The. Worst. Shoe. Ever.

Ladies, why in the hell do you insist on wearing shoes that look like this? I just saw like eight different women with these on walking back from the bank. Wearing a shoe in this style does not equal sexy, stylish, attractive, or fashionable. Combine this shoe with low-rise boot cut jeans and they equal one thing - WHITE TRASH! Have a good weekend.

When Good Writers Go Bad...or Start Podcasting

There are very few writers whose columns I look forward to reading as much as Bill Simmons, aka the Sportsguy, over at ESPN.com. I started reading him in 2000 when he was still writing for his former website back in New England. (Being a Redsox fan, I just kind of stumbled across it one day while searching the web.)

For those of you with the misfortune to not have enjoyed any of Simmons' work, it's like reading a transcript from a conversation between you and your friends. He not only discusses sports, but he takes movies, TV, music, and current events and relates them all to the sports world in an original and extremely entertaining style.

A couple of years ago, Simmons took several months off to write Now I Can Die in Peace, a tribute to the 2004 World Champion Redsox. I didn't realize how much I liked his writing until it was no longer available three times a week.

In the past year, Simmons has, with too much regularity, turned to what I consider the lamest invention spawned by the internet - the Podcast. It is like everyone who ever wanted to have a radio show can have one simply by creating a podcast, regardless of whether or not they are any good. (I know, a guy with a blog isn't much better.) Simmons is a bit different because he has a lot of celebrity connections, not to mention he works for ESPN, so he gets first-rate guests. The problem is not that the podcasts aren't satisfying, it's that I miss the articles. I just don't enjoy sitting in front of my computer and listening to two people banter back and forth about the NBA Draft, or the upcoming season of the "Real World/Road Rules Challenge." One, it is way to hard to pay attention to and two, the host tends to turn into a total kiss ass for fear of not pissing off his guest.

Simmons needs to get back to doing what he does best - writing columns, mailbags, running diaries, movie reviews, etc. One column a week is crap. A few years ago, Simmons took a shot at Rick Reilly, then with SI, and said he was "mailing it in," meaning Reilly would just submit a mediocre, 500-word column once a week and collect a paycheck as opposed to writing cover stories and in-depth articles about the world of sports.

Simmons, I think you may have become the pot.

Spring Softball

In approximately two weeks, spring softball season begins in Tahoe Park and with it, a new team arrives on the scene. Yours truly has jumped ship, leaving my girlfriend, relatives, and friends behind, for the warm and cozy bed of my former team. I have already heard and read the comments from my old Suck Dragon's teammates calling me a traitor and a sell-out...yada yada yada. To be honest, it doesn't bother me so keep'em coming. Prior to coming to Tahoe Park, I played roughly 15 seasons of softball with the folks I reunited with and be forewarned Tahoe Park, we are good...we are very good.

What really gets my goat is that the Hippies will not be around to receive a beating from us this season. Word on the street is that the Sports Authority ran out of knee braces and Tiger Balm so they couldn't field a team. I hear that a couple of them have joined my former team, bringing the Sucks roster count to somewhere around 23. There are six teams in the league this year which is still not a lot, but it is better than the four we had at the end of last year.

In keeping with tradition, we have decided to take another cheap shot at the Luck Dragon's ridiculous team name and call ourselves the Luck Donkeys (jerseys may or may not follow). Sorry LDs, but it was between that and Suckrilicious and we don't know enough of them to make fun just yet.

The season opener is Tuesday, March 10. Whatever the outcome is this season, it will be fun. If you have nothing better to do and want to drink some beer and watch some softball, come on out to Tahoe Park and find a seat in the bleachers.

Up and running...

So, I recently started a Facebook group called the Tahoe Park Beach and Tennis Club to let people in the neighborhood know about upcoming events and what not. I figured I would take that notion a step further by creating a blog where I can let people know about events and what not, as well as write and post stupid stuff for them to read, watch, or listen to. 

I will probably post a couple of times a week and it may be a long diatribe about the Giants off-season acquisitions, or it just may be a funny video like the one below. 

Acting With James Franco Episode 1: "Sense Memory" from James Franco