USA! USA! US…hey, we really suck!

Since my beloved Tar Heels are squaring off against NC State tonight (in a gamed termed a “backyard brawl” on a hyperventilating local TV promo), my thoughts naturally drift to the plight of Team USA at the Winter Games in Torino. Why? Because Billy Packer is the color announcer. If I wanted to listen to a cranky old guy complain this much, I’d go hang out at the senior center.

Ray vs. Walk the Line: May the best biopic win

A couple of weeks ago, I saw Walk the Line, the biopic about Johnny Cash. Throughout the movie, I was comparing it to Ray, another musical biopic from last year. What’s been rattling around in my head is one simple question: Which did I like more?

Bloggin' the Olympics: Will it ever end?

We’re on the backside of watching the Olympics. If the first half-hour didn’t take your will to live, we’ll see what the second half can do. Give me strength to keep going.

Bloggin' the Olympics: A random hour of Torino

Yet another running diary. My intention tonight was to try to watch Skating with Celebrities, but the 8 p.m. timeframe – plus the specter of bad skating routines – was too much to overcome. Watching top-tier skating is tough enough. So, I’m going to peep at an hour of the Olympics.

On-hold music with a meaning?

I’ve been having an ongoing tiff with my bank. Because I don’t want to besmirch a global financial services company to the two dozen people who read my blog, I won’t give their name. But it sounds kinda like “Watch ova ya.” (Which my wife actually thought was the connotation the bank was going for. That, my friends, would have been spooky)

When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's a bad Olympic opening ceremony

OK, the opening ceremony of the 2006 Olympics in Torino are on right now. And I’m engaging in my biennial ritual of NOT watching it. Summer or Winter games? Doesn’t matter. Because there are few immutable truths in this world, and the first one is “any Olympic opening ceremony will contain bizarre performances that just leave you… well, not speechless, exactly, but just discombobulated.”

How watching the Grammys makes me feel old

Tonight, I sat down and watched a few minutes of the Grammys. Now, I was never one of those guys who had a thousand CDs when I was younger, but I followed popular music fairly closely. Tonight, though, I’m finding myself posing a bunch of weird questions that my noggin can’t fathom.

Basketball mem'ries… like the corners of my mind

OK, this is an in-game blog. UNC is playing at Maryland, and it’s not good. I would write more about it, but I don’t think I have the stomach for it. This game is ugly like Aunt Esther. It’s ugly like Roseanne Barr doing a pole dance. It’s ugly like… well, a bad middle school game.