EWU is kind of a big deal now

Eastern Washington has been buzzing about this year's recruiting class, which probably won't have any affect of next year's season, but it's still great to talk about these things like they're the most important things in the world.

Now since going to EWU, it always seemed like the Eagles had no problem getting talent to come to Cheney. They have two large universities in the states that they can get tranfers from, and Paul Wulff was always a good recruiter in California.

Still, it wasn't like this year's class after their national championship win. Let's do a recap of what happen...

EWU out recruits Boise State, Idaho - By getting the top player in the state, Cody McCarthy. He should be the next J.C. Sherrit, as he plays linebacker and fullback. He was either going to walk on at Boise State or play for Army, but instead chose EWU. Notch one up for the Eagles!

EWU gets two Huskies - The Taiwan Jones loss with get a little easier with the Eags getting Demitrius Bronson from UW to transfer, and Andru Pulu.

(Click here for the full EWU release, I'm going to snatch up the important or eye catching parts...)

EWU gets some big boys - The two 300-pounders the Eagles signed included David Delgado, a 6-4, 320-pound defensive lineman from St. Patrick-St. Vincent High School in American Canyon, Calif. Thomas Gomez from Graham Kapowsin High School in Graham, Wash., is 6-2, 310, and is listed as an offensive lineman, but may end up on the defensive line.

"High school players are just getting bigger," said Baldwin. "We've been very good around here about signing lean players and developing them, and we still want to do that. But everywhere we go there are just bigger players and it's happening at every level with the signing classes and what they are bringing in."

EWU gets some good skill players - Included is Vernon Adams, a quarterback from Pasadena, Calif., and Alemany High School. In his final two seasons, he passed for 5,234 yards and 49 touchdowns, and rushed for another 1,263 yards and 19 more scores in leading Alemany to an overall record of 22-5. Local product Jordan Tonani signed as a defensive back after helping Ferris High School in Spokane, Wash., finish unbeaten and win the State 4A title last fall.

Well... I'm so pumped for football season to start now.

Holiday Bowl rings

Since it is National Signing Day for college football (and for many fans this is like Christmas) I was over on Coach Sarkisian's blog keeping track of the University of Washington recruits.

Over there he had some neat photos of the Holiday Bowl ring that the players and coaches get.


Players and coaches have a choice between gold or platinum, and of course name, number and position on the ring.

I think the design is pretty nice. I like that the score is on the bottom of one of the sides as well as that the players names and numbers will be on the other side.

Now hopefully in a few seasons the Huskies will be getting sized for their National Championship rings.

Michael Jackson is ALIVE

Yes, you read that headline correct. Michael Jackson is alive! Only now he apparently drives a taxi in Brazil. Oh, and forgot a bunch of words to his own songs.

Side effect I guess.

But seriously, check this guy out. Great impersonation!

Cooler on online

Since Brandon has moved to Montana he's taken to listening to country music. Well the other day he tells me that he's found the Just South of North theme song. I had a listen and I wasn't too sure about that. But perhaps, he's found the new Brandon theme song.

Also, I think he liked this video because William Shatner is in it.

Worst DVD commentaries

Star Trek V - Considered the worst of all the Star Trek films (I disagree, it's actually pretty entertaining), it was directed by none other than William Shatner. To listen to him talk about this movie just reinforces that (a) he's a crazy, lunatic, and (b) he should never be allowed to direct another film. He would say things like "See this part where I'm climbing up the rock signifies the human race progressing" and "You know... movies have budgets and sometimes you just run out of time without getting the shot you want. I remember a lot of this film was shot on the first take." ... explains a lot.

Titanic - Really James Cameron? We have to hear about how you went hugely over budget, spent more money than the gross national product of Haiti and created a sloppy movie that looks cheesy 12 years later? Congrats, you are a true visionary. Oh oh, yes lets break down the scene where Rose stripes too, because this is soooo important to the plot.

Any Oliver Stone movie - Just as you will recognize with everyone of his movies "crap, I'm watching a Oliver Stone movie" ... you will recognize that "crap, I'm listening to Oliver Stone talk about one of his movies and my ears are starting to burn."

Listen, the guys is entertaining, but much like Cameron he can't admit he just did something for the hell of it, he's got to come up with some obviously made up grandiose reason. Like Tom Cruise in a wheelchair. WHY?

Braveheart - Mel Gibson does the commentary, and it's exactly like watching the film in normal mode. Why? Because Gibson says like 10 things during the entire commentary.

"Yeahh....... right here.... yeah that's great scenery .... Wow.... great shot."

Thanks Mel.

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre - Yeah having Leatherface do the commentary was a bad idea.

Ernest Scared Stupid - I just put this on here because I hate this movie, it scares the crap out of me every time.

Happy Groundfrog Day!

Today was Groundfrog Day.

Not sure what that is? It's the Northwest's version of Groundhog Day.

Today the Northwest Frognostication Ceremony took place in Snohomish, WA.

Much like Punxsutawney Phil predicts the weather for the next eight weeks, so does Washington's very own Snohomish Slew the bullfrog. And Slew gets his prediction out a few days before Phil.

Snohomish Slew, who also goes by the title of Meteorologist Frognosticator extraordinaire, will come out tomorrow to make a prediction if the Northwest will be enjoying spring soon or another eight weeks of winter.

His predictions are of course announced by his scribes.

The question is, did he see his shadow?

Around my house in Issaquah we didn't. But then again it seems like spring has been here for a few weeks.

Leave Charlie Sheen alone!

Okay sure he likes porn stars, does an inordinate amount of cocaine, has quite a few anger issues and will probably die young. But let's accept this: Charlie Sheen is an American Hero.

1. He fought for the freedom of the United States from the Russians in the war epic "Red Dawn" ... what other American can say that he fought against the Russians?

2. He fought for America again, in Vietnam, in the movie "Platoon" ... and granted he ended up shooting his own commanding officer... but we'll just forget that one.

3. He was in "Young Guns", which every woman in her 20s loves for some reason. He was also in "Eight Men Out," a movie that is interesting to nobody except for baseball fans. However, come on, the guy was involved in the Black Sox scandal? I would love to get banished from baseball forever...

4. "Hot Shots!" a spoof of Top Gun, meaning that Sheen not only fought in wars, he flew jet planes. Suck it, Tom Cruise.

5. He also had a part in "Loaded Weapon 1" with his brother, Emilo Estevez. Yes that is right, he is brothers with Emilo Estevez, the greatest hockey coach of all time.

6. He was a member of "The Three Musketeers" meaning that not only can he fight wars in modern times, but also be a swashbuckler in a Disney movie time piece. Something The Rock could never do.

7. And are we forgetting that Sheen was perhaps the greatest closer in MLB history...

So go ahead, judge Charlie, but chances are, he's had a lot more fun than you. (Granted it's with hookers, but whatever)

Taco Bell is about to lay the smackdown on a law firm

A story came out a little while ago that an Alabama law firm, one of those places that love stirring up trouble to make a buck, was suing Taco Bell for advertising their ground beef products when in actuality their taco meat is allegedly something like 36 percent meat. Not so, apparently. Here are some print ads that Taco Bell is running...

So this law firm in Alabama will probably be sued into oblivion for an obvious attempt at winning a frivolous lawsuit. I'm not sorry for their at all.

Remember the good ol' days?

(Sigh)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CASEY!

Today is Casey's birthday and to celebrate this guy's special day, let's look at great moments in his life...

1. Once as a small toddler, Casey discovered a penny and an electrical socket. It was then where Casey also discovered the effects electricity.

2. As a child, Casey discovered this team called "The Seattle Seahawks." Little did he know that this would lead to an addiction of Northwest football that only caused pain, disappointment and a whole lot of Marshawn Lynch You Tube Vidoes.

3. In grade school, teachers complimented Casey on his squirrel drawings, and then promptly told him to stop wearing his MC Hammer pants to school.

4. In middle school, Casey was once reprimanded for going to school dressed as a Power Ranger ... sans pants ...

5. In High School, Casey and his football teammates were under the harsh coaching of Bud Kilmer. Wanting to go to college at Eastern Washington University, Casey was the plucky backup quarterback of the West Canaan Football team and studied on the bench instead of looking at his clipboard of plays. When the star quarterback (Who was oddly enough, Paul Walker) went down with a knee injury, Casey was thrust into the starting position. Casey started calling his own plays in the huddle and even confronts the coach in the locker room refusing to take the field if he injects one of the players with a cortisone shot. The coach doesn't and Casey leads the team to victory. True story... I did not just copy the plot to Varsity Blues.

6. In college, Casey penned a campus-wide column popular to many and was the better half to a popular "Eastern Rangers" column where he partnered with a drunk vagrant with red hair.

7. Casey went to Nebraska and became one of the three people living in that state.

8. Casey moves back to Washington and gets married. However their relationship is kind of weird because they like to dress up in costumes...

9. Casey is now happily residing in Washington for his 32nd Birthday... wait, that's right isn't it?

Epic Marmit of Greatness.

Well done Washington, well done

Looks like I did the smart thing by moving to Montana, unless of course I want to go drive on a highway somewhere.

Epic Photo: Sunset in Pablo, MT

Just another Montana sunset...

Walgreens stores to carry their own brand of beer

Brandon called the other night in a fit of glee. I hadn't heard him this excited since the Eastern Washington Eagles won the National Championship.

I had to actually wait about five minutes for his squeals of excitement to calm down before he could explain why he was so excited.

Now his dollar would go further.

The reason for Brandon's new found fortune is the fact that the Drugstore chain Walgreens will now be carrying their own brand of beer.

The Walgreens private label, called Big Flats 1901 is dirt cheap too. The cost will be around $3 for a six-pack and around $11.50 for a case of 24 cans.

"In this tough economy, consumers are looking for value and ways to make their money go (further)," a Walgreens rep told the Chicago Tribune in the article. "Big Flats 1901 offers our customers a premium lager at a great price."

Winery Exchange is where Big Flats 1901 is made. They also provide private-label beer for the grocery chains Costco and Trader Joe's.

Mt. Rainier time lapse video of lenticular clouds

Yesterday I noticed some cool clouds up on Mount Rainier on my way to work. So did this camera.

TacomaWeatherCam.com captured this great video of lenticular clouds over Mt. Rainier on Jan. 26, 2011.



According to Komo 4 News the clouds are actually very common.

The cloud is formed when warm, moist air runs into the surface of Mt. Rainier. The mountain's topography forces the air upward, which cools and condenses the air -- turning it into a cloud.

As the air sinks back on the other side of the mountain, it dries out and the cloud dissipates. That's why it just hangs over the summit area.

Although it looks like it is "hanging" over the mountain, air is continually flowing over the summit, as the video proves.

Terrible dance moves

If you ever hit up the dance clubs in Polson, Montana then you'll find Brandon there. (By dance clubs I mean, VFW Hall and Eagles Club)

Recently Brandon got tired of performing only the "fist pump" at the club. His trademark move.

So he headed to YouTube to find some dance instruction videos he could follow. Well he found one. And now he's performing these moves. (And yes, wearing the same outfit)

Why Casey has a crush on this basketball player

Casey keeps talking about Jimmer Fredette. Apparently he's really good at the game of basketball. Here's some reason I think he likes him so much.

1. Casey is a notorious front-runner and Brigham Young is currently 20-1 on the season. Just wait until he trades in his Hawaii jersey for a BYU Cougars jersey, it's only a matter of time.

2. His name is Jimmer, which might be the coolest name ever. The question becomes, do people call him "Jim"?

3. Jimmer's oldest sibling, Lindsay, was Miss Teen New York in 1998. Casey loves his teen pop stars and loves Robin from "How I Met Your Mother." In fact he has "Lets go to the Mall" on his iPod.

4. I'm not sure about this but I'm pretty sure Jimmer has won Back-to-Back-to-Back AAU Championships. If Casey doesn't like this, Fred McGriff would approve.

5. He's also leading college with 26.7 points per game. He has scored 40 points for the third time in four games when on Wednesday night he led BYU to a 71-58 victory over previously undefeated San Diego State.

Epic Photo: Here is the view from my dad's office

Logging... way cooler than what you people with degrees do.

Jay Cutler is my favorite player

That dastardly Jay Cutler is up to no good again. After they found out that he had a sprained MCL, he was spotted in a Chicago restaurant with a slightly noticeable limp.

What a pansy. Man up! Who the heck goes to a restaurant with a limp?

Sure Cutler has proven that he's more of a headache than a quarterback. Ask Broncos fans. But Michael Vick has done much worse and we love that guy.

Sure some guys have played on sprained, torn and riddled MCLs before and allegedly Drew Brees played on one all season. Whoop de doo. Do you guys want a ribbon or something? Injuries are different from person to person, and if Brees' injury was so bad, why are we hearing it just now? Sounds like a load of crap to me.

Cutler was knocked out of the game. Plain and simple folks. Whats really telling is how players on Twitter and nearly every single football fan in America has switched from "what a wimp" to "I'm not questioning his injury, I'm questioning his attitude," argument because he had an actual legitimate problem.

Even after everyone had been proven wrong, they still wanted to pile on. Granted, it wasn't like his leg fell off, but if that's the way football is going to be played - you can count me out as one of the fans.

What was most telling was how his team came to his side to support him after this. I would venture to guess that they assumed he couldn't plant his foot or move effectively against a good Packers defense. Keep in mind the Bears' offensive line was about as effective as a stripe of toilet paper. While Brees can tout his toughness about playing with a knee injury, he was playing behind a line that won the Super Bowl last year.

Culter on the other hand, was smashed to pieces all season.

Yet our fat, uneducated and completely nonathletic masses of football fans wanted to see more. They want to see every player sell out on every single play and make the ultimate sacrifice.

I'm sorry to say folks, but Jay Cutler has already done that. He's in the National Football League. That takes a lot of selling out with your body every single day and making sacrifices just to get there.

How many people have you hear "Oh I was an ankle twist away from playing in college" or "my knee gave way" from athletic blow hards?

Come on you ninnies, I thought you were supposed to play through those injuries.

We spent all season freakin' out over the safety of players in terms of head injuries. Why should they be just as protective of their other limbs?

And I'm sorry if this isn't the sixties, but even in that Stone Age, players were knocked out because of injuries. I'm going to also venture to guess that a Johnny Unitas with a bum leg still didn't have to contend with the type of players that Cutler had to.

If your problem wasn't with the injury, but was rather with his attitude afterwards (sullen on the sideline)... are you kidding me? The dude was just taken out of the biggest game of his life with an injury. I'm going to venture to guess he was just as pissed as everyone else that he was out of the game.

Now please, just stop. Especially you hockey trolls. I don't care that Scott Bleydelajamiererule played without two knee caps and a face. Ten people watch hockey and they all live in Canada.

Dude films himself getting ran over by train

Do not try this at home.

This guy is an idiot. He films himself getting ran over by a train and survives.

New AFC and NFC Championship trophies

Last year during the Super Bowl weekend celebrations the NFL announced that they would be redesigning the AFC and NFC Championship trophies.

The AFC wins the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the NFC wins the George Salas Trophy.

For all the previous years the trophies used to look like this:

Oak with a tough forged metal look. Pretty dominate and recognizable.

Now the redesign of the Lamar Hunt Trophy and the George Halas Trophy will look like this:


The NFL says it wanted to change the look of the AFC and NFC Championship game trophies to coincide with the look of the Lombardi Trophy.

The new championship game trophy took nine months to design. Tiffany and Company makes it, which is the same company that makes the Lombardi Trophy.

I think the new trophies are very futuristic looking and they do resemble the Lombardi Trophy.

What are you're thoughts on the AFC and NFC Championship trophy redesigns?