The Big Apple

Have I mentioned before that I have a pretty cool job? If not, let me say this...I have a pretty cool job.

For the next 2 days I am in New York City visiting my buddy Josh Duhamel to talk about his new movie "Life as we Know It". The details of exactly why I am here are long and boring but suffice to say it's a pretty good gig. BTW, I got to see the movie tonight and I give it a thumbs up. It's definitely a chick-flick, but as long as you know that going I think you'll enjoy it. I did.

Happy Birthday Guys

A few weeks ago my little sister Debra asked me if I could help her with a gift for her boyfriend Gary's birthday. See Gary has turned into a big Padre fan this year, and he and Debra have gone to a bunch of games. What Debby wanted was something different for Gary's b-day...something special. The thing is Debra just had a birthday too so I wanted to do something nice for her as well.

What we came up with was a chance to get down on the field for batting practice along with a couple good seats for the game once the real action started. If you can ignore the fact that the Padres lost (again) while the two teams ahead of them won (again),then today was perfect. We got pictures in the dugout, a couple of autographs from the manager and the closer and hopefully a memorable birthday for both.

The cool thing is, it's a birthday that I'm going to remember for a long time too.

Playoff Push?

I've said it before but I will say it again, I go to baseball games for free. Actually that's not even true...I get paid to go to baseball games.

It is my job.

So I certainly can't criticize people for not spending their hard earned money to go to a baseball game. Tickets, parking, a hotdog, a drink...even if it's just you that stuff adds up, and if you're paying for a couple of people it can get expensive real quick.

All that said I am still surprised that the Padres only drew 22,739 last night. They began the evening a half game behind the Giants in the division and a half up on the Braves in the wild card race...and they were playing the Cubs who always draw well.

Must be the great TV coverage that's keeping everybody at home.

Tough Day on the Court/Field/Pitch

Talking about talking it on the chin, today was not a good sports day for me.

First I got skunked 3-0 at tennis this morning. Then the Padres lost to the Reds 12-2, and in the process fell out of first place. Then the Chargers forgot how to hang on to the ball while their special teams players forgot how to tackle and lost to the Seahawks. Then to round it out we lost our soccer game tonight 8-7.

Good thing we don't have a dog...he probably would have run away.

Moving Day

The only thing worse then moving is having to ask your co-workers to help you with said move...and the only thing worse then both of those combined is being the co-worker that gets asked. All that said, I got off pretty easily in this move.

Sure it was one of the hottest days of the year, and sure my head was a little foggy from the night before but there was plenty of help and really not that much to do...and we had Big John. For those that know him, you know that he's the kind of guy that gets things done and makes sh!t happen. If you didn't know, well now you do.

If you need help moving, he'll bring his truck. If somethings broken, he'll bring his tools and fix it. If you're looking for a tile-guy, he'll introduce you to his buddy that does great work. Shoot, he even let me use his camera for my Pic of the Day because I forgot mine.

Everybody should have a Big John in their life, lucky for all of us we have the actual Big John.

Just Doing My Part

For the second year in a row I took part in the United Cerebral Palsy celebrity waiter event in Coronado, and let me tell you charity work has never been more rewarding. Of course I am talking about the good work we do for UCP of San Diego...but there are at least two other perks that help put a smile on my face.

At this event there are always two types of celebrities. There are the actually "I've been on national TV and people know who I am" type celebrities, and then there are people like me. Sometimes people like me get a kick out of posing for a picture with people like them. Case in point, my picture for today.

The blond on the left is an actress from "The Young and the Restless", and admittedly I had no idea who she was. The brunette on the other hand was strangely familiar...but I couldn't quite place her at first. Then it hit me all of a sudden...it's Heidi from Tool Time. Remember the Tim Allen show "Home Improvement"...that's the girl who replaced Pam Anderson. Her real name is Debbe Dunning and apparently she lives her in San Diego, and she couldn't be nicer.

She's also a hell of a waitress...seriously. She worked harder then anybody at that event clearing plates and making sure everybody had enough creme brulee. I guess it makes sense, there's not an actor or actress in all of Hollywood that doesn't know their way around a restaurant.

Birthday Jam

My little sister turns 26 on Monday...so naturally we celebrated her birthday on Thursday. Sometimes that's just how the schedules work out, it certainly was this year. If you think about it though it's actually a pretty good deal, celebrating your birthday early. You know you're still going to get a ton of birthday wishes on your actually birthday, so starting early is great way to prolong the celebration. At least that's always been my theory.

This year we went to dinner at Il Fronaio in Coronado and then headed home for some desert and a jam session. Of course "jam session" might be too strong of a phrase...caterwauling would be better. To be fair my Dad is pretty good on the guitar...my sister and I, not so much. When you only know a handful of cords and you sing like an alley cat it doesn't make for the sweetest sounding session.

But it doesn't make it any less fun either.

Restaurant Week

Restaurant week is a beautiful thing. For those that don't know what it is...shame on you. Tons of restaurants all over San Diego put together a fixed menu (usually about 3 courses with a few choices in each course) for a fixed price and then sit back and watch the patrons roll in. It's a great excuse to get outside your "restaurant" box and try something new.

For the Postgame crew that meant Buonissimo 2 in Hillcrest. A great little Italian place with a cool vibe and good food...and the perfect place for a "family style" dinner. I had the caprese, the pasta and a connolo for desert...along with my fair share of bread and oil. I call it the "Carbo Load" diet.

T-minus 17 Days and Counting

We are a little over two and half weeks away from my ballroom dancing debut and things are starting to heat up...and yes I mean that both literally and figuratively. As you can no doubt see from the picture above I am literally sweating through my shirt. What you can't see is that our routine is starting to sizzle as well. Okay maybe not sizzle just yet...but we are definitely simmering.

Today we had my co-worker Jay Conner out to rehearsal to shoot a preview story about the event...which for those of you who are interested is on Oct. 9th. I bet you can guess how many days away that is.

Jay wasn't the only guest today however, we also had Louis McKay (who owns the dance studio where we rehears) on hand. He was there to help make me look like a man on the dance floor, which as you can imagine was something I was quite interested in. Believe it or not there is fine line between theatrical and flamboyant on the hardwood. To put it another way, it's all about staying on the right side of the manly/not manly continuum.

Hopefully after today my dancing shoes are planted firmly on the Bear Grylls side of that line.

Weisbarth Family Recipe

Like most guys, for a long time the only meal I knew how to make was spaghetti. Then Sam the Cooking Guy came along and now I feel like I can make almost anything, but I still like to get back to my roots every once in awhile.

Of course, like any good family recipe I've added my own touches to the Weisbarth Famous Spaghetti plate over the years. Instead of ground beef, I use ground turkey...I replaced the standard noodles with whole wheat spaghetti...and the cilantro on top definitely didn't come from the old country.

So with the Padres off last night and a full schedule of prime time TV on the books, the wife and I enjoyed a nice dinner and a relaxing evening on the couch. Pretty nice start to the work week if I don't say so myself...I mean if you actually worked on Monday.

Suckers.

Chargers Home Opener

Today marked the official beginning of my 10th year covering the Chargers for Channel 4. It also marked the first time in a decade that I got to sit in the front row of the press box at Qualcomm Stadium. Looks like Channel 4 is moving up in the world.

Then again we did get down graded from 2 seats to 1 and I had to park in the auxiliary media lot instead of the fancy main lot...but it was worth it. The Chargers survived a sloppy first half and ended up routing the Jacksonville Jaguars 38-13, and I got to see it all. That last part is of special note considering that the game was blacked out in San Diego for the first time in nearly 6 years. Unfortunately we might see that happen a few more times this season because the simple fact is that it's expensive to go to an NFL game, and people are cutting back on certain luxury items.

Items like $80 football tickets...and I can't say that I blame them. At least you'll get to watch the road games on TV.

Cheater 5

Call me an old soul but I love to longboard. To me the most beautiful thing you can do on a wave is bottom turn and then walk to the nose. Like I said I guess I'm an old soul.

Saturday morning in Coronado was one of those days when the swell, the tide and the wind all cooperated with one another, and the end result was a bunch of really fun little longboard waves. Even better, my buddy John McCauley from OrangeAndPark.com joined us in the lineup with his new water housing for his D90.

John managed to get a bunch of really cool shots including this one of me trying my darnedest to hang 10. So I only got 5 out there, that's pretty good for a tall lanky guy.

Sample the Sushi

After two nights downtown the thought of hitting up Hip-Hop Sushi was just too much for us. So if you can't go to the party, then bring the party to you...or at least the sushi.

Sure the presentation may not have been as nice but the food was just as good and the music was definitely...how should I put this...softer. I guess you can take the couple out of the suburbs but you can't take the suburbs out of the couple.

Kampai.

Happy 6th Birthday

Two nights in a row for the Weisbarth's, how about that!?!? Nothing like taking a break from work (and the suburbs) to rub elbows with some of San Diego's elite.

Last night it was the DSC Welcome Back Party at Donovan's Circle of 5ths...tonight it was Riviera Magazines 6th anniversary party. What does all that mean for me...awesome finger food and free drinks. Score!

At the Riviera party there was also a fashion show featuring Neiman Marcus' fall line. Now I'll be the first to admit that I don't frequent the fashion show circuit. As it turns out, I'm not all that fashionable either, so I am clearly not the target audience when it comes to those sorts of things. But man, I don't get it at all. Not even a little.

First off, why do the clothes have to be so ridiculous? Would it kill someone to have a fashion show with wearable cloths? Apparently the answer is yes.

Secondly, note to runway model: Would you please just "F"ing smile!!!! I understand that you haven't eaten in a week so your probably a little grumpy, but how about putting on a happy face for the 20 seconds you're in front of the crowd.

Like I said, I'm not the target audience, so whatever. The event was awesome and Megan and I had a blast...even if the models didn't.

Love Your Show

Admittedly I'm not a morning person. It's not like I'm a grouch when I wake up, it's just that I'm more of a night owl and I like to sleep in a bit. That means I usually miss the first couple of hours of The DSC on Jack FM...but I get last two.

Now if you don't live in San Diego or haven't heard the DSC before, you're probably thinking to yourself, "What's the big deal? It's just a morning talk radio show." I get that, I mean it's not like we're teenage girls and we missed the first two hours of a Justin Beiber concert.

No, it's way more important then that. Without getting all touchy-feely and mushy about it, the DSC quite simply puts on the best radio show I've ever listened to...and I'm not the only one that thinks that. They are the top rated show in the morning and they just pulled the entire station to number one in the market...and they do it by following one simple rule.

They are honest and real.

I told you it was a simple rule...it's just not that simple to pull off. They let you in...all the way in...and you feel like you really know them. Which, in a way, you do...and it's great! The hard part is remembering that just because you know the intimate details of their life doesn't mean they know you like that.

Luckily they get that a lot, so busting up four different conversation to try and get a picture with the group is really a lot less awkward then you might think.

Being married to hot blond doesn't hurt the situation either.

VUUUUUUMMMMMM

Is there anything more annoying then the sound of those "F"ing vuvuzela horns?!?!

Sing a song, light off a flare, get in a fight...I don't care, just stop blowing those damn horns. I'd rather listen to someone scratching their nails on a chalk board while trying to sleep with sand in my bed then have to endure 90 minutes of that constant droning. You want the American public to embrace soccer...then get ride of the vuvuzela horns. Even from 300 yards away 4 stories in the air the sound was brutal.

That said, I still think it was cool to see soccer in downtown San Diego...and I'm still not convinced the timing was great.

iPhone...iDon't think so

So I got a new phone last week and as you can tell from the picture, it looks like an iPhone but that little Verizon symbol at the top let's you know that it's not. It's actually Verizon's newest Android based phone, the Samsung Fascinate.

Stupid name but a good phone...at least so far.

I've literally had it less then a week and am still trying to figure out all the bells and whistles, but so far I've only been able to find one major discrepancy between the iPhone and my Android. My phone hasn't dropped a single call yet.

Don't get me wrong, that's not a dig on the iPhone. I love Apple and I love all the products that they continue to roll out. In fact I'm typing this on my MacBook Pro...so I'm cool with Apple. I am not cool with AT&T. Nothing personal, I just think there service and coverage suck.

My wife has an iPhone. She loves the phone...hates the service. That seems to be the battle cry of just about every iPhone user that I know. That's why I went with the Android, because at the most basic level I still believe its important for my phone to work as a phone.

The bar code scanner is pretty cool though.

Sunday Brunch

Have there ever been two words more perfectly suited for each other then "Sunday" and "Brunch"?

I love breakfast food. I love eggs, I love pancakes, I love hash browns and you know I love bacon...but the reality of the situation is that I end up eating a bowl of granola cereal for breakfast 99 times out of 100.

Not this Sunday, this Sunday Megan and I met some friends for brunch at Miguel's in Point Loma and it was everything I hoped it would be. Talk about a way to kick off the NFL season, what's better then eggs benedict (Miguel's style) and free bottomless mimosa's?

Trick question because nothing beats that.

Sure I was one of only two guys at brunch and the conversation turned a little "girl-talkie" at times, but I can put up with dishing the dirt on Heidi Montag for some homefries and champagne any day.

9/11

September 11th will always be a weird date for me. Not because I knew anybody that died that day in NYC or at the Pentagon or on United Flight 93, but because for any American that is old enough to remember what that day was like in 2001, you know that was the day when everything changed.

So here we are 9 years later, still fighting a conventional war in 2 countries overseas and constantly battling an enemy in our own country that we can't easily identify...and I went to a baseball game. The thing is, I don't feel guilty about it, it just felt a little weird...but only a little.

In a lot of ways going to a baseball game is the perfect thing to do on 9/11. Not only is baseball synonymous with America but it also played a big part in helping our country move forward in the wake of those terrible events nearly a decade ago. Who can forget the World Series that year? Even though the Yankees eventually lost to the Diamondbacks in 7 games...New York as a city won that year. America won that year. Baseball helped a lot of people take that first step towards recovery...towards normalcy. All the while urging people never to forget, but reminding them that we had to move forward.

So now that I think about, I don't fell weird about going to baseball game on September 11th at all. In fact, I think I just made plans for next year.

BK's Wedding

A good buddy of mine (and one of the most talented people I know) got married on Friday on the 15th floor of Diamond View Towers overlooking PETCO Park. It's a great venue and the wedding was beautiful but what really makes an event like that for me is the people...and we had a good group.

First off, both the bride and the groom had awesome families (except for the thing about them all being huge Giants fans) which always makes a wedding better. Secondly, Sam the Cooking Guy was the wedding officiant...which also always makes a wedding better. The best part however was what Brian and Brook did for the ceremony. It sounds simple, and possibly not all that cool, but they told the story of how this wedding came to be...from first meeting to proposal, and they did it in their words. The thing is, the give and take between them and the comedic timing of the story was perfect. Then you throw in all the love that was surrounding, add in a pinch of booze and what you've got is one kick-ass wedding.

Except for all the Giants fans I mean.

Are You Ready for some Football?

So with the NFL season officially upon us Channel 4 slowly starts the transition from "The Padres station" to "The Padres and the rest of the San Diego Sports teams station". Hopefully someone in marketing can come up with a succinct then that...but you get the picture.

With the Chargers opening on the road on national television against the Chiefs, I headed out to Chargers Park to talk to our Bolts expert and Union-Tribune beat writer Kevin Acee (he's the one on the end). Usually by this time of the year I am dying for the Chargers to start but this year I'm not quite ready yet. I'm still really into the Padres and really hoping they can hang on and take this division...though that is looking scarier everyday.

That said, I'm sure come Monday Night I'll be dividing my attention between the Padres and Chargers games pretty equally...maybe even 60/40 Bolts.

You Never Know

One of the best things about being able to call PETCO Park your office is that you never know who you're going to run into at work. For instance today, halfway through our pregame show I see my old friend Bob Kennedy cruising up to the set out of the corner of my eye.

I first met Bob back in 2002 when I was a rookie on the Padres Pregame show. I did a story on him that year because Bob is an SDSU baseball Hall of Fame member from his time playing with the Aztecs back in the 40's. The thing is...that's not the only hall of fame he is a member of. He's also a member of the Senior Softball Hall of Fame and still plays ball twice a week to this day...2 weeks before his 88th birthday.

88 years old?!?!? Are you kidding me? I hope I move as well as he does when I'm 68! Aside from being a great athlete Bob truly is a wonderful man. Humble and kind and seemingly never without a smile on his face. He totally made my day today.

I love my office!

ChivaClasico

By now most Padres fans know that the club will be hosting a soccer match between Chivas USA and Chivas Guadalajara at PETCO Park in exactly one week. Somewhat understandably a few of the players (Heath Bell in particular) are concerned with what turning a baseball diamond into a soccer pitch will do to the playing surface when it's time to get back to baseball.

In fact Bell called the plan "asinine" and went on tell the San Diego Union Tribune, “They’re not worried about the field looking good. They’re just trying to make a profit. Very interesting."

The Padres brass contend that their grounds crew, considered by some to be the best in the game, will have ample time (10 days) and every resource that they need to turn the field back into a pristine playing surface for the Padres playoff push.

The truth might lay somewhere in between. I don't know, I'm not a groundskeeper...I just play one on TV.

What I do know is that soccer is good for San Diego, and while I can't say I agree with the timing, I do like the concept. Sure I'm a soccer fan so of course I like the idea of watching some high quality soccer being played right in my own backyard, but I also think it is a good opportunity to draw some fans from south of the border to PETCO Park. Ultimately that could mean more dollars for the Padres and more flexibility for the team on the field in the future.

That said, if a bad hop costs the Padres the pennant in late September, none of that future flexibility with matter.

Same Time Tomorrow?

So after dropping 10 straight contests, in a row, consecutively...the Padres were finally able to right the ship tonight with a gutsy-everybody-contributes type win. They used 7 different pitchers, got RBI's from Nick Hundley (2), Will Venable (1) and David Eckstien (1), and had a couple of great defensive plays from Miguel Tejada and Mike Adams.

But when I say gutsy-everybody-contributes type win, I mean everybody...even you. I don't know what you did tonight between 7:05 and 10:07, but please to it again on Tuesday. Baseball is a superstitious game and whether or not what you did tonight really had any baring at all on the outcome of the game is not for me to say...but I do know that doing the same thing tomorrow certainly isn't going to hurt!

If you grilled tonight then you better get to the store and buy more charcoal for tomorrow. If you drank a Mickey's 40 tonight, then call up Snoop Dog and get ready to do it again tomorrow. And if you were like my friend Zayna and her Dad and my dance partner Shanna and her Dad and boyfriend then it looks like you've got plans for tomorrow night too.

Great win...now let's do it 9 more straight times, in a row, consecutively.

C.I.T.P.

One of the great "small town" traditions in Coronado in the summer concert in the park series. I have no idea when it all first started but I do know it goes back to at least the late 70's because that's when I started going as a kid.

Back then, there was no gazebo in the middle for the band to set up on and half of the park was a water-fight war zone with water weenies and water balloons flying everywhere. Somewhere between then and now the wine-totting parents won out (thank goodness) and the water fights disappeared, but there is still plenty for the kids to do. For that matter, there is still plenty for the adults to do as well...though most of it centers around wine and conversation.

Regardless of the activities however, C.I.T.P. has always been about the same thing...community.

Bar Crawl

So with the wifey in Vegas for a Badger reunion and the Padres game on Fox...that left my Saturday wide open for a little day drinking. Okay, a lot of day drinking.

My friend Megan Kennedy (the same girl who inspired this blog) told me about a bar crawl downtown on Saturday that was organized by The Local...so I decided to tag along. Was it a good decision...I think the picture answers that question.

Anytime you've got a dollar bill pasted to your forehead with a penguin dancing on a stripper pole at 3:30 in the afternoon...yeah, it's a good time.

Manager of the Year?

I realize that after 8 straight loses my timing might be a little off but that doesn't change the fact that I believe Buddy Black is a strong candidate for N.L. Manager of the Year. At the very least he has to be in the conversation...he's done way too much with way too little not to be.

Let's not forget that the Padres are leading the National League West with a team payroll that is right at the bottom of the Majors. He's also helped lead this team to 7 straight months of winning baseball...no other team in the National League has done that and the Yankees are the only other team in baseball to equal that feat. Buddy gets more out of his players then any manager I've seen in my nearly ten years of covering Major League baseball.

The reason...he has a great attitude. He's positive, encouraging and a likable guy...but when he has to be he can lay down the law. The key is he knows how to walk that tight rope.

Sure I'm biased, but the numbers speak for themselves. Too bad I don't get a vote.

Fink

I owe Jenny Cavnar one.

I say that because she was the one who introduced me to Sarah Fink. They both went to Colorado State together (apparently neither of them was smart enough to get into a University...but I hear state schools are good too) and both eventually ended up in San Diego.

A few months ago one of our executive assistants (read secretary) went on maternity leave and lucky for us, Fink was available to step in a fill her spot. Well today was her last day, so after work a couple of us got together for a drink to say farewell. We're happy to have Danielle back but Sarah will definitely be missed.

Lucky for me we have a mutual friend.

Stucco Day

When you think about it, there aren't many days in your life after the age of 18 when you can say you did something that you had never done before...and it's not because you run out of novel adventures. No, I think it speaks more to the fact that we are creatures of habit, at least most of us are.

Well I'm happy to say that today I stuccoed for the very first time. Sure it's not as sexy as hang gliding or running with the bulls, but what do you want from me, it's Wednesday.

The good news is I got better at it as I went along. Don't get me wrong, there aren't any stucco contractors out there worrying about their job security, but I did improve. The bad news is I didn't improve enough to make the job look very nice.

At least I'm the only one that has to see it.