Perfect

As a sportscaster I work a lot of night's and weekends. I'm not complaining because when I'm at "work" that usually means I'm watching a game or talking to athletes. Still, quotes or not, work is work and when I'm there I'm not at home. So when I do get a night at the homestead, I enjoy it.

Tonight that meant nothing more then enjoying a cocktail on the couch while watching a little TV with the wife. I know, it doesn't sound sexy, but really even something as simple as that is a great time when you don't get to do it all that often.

I'm not saying I want to quit my job and become a telemarketer tomorrow, I'm just saying that a picture like this is pretty close to perfection if you ask me.

So That's a Good Look

Just like the kid that had to wear head gear at night or the dog that has to endure the "cone of shame", I too now have a cross to bear. According to my chiropractor, and more recently my dance instructor, I have to wear head weights to help improve my posture.

Awesome!

The really terrible part is that it is working. Sure that sounds like good news but the reality of it is that just means I have to keep wearing them. Good thing I'm already married.

The Summer BBQ

It has been a strange summer in Southern California this year, in fact we've really only had a few weeks of "summer" weather. The rest of the time it's been overcast and cloudy. That's too bad for a number of reasons, one of which is that it has seriously cut into the summer BBQ season.

One of the reasons I want to finish my backyard project so much is because I love sitting around outside with a group of good friends enjoying a tasty meal. Dinner parties are always a good time...you've got good wine, good food, and good company. But for some reason it always seems a little better during summer when you're doing it around an old rickety table in the yard.

Luckily we were able to squeeze all those elements into a fantastic night last night...and we didn't even have to clean up afterward. Perfect.

Going Down?

I've never actually gotten stuck in an elevator before (I know, huge jinx) but I almost did on Saturday night with all of these people. For the record there were 13 of us plus a dog.

We were at my buddy Teevan's building in Little Italy, all heading up from the BBQ area in the elevator, and the thing wouldn't budge. Actually that's not completely true. We were all in the elevator with the doors closed and the thing just kept sort of bouncing. It would try to start, maybe go up about 6 inches and then slip back down all of a sudden. It did that about 5 times before somebody thought to open the doors.

At that point it was like somebody yelled "Fire!" in a crowded theater. 13 people and one dog all got the hell out of that elevator in about 5 secs flat. Then we waited a minute and half the people got right back in the elevator and rode it up 9 floors without incidence. The other half got in the other elevator.

Hey 9 floors is a long way to walk with dirty dishes.

A New Sherrif in Town

On Friday I sat down with Padres GM Jed Hoyer to talk about the Padres, the season they're having, the moves he has made so far this season, the ones that he still might make and what happened with the draft this year. The interview is supposed to be up on the Channel 4 website, but I just checked and it's not there. If we get our act together and figure out how to get it posted, I'll let you know.

One thing that is not in the interview however is how I feel about Jed...or rather how I feel about the job he's done this year. There is no doubt that former Padres GM Kevin Towers has his finger prints all over this ball club. That the Padres are currently 23 games over .500 has a lot to do with the players that Towers drafted or traded for during the last few years of his tenure with the Padres. Adrain Gonzalez, David Eckstein, Chase Headly, the entire Padres bullpen and most of the starters.

However, you can't over look what Jed has brought to the table. Jon Garland, Yorvit Torrealba, Jerry Hairston Jr. and Ryan Ludwick have absolutely helped this team earn the best record in the National League. With out those pickups it would be a very different season for the home town team.

So, because I didn't get a chance to say it in the interview, I'll say it here...nice job Jed.

And I'm Back

So I took Wednesday off to mourn the loss of my two boards and spent today getting back on track...after all there is still a good swell in the water for at least the next few days.

I took my 10 footer that I buckled to my buddy to Dan to fix, and I tackled the 9 foot performance longboard myself this morning. You might remember the blue board from my record setting session on Monday, I still can't believe how that all went down. Anyway, I decided to fix this one on my own and I have to say that I am happy with the results. Unfortunately I didn't have any blue pigment so the repair stands out a bit, but other then that it is perfect.

Actually perfect is a pretty big word to use, especially since I haven't taken it out in the water yet. But I'm planning on surfing tomorrow so I'll let you know how "perfect" it turned out.

I bet you can't wait.

Dinning Details

My friend Julie and her husband Robbie, better known as Chef Julie and Chef Robbie, own a personal chef services company. Actually they own a couple of businesses, but for our purposes here I'm only talking about the one...Dining Details.

One of their chefs has just recently been hired away to be a personal chef for a lady in San Francisco, meaning Chef Julie and Chef Robbie need to find a replacement. When you want to buy a new car you take it for a test drive, same thing when you want to hire a new chef. Luckily for Megan and I we got to tag along for this test drive.

It's a pretty cool set up actually, the prospective chef shows up at the house, cooks his best meal in Julie and Robbie's kitchen and then serves us...just like he would if he was working for "Dinning Details". The end result is that we get to hang with a fun couple that we hardly get to see and no one has to step away to check that the fish is staying moist. Instead we all got to sit on the patio and enjoy the food, wine and weather.

I can see why it's a successful business.

2 for Two

The picture speaks for itself...I don't have the words tonight. For the sake of clarification, that is my new board...and yes that is a huge crease across the middle of it.

Two days, two boards...I guess it's a good thing I don't own a third.

Unbelievable.

So You're Saying There's a Chance

You know that scene in "Dumb and Dumber" when Lloyd asks Mary Swanson what his chances are with her...and she ultimately concludes that they are 1 in a million. Well today I smashed those odds with my surfboard.

First a little back story.

I buckled my board a few weeks ago and had to get it fixed by my buddy Dan who shaped it in the first place. He fixed it up and got it back to me on Friday...as in 3 days ago. The thing was a good as new...probably better because it was stronger in the middle now. I surfed it Saturday night and had a blast so I decided to ride it this morning...and this morning I made history!

My very first wave of the day...I fell and lost my board. Which makes me wonder why someone as bad at surfing as me would surf without a leash...but that's a blog entry for another day. The point is, I lost my board and it washed up on the beach. As I was swimming in to get it, a huge bulldozer that was dragging the beach for seaweed ran it over with it's rake! Both of my side fins we're ripped off the board (actually snapping off in place) and I got a huge gouge along the fin box.

I don't know what's more remarkable, the fact that I am the first person in the history of surfing to have his board run over by a bulldozer or that the board wasn't completely destroyed. Either way I'm totally pissed...half with myself and half with the bulldozer driver.

Okay, maybe 60/40 in my favor. At least I made history though.

It's All for a Good Cause

The thing about charity work is that most of the time it is not glamorous. Most of the time it's gritty, down on your hands and knees, in the trenches kind of work that nobody ever hears about. Of course without that work nothing would ever happen.

Then there's the get dressed up in tight pants and funny shoes and go dancing kind of charity work.

Can you guess which kind I'm involved in?

The Malashock Thinks You Can Dance Charity fundraiser is this Oct. 9th at the North Park Theatre and tonight we went to a little mixer at John and Nina Malashock's house to learn more about the program and size up the competition.

So what did I learn? The Malashock dance foundation is all about providing opportunity to kids that would not normally have the chance to be exposed to dance and other performing arts...and Channel 8's Carlo Cecchetto is going to be tough to beat.

Twins

You know how sometimes people look like their pets? Maybe it's a bald grumpy-looking guy and his Bulldog...or maybe it's a snooty lady with a perm and her Poodle, the point is it's not unheard of to see. I however challenge you to find someone who looks more like a piece of food they are eating then me and my friend Chip.

The wifey and I and one her friends from back home went out to dinner at Bing Crosby's in the Fashion Vally mall last night, and that's where I met Chip. He was just hanging out with some buddies on a plate when I eyes met from across the table. I don't know if I believe in "love at first sight", but something clicked between the two of us. It was pretty special.

Unfortunately the friendship didn't end up lasting that long. Sure we had some good times in the beginning and we even posed for this picture, but we weren't destined to be together forever. Like Romeo and Juliet we were a pair of star crossed lovers, from different sides of the track, and in the end I ate him.

At least he tasted good.

Football Season?

Look, I'll just say it...I'm not ready for football to start just yet. Sure last year when the Padres where 25 games below .500 I couldn't wait for the Chargers to start up, but this year...no way.

Unfortunately the NFL doesn't really care what I think and they are moving ahead with their season. To that point, the Chargers prepared for their 2nd preseason game of the year by taking a trip to MCAS Miramar to do a walk through for all the Marines at the base. In all honesty, it's barely a walk through...it's way more about saying thank you to the troops. The Charger Girls show up, the players give autographs and everybody posses for pictures.

I was there covering it for Channel 4 and did an interview with Malcolm Floyd...who is in line to replace Vincent Jackson this season now that Jackson is sitting out. Floyd is a great kid and a great athlete, I recommend you take him in your fantasy draft if you can. BTW, if you want to see a portion of the interview I did with him today, you can watch it on the 4sd website...check it out.

Head Shots

From time to time in my business you have to get some updated head shots. It's kind of like being in elementary school, except instead of trying to look natural while sitting in a wicker chair with all your classmates staring at you, now you get to go outside and have complete strangers stare at you while trying to look natural.

My photographer today was my friend Shana. She works for the Padres doing everything from shooting press conferences, to pregame photos, to game action. She even shoots weddings on the side.

In other words she's really busy so I was stoked that she had some time to snap some pictures for me. Even better, they turned out great...at least my wife thinks so. That's all that really matters anyway, right?

The Beer Can Races

I don't know exactly how the Beer Can races came to be known by that name, but for as long as I can remember every Wednesday evening during the summer these sail boat races take place all across Southern California. They are casual, low key regatta's where the beer flows like wine and the competition is best described as "friendly". I'm sure that's at least part of how the races got their name.

Today was my first race of the season and while my wife Megan couldn't make it, Andre, Jenny and Cammy were able to join my neighbor Pat and I on his boat. Cammy is out visiting from NYC and actually sailed with us once last year in a beer can race. We came in last that time. This year she was determined to help get us into first place. Turns out that determination and $5 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbucks.

But come on, on a day like today finishing first isn't really the goal. It's more about getting out on the water, feeling the cool breeze in your hair and enjoying a beer or two with some quality people, right?

Yeah I'm not buying it either...we suck.

I'm a Big Fan

I'm not one to believe that "the government" in out there trying to control our lives by sustaining a campaign of fear on TV and in the news. Maybe it's because I work in that industry and I just understand that news directors want to appeal to the lowest common denominator and that's the reason they populate the evening news with death and destruction. It's not because some government official wearing a black suit and RayBan's told them to.

I guess the point is, I do believe in Global Warming and I do not subscribe to the theory that greenhouse gases are just something the government made up to scare us. That said, it's been a very mild summer in San Diego this year and luckily we haven't had to us our ceiling fans much this year. I say luckily because as you may remember, I broke the one in our bedroom a few weeks ago. Well just in time for our mini heat wave, the replacement blades came in and we are officially back in business.

Even better news, I'm not aloud to make the bed anymore.

It Takes Two

I'm not afraid to say that I really enjoy watching "Dancing with the Stars". For me that show is all about being a performer. It's people out of there comfort zone being asked to be entertaining in front of a live studio audience and millions more at home watching on TV. It's about turning "it" on under extreme pressure and making it all look natural.

Truth be told I also happen to think the dances are cool. So when I was asked to take part in a charity fundraiser that was modeled after "Dancing with the Stars", I literally did a kick-ball-change and then jumped for joy.

Just like the ABC show, celebrities (that's' me) are paired with profession dancers (my partner's name is Shanna Timms) and we will perform live at the North Park Theater on Oct. 9. I get 10 one-hour lessons with my partner and then we strut our stuff on the dance floor. Because I had jury duty last week and couldn't rehearse, today we had a 2 hour lesson...technically numbers 2 & 3.

There is no doubt I have a long way to go before I master our Tango...but I've got the dip down. Now I just have to make it look natural.

Nice Organ

As you know, Sunday is sports day and today was no different. Two softball games in the morning (we split) and a soccer game tonight (we won). In between the two Megan and I grabbed some lunch at this amazing little deli in Hillcrest and then cruised to Balboa Park to walk it off.

When I was kid my mom took me to Balboa Park all the time, so when I go back there now I can't help but think about those days with a smile on my face. It's also makes it really fun for me to go there with Megan because I feel like I get to share a part of my childhood with her. I know that sounds very "Keanu Reeves in 'The Lake House'" but it's true. There is something cool about getting share those memories with your wife.

Anyway, the other thing I love about Balboa Park is that there are some many great photos waiting to be taken. Seemingly everywhere you look there is ample opportunity to snap a great picture. I'm not saying that this one is a "great" picture...but it is interesting. I didn't have my camera with me so I took this with Megan's iPhone using the Hipstamatic app and I really like how it turned out.

For those that are curious that's the Spreckels Organ Pavilion at the Park that first opened in 1914 for the Panama-California Exposition.

Daycation

Just like Heidi and Spencer, my wife Megan and I strutted our stuff on the Laguna Beach boardwalk this weekend. Though instead of a camera crew following us around while we acted like a couple of douches, I had to ask some nice lady to take our picture and we were generally pretty polite...but other then that it was exactly like "The Hills".

Even though Laguna Beach is just slightly more then an hours drive from San Diego, I hadn't really ever been there before and this was definitely Megan's first trip. We loved it!

Yeah it's a tourist trap and sure the traffic and parking were tough, but once you start walking around it's great. There are a ton of good little restaurants and fun little shops. To tell you the truth it reminded me a lot of my home town of Coronado. Maybe that's why we both liked it so much. It also didn't hurt that we got a great recommendation from our chiropractors Dr. Ron and Dr. Mary on a place to eat either.

All in all it was great day and we even got some sunshine. Perfect.

Any Port in a Storm

I had to drive up to LA today for a meeting. It look me about 2 hours and 15 minutes on the way up in the morning. This afternoon it took me more then 4 hours to get home.

Lame.

Not only is 4+ hours of bumper-to-bumper Friday traffic on the 405 lame, it's physically challenging...at least for a persons bladder. After about hour 3 I finally had to pull over in Carson at this Jack in the Box. It wasn't the cleanest bathroom I had ever been in, but it certainly wasn't the dirtiest. And let's be honest at that point, none of us are all that picky.

Guilty

So my first experience as a juror is now officially complete, and boy did I learn a lot.

I learned a lot about the law...a lot about how the law is interpreted...a lot about how perception works and a lot about group dynamics. But the number one thing I learned was that after you serve as a juror they give you a "Certificate of Appreciation". For me that was easily the most awkward part. I don't know but it just seemed weird to me to have the bailiff handing certificates out right in front of everybody in the middle of the court room, including the guy that we had just found guilty of Spousal Battery.

Don't get me wrong I was happy to perform my civic duty and I am not going to have any trouble sleeping tonight after handing down our verdict, I'm just saying the certificate probably isn't going on the wall.

That's all.

It's All Relative

I know I'm not going to win any "boy-did-I-work-hard-today" contests, but that's just because I know that there are jobs out there where people really do have to work hard. Like my Dad...well not anymore. He's retired and living the good life these days but he was a guy that could hold his own in a "hard work" contest.

However today, relatively speaking,was a big one for me.

Report to jury duty and sit in court from 9 until noon. Then on our lunch recess I had to run over to PETCO Park and shoot a 30 minute show for the Padres. On the way back to court, grab a burrito and wash it down with some water. 1:30 - 4:30 back in court to do my civic duty. Once court was recessed for the today, I jumped in my car and raced back to PETCO so I could host the Pregame show. Watch the game, host the Postgame show and afterward make some of the final tweaks for Sam the Cooking Guy's 100th episode. Leave the office just after midnight, get home and catch up on all my emails and unopened mail. Go to bed at 2 AM.

So what does any of that have to do with today's picture? It's simple, had I not been so tired tonight I might have come up with something a little more "put together". As it is, I think this one is a fair representation of the days activities.

It's Official

Though I am not aloud to talk about it too much, my status as "prospective juror #2" has officially changed to "Juror #1". For the first time in my life I am serving on a jury.

I feel like I should have a special belt with a grappling hook on it or something. At the very least a cape with a giant "C" stitched on it...you know, for "Civic Man".

Of course if you think I'm content to just sit back and rest on my laurels as "Juror #1", then you've got another thing coming. I'm going after the position of jury foreman. I figure a grass roots internet campaign coupled with some witty posters in the deliberation room ought to seal the deal for me.

Anyone want to be my campaign manager?

The Crap Shoot

Maybe you don't consider yourself a gambler. Maybe Vegas isn't really your town. Perhaps games of chance don't really float your boat.

That doesn't mean you don't gamble. In fact, I know you gamble. We all do...we have to, it's the law.

Today I had jury duty and for the first time ever I got called to report to a courtroom. Depending on your disposition, I either won or lost my gamble today. Legally I'm not really sure if I'm allowed to tell you whether or not I got chosen to serve on the jury...so let's just say I have to report to the county court house tomorrow at 8:55.

Of course the key to gambling is never wager more then you can afford to lose, and when it comes to jury duty the currency is time. Lucky, or unlucky for me (again depending on your disposition), I've got plenty of credit at the Justice Casino.

Good News, Bad News

The good news is I got some work done in the backyard today.

The bad news is, it wasn't my backyard.

Last summer my neighbor Pat came up with this idea to get a handful of neighborhood guys to form a work crew. The idea was simple, get 5 guys together and have everyone commit to work on everyone else's house. Each month or so we would all get together and tackle a big project at one of the other guy's places. Whoever was hosting would make sure all the supplies were there and would keep the fridge well stocked with beer and burgers. It's a very old school neighborly thing to do.

So today we did some interior panting and installed some sprinklers for the backyard. Never mind the fact that there were just 3 of us at the work party today (and I didn't show up until afternoon), I still think it's a good idea. And I'm not just saying that because I have a huge backyard project on my hands either.

Nice Little Saturday

With the wife headed to Sin City on a quick one night girls trip, that left me with a Saturday to fill...and between you and me, I think I did a pretty good job.

I was up early for tennis at 7:20 (which is about an hour and half before I normally wake up on a workday, let alone the weekend), then golf at noon, work at 5 and finally I met up with a couple of buddies for a drink in Little Italy. It wasn't Home Depot and maybe Bed, Bath & Beyond if there's time, but still I thought it was a nice little Saturday.

The highlight however was golf with my buddies Matt and Kevin. Not so much because of the golf, and certainly not because of the green fee, but more because of the company. The three of us had an absolute blast! It had been a long time since we all hung out and days like today make me wonder why we don't do it more often.

The answer of course is because sometimes life just gets in the way. It's not a bad thing, it's just the way it goes. Everybody is busy. The challenge is not letting it go too long in between hangs, because the tendency is not to bother with it if it has been a couple of months. Next thing you know it's 6 months, and then a year, then who knows.

I guess what I'm saying is, why don't you call that buddy you haven't seen for a few months and make plans to grab some lunch...or better yet play some golf. Just be sure to bring a bunch of money for the green fees.

A Man of My Word

For those of you that read the blog regularly, you know why I'm rocking the white suit. For those that don't, you can catch up on some reading here.

Regardless, tonight was the night I made good on my promise to embarrass myself on Postgame...usually I just do it out of habit. The response tonight online was pretty good and even though the Padres didn't win the game, I like to think we kept at least a few viewers around because of the suit.

For everyone that took part in #WhiteSuitWeisbarth on Twitter, thank you. For everyone that wants to know what I'm going to wear if the Padres end up winning the National League West, don't hold your breathe for the white suit.

Hairspray

A few months ago my Mom had the idea that we should all try to get together as a family at least once a month. It could be dinner at a restaurant, game night at home or an evening out...it really didn't matter what we decided on, the point was for us to get together.

Tonight that meant going to see Hairspray at the Lyceum Theatre at Horton Plaza, and let me tell you it was excellent! Admittedly I am a musical kind of guy and I realize the theatre isn't for everyone, but for me there's nothing better then seeing a live show.

So much of what we watch for entertainment these days is defused through a television set or a movie screen and there is no doubt in my mind that we as an audience lose a little bit of the performance in translation. That's why people love watching live music so much, it's just easier to connect to the performance when it's happening right there in front of you. It's the same thing with theatre for me.

I love that feeling! In fact I have a tendency to get a bit carried after seeing a good show. Luckily for the family tonight that didn't mean me doing my best Fred Astaire impression, instead I just posed as Tracy Turnblad.

What Are You Nodding At?!

Everybody collects something, my co-worker (we'll call him Producer Ned) collects bobble heads. I didn't count all of them but as you can see he has a pretty good cache built up. Part of the reason is that he travels with the Padres and is at a lot of the different stadiums on the nights they give away the bobble heads. Plus, once you have around 10 other people start giving you theirs...let's be honest, it's not like they want them.

The reason this is my "picture of the day" is because this evening after the postgame show I had to stay late to work on another project. That meant I was the only person in the building when the clock struck midnight and I'll be damned if those bobble heads didn't start to get a little creepy. One or two are fine, in fact I could probably fight off as many as five at a time, but if for some reason all those guys became possessed at the same time I wouldn't stand a chance.

So just to be safe I took a picture of them all to steal there souls. Probably the best decision I've ever made.

Old Glory

I'm probably not the most patriotic person around...what am I saying, of course I'm not the most patriotic, but I'm pretty sure I hated the Russians just as much as anyone else after watching "Red Dawn" as a child.

The point is, regardless of where I fall on the great patriotic spectrum I really like flying the American Flag everyday at my house, and I'm not sure why. Obviously (and yeah I'm probably a little bias) it's a great looking flag, but I also like what it stands for...our country. I know that's not profound or anything, and I realize that our country is pretty screwed up in places, but we're also pretty good in a lot of places too.

Whatever, it's not a political blog, I'm just saying I like flying the flag at my place. Oh yeah, I really like Russians now too...privet.

The Interview

As you may or may not remember, a few weeks ago I was at Sam the Cooking Guy's house shooting some behind the scenes footage for his 100th episode. Well today was the big "sit down" interview for that momentous show and I'm happy to say it went very well.

In fact the only bad thing is we talked for about 3 hours and now I have to cut it down to 23 minutes in the next 4 days...it's not going to be easy. We covered everything from how Sam Zien became the "Cooking Guy", to how and why the show is shot with just one camera, to what's on the horizon for Sam. We talked to his wife Kelly, the producer Michelle and his camera operator/editor Shannon.

It's safe to say we left no stone unturned. If you're a fan of Sam or if you have never even seen his show, I promise you this will be "don't miss TV". If you couldn't tell, I'm pretty excited...now I just have to log all those tapes.

Super.

That's More Like It

I spent most of the day today rebuilding some outdoor shelves for my neighbor Richard. I had to take them down when I replaced our fence, so now that the fence is up, time to put the shelves back.

You might wonder what that has to do with this gorgeous sunset. The answer...not a damn thing!

As shocking as this might sound, a picture of me fixing outdoor shelves really isn't all that exciting. Not that a sunset is more thrilling then say jumping out of a plane, but it's definitely a better picture then the shelves. Besides, in San Diego it has been an overcast summer and we really haven't had to many sunsets like this, so I took advantage.

Don't worry I've only scratched the surface as far as my backyard project is concerned...there will be plenty of time to see me with my tool belt on.

Wine Steals

Last night Megan and I met some friends out at Wine Steals in Pt. Loma for a sunset glass of wine and a little food. The grub was great, the wine was delicious and you can see for yourself how nice the sunset was.

The funny part is, I was the only guy in our group. Don't get me wrong, I have no problem hanging with the girls, but we had more "relationship" talk then an episode of Dr. Phil last night. You get 6 girls, 3 bottles of wine and a warm summer evening all together at the same time and it's like a perfect storm of estrogen.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing, it's just different from when a group of guys gets together, that's all.

Now can someone get me a glass of whiskey and punch me in the face?

And the Crowd Goes Wild

When Scan and I do the pre-game show at PETCO Park, we don't usually have an audience. However, on occasion, we do have some people visit us on the set...and it's great. After talking into a camera lens day after day it's nice to have someone to there to gauge the reaction to what we are doing.

Of course that can backfire too.

Every once in awhile you can look up and start to get the sense that you might be "losing" your audience. At least this way we know. Right after I took this shot of Friday I took my shirt off and did the rest of the show bare-chested.

Hey I had to do something to get them back.