Opening Day

There are a lot of opening days for a lot of different things, each with their own unique traditions. Padres opening day, we all wear suits. Del Mar race track opening day, everyone wears hats. At the Coronado Yacht Club, it's all about flying your flags for opening day.

I was out of town this weekend (but then you already knew that) so I didn't get to spend anytime at the yacht club, but I did swing by this evening after jumping in the ocean for a bit. It's kind of hard to tell, but I took this picture to show off all the signal flags being flown at the club.

Traditionally for parades or holiday's (especially opening day), all the signal flags are hoisted from the bow to the top of the mast down to the stern. While all the flags have a specific meaning, and sometimes even a specific place that they should be flown from, the idea for opening day is just to be colorful.

Why exactly the tradition started I don't really know. I guess it's like combing hair...sometimes you just want to look your best when you know people are going to be watching. No harm in that, right?

What Are the Chances?!?!

When you live on the West Coast there are only so many opportunities to wear a seersucker suit...a Memorial Day wedding in Santa Barbara at the Montecito Country Club is definitely high on the list. The thing about seersucker is, when you wear it, you are making a statement. What exactly that statement is can be up for interpretation. In my case I think the statement was, "Hey everybody look at me, I'm in seersucker! Awesome, right?"

Well the other thing about seersucker is, making it work is not unlike telling a good joke...you're better off if someone else at the party isn't telling the same joke. It really gets to be a problem if that "someone else" is sitting at your table...one person away from you.

Welcome to my Sunday evening.

It doesn't matter that half the wedding was in a black suit, if two guys are wearing seersucker in the same area code, those two guys are gonna hear about it. A lot. The good news is that because this was my old college roommates wedding most of my Santa Barbara buddies just let it slide.

Oh wait...no they didn't, they hammered me all night long. It was brutal. Hilarious, but brutal. Really the only thing I had going for me was that I was able to get two desserts. When I came around for seconds and the server gave me that knowing look, I just told her it was the other guy in seersucker who came through the first time.

When life hands you a lemon, right?

Let's Ride

Growing up in Coronado meant growing up on a bike. I know everyone rides a bike when they're younger, but in Coronado you don't stop riding bikes just because you're old enough to drive. Why would you...the island's only so big.

So for me, going to college in Santa Barbara (where the bikes out number the cars) was a natural fit. And it's not just on campus where the bike riding in prevalent, most hotels downtown include bikes as a complimentary perk for staying at their establishment. Kind of like the continental breakfast at a Holiday Inn.

Megan and I are in SB this weekend for my buddy Vijay's wedding and you better believe we hit the bike lane yesterday in search of a late afternoon snack. I don't know what it is about bikes but they definitely make outings a lot more fun...and in our case, even made the food taste better.

No Bad Days

Webster's online dictionary defines a cliche as "something that has become overly familiar or commonplace". For instance, a phrase of some sort...maybe "dead as a doornail", or maybe "no bad days". The thing is, I contend that in most cases these phrases (especially when it comes to sports) become overused because they are true.

Do you know why everyone says that defense wins championships...because it usually does. Do you know what else...you better take it one day at a time, because if you lose concentration on the task at hand, you're going to fail.

Well the same can be said for the surfing cliche of "No bad days". After having not surfed for awhile, I paddled out the last two days and you know what...the waves sucked. It was small, the water was pretty cold and today the wind was blowing. You know what else...I'm so glad I went.

I know it sounds cliche (have you found the theme yet?) but just getting in the ocean makes it totally worth it. The fact that I caught a handful of waves over the past couple of days is just icing on the cake.

How Much for an Order of Ribs?

I will be the first to admit that I am not that well traveled. I haven't been everywhere and I haven't experienced everything. That said, I simply refuse to believe that there is a BBQ joint out there that is better then Phil's BBQ. Maybe there are some places just as good, but better...no way.

We were supposed to go to Phil's for my birthday a few weeks ago but I got sick for 24 hours, so we couldn't. Then last weekend we were going to go, but ended up at our friends the Pierre's instead. Needless to say, I've been craving Phil's for a few weeks now so I was literally chomping at the bit to attack some barbecue tonight.

Mission accomplished.

In fact, just to make it extra special tonight, Megan and I played a little game I like to call, "No Napkins". It's a pretty straight forward game actually, the only rule is that you can't use a napkin until the very end of the meal. The winner is the one who looks the most like Dan Patrick in his TGI Friday's commercial.

I'll let you decide who took home the trophy tonight.

Laugh it up Chuckles

Clearly this picture was taken before the Padres and Cardinals played a 13 inning game that lasted 4 hour and 13 minutes...and if that was the before, then this is the after picture. Good news is, the Padres ended up winning the game thanks to Jerry Hairston Jr's 2nd homerun of the season, and 2nd in as many nights.

Really these two pictures epitomize the differences between the Pregame show and the Postgame show. Pregame is all about "hope"...Postgame is all about the "cold, hard facts". Luckily for Padres fans (and who are we kidding, their broadcasters too), the 2010 version of the Friars has been more "warm and fuzzy" then "cold and hard" as San Diego has put together the best record in the N.L.

Still the point is, we have some fun on the Pregame show and if you haven't seen it yet, you should try it. I mean what's the worst that could happen...you laugh a little?

Trend Setter

So what does it take to be a trend setter? A good eye, self confidence, an ability to hold your head high when everyone else is second guessing you? Sure, it takes all those things, but most importantly it takes someone else to follow your trend.

We'll get to that in a moment, but first let me tell you about my trend.

I know what you are thinking...and you're right, those sear-sucker pants I'm wearing are awesome! That however is not the trend I am responsible for...though I am totally on board with it. No, the trend I am bringing to the masses is much more important then sear-sucker pants. Remember a few years ago when Justin Timberlake was "bringing sexy back"? Well I'm bringing backpack back.

Right? Totally rocked your world didn't I. Of course I realize I didn't invent the backpack and I know we all used to wear them in middle school, but since then it's been all about the satchel bag. I think it's time we called a spade a spade...that satchel bag or European carry-all or whatever you want to call it, is really just a murse. That's right, you've been walking around all these years with a man purse.

A backpack just makes a lot more sense. It's better for your body ergonomically, it's way more comfortable and you can fit a lot of stuff in it. No one is saying that a good briefcase isn't fashionable anymore...it is. But you know what else it is...impractical.

Today's man walks around with more then 2 million times the computing power of the Apollo 11 space craft in his bag. While it's' true all that power comes in a handy little laptop computer, you still need space for it. Not to mention all your other gadgets, plus books or manuals or clipboards or whatever. Like I said it just makes sense.

So when I saw my old buddy Ernie Martinez at the ballpark today sporting a backpack, I knew right away that this had to be the picture of the day. After all, it's not a trend until someone starts to follow it.

A Good Walk Spoiled

Anyone who has ever played the game of golf knows exactly what Mark Twain was talking about when he declared that "Golf is a good walk spoiled". It really can be a frustrating, humbling, and down right painful game at times.

Today however, was not one of those times.

First of all, it was a gorgeous Southern California Monday and I was outside all day enjoying the sun. Second, I got to play for free today...and there is nothing bad about that. Third, we were playing at the La Jolla Country Club which is as exclusive as it is beautiful. Last of all, I got paired with a great group of guys.

In fact our group was 5-under after 6 holes and already practicing what our acceptance speech would sound like at the banquet after our round. Unfortunately, we never got to deliver that speech. 5-under after 6 holes in a scramble is good, 5-under after 18 holes in said scramble...not so much.

Hey, what can I say...at least the beer was cold.

Lost...You Bet I Am

One time for Christmas a few years ago I decided to buy Megan (who I was just dating at the time) a new DVD Player and a couple of DVD's for us to watch. Although I hadn't seen any episodes yet, I had heard that "Lost" was a good show, so I bought the first two seasons. Well the night before she was going to fly home for Christmas we had our gift exchange and decided to test drive the new DVD's.

Turns out watching an hour drama all about a plane crashing in the middle of nowhere the night before your girlfriend is about to get on a plane is not a great way to build a fan base. A few things happened that evening, first Megan decided she wasn't really into "Lost". Second, I fell in love with the show and third I got a couple extra Christmas presents because Megan never did take those DVD's home.

So after 6 years of some really great writing, character development, twists and turns, and more nerdy discussions about quantum physics and mythology then I care to admit, last night was the series finale of "Lost". It's weird, on the one hand it's great to have that sense of closure, but on the other hand you don't want it to end.

I haven't been this conflicted since Magnum P.I. went off the air in 6th grade. That was a great show too.

Surfing Dogs...Check

I get asked to MC a lot of different kind of events during the year, but the most unique...and really one of the most fun, is the Loews Coronado Bay Resort Surf Dog Contest. It's exactly what you think it is, a surf contest for dogs...and it's hilarious.

Sure, seeing all the dogs dressed in their surfing gear is pretty funny but the real kicker is seeing all the dog owners also dressed in their surfing gear while fussing over the pooches. And let me tell you, there were a lot of pooches out there this year. 65 to be exact...and that's just the dogs that surfed.

I first MC'd this event 2 years ago and I can't believe how much it has grown. This year the premiere of the movie "Marmaduke" was connected to it and the amount of media there to cover it was pretty staggering. Entertainment Tonight, Nickeloden, CBS Nightly News and just about every local news station there is in San Diego. All that buzz meant a lot of people on the beach and a lot fun in the sun.

I can't wait for next year.

Practice Makes Perfect

I haven't picked up my golf clubs in about 2 months, but since I'm playing in a golf tournament this Monday, I figured I better at least swing them a couple of times. So after work today (I interviewed "Dirty" Kurt Bevaqua) I went out to the range and hit some balls. For those of you wondering, yeah I was crushing it. Just wait until Monday though, I guarantee that's when I'll get the shanks.

Anyhow, the point is I had golf on the mind, so when Megan and I showed up at our friends Kristy and Andre's house tonight, I was stoaked to see that little Noah was thinking the same thing. You remember Noah, aka the cutest kid ever. Well he might also be the most athletic kid ever. The Pierre's front yard is littered with every kind of bat, ball, club and racket you can imagine...including Noah's very own set of golf clubs.

Lucky for me Noah was nice enough to show me a few pointers. Who knows, maybe I'll actually hit them long and straight on Monday after all.

Captain Hairdo

I was talking to my friend Brain this morning on the phone when all of a sudden I heard an audible "gasp" from him on the other line. The next words out of his mouth were, "Are you on Twitter right now?"

I wasn't, so I logged in, checked my account...and then I gasped. It seems our friends at GaslampBall.com orchestrated a Channel for hair swap. That's me with my co-anchor Bob Scanlan's hair, this is what he looked liked. While I've got a forehead like the bumper on an old Chevy, Bob has a little John McEnroe thing going. I'd say he got the better end of the deal...but his do does give me a few extra inches. I'm like Fletch when he played for the Lakers...actually 6'5", with the afro 6'9".

Needless to say I think this is one of the funner things I have seen on the web in a long time and I absolutely have to tip my hat to the guys at Gaslamp for dreaming this up. Absolutely classic! I've been a fan of those guys for a few years now and it's safe to say that they've bought my affection for a few more years with this stunt.

Well played gentlemen.

When All Else Fails...

Have you ever done something that you instantly regretted? Who am I kidding, of course you have. We all have...and I did it again yesterday.

Without getting into all the gory details or lame excuses, I essentially threw something that hit my co-worker Lorien right in the mouth yesterday...hard enough to draw some blood. Needless to say I immediately felt terrible about it. Obviously it was an accident and something that I couldn't reproduce in 100 years. I mean it would take a whole team of physicist working around the clock for at least a decade to even begin to be able to understand how it actually happened...but the simple fact is, it did happen.

So today I decided to make things right. The one thing I have learned in my years on this planet is that when all else fails...when a, "Sorry about your lip" just won't cut it, and a prat fall just doesn't seem that funny, all you have to do is buy your forgiveness.

Lucky for me Lorien has a sweet tooth the size of Kansas, so a couple of super soft chocolate chip cookies from Pei Wei was all that it cost me. Thank god for milk chocolate.

"Carlos"

So I was standing on my roof this evening taking pictures of the sunset when I heard my neighbor Gracie call my name. No big deal except that Gracie is my buddy Josh's 2 yr old daughter. She's right at that point where she is about to explode with words. You can just tell. She understands everything you say and is adding more and more words to her repertoire everyday.

For now she can say Megan and John pretty darn well and I love it. You remember Uncle John: King of the Kids, right? The only thing better then being able to make a kid smile or laugh, is being able to hand them back to their parents if they start to cry.

Well Gracie was in no mood to cry so I scampered off the roof as quick as I could to come say hi. When I did she took a liking to my glasses, and from there it didn't take long for me to ditch the idea of making the sunset my pic of the day.

I mean come on...she's even wearing a pink leopard print.

Sue Botos

Sue Botos is the Director of the Padres Foundation (the charitable wing of the Padres Franchise) and one of the most fun and energetic people I know. I don't like to play favorites...but she is my favorite Padres employee. David Eckstein is number 2.

Sue is the epitome of "spunky" and every time I see her she brightens my day. I can only assume that at sometime is her life she has been in a bad mood, but I have never met anyone who has actually seen her angry or upset. Maybe her husband Doug has...but he's not talking.

Sue is not always down on the field before games (she was there with Children's Hospital today) so when I saw her this afternoon I was definitely excited. She is the type of person you're glad that you know because she brings the best out of the people around her. Every room she walks in is brighter, every person she meets can't help but smile and her heart is as big as Ohio.

That's why she is so good at her job and why I am so happy to call her a friend.

Date Night

My wife is from the Chicago area and most all of her family still lives in the Midwest, so when they come out to California it's a pretty big deal. This weekend Megan's parents and her Uncle Bill and Aunt Ellen were up in Santa Barbara for a couple days of wine tasting and relaxing. I had to work so I couldn't go, but Megan made the drive and had a blast.

She was only gone a couple of days so it was no big deal, but I was out of town last weekend, she was gone this weekend and will be again next weekend. All of a sudden it's a month of Sunday's since we've had a date night and that does seem like a big deal. So after she got home and I played my soccer game, I took her on a date to the movies.

Popcorn, M&M's and an action flick. We saw Iron Man 2, which was pretty good. I think I still liked the first one a little better but this one was worth the $23 to see it on the big screen. More importantly it was just fun to get off the couch and have a high school style date.

One piece of advice for you if you do go see Iron Man 2...wait until the end of the credits to leave. About half of our theater got up and left and they missed a little extra at the end.

Don't say I never did anything for you.

Nunu's

One of the great things about the Midwest (especially Chicago) is that there are a ton of little neighborhood bars. You know the kind of place I'm talking about, a bunch of seats at the bar, a handful of booths, a good jute box and a little greasy spoon kitchen. More then likely the bartenders know you by name and anytime you go in there you're guaranteed to see somebody you know. The best part of course is that, because it's a neighborhood bar, you can walk home!

If that sounds good to you then you would love Nunu's. I first discovered it about 10 years ago (when I lived in the neighborhood...shocker) and it quickly became my go-to bar. Cool atmosphere, cheap drinks, and a great place to go if you actually want to talk to the people you're with. That's what prompted my visit this Saturday night.

I hadn't seen my buddy Teevan for a few weeks and with my wife Megan out of town, I decided to meet him at Nunu's for a cocktail or two and a round of catching up. Everything was going fine until Doug the bartender made me a gin martini after the kitchen had already closed. Now I like vodka martini's, but I promise you that was the first and last gin martini I'm ever going to have. It wasn't terrible...I just didn't like it very much, and since the kitchen was done for the night, we had to go on a burrito run just to make things right.

The good news is, it worked...and I still love Nunu's even with the gin.

Beat LA

Going into tonight's Padres - Dodgers game the Friars were 3.5 games ahead of the Giants, sitting in 1st place. Even with their lost tonight, San Diego still has the best record in the National League, and yet, no one comes to the games. That is until the Dodgers come to town.

Tonight, for the first time since the home opener, the Padres had a sell out...42, 056 to be exact. It just goes to show that playing 1st place ball in mid-May doesn't count for much in this town. Playing the Dodgers for the 1st time all season in mid-May...now that's a different story

Aside from my new camera being water proof (which is awesome), it also has this really cool panoramic feature. Since it was just the 2nd sellout of the season, I decided to take the walk up to the top of the view section and snap this picture. Actually it's 3 pictures melded together with some pretty cool technology so be sure to click on it to see it blown up.

Off Day Baby!

The Padres play 162 games over the course of a 6 month season. At Channel 4 we broadcast roughly 140 of those games which means, from time to time, the Padres will play a mid-week game that we don't television. That was the case today as the Padres wrapped up a 3-game series in San Francisco with a 12:45 start.

While Mat Latos was busy pitching his was to a 1-hit complete game shutout that gave San Diego it's second series sweep over the Giants this season, the Channel 4 Postgame crew was hard at work... relaxing. To be fair I was actually working hard slaving over a hot grill cooking up some Carne Asada and Polo Asada for little bit today. I also worked up a few beads of sweat throwing the bags during our mini cornhole tournament...so it's not like I was just sitting around.

Beginning with our go-cart excursion, Jenny and Producer Lorien have decided to take on the role of co-social chairs for the Channel 4 off days. Once a month...on an off day...we're going to get as much of the crew together as we can and do something fun.

Next month it's paintball, then maybe surfing, and after that who knows.

Sunday Night: City Life

After a weekend of "roughing it" on the river with beer, wine, appetizers and tri-tip, it sure was nice to get back to civilization. I stayed with my buddy Guido on Sunday night in San Francisco...we had a steak dinner, a couple of martinis and then we met the Sire sisters out for a drink afterward.

You may remember Jaymee from earlier this year when my wife and I went to SF for the weekend, she was the one who gave us the great restaurant recommendation for Valentines Day. Anyhow, Heather is her sister and she was in town with their mom for Mothers Day, so it worked out great.

Not surprisingly, Jaymee wanted to try some new place she had heard about called "Lion Pub" in Pacific Heights. Turns out the place is famous for their fresh squeezed greyhounds...and maybe their cheese and crackers too. Anyway, it had been a long time since we had seen both Sire sisters at the same time, so there was a lot of catching up to do.

Lot's of catching up meant lots of fresh squeezed greyhounds, which meant lots of pictures on the signature lions at the Pub. I mean seriously a lot...like 12. Lucky for you I decided on this one.

Footlong? Why Yes, Thank You.

So yeah, I'm eating again in another local commercial for Channel 4. Apparently the people from Subway liked our Round Table Pizza commercial so much that they decided they wanted in on the action. Can't say I blame them, I mean look at that convincing acting.

By the way, for everyone out there who has seen our first spot, relax I let Bob have some food this time around...it's Jenny who gets screwed. *Spoiler alert...Bob and I steal her sandwich while she is on location. I mean you just can't right that stuff. It's gold!

We shot the spot this afternoon so I would guess it will be on our air fairly soon. Maybe this weekend for the Padres - Dodgers series. Now if that's not a reason to watch then I don't know what is. I mean sure the Padres are in 1st place...but Bob and I steal Jenny's sandwich while she is on location. Hilarious!

Saturday: We Hit the Rapids

Growing up in Southern California I spent more time at the beach then I did in the mountains. As a result my river rafting experience has been limited to a couple inner-tubing trips, a booze cruise down the Truckee river and a float through Glacier National Park at the end of the season when the water was really low.

To put it to you another way, this was the first time I a.) needed a helmet and b.) felt like I needed a helmet...usually I just wear them for fashion purposes.

Our foray into the rafting community lasted a couple of days and covered two different rivers...the North and South forks of the American River. Day 1 on the South Fork was pretty mellow, mainly class 1 and class 2 rapids with a couple of class 3's thrown in there for good measure. While I actually did get thrown out of the boat on that first day along with my buddy JT, the most adrenaline inducing moment on the South Fork was our cliff jump...and not the rapids.

Day 2 on the North Fork was a different story. Right from the get-go it was class 4 and 4+ rapids with a pretty gnarly waterfall there to greet you first thing in the morning. It also cooled down a bit on the second day and even dropped some rain on us. However with that said , Day 2 was way more fun. Sure it was more intense, but that was the experience we all were hoping for.

Not a bad idea for a bachelor party and a hell of a way to celebrate my 34th birthday.

Tennis Lessons

I got a call from my little sister Debra today. Apparently she's been playing tennis with her boyfriend lately, and now that he is out of town she wanted some super-secret tennis tips. Hey, no one ever said the Weisbarth's weren't competitive.

I wasn't really sure what to expect from her as far as skill level was concerned, but when she said to me on our way to the courts that she didn't know how to keep score, I have to admit I was a little nervous.

Turns out she was sand-bagging.

Sure she thought a set only lasted 3 games and had no idea what a foot fault was, but she can swing it. I gave he a couple of pointers with her footwork and her grip and that was all it took. By the end of our session we were rallying pretty well and I am confident that boyfriend Gary doesn't have a chance now.

Just to be clear though...I did not teach her to pose like that. We're still working on the volleys.

Friday Night: Hi-Low Tournament

Hi-Low is a simple card game with sometimes not so simple consequences.

The concept is easy, the dealer turns over 2 cards and you have to decide whether the next card flipped over will fall in between the 2 that are face up. You can bet or elect to pass. If you pass, then 2 more cards are flipped over for the next guy and the decision is his. If you decided to bet, you can wager any amount up to the value of the current pot. If you win, you take that money out of the pot. If you lose, you put it on the table and the pot grows.

Where it gets interesting is if someone hits the post...then you owe double your wager. For example, let's say the pot is $20. You get a King and 3 and decided to bet the pot. The next card turned over ends up being another King. Now you owe the pot $40 and all of a sudden there's $60 on the table.

I've heard stories of $1,200 pots with $700 I.O.U's written on the back of paper plates. In order to avoid that on our trip we made a rule that you had to have enough cash on you to cover twice whatever your bet was. It's a good thing too, because my buddy Karl hit the post twice on the biggest pot of the night.

He got a King - 3 on a $103 pot and edged, bringing the pot to $309. A few rounds later he got another good spread and bet $60. He hit the upright again and had to throw in another $120. Now I realize in Vegas that $429 pot is really not that much, but when you're camping next to a river and there is nothing but cold hard cash on the table...that's a lot of money.

That is also the reason I was all-time dealer. The best part is I actually got tipped out $14 for the night.

Good to be Home

So just like when I went on the cruise a few weeks ago, the next couple of days I'm going to double up on the entries to make up for my weekend off the grid. Before I get to any of that however, I have to take care of today...and today was all about getting home and kissing my wife.

The fun thing about making this my picture of the day is that I got to do that trick where you take a picture of yourself kissing your wife, look at it and then say something like, "Oh we better take another. The lighting wasn't good." I pulled that like 9 times. We actually needed a chapstick re-apply half way through the photo shoot. That's when you know you're in the zone.

"CHiP's"

So it turns out my buddy JT brought his computer with him for the first leg of our bachelor party trip...which means you guys get a little sneak peek from Reno.

A lot happened on day one, like me missing my first flight out of San Diego, an absolute comedy fest on the drive up to Reno from San Francisco and a group of 12 guys posing on a pack of wild stallions at 3 in the morning. All pretty amazing happenings, sure...but not the most amazing. That honor goes to a little event I like to call "CHiP's".

You see, while JT brought his computer on the trip, the best man brought his CHP badge. All of a sudden a 17-inch screen and Intel HD Graphics doesn't seem so cool. Of course a badge is just a badge, until you get to use it that is. Somewhere over the Donor Pass doing 87 mph our CHP officer was pulled over by another CHP officer, and what happened next was enough to make me want to go to the academy and get my own badge.

Our guy told the other guy, "Sorry for going so fast. We're on our way up to Reno for the weekend." Not that powerful of an argument in my mind, but coupled with the badge he presented, convincing enough. The other guy's response was something along the lines of, "Alright, drive safe"...and just like that we were on our way.

Like I said...amazing.

On the Road Again

Okay, you guys know the drill by now. I'm off to Nor Cal for the weekend to go river rafting. That means two things. First, I'm going to have some awesome pictures for the blog...and second, you're going to have to wait until Monday see them.

I'm sorry, that's just how it goes. I bought a water proof camera for the trip but my MacBook Pro is most decidedly not water proof.

At least now you have something to look forward to. See ya Monday.

Gringos Unite

Just like people in Ireland really don't celebrate St. Patrick's Day...Cinco de Mayo is much more an excuse for Gringos to get drunk on a Wednesday then it is about Mexican's celebrating a victory over the French at Puebla in 1862.

Still, you're not going to get any complaints from me. I love me some cerveza con limon.

Seeing as I had to work tonight (BTW I recovered nicely from my little bout with exhaustion, thanks for asking), there wasn't any beer in the equations for me. Instead I got to celebrate Cinco de Mayo like a Mexican. Which is to say, I didn't really celebrate at all.

I did however get to pose for this sweet pic with some indigenous people of Mexico...and yes, more then one of those feathers poked me in the eye.

Fake Birthday Blues

I turn 34 this Saturday but will be out of town on a river rafting trip for my buddy Vijay's bachelor party, so my wife and I decided to celebrate my fake birthday today. The plan was simple, but awesome.

I would get off work at 7, race home to pick up Megan, and then it was off to Phil's BBQ for some ribs and some good company. Maybe a birthday card, probably a gift and that was it. Like I said, simple but awesome.

Of course none of that came to be. Instead of bathing myself in BBQ sauce and coleslaw, I was laid up on the couch all day and all night. I have no idea what happened. First off, I'm the guy that doesn't get sick. I don't know why, I just don't. Good genes I guess. Second of all, I didn't have a fever and my stomach wasn't upset...I was just totally exhausted and achy.

So if my fake birthday is any indication as to how my actual birthday will go, all I can say is that I hope the rafting company has life jackets AND helmets.

If You're Not First, You're Last

I don't really believe that, but it fits for today's post because Padres rookie Lance Zawadzki has laid claim to a whole bunch of firsts.

-He made his 1st Major League Start on Sunday.
-He got his 1st career hit in that game.
-He became the 1st Padres in history with a last name that started with the letter "Z" to appear in a game.
-He conducted his 1st Big League interview today with me when I talked to him on the pregame show.

But perhaps the most interesting first in Lance Zawadzki's young career is something you probably never saw coming. Mr. Zawadzki collected the 1st base hit in PETCO Park history. He did it back in 2004 when he was a member of SDSU Aztecs. If you remember (and even if you don't), the Aztecs actually played the 1st game in PETCO Park history back on March 11, 2004 against Houston. State won that game and Lance got his name in the record books. Pretty neat that more then 6 years later he earned his 1st major league hit in the ballpark he christened.

For the record, the 1st Big League hit in PETCO Park history belongs to Brian Giles. He got it in the bottom of the 1st of the 1st Padres game in '04.

Farmers Market

There are a lot of good things about being married. For me, one of them is eating healthy. My wife Megan has made it her mission to eat fresh, organic, locally grown food whenever she can...and by the transitive property, I do the same.

That's good for a few reasons. First, it's healthy. It also tastes better which is always a plus for me when it comes to food. Go figure, I like things that tastes good. The best thing about it though, or at least the most fun thing about it, is the farmers market.

Megan goes at least once a week...today was my first trip. It's awesome! For one you feel like you're part of a community. Farmers, urbanites, guys with beards, girls with tattoos...we're all there just enjoying the day. They also have a lot of good food...and I know what you're thinking, "Wow, food at a farmers market. Who would of thought of that?" Well I'm picking up on your sarcasm. What I mean is they have a lot of food vendors there in addition to all the farmers with their produce. There were also vendors selling jewlery, glassware, and scarves. They even had live music. I'm telling you, it's the place to be on Sunday.

We went to the Hillcrest Farmers Market, which was good. But according to Megan, the Little Italy Farmers Market on Saturday is the best. For the record she also likes the OB one.

The Farmers Market...who knew?

Trevor Time

There is no doubt that Tony Gwynn is Mr. Padre...but Trevor Hoffman has got to be a close second. For parts of 16 seasons Hoffy collected 552 of his now 595 saves as a Padre...and he did it with class day in and day out.

One of my proudest moments as a broadcaster came after Trevor set the All-Time saves record on the last home game of the 2006 season. I was the first person who got to interview him that day...and even though I had nothing to do with any of his saves and no one will ever remember that I interviewed him, I will always be tied to that moment in my mind.

At the end of that season, during the playoffs, I got to travel with the team to St. Louis. On the plane ride back from the mid-west I walked to the back of the plane because I wanted to tell Trev home much that moment meant to me. When I did, he couldn't have been more gracious. He told me it was his pleasure to have me there with him asking the questions.

Did he mean it? I have no idea...maybe. The point is he knew that it was a big deal to me so he said what he said. That's why I like him so much...I respect him for a different reason.

I also happened to be in Colorado in 2007 when he gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 13th inning in game number 163. Probably the worst moment of his career. He could have ducked out or hidden himself in the training room that night, but instead he stood at his locker and answered all of our questions.

A total pro and a stand up guy. It's why even though he wears a different uniform these days, Padres fans everywhere still cheer him

Broken Lizard

For those that know what Broken Lizard is...or rather who, you know how cool this picture is. For those don't...it might be hard to explain, but here goes.

Broken Lizard is the name of a comedy troupe best known for their films "Super Troopers" and "Beerfest". The later of which was the reason for their attendance at last nights Padres - Brewers game. You see last night the Padres held their inaugural beerfest, inviting 21 local breweries to the Park in the Park to dole out 16 oz. cups of goodness. It was a huge success with a great turnout, thanks in part to these 4 guys. The line to meet "Broken Lizard" and take a picture with them was as long, if not longer then the line to actually get some beer.

Not bad for a couple of guys that started their troupe back in 1990 at Colgate College. If you've seen their films before you either love them and quote lines all the time...or you think they're the stupidest things ever made. There is no in between.

Me, I like them.