York City has Alan Rickman and practically everything else…
Why not another Super Bowl title, too?
Posted in Art, Broadway, Celebrities, Commentary, Entertainment, Humor, Life, Movies, Sports
Tagged Abbey Theatre, Alan Rickman, BAM, BAM Theater, Broadway, Brooklyn, celebrities, commentary, Diehard movie, Dr. Lazarus, entertainment, Fiona Shaw, Galaxy Quest movie, Hans Gruber, Harry Potter movies, Henrik Ibsen, Humor, John Gabriel Borkman, life, Lindsay Duncan, Love Actually movie, Movies, New York City, New York Jets, Severus Snape, Sports, Super Bowl
You can take a UK Wildcat out of Kentucky…
…but would you expect to find three in the same New York City block?
ME EITHER!!
Last night Rory Dog and I were taking our evening walk around my neighborhood on the Upper West Side. This always includes a stop at Canine Country Club, a dog store literally around the corner from my apartment. I gossip with my friends who work there, and Rory gets a treat.
Everybody wins.
A new guy joined the staff there a couple of weeks ago, and he and Rory have become best buds. Last night he was wearing — wait for it — a UK shirt. This is not something I see very often in New York City (unless I’m the one wearing it), so I had to ask.
Turns out he graduated from UK last year… lived in Kentucky for several years, too. So for the next 30 minutes, we totally geeked out Kentucky-style, talking about UK, Lexington and all things Southern that we miss. Our New York friends just shook their heads.
And while we’re chatting, who walks in? Another UK graduate who lives in the hood!
Whackadoodle.
Since UK played Notre Dame last night — and beat them handily, I might add — I think the planets aligned to make that happen. Gotta gather the UK faithful for a big game, no matter where they live.
GO BIG BLUE!
Posted in Commentary, Dogs, Friends, Home, Humor, Life, Relationships, Sports, Travel
Tagged Canine Country Club, dog walk, Dogs, Freedom Hall, friends, Humor, Kentucky, life, Louisville, New York City, Notre Dame, Sports, UK basketball, UK faithful, UK Wildcats basketball, University of Kentucky, University of Kentucky Wildcats, Upper West Side
I’m not a soccer fan, so my World Cup experience this year was limited to friend’s Facebook status updates — so, so many of them — and random online news reports.
A team won. (I’m almost certain.) But the true breakout star of the games was without a doubt…the vuvuzela horn. The Dr. Suess-inspired design. That god-awful, annoying buzz.
You didn’t even have to watch a match to hear it.
After a cartoonist jokingly proposed ways to reinvent the horn — a dunce cap, a pipe — two South Africans staged an international design competition to reinvent the much maligned musical instrument.
The event began in July. Over 150 designs were submitted to a panel of seven judges. And the winner is….
A pair of earrings.
Okay. Sure, they’re kinda cute. I like hoops as much as the next gal. And the colors are fun.
But are they, like, the most amazing design on the planet?
No.
But here’s why I think they won the vuvuzela redesign competition.
Can the vuvuzela make any noise in this new configuration? No. Can you get any sound from those three independent dangling hoops? Maybe, if there’s a stiff breeze blowing, you might get a clank or two, but I don’t think you’ll ever hear another buzz or moan from those puppies.
And that’s why those earrings beat out entries like the vuvuzela Christmas tree. It’s pretty, but that sucker could still make noise if someone got a little lickered up at the holiday party.
Am I right?
You know I’m right. And no one needs to hear that noise.
Ever. Again.
Posted in Comics, Design, Fashion, Home, Humor, Internet, Life, Sports
Tagged cartoonist, comics, design, Facebook, Facebook status update, Fashion, holiday party, home, Humor, Internet, life, musical instrument, online news, soccer, South Africa, South Africa design competition, Sports, vuvuzela Christmas tree, vuvuzela earrings, vuvuzela horn, World Cup
It’s a glow
This was an incredibly difficult blog post to write.
I can’t focus. Can’t seem to string words together into sentences that amount to much of anything. And I really don’t care all that much, either.
You know why?
I’m just too damn happy.
A friend called it a glow. That’s exactly what it is — and all because of a little old college basketball game.
(UK beat Ohio State last night — I mean, come on! Come on!!)
I tried to Google this phenomenon — the distraction of happiness — but all I could find is how everyday life distracts you from being happy.
So far, I haven’t found that to be the case at all. I’m still happy. Still smiling. Still haven’t gotten a darn thing done.
Who cares? I’m happy.
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Posted in Blogging, Blogs, Commentary, Family, Friends, Health, Home, Humor, Life, Love, March Madness, Philosophy, Sports
Tagged blogging, blogs, college basketball, commentary, distraction, distraction of happiness, family, friends, Google, happiness, happy, Health, Humor, life, March Madness, Relationships, Sports, writing