Friggin Monday

Man its nice outside today. A little windy but nice nonetheless. Just wanted to send a shout out to all the peeps that are in doors today. Most of you are probably not feeling the whole work thing today. I don't blame you. Me either. Hope this gets you through the day. If not, I bet you will be singing this song the rest of the day and every Monday to follow. Keep it real workforce

Archies Boy vs Archies Team...Super Bowl Style

Wow!!! If you were looking for a better storyline for a NFC Championship game than this one between the Saints and the Vikings....Good Luck. The Saints, who are essentially the sentimental favorite team for this region of the US against the home-grown Ms product and all around bad-ass Brett Favre and his Vikings. The game was everything that a fan could want and more. To be honest, I would have been ok with either of these teams winning but I am really glad that the Saints got the "W". I got the chance to attend a ballgame post Katrina and there is just something about the city and the way it feels about its team that just really makes you want to pull for them. Considering the proximity the we are to the New Orleans area we should probably all be fans regardless, but being there and experiencing the love and adoration that the city has for its Saints is just something special.

So, the table is set. The Son of a former Saint Archie Manning, Peyton Manning and his Colts going against the Saints in the big game. I am sure that the odds makers will give the Colts a slight advantage but it will be very slight. I am pretty excited about this Super Bowl and that is a far cry from previous years. Granted last years game was extremely exciting but this year is essentially the two best teams during the regular season battling it out for the title. I will be pulling for the boys from the Big easy in the game and I have no clue how this will turn out. But there will be fireworks. Who Dat?!?

Great Video... really tells you where they have been and how far they have come...

WHO DAT? SEE YOU IN MIAMI BITCHES!!!

GO SAINTS!!!

MORE OF MY NEW TOY

So I went to a gun show today and bought some more parts for my AR. I bought a barrel, an upper receiver and a bolt carrier assembly which contains the bolt, bolt carrier, firing pin, bolt cam pin, and firing pin retaining pin. Still a long way to go but I'm getting there. Here are some pics

WTF???

Whatever happened to just telling someone to keep up the good work...Gotta admit, newslady on the lefts face is priceless.

Speaking of Bacon...

Can't say I blame the little fellow

I went to youtube and just typed in "bacon" and this is what I got. I have seen this video before and thought it was pretty funny. I gotta say, you are walking a fine line when you start messing with a persons bacon. Plain and simple. I really don't blame the little guy Curtis for drawing a line in the sand over this. However, on the flip side, and if that was my little kid, I would put his little chunky ass on a diet and pop him up side his head if he acted like that to me over some damn bacon, especially since he doesn't need it. All the same, Curtis is just expressing himself and his love of the swine. Can't fault him for that.

Championships are set...

Good games this past weekend... On Saturday the Colts and Saints took care of business as expected, but Sunday was a little different. It was a role reversal. I figured the Cowboys/Vikings games would have been a close game but not the case. Aging Wonder Favre lit the 'Boys' up for a blowout and in a game that probably nobody gave the Jets a chance, they prevailed mostly in part to there D. I thought the notable Chargers, Phillip Rivers and LT, were hillarious in there loss for words after the defeat. They were like a little kid that just walked in on mommy and daddy. Just scarred for life and couldn't muster up an explanation for what happened. Here is a shot, we got beat. There D kicked our O's @$$ and they made the plays when it counted.

Anyway, I am sure the AFC is not the glamour matchup that the world wanted, but too bad. Colts vs Jets in the early game next Sunday and the Saints vs Vikings in the evening/night game. I think both matchups are great. You got the Jets blitzing D going against the prolific passing game of the Colts. The question is:Who is Revis gonna cover? The #2 and #3 WR of the Colts, Garcon and Collie have proven they can play ball if Reggie Wayne is on lockdown all day. Nonetheless, I like Colts in a closer one than most think.

As for the NFC, this may well be close to 100 points if not more scored in this game the way these two teams are playing. I doubt it happens because somebodies D is gonna step up at least once as the game progresses. I like the Saints. I think they have more speed than the Vikings.

No Reservations?!?

Goofing off at the Mayan ruins

Mayan site #1 - Someone probably died

The Spread- L-R Clockwise: Sauteed Chicken, Fried Chicken, Octopus in Squid ink, Pork

Hanging out in the Agave field - possibly drunk

Crockett and Valo

I am sure that many of you have seen the tv show, "No Reservations". It comes on the 'Travel Channel' and is hosted by chef/writer Anthony Bourdain. Basically, he travels to a land/country/whatever and explores the place. Taking in on some local customs, eating the food, seeing ancient and historical points of interest. I think it is an interesting show and I also enjoy his writing. Well, my recent one day trip to Cozumel, Mexico was reminiscent of a typical episode of his program. I guess you could say that I had my own little version of "No Reservations".

So it went for me.....I stepped off the Carnival Fantasy cruise ship at 8:50 am, alone. I was alone because the other members of my crew had gotten off earlier and I was misinformed about the time that we were to rendezvous to depart the boat. I hung out in country for about 15 minutes. leaned up against a wall, looking and hoping that I would see someone that was with my group. The whole time I was thinking, well this is just great, I am going to have to wonder around this island by my damn self. Fortunately that didn't happen and two members of my group, who I will refer to as Bonnie and Clyde to protect there anonymity, came walking up. We talked for a spell and they were at the same conclusion that I was....the rest of the group must have foraged ahead without us. So after a good 30 minutes of just BS-ing we decided to go do something. We went into the marketplace that is essentially a tourist trap and just wondered through overpriced sombreros, shot glasses and edgy t-shirts. We stumbled upon a guy, who gave us a map of the island and instructed us to go outside and ask for Calderono. We went to the area outside the market where a variety of transports were located but we didn't find Calderono. Instead we met Valo Cardena. Valo works for a company that specialized in island tours. He had about 10 people waiting to get started and he gladly welcomed the three of us in. They like to get about 14 people in the van in order to maximize profit potential for a one day tour. Good thinking on there part I confess.

As he described, in his broken English, we would go to the middle of the island and see some Ancient Mayan ruins, tour the coastline and its significant points of interest, make time for shopping and eating, etc. So the random group of 13 struck out with Valo behind the wheel. It was a good 20-30 minute drive to essentially the middle of damn nowhere to the ruins. I am talking straight jungle. Kinda made me think of the movie, "Turistas". So I had an uneasy feeling considering that it was drizzling rain and I could have very well been on the menu at some sadistic, cultural, ritualistic beheading. But all that aside, I decided to trust the guy. I didn't really know what to expect of this upcoming tour of the ruins. I was thinking great temples where virgins were once slayed, but it was the remnants of what was once a semi-thriving civilization. There was an area that was described as the 'Community Water' locale, a dilapidated and weathered marketplace, and some areas of significance concerning the amount of columns and walls. It was very interesting, but yet hard to understand and easy to get sucked into taking photos and not paying attention. Our guide didn't speak the best form of English I had heard, but what do you expect. I mean, the guy looked like he was about 60 years old and probably had seen some shit that would put most men in a nuthouse. The tour overall lasted about an hour and we all met back up at the van, which was conveniently waiting for us outside the Mayan park. At this point, Valo put a curveball on us and instructed us that he had a place that he would like to take us that he thought we might like. It was an Agave field and it was along the path that we would be traveling. The van, as a consensus, agreed that would be fine. Little did I know what I was in for next.

So we arrive at the Agave field. It is a gated area with a double door main gate that you could drive a large vehicle through. The cost to tour the area and get an understanding of how tequila is made was $1. So we all filed out of the van and headed up the long gravel road to what can only be described as the Hacienda. I was thinking we were about to embark on another tour similar to the one at the Mayan ruins, where we have a guide that you can barely understand. WRONG!! We walk in and there are a ton of tourist or boat people, like ourselves and everybody is doing shots of tequila. I was like, WTF? The tequila tour wasn't just a tour. It was a sampling room with 6+ varieties of tequila that this place manufactures and distributes throughout Mexico. It is not sold in the US. "Tequila Cava Antigua" was the name of the place and it was pretty much ON at that point. Its kinda sad to say, but the first thing I had to eat in Mexico was tequila. It was good tequila and it only cost $1. We peruse around slamming shots, mixing up some of the shots with some of the tequila liqueurs and basically creating our own drinks. The guy had a good bit to say about how the tequila is grown, etc, blah, blah, blah, more shots senor. I don't think we were there but about a half an hour, but it seemed like all night. I was blasted. The funny thing about the van group was prior to the tequila farm, the van was relatively quiet and we were all strangers to each other. After that experience, we were high-fivin, exchanging cell phone numbers and pretty much becoming best friends. Amazing.... the power of alcohol.

A little tipsy later, the journey around the island continued. We were heading North along the coastline to an area that is solely inhabited by the locals. There was little to no electrical power available on this part of the island, but the scenery, despite the overcast skies and occasional drops of rain, was spectacular. Beautiful water, beautiful beach; lots of coral and rock formations in the water. You wouldn't want to try and surf it, but it was nice from an aesthetic appeal. As we make an about face from heading North to heading East along the coastline we stop at an area and a restaurant that is right on the beach. Valo told us that it has the best fish in all of Cozumel and I quickly understood why he would make that claim. The entire dining area is outside, underneath tents. The menu, well it changes daily and possibly hourly. Everything that is served is brought directly out of the water and there are boats with men spear-fishing throughout the day to provide the restaurant with its offerings. We weren't able to eat there because we had an itinerary to keep, but this portly senor in a speedo was hauling in a cooler full of snapper, some red, some yellow tail. In addition, the owner/host/greeter told me that they had just gotten some lobster in and they would be serving it within the hour. Oh if only we could have had the time. I am sure it would have been amazing. Well maybe one day I will be able to enjoy a meal there and if I ever get back to that part of the world you can bet I will.

Well the time is running short on us, we had to be back on the boat by 4:30 or else we were probably getting left. At this point it was 1:30 and we still had to drive back into the city and many of the passengers wanted to do some shopping before leaving the island. I was riding shotgun in the van and my peeps, Bonnie and Clyde, were riding a seat back so we were able to have a good dialogue with Valo for most of the trip. We talked about the economy, the locals, and what they do and where they eat and Valo told us that he would take us to a place, a little off the beaten path, to sample some of the local cuisine. We arrived in the downtown area and the other passengers, excluding the 3 of us, file out to the marketplace. Valo instructs them that he will be back at 3 pm to pick them up and take everyone back to the boat. So we strike out for the grub. First stop was located in the middle of what can only be described as the ghetto of Cozumel. It was like, bar, liquor store, run down house, bar, liquor store,...you get the idea and then we arrive on this side-steet. At this point, I am trusting Valo greatly but the whole area looks questionable. He has taken us to a local market. The place where all the locals come to buy groceries. Make no mistake, there are supermarkets, etc, and there version of Wal-mart, but this is where the locals and the poor locals at that shop. We stroll through the opening and into a variety of fruit and vegetable and pepper stands with vendors trying to sell there goods. Not so much the touristy vibe....no sombreros and shot glasses for sale here. It is all food and items of fare to lead a somewhat domesticated lifestyle. We turn the corner of the market area and there is a display of fresh fish, a man butchering what appeared to be a pig and another man working on a cow. Just breaking down the primals into subprimals for sale to the waiting customers. The back of the market has a little food vendor that has tacos, carnitas, etc. Unfortunately, we missed him. He sold out of all his goods and was shut down for the day. It was 2:15 in the afternoon. I guess it was a pretty good lunch.

The next place to try out was a taco stand just a little click North of the market called the, "El Camaron Dorado". Nothing but tacos and in all varieties. We started off with a octopus ceviche(Raw fish marinated in lime or lemon juice with olive oil and spices and served as an appetizer), octopus cooked in squid ink, a spiced pork, a sauteed chicken and a fried chicken. All were very good and I suppose it was somewhat adventurous of us to sample these foods, but we just told Valo to order what he would order and then give us some safe options. The octopus cooked in squid ink was fantastic. It was tender and rich and just popped with flavor. I am sure that everyone has tried or heard of Calamari. This is very similar, but Calamari can sometimes get rubbery when cooked. This wasn't rubbery at all. It basically melted in your mouth it was so tender. We got 2 more rounds of that along with the pork and the chicken variety. The meal was memorable and definitely worth waiting till mid afternoon to have. I would eat that exact same meal tomorrow if I could. It was that good. We finished up there and said our goodbyes and gracious to the chef and the staff and reunited with the shoppers of the trip. Valo dropped us off at our Port of call and we headed back to the boat to go back to the USA.

I am sure that many of you were thinking that I probably just got bombed at Carlos and Charlies. Never went in it, rode by it and waived, but that was as close as I came to it. I am glad that I took the other path or the path that I took. It was memorable and meaningful to be able to explore an island in a short period of time and to learn a little about the people, its drink and its food and to just do something a little different. I can't tell you when the next adventure will be, but I hope that it is as fun, if not better than this one. Crockett out.

Crockett back in the Good Ole US of A

What up America?!! Good to be back. I have a few stories and yarns to spin from the trip as well as many photos of the adventure. I would go ahead and do so at this time but I am a little tired. Had a late night and a early morning, not to mention, my body is still getting adjusted to not being on a boat. The sea was angry yesterday and last night so there was a whole bunch of swaying... could be booze too. Anywho, stay tuned for the saga, but for now, I leave you with my pic of me going through US Customs. Scary huh? Would you feel safe letting me in the country? I think not.

JEVAN SNEAD GETS DE-CLEATED

I understand that by posting this that I am opening myself up to backlash as Ole Miss won and LSU lost, but from where I was watching, Ole Miss fans were as happy about this as I was. Snead again looked like he thought interceptions and not touchdowns are what pro scouts are looking for and then one bit him in the ass. Anyway, it's a damn good hit (2 actually as his head bounces off the turf) and apparently it woke up the rebels. It is also very funny. Enjoy

In case you missed it...

I meant to post this earlier today but I lost my train of thought. Once again, Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl.....same shenanigans. These guys definately practice this stuff every week because it always seems to work for them. And seriously, nice major Jeron!! I bet the course load is pretty tough...ok that just came out wrong.... It probably is pretty hard...oops....I bet he learned alot...ok videos
..


And who could forget this...pretty fitting title for this video

Viva La Mexico Senor Crockett

That's right folks...in lieu of my recent comments about keeping this rag updated I will be leaving the country for a few days to set sail for Mexico. Granted I will only be in the Country of the Red, the White and the Green for one day I will still not be here. I do intend to share whatever adventure comes my way regardless of legality.

Some of you may be wondering what I have been doing to prep myself for my one day adventure in Mexico. Well, I have been eating more Mexican food than usual. I don't want my body to not be prepared for whatever flavors I encounter or better yet endure. I have also been brushing up on my espanol. Catch phrases like, uno mas cerveza and donde esta cantina, donde esta el bano and bring me salma hayek will all be very important for a one day survival. Surely you can see the rationale there?!? Anyway hope everyone is having a great start to 2010 and I look forward to sharing in this upcoming adventure when I get back.

Adios

Another Cotton Bowl Victory

Turns out that this was a pretty historic day.....this is the piece off Olemisssports.com

Dexter McCluster gave Ole Miss fans a finale to remember, rushing for 182 yards and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead 2-yard run on a direct snap with 4:03 left as the Rebels beat No. 21 Oklahoma State 21-7 in the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.
McCluster also had an 86-yard TD run in the second quarter after the senior had already become the first Southeastern Conference player with 1,000 yards rushing and 500 yards receiving in the same season.

Ole Miss (9-4) had five turnovers in the game, but Oklahoma State had six in the fourth quarter, and seven overall.

The Rebels failed to capitalize on Kendrick Lewis' two interceptions, but McCluster scored after a fumble to break a 7-7 tie. Patrick Trahan picked up another fumble and returned it 34 yards for a touchdown less than a minute later, then intercepted a deflected fourth-down pass by Oklahoma State's Zac Robinson on the next drive.

The Cowboys (9-4) missed a chance for their first 10-win season since 1988 when coach Mike Gundy was their starting quarterback. Ole Miss coach and former Oklahoma State quarterback Houston Nutt was one of their coaches then.

Nutt has led to Rebels to consecutive 9-4 seasons, both capped by Cotton Bowl victories. Ole Miss had lost all eight of its SEC games in 2007 before Nutt arrived.

Ole Miss and Oklahoma State, also 9-4 a year ago, came into this season with unprecedented expectations. Both were in the AP preseason Top 10 before early losses. Each entered the Cotton Bowl, the first in Cowboys Stadium instead of the game's namesake stadium, coming off decisive losses against their instate conference rivals in their regular-season finales.

They finished with a mistake-filled game in which both teams had missed opportunities - each was stopped on fourth-and-goal from the 1, and Ole Miss missed two field goal attempts.
McCluster was the obvious standout, the game's offensive MVP for the second year in a row. He had 32 carries along with five catches for 45 yards. He leaves Ole Miss with 3,921 career all-purpose yards, second in school history behind Deuce McAllister's 4,889.

After becoming only Ole Miss' fourth 1,000-yard rusher on his third carry of the game, McCluster surpassed 500 yards receiving on the final play of the first quarter. Yet, his best was still to come.
McCluster's 86-yard TD run in the second quarter came on a handoff from freshman quarterback Nathan Stanley. McCluster went to the right and through a gap, running untouched for the second-longest run in the 74-year history of the Cotton Bowl.

That was Ole Miss' first offensive play after Jevan Snead threw an interception and was hit so hard on a blindside block while pursuing the defender with the ball that his helmet got knocked off.
Snead, a junior QB, returned to the game and finished 13 of 23 for 168 yards.
Robinson was 13 of 27 for 118 yards with four interceptions in his last game.
Oklahoma State tied the game at 7-7 midway through the third quarter when running back Keith Toston took a direct snap on third-and-goal from the 1. He made a step toward the line, then stopped and threw a jump pass to Wilson Youman for a touchdown.
Ole Miss made it to the 3 after Lewis' first interception. But after a penalty, two sacks of Snead and an incomplete pass, Joshua Shene was wide left on a 38-yard field goal try.
Shene, who missed only three kicks in the regular season, hit the left upright on a 41-yard attempt in the third quarter after a 63-yard punt return by Marshay Green set the Rebels up at the 13.
At the Rebels 19 after the second miss, Robinson thought he had a free play when there was no whistle despite an Ole Miss defender already over the line after a Cowboys lineman might have moved before the snap. But there was no flag, and Lewis picked it off in the end zone.
On third-and-goal from just outside the 1 in the first quarter, Ole Miss' 330-pound defensive tackle Jerrell Powe lined up at fullback like he had done several times this season. Powe got his first carry, but was stuffed just short by linebacker Donald Booker. The Rebels lined up and tried again with the same result, with Booker stopping Powe.
Powe got payback in the third quarter when Oklahoma State tried to score on fourth-and-goal from the 1. Powe wrapped up Toston's legs behind the line before Lewis hit him high to stop him short.

Cotton Bowl and Bacon!!!

In honor of the Rebs having another winning season and getting the nod in the AT&T Cotton Bowl, myself and the peeps in the neighborhood decided to throw a party. This was not some, we'll come over about 30 minutes before the game and hang out.... I'll have susie make a dip party. No sir!! We called on our friends, the "Magnum P.I.G" cooking team. They have the tools, they have the talent to tackle a daunting task as the one shown above, the infamous whole hog. I had never personally taken on this challenge either so this was going to be a great learning experience for all of us, not to mention a ton of fun.

So it went for us, the rig arrived at 2 pm on New Years Day and we formed a battle plan and made a list of essential equipment that was needed to pull off this hog. We parted ways and hit up the stores, etc and reconvened at about 4 or 5 and started getting things going. The goal was to put the pig on at around 8, so we had some work to do in order to make that happen. Well we brought in the pig, it was a she, and we started prepping her. Peeled the skin off the ribs, seasoned the interior and exterior and prepped her mouth and ears. Considering there was several people working on this project we got ahead of schedule and were able to put the pig on around 7. We thought it would be done around kickoff the next day. We were wrong about that, but we will get to that later.

Well considering that we had about 15-20 hours to kill while this thing cooked, the party started building steam. What started out as a few casual beers around a fire pot turned into festival of consumption and hilarity. We drew a crowd of about 20 for the pre-party before the pre-party. It was insane....20 Budweiser's and a few mixed drinks later I am still trying to remember what the hell it was that I was laughing about for 4 hours straight. Well anyway, myself and 2 others who we will just refer to as "Pancho and Lefty" pulled the night duty for the hog. Someone's gotta stay up and monitor the fire for these things and even though we didn't exactly volunteer for this job, I am pretty sure we were the only ones who were not in the mood to sleep. So we did it. There was a moment on the cooking rig where we were just hanging out, monitoring the temperature and listening to some tunes when all of sudden "Lefty" just broke out into some air guitar and started shredding that thing like he was Slash. He got so into it that he ripped off the strap of his air guitar and just kept on playing. As soon as he tore the strap, "Pancho" and I looked at each other in disbelief because we weren't sure what happened, really happened.

Anyway, we got pulled at around 4 and it really couldn't have come at a moment to soon. We were cold and there was no more wood to put in the firepot. The morning shift took over and we slept or napped for about 6 hours. When I woke, there was about 10 or so people there pre-gaming. I walked into the kitchen to a buffet of bloody mary's and screwdrivers. "If you can't beat em, join em" or "when in rome"....or whatever analogy you want to describe for the occasion. AND it started again, not 20 minutes after waking up, the gas got turned up. I hung out in PJ's and mixed drink till about noon and then made the day official with a shower and a change of clothes. At that point the crowd had grown from 10 to 20 people and there were some concerns over whether we would have pig for kickoff. Well it was established that we needed to go a little longer so the crowd would have to wait.

The game comes on and the crowd steadily grows from 20 to 30 people. At one point, I got up to go inside to warm up and it was then that I realized that there was a house full of people in the living room watching the game, so add another 10 plus there. I was glad that we won the game and thank goodness our defense came to play because our offense has some ups and downs. We moved the ball here and there and had some opportunities but just couldn't cash in on them. I mean Powe on the goaline hurt a little. It gave them some momentum and had probably just about every rebel fan thinking, "Here we go again". Well it turned out be a defensive game on the scoreboard and fortunately the Rebs were on the better side of that battle. The pick six was no doubt the back breaker and it was nice to finish the season with a win.

You might be thinking that this is the part of the story where everyone goes home and calls it a day. Nope! The pig came off the grill, the crowd, who was mostly pro-ole miss was amped, so it was pretty much on at that point. I mean the pig was getting torn up, the beer was getting torn up, the shots got introduced, there were people shot-gunning beer. It was like, all at once, this house decided to take there BAC(Blood Alcohol Content) and step on, throw it out the door, and then light it on fire. It was quite possibly a slow motion recollection of my twenties. I walked in the kitchen and in glance across the room I saw a bottle get turned up, a bbq sandwich get eaten in one bite, a girl passed out, a guy drooling, and just a sea of people that had entirely over served themselves. It was madness, insanity and fun all rolled up into a nice package. The party rocks till well past dark and people are dropping like flies. I saw three people get carried out and one person made the comment, "Now I see why you don't have many parties at your house, because if they all were half as out of control as this one your house would be gone. I was hoping to just wait it out and have everyone leave so I could go to bed and worry with this mess tomorrow. Somehow that thought got tossed out the window, so we left and went to the local bar, which I think was the only way we were going to get all these people out of the house. Well some people went home and some went out and some should have never gone out and should have stayed at home. I am apart of the latter group, but oh well, seemed like a good idea at the time.

Anyway, it was a successful game and party and I hope that everyone that was there had a really good time, I know I did and I am pretty sure Mac did as well. He was in town and in attendance for the big day. On a sidenote, we apologize for our lack of contributions to this post. We have both been entirely swamped with work over the past few months and I personally have been experiencing some writers block. We will try to do better.