Archive for December 14th, 2006
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
What is it with Brett Favre and the San Francisco 49ers?
It seems the Green Bay Packers quarterback, Brett Favre, has a thing for beating the San Francisco 49ers BAD. Yup, like Michael Jordan to the New York Knicks, Kobe Bryant to the Toronto Raptors, Brett Favre plays his best every single time he sees a 49ers jersey.
Last Sunday was no different.
Bryant Young has been with the San Francisco 49ers since 1994. 
On Sunday, the veteran defensive end again encountered the wizardry of Brett Favre, with the same old result.
‘’He’s definitely in the top five of guys that I’ve played against, and the top five who’s ever played the game,'’ Young said. ‘’He’s still got that magical touch.'’
Green Bay’s 30-19 victory left the Green Bay Packers undefeated in San Francisco during the regular season since 1974. Favre may never pass through San Francisco again, and that would be all right with…
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Welcome to Boston, Daisuke Matsuzaka. Just don’t screw up.
Red Sox GM Theo Epstein at a press conference just described the Japanese sensation as both a power pitcher and an artist and a craftsman on the mound. It’s difficult not to get carried away by the hype.
Daisuke’s worth a try-out - who isn’t - but I wouldn’t expect much. And I hope to God we don’t go to spring training thinking he’s in the mix for closer. I know most of you think that this will translate into more dollars in Japan. Not really for the Red Sox. 
Any MLB apparel sold is split by every 30 teams. It will help baseball, not really the Red Sox.
According to reports, the deal is for $52M over 6 years, with escalators that can boost the deal to a total of $60M. Total cost to the Sox is $111M over 6 years for a dominant Japanese pitcher (whom we hope translates well) and a foothold in Japan’s markets.
Daisuke was then handed a jersey with the No. 18 - the one last worn by Johnny Damon. In fact, Sox fans will be happy to find new use for their old Johnny Damon shirts.
Welcome to Boston, Dice-K! You’re going to love…
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Paris Las Vegas is better off that Paris Hilton lent it her name but took her sex to Bellagio.
People come to Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino expecting to see a mini City of Paris, but the word I am thinking is diorama. It isn’t like a Chinatown or Little Korea that has the cultural feel of the place. It is like someone peered down into Paris, picked out stuff — some mimes here, a boulangerie there — and put them altogether in a box; or like they put their favorite Paris pictures together in a collage.
All the requisite Parisian landmarks are here, and as many French words and characters as imaginable, that anyone who’s seen the 
French capital will repeatedly point and nod. Real-life Parisians, not so, but that’s like thinking native New Yorkers actually love New York-New York casino hotel. Ironically, my photos in front of its mock Eiffel Tower turned out better than those taken at the real Eiffel Tower.
The half-scale, 540 ft tall replica Eiffel Tower anchors Paris Las Vegas in many ways. It leads a host of obsessively itemized replicas, good news for Francophiles, that also includes: the neon-lit Montgolfier balloon, with which it takes a share of Las Vegas sky, 2/3-scale Arc de Triomphe, Paris Opera House, La Fontaine des Mers, Hotel de Ville, and the Louvre, all Las Vegas free attractions perfect for posting on Flickr.
Just as themed is Le Boulevard shopping, designed like a…
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Welcome a new rival of Milwaukee, drunkest US city, and Czech Republic, drunkest beer country.
It was not too long ago that we blogged the 2006 Forbes list of America’s Drunkest Cities, headed by Milwaukee, Minneapolis – St. Paul, and Columbus; mentioning that, worldwide, the Czech Republic was the country with the highest record of beer consumption. Now Finland, then No. 9 in world beer consumption, just reported it reached an all-time high in drunkenness last year. Oh-kay-then.
What’s Finnish for horizontal? Finland’s National Research and Development Center for Welfare and Health confirms alcohol is the new No. 1 killer of adults in the country. 
Last year it was accountable for 17% of all deaths among 15 to 64 year old males, surpassing heart disease for the first time, and over 10.5% of all deaths among 15 to 64 year old females, alongside breast cancer for the first time.
More than 2,000 adults were killed by alcohol poisoning, or illnesses due to alcohol consumption, while close to 1,000 died in accidents or violent incidents due to alcohol. The Finnish government’s premier health and welfare agency further reports the cost of treating alcohol-related illnesses peaked last year at $1.1 billion, up 14% from 2003.
It is no woozy coincidence that the increase in…
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Forget fearless. This Indian tribe never signed the US peace treaty, and is now going rock n’ roll.
Meet the Seminole Indians of Florida. Newest owners of Hard Rock. Earliest ancestors of Native American Indian casino gambling. And as the so-named Unconquered People, the only Native American Indian tribe to never actually sign a formal peace […]
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Classy brands in campy stores? We don’t mean surplus outlets but shopping in Las Vegas.
The paradox of shopping is that even the most stylish products find themselves housed in malls, which in trying too hard to look upmarket, are deadly boring and generic. Not with Las Vegas casino hotel shopping, where even chic shops best left alone get a fashion makeover in their choice of themes — Parisian, Venetian, New Yorkish, Europeanesque, Ancient Arabian or Roman or Egyptian, et cetera.
Often the result isn’t cheap, literally and figuratively, but an amusing kind of kitsch that offers some of the best Las Vegas shopping deals. In the same shopping trip, for example, you’ll find panties 
perfect for a honeymoon and for strip poker. Shoppers get to play dressup, and so do the shops.
Best of Las Vegas Hotel Shopping
Aladdin, Bally’s, Bellagio, Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Harrahs, Hilton.
Hooters, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, The Mirage, New York-New York, Paris Las Vegas.
Rio, Masquerade Village. Spread out underneath Masquerade in the Sky, said to be the best Las Vegas free show, the shopping arcade is designed like a quaint northern Italian hamlet, down to Italian décor, marble, and sandstone. Some 26 specialty shops and six restaurants, mixed in with gaming tables, include…
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
After a loss to the Buzzsaw last week that could generously be called “dispiriting,” the Seattle Seahawks faithful are beginning to lose hope, openly referring to last season as a fluke. (We are more optimistic about their chances, but we know nothing.)
Regardless of it all, Seattle can clinch the NFC West tonight with a win over the 49ers on the NFL Network, if you are, again, one of the fortunate few who gets that channel. For all their frustrations this year, a win tonight cinches a first round playoff game, perhaps against the Giants, which would be a fun rematch.
If you’re around and wondering where all your friends — imaginary and otherwise — have gone, saddle up and enjoy tonight’s open thread. It’s a Thursday night game, so get those fantasy lineups in order, open up a Schlitz and try to enjoy watching Bryant Gumbel broadcast a game in the rain. Have fun!
Read It Here First: Last Year Was A Fluke [The Fanhouse]
Continue Reading December 14th, 2006
Many months ago the thought struck me to start a series called Blogs on Blogs whereby I’d interview a preferred blogger once per week or month or whatever and post the conversation. Kind of like what The Big Lead does with big media types, but with bloggers. Anyway, my first subject was all set to be the incomparable Wizznutzz. I approached them about it, they agreed to do it, I sent them some questions, they never answered and I forgot about Blogs on Blogs altogether.
That said, I’m envious of Zach Landres-Schmur over at The Big Picture who has picked up the torch when it comes to blogger interviews and just posted his latest, a friendly back-and-forth with Matt Ufford of With Leather. It’s an interesting read for anyone who has or at least frequents a sports blog and a bore for anyone who doesn’t. Here’s a favored excerpt:
6. Dream job? Go.
Does Scarlett Johansson need a breast polisher?
Seriously, I’ve got my dream job. Although if it were a better dream I’d be making a lot more money and have a book deal.
Yes, that right there is Mr. Ufford at the Deadspin birthday party. He is a sexy, sports coat-and-tee wearing bitch. Speaking of Deadspin, Will Leitch sat down with John Rocker and the results are fantastic. New York’s favorite pitcher speaks out(!) on race, religion, politics and John Schuerholz, whom he completely rips into. My favorite part is when Rocker admits to only being 70 pages deep into his book, which is piss poor considering he was two chapters into it during his guest appearance on SBL nine months ago. Must be a real doozy.
Full disclosure: Fortunately for me, both Zach and Matt write for FanHouse. You can find their stuff here and here, respectively. However, Will continues to reject my advances.
Furthermore: I would’ve included that Matt also writes for Kissing Suzy Kolber, but they’re absolutely clubbing me in the Best Sports Blog voting and I’m not handling it well.
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