Author Archives: bpbrady

B1G Roadtrippin’: Michigan at Illinois

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This weekend I had the opportunity to travel to Champaign to see the Michigan Wolverines take on the Illinois Fighting Illini.  Those of you who know me are probably surprised that I even left the house this weekend, given that I had to save the world from both terrorists and dragons.  But $65 tickets can’t be passed up, and luckily both the terrorists and dragons were there when I got back.

I got into Champaign with my friend about two hours before game time.  My suggestion to any ALDLAND readers contemplating attending a game at Illinois is to get there earlier, because finding parking can sometimes be tough.  By the time we parked, there was maybe an hour and a half to get our tickets from will call and head into downtown Champaign for lunch at Giovanti’s before the game.  If you hit up Giovanti’s, get the chicken tenders, which are pretty awesome.  The curly fries are not to be missed either.
Another reason to get to the game as early as possible is the tailgating scene.  While we did not get a chance to tailgate, we did walk by various parking lots on our way to lunch, and from what I saw, I could tell that Illinois fans know how to tailgate.  Most of the tailgates we passed by seemed to have ample food, drink and fun games to play like bean bag toss or that other game where you throw the little balls that are connected by a rope onto a ladder-like thing.  You know what I’m talking about.

After lunch, we walked back to Memorial Stadium, getting into our seats in the very last row of the upper deck just before kickoff.  They were not the best seats for someone like me who is not thrilled with heights, but that’s what I get for ordering them a week before the game.  Memorial Stadium is a nice venue, holding about 60,000 fans and offering an unobstructed view to every one of them (unless you are looking at the scoreboard, because from our seats some sort of tower-like structure partially blocked our view of the scoreboard).

The game started with Michigan receiving the ball.  Illinois’ run defense, which before the game was listed as one of their strengths, promptly let Michigan tailback Fitzgerald Toussaint bounce outside for a 60+ yard gain.  A couple plays later, and Denard was in the end zone for Michigan’s first touchdown. Keep reading…

To What We’re Listening (and Youtubing): Spank Rock

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There was a time when I didn’t know who Spank Rock was.  I was at the bar one night and my friend told me I had to listen to this new musical act with a funny sounding name.  I initially dismissed Spank Rock because of the name, and boy was that a mistake.  Fast forward a few months, and I am playing FIFA, wheeling and dealing as the manager of PSV Eindhoven.  In the middle of trying to acquire FC Porto’s Fredy Guarin to bolster my midfield, a song came on.  I have always enjoyed FIFA’s indie-tastic soundtrack, and this was no exception.  I looked at the scroll at the bottom of the screen to see who the artist was, and to my surprise it was Spank Rock, the band with the funny name that I had dismissed months before.

Now I can’t stop listening to Spank Rock.  His (Their?—Wikipedia seems to be confused about whether Spank Rock is one person or a group of people) music is half rap, half electro rock and all awesome.  Spank Rock has put out two albums: YoYoYoYoYo and Everything is Boring and Everyone is a Fucking Liar. Both are worth checking out.

Here’s the song that started it all for me, Energy.  Bumping this tune while schooling goalies as Cesc Fabregas is one of the greatest feelings in videogaming.

Friday Bangs

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From the moment that the video for Bangs’ single Take U 2 Da Movies hit the web, I knew he would be a star.  Since then he has topped that song multiple times over, with such awesome tunes as Meet Me on Facebook and I’m Going to the Ghetto.  His musical prowess has propelled Bangs to such great heights as starring in his own Honda commercial.  While he is not super famous on this side of the Pacific Ocean yet, that will come in time.  With music this awesome, people will one day talk about Bangs in the same breath as they talk about The Beatles or Elvis.  Do yourself a favor and check out his two albums, Hard to Be Up and Reflections.  And hey, at your next Christmas party, why not throw on the best holiday song of all time, Christmas Story?

MLB Free Agency 2011

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I was hoping that this article would still be topical by the time I started writing it yesterday night, and lo and behold the only free agent of consequence to sign on November 3rd was Juan Rivera.  I have literally no idea who he is.  I watch at least a hundred Mariners games each year (MLB.tv FTW), plus a good number of Phillies games and even as much of a Tigers game as I can stomach now and then.  Between that and fantasy baseball, I feel like I have a pretty good handle on who’s who in the MLB and I had literally no idea who this guy was.*  So basically he wasn’t going to be on this list anyway.
 
Here is a list of ten of the top free agents and where I think they will sign:
 
Albert Pujols
2011 team: Cardinals
2012 team: Cardinals
Why: Everyone has been jawing all season long about Pujols testing the market, but I think a lot of that was ESPN puffing the subject up so they had something else to talk about during Sports Center besides whether Tom Brady having longer hair than Aaron Rodgers makes him a better QB.  When all is said and done, I think this is going to turn out like the Matt Holliday-STL deal where there weren’t a ton of other serious suitors for the money and the player didn’t want to leave St. Louis anyway.  Add in that two of the big free agent spenders, the Yankees and Red Sox already have top tier 1Bs and you don’t have anyone to seriously compete with the Cardinals at the price Pujols wants.  So in the end St. Louis will end up overpaying a bit, talking heads who said that Pujols would sign for 300 million will complain about how St. Louis overpaid, St. Louis fans will complain about how they overpaid, but inside everyone will be happy.
Outside shot: Real Madrid?  At that price, I don’t know.
Keep reading…

Mario Balotelli: A Great Athlete or the Greatest Athlete?

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Some of you might not know who Mario Balotelli is and what he is about.  Heck, it’s likely that most of you don’t know him.  Rest assured, however, that your children, and your children’s children will know his name.  There will undoubtedly be philosophy classes in future years focused solely on the wisdom imparted on us by Mario Balotelli.  In a mere 21 years on this planet Mario Balotelli has done and said enough to fill volumes upon volumes of books.  Balotelli’s achievements have not been confined to the soccer pitch, although he has had success there with European giants Internazionale and Manchester City.  Here is just a sampling of what makes him not just the greatest athlete of all time, but the greatest mind of all time:

  • Balotelli became the face of a fireworks safety campaign in Britain after one of his friends set off fireworks in the bathroom of Balotelli’s mansion during a party, thereby setting fire to the mansion.
  • After scoring a brace in the Manchester Derby against crosstown rivals Manchester United, rolled around Manchester in his Bentley convertible, blaring music and high fiving City fans.
  • When asked about his post-match joyride, responded by saying  about City’s fans, “Even when I have had bad moments they have supported me.  But I don’t care what people say about me.  I am focused on my football, my manager, girlfriends and my family.”  Yeah, he just said girlfriends.  Mario Balotelli is playing the field and he doesn’t care if you, his manager, or even his multiple girlfriends know

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that all happened in one weekend.  In one weekend, Mario Balotelli has done more crazy stuff than most athletes do in their entire life.  Even Terrell Owens would be shocked at what Balotelli was able to accomplish in just three short days.
 
You might say, ”well, none of that sounds too crazy or awesome,” to which I would reply “hmmm,” because that is how I reply to most things people say to me.  In case you aren’t convinced that Balotelli is the craziest, most awesome thing to happen to sports since Wade Boggs drank 64 beers on a cross country flight, here is some other awesome stuff that Super Mario has done:  Keep reading…

B1G Roadtrippin’: Michigan at Northwestern

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A couple weeks ago, ALDLAND took you to the opening of the Big Ten season in Ann Arbor. Now we are taking you on a B1G roadtrip to Evanston, Illinois for the Michigan-Northwestern game. But first, I am sure you have a lot of questions. For instance, you might be asking yourself “who is this cool dude with an awesome hair and beard combo writing this article? He isn’t that one guy, or that other guy who usually bring us the ALDLAND content we know and love!” I’m Brendan, the guy who has promised that he would write about five different articles and has not once written any of them due to a debilitating addiction to FIFA. Debilitating, I tell you!

Anyway, on to the roadtrip/game coverage. If you go to a game at Northwestern, make sure you stay in Chicago, and not in Evanston. Evanston is a fine college town and all, but there isn’t a ton to do and it’s only a 40 minute train ride from Chicago to the stop nearest to the stadium. Plus, you can do fun things like have pizza! Who doesn’t love pizza? Communists, that’s who.

Tailgating in Evanston can be a lot of fun, especially if you are a fan of a team that brings a lot of people to away games. We tailgated for several hours with a bunch of Michigan fans, discussing such varied topics as how much we all love Denard Robinson and how great Denard Robinson is at running with a football in his hands. I learned about an interesting game called Dodgebeer, but that’s a whole different article.

Northwestern’s stadium holds about 40,000 fans and is largely uninspiring. Those of you lucky enough to have taken in a blowout loss at Vanderbilt Stadium would be instantly familiar with Ryan Field. Except you might be confused by the atmosphere, because Northwestern has Dan Persa as their QB and not Larry Smith, and consequently actually get somewhat excited for football games. Nevertheless, their fans were personable, and several complemented me on how I was “a lot nicer than those Iowa fans.” Iowa fans, what the heck?

The game started off well for Michigan, as Denard Robinson orchestrated a Michigan scoring drive capped by Steve Watson’s first career catch and touchdown. Miraculously, he did not throw a pick. This changed in short order, as Denard, clearly momentarily color blind, started giving the ball to the Northwestern players like it was candy on Halloween. Denard’s generosity allowed Northwestern to tie the game and eventually take the lead. Michigan’s offense continued to be lackluster, and at the break they found themselves trailing 24-14.

Sometime between the end of the first half and the start of the second half, Brady Hoke either put the fear of God into Michigan, or Northwestern forgot how to play football, because in the second half Michigan put on a clinic, scoring 28 unanswered points to give them a 42-24 victory. The second half featured an extended cameo by backup QB Devin Gardner after Denard hurt his hand and had to take a drive off. Gardner showed why he has the potential to be a star at Michigan, driving the Wolverines down the field like a seasoned veteran and scoring on a one yard run.

What did this game mean for the now 6-0 Wolverines? Well, it means they are bowl eligible, for one. I’m not sure how many doubts this answered about Michigan’s ability to play on the road, as they came out flat in front of a crowd that was at least a third Wolverines fans. Nevertheless, 6-0 is 6-0, and the country will see whether Michigan is for real this week when they take on the Spartans in East Lansing.

For Northwestern, this had to be a tough pill to swallow. They moved the ball almost at will in the first half, but failed to understand the significance of the first down line in the second half and consequently scored no points. Things are not going to get any easier for Wildcat fans, as Northwestern travels to Iowa City next weekend. A loss there and it’s looking like a trip to the Little Caesar’s Pizza Bowl for the Wildcats. However, the plus side of that is: pizza.

I hope you have enjoyed my first article for ALDLAND. I hope to write more in the future, however I think my friend Jeremy just called to see if I want to play FIFA . . .