01/11/2007: "A Little Bit More "ESPN" and a Little Less "E" (television)"

music: Paradice by Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins.
mood: I Just Found Out I Have Monday Off. Nordstrom Rack, Here I Come.

Thanks to my friend Jason for turning me on to deadspin.com. I've turned it onto a few co-workers and now my whole office is kinda addicted.

I know what you're thinking - Terry? A sports guy? I'll admit that I don't come across as sports guy. But because a lot of my friends are and my whole office is filled with jocky-white males, I'm usually subjected to scores, youtube highlight clips, and taunting when I wear a Penn State t-shirt to work.

This is all going to change with my addiction to deadspin. The thing about deadspin is that it not only offers insightful sports commentary, but it is funny as all hell and it does a good job of linking to other great blogs and posts. If it feels like the Defamer of Sports, it's probably because it's part of the Gawker Media empire.

Recent Highlights:

1. Inside the Mind of Bear's QB Rex Grossman - Just read it.

2. The Nation of Islam Sports Blog - I assume this could get really old really fast, but the idea is pretty novel.

3. Barbaro Message Board - People wishing a speedy recovery . . . for a horse . . that can't read or reply to posts.

4. Italian Soccer Match - Looks more like a hardcore moshpit. Someone put the Rocky soundtrack underneath it for a remix, but should have put some Black Flag underneath it.

5. The Tony Romo Playoff Action Figure - I never liked the Cowboys growing up, so this was nice.

One of my resolutions this year was to "try to get into sports," that is, follow a team or two from a few of the major sports and hit up a Dodgers game this summer. I have a few good reasons for this:

1. I'm trying to kick a habit of trashy celebrity blogs (there's a serious threshold for the amount of nip-slip and oops I'm not wearing panties -photos that the brain can take)

2. Once at a party I incorrectly identified the mascot of a friend's school - I confused the Buckeyes (Ohio State) for the Hawkeyes (University of Iowa) and this girl had every reason to slap me in the face. I told her I was "close" and she told close only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Then I told her I weas trashed and then she forgave me.

3. Watching sports will make me a man. There, I said it. No more of this pussy emo shit that I'm pulling to make myself more sensible. I just put in an order for Jock Jams and am saving up for a Bally's Gym membership. Wait, what, Bright Eyes is coming to the El Rey in March . . . let me think this one over . . .

For the record here is the official list of teams endorsed by the VKLJ:

1. Football - The Philadelphia Eagles. This was the team I watched growing up in PA and thankfully they're doing well this year.

2. College Football - Penn State. My brother's Alma Mater. I went to a small liberal arts college and the only time most people cared was when we were fighting for the Cortaca Jug. Plus I lived in PA and paid taxes there for a while, so let's just hope they can get into a decent bowl game next year. There's also the UVA Cavaliers, since I also paid taxes in VA for a few months back in the day.

3. Baseball and Basketball - I guess I will just with the locals - The Dodgers and the Lakers. Anaheim's a bit far for a baseball game, isn't (I live in Los Feliz and Dodger Stadium is in Echo Park, a few miles away). My apologies to the Phillies and 76'ers.

4. College Basketball - I actually used to be a huge fan of the sport back in the day, the Tarheels primarily. How's Maryland doing? I used to live in Bethesda and all my roommates were recent graduates, so it was a good time back when the won the NCAA title. On a side not, like most people I can't stand Duke. I remember reading a "Get Your War On" strip by David Rees where he says that the Duke University basketball team will be adding collars to their jersey, just so they can turn them up. Then, again it's easy to hate on them because they actually do well each year.

5. Soccer - David Beckham just signed to the LA Galaxy, so I'm going to wait and see if it's worth all the ballyhoo. I kinda wished it was Ronaldo, but at least we now have Posh Spice in LA.

6. Hockey - I don't think I will have time to follow hockey. Sorry.

So there you have it folks. I'm predicting that 2007 will be better than 2006 simply for the fact that I can now talk to my co-workers about what happened over the weekend and may even get to enjoy my first major league baseball game. Ever.

But in closing. . . um . . . does anyone want to check out Bright Eyes at the El Rey? He's really good live.

p.s. Can anyone guess where the title of this post comes from? I promise that you will think it's the gayest thing, ever.