We did it!
Can you believe it? It took 11 years, but the Pirates of Seton Hall have cracked the Top 25 rankings. #24 to be exact. I joked that they would lose to DePaul immediately following their newly appointed ranking. But no, they handled them nicely last night. OFF TO #1!
Others receiving votes!
Unsure if you can see that little circle towards the center of that graphic. But if you look close enough, you'll see that it shows Seton Hall having received 1 vote towards the national rankings. That's right. Seton F'in Hall! My alma mater. My Mater! Can you believe it? 1 vote! We made it, ma! Top of the world!
9-1 thus far. Granted there have been no quality wins (Wake Forest, kind of), but a good start is a good start. I'll take it. Next stop, Final Four!
Well I’m not surprised…
Word on the street is that 2011 NL MVP Ryan Braun has tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.
Raise you're hand if you are shocked in the slightest.
Those of you with your hands up, LIAR! How can you be shocked? We're not out of the steroid era. We'll never be as a matter of fact. You do realize that the scientists who manufacture these drugs will ALWAYS be at least one step ahead of the testers. The testers can't anticipate fast enough what drugs will improve performance and they won't be able to generate viable tests for them as quick. It really is a no win situation.
That's it for now. Wow, that was a terrible post. But hey, you get what you pay for.
Video of the Day
I'm fairly certain that I have posted this before, but it needs to be posted again. One of my all time favorite songs. Sweet Thing by Van Morrison. He performed this live at the Hollywood Bowl a few years back. I really enjoy it. Listen. Enjoy it too.
Chris Paul (among other things)
I should preface every post I write with the following disclaimer:
Whatever the topic, I do NO research. I essentially read headlines and extrapolate what I deem to be the truth. Then I give my opinion on said truth.
So there you go. Remember that. You can hold me accountable for what I write, but keep in mind that I could be making something up. Or I could give statistics that I think are accurate.
That all being said, how about this whole Chris Paul thing, huh? Crazy right? I mean, the NBA and the players association spent six months or so trying to figure out a way to make the league more competitive. To stop these players from essentially deciding where they would like to play while under contract (See: LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony). But looky here, after the NBA and the NBAPA made nice, what was the first piece of news we got from the world of the NBA?
Chris Paul demands a trade to the Knicks.
Funny, huh? Looks like nothing got solved. Hey, I'm not complaining. If the Knicks are able to stockpile All-NBA talent, I won't lose a wink of sleep. Well, I'll probably lose a lot of sleep because I'll be too amped for the season. Which I am. If the Knicks can somehow land Paul prior to the beginning of the season, it would be unbelievable. Unbelievable because they basically have nothing to give the Hornets. Fields? Billups expiring contract? A first round pick 25 years from now? Not necessarily the greatest package if you're New Orleans.
But, Paul can hold them hostage by demanding a trade to New York now. New Orleans can try to trade him to another team with a more appealing package, but Paul can essentially veto the trade by not agreeing to extend his contract. Bottomline: Why would a team trade a lot for Paul when he'll only be there for one year?
So we all know what this means right? He'll be a Knick. Whether it's now, 2 months from now, or a year from now. I guarantee it. (Not a guarantee)
Starting Over
I remember when I started this blog. I was in college. Rockland Community College to be exact. I was sitting in the library during a break I had between classes. And since there was zero chance that I was going to study, I decided to start writing.
I never really enjoyed writing in school. I found it very boring and time-consuming. Maybe it was because the teacher TOLD you what to write about. There were rarely any instances where you got to write what you wanted. But every so often we would free write. And that's when I thrived. I consider myself a funny and interesting person (don't we all). So I thought that if I wrote my funny and interesting thoughts down on paper, I could be prolific at it. I could write like that all day.
Writing means many things to me. But above all else, it makes me feel normal. When I can formulate my thoughts down on paper (or computer screen), I'm able to understand completely what exactly I am thinking. It's very therapeutic.
I live with anxiety and currently I am going through a tough couple of weeks. My mind has been racing non-stop every waking moment. If you have ever had anxiety, it's absolutely terrifying. You feel lost, confused, scared, out-of-it, unable to form coherent thoughts, feel unlike yourself and at times, crazy.
There is nothing worse.
Over the years, I have learned to deal with these bouts of anxiety. Whether it be by listening to a book-on-tape, calming music, talking to my parents and sister, or exercising. I've tired those things recently, but they really haven't worked as well as they used to. So I'm trying something new.
Writing.
It's helped me feel normal in the past, why shouldn't it now? The moment I need it most.
So what you'll be seeing over the next few weeks and months is A LOT of writing from me. I have a feeling that this episode of anxiety will last a lot longer than the others and I will use writing to help me cope. And as always, the topics I write about will range from sports, life, music, movies, technology, friends, family, and most importantly nonsense.
Thank God for writing.
Brian W. Fitzgerald (Home Brewing)
The following post is from my father Brian Fitzgerald
Sean and I had an emotional Saturday afternoon filled with great joy. We bottled our first home brew.
The process started three Saturdays ago with the brewing of an Imperial Stout. We agreed to add our own signature taste to the beer by turning it into a Chocolate Imperial Stout. A fight quickly ensued in my mind because I now couldn't decide between turning our first home brew into a Chocolate Imperial Stout, a Dark Chocolate Imperial Stout, a Belgium Chocolate Imperial Stout, a German Dark Chocolate Imperial Stout........I think you can see where this was going; NOWHERE.
Sean reached up, ripped me from the ceiling and reminded me of my guiding principle of life: K.I.S.S. = KEEP IT SIMPLE STUPID. Our beer making had begun. The first fermentation process took a week, followed by a two week second fermentation. The picture shows the final bottling process and now A LONG AND PAINFUL 2 TO 4 WEEK WAITING PERIOD for the beer to carbonate.
PS - Sean and I have also had to incur the cost of adding additional security measures around the house. My brothers have been attempting to break in a steal our LIQUID GOLD.
Brian W. Fitzgerald (The Vermont Pub & Brewery)
I have mentioned on many an occasion that I have a hard time keeping up with this blog. Weeks can go by and either I fail to think of something interesting to write about or I will completely forget that I even write a blog.
...
See? Even now I'm unable to think of the next sentence. I know I started this post for a reason, but I can't seem to get to the point. Anyway, there have been times that people I know have asked me to write for my blog. But I resisted. Sure it would take the workload off my back, but I'm far too stubborn to let that happen.
Until now. In earlier posts I have expressed my love for craft beer. And that love didn't come from nowhere. Like most of you, I have a father. And his name is Brian Fitzgerald. He too loves craft beer. And he does A LOT of traveling for his work. Whilst exploring the world he makes a point of visiting local breweries. And at the request of myself (and of his own volition), he started logging his thoughts on the brews and breweries.
So without further ado, here is the first installment:
When people talk about Craft beers from Vermont, everyone names the same ones: Harpoon, Long Trail, Magic Hat and Otter Creek. BEEN THERE, DONE THAT! There are over a dozen really good craft brew locations through out Vermont and my favorite is THE VERMONT PUB & BREWERY (VPB).
VPB is in the heart of downtown Burlington, VT. Burlington is a great little college town full of shops, never ending entertainment and of course; great beer. The VPB was started by Gregory Noonan (1951-2009) who left a craft brewing legacy that tops any of the above mentioned brands. VPB takes their beer making seriously.
I'm not an IPA or "FRUITY BEER" lover. I stay with what I love and VPB has plenty of it. I started with the Burly Irish Ale and the Curacao Wit. I went on to their Grand Slam Baseball Beer and finished with the Handsome Micks Irish Stout. I highly recommend all of them.
VPB has over a dozen different craft beers on tap so try a flight soon. What are you waiting for? GO! GET THERE NOW!
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- We did it! January 11, 2012
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