I Love Drew Brees

Sure he's the Super Bowl MVP and everybody "loves" Drew Brees these days, but mine is not a new infatuation. My man-crush on Drew was solidified back in 2004 when he was a member of the San Diego Chargers.

First some background.

Drew Brees had a terrible season in 2003. It wasn't all his fault, but as always, the quarterback gets too much blame for a loss and too much credit for a win. The point is, the media hammered him that season and Drew handled it like a true professional. He always answered every question and never declined an interview request.

In 2004, Drew put together a Pro-Bowl season. All of a sudden, everyone that was calling for Drew's head on a platter was praising him. It was the perfect opportunity for him to say I told you so. To lash out at all the people that said so many mean things about him the season before...but he didn't. He just answered the questions he was asked and continued to go about his Pro-Bowl business.

That solidified it for me. Not only was he a stand-up guy in the face of adversity, he resisted the urge to take shots at the very people that took shots at him the season before.

Today, 6 and half years later, I got to sit down with him for a one on one interview and was so happy to see that he hadn't changed a bit. He was so friendly and so accommodating, it was just an absolute pleasure to talk to him. To me he is the definition of a "Pro's Pro".

So yeah, I love Drew Brees.

Opening Day 2010

For baseball fans Opening Day is as close as you get to a national holiday. It's bigger then the homerun derby, it's bigger then the All-Star game...it's even bigger then the World Series. On Opening Day everyone's team is right in the thick of it and no matter how bad you know the season might turnout, on Opening Day you believe. Right or wrong, game number one is all about what you feel in your heart, not what you know in your head.

It doesn't feel any different for the broadcasters either. All of a sudden, after months of doing shows in the off-season, you feel that familiar sensation of butterfly's. It's a great feeling too because it reminds you of why you got into the business in the first place...adrenaline. Not the base-dive-off-the-Sears-Tower kind of adrenaline...more like the time-to-make-your-first-speech-in-front-of-the-class adrenaline. I realize some people HATE that kind, but I hate the idea of jumping off a tall building for no particular reason, so let's just call it a push.

A Rock 'N Roll Easter

Having lived in Southern California for all but 3 of my 33 years on this planet...I've been through my fair share of earthquakes. Today's earthquake however was different.

First off, it measured 7.2 at it's epicenter. That's huge. Lucky for us here in San Diego the epicenter was located about 16 miles SSW of Guadalupe Victoria in Baja California, Mexico. That meant the shaking in San Diego was pretty mild. The thing that was so different about this quake though, was the type of shaking it produced.

Most earthquakes I've been through in the past you could hear coming. Like the shock wave from a blast you would hear the rumbling in the distance...then you would be in the middle of it for a few seconds of violent shaking...then it would leave and you could hear it as it went.

Today wasn't like that at all. This earthquake rolled...for a long time. The best analogy I can make is that it felt like being on a cruise ship in high seas. There was no rumbling...just a constant swaying that reminded me of last night's fernet shots. In fact I was pouring a glass of wine at my parents house when it hit, and for the first few moments I thought the smell of wine was making me drunk or something. It was very weird.

But the shaking did eventually stop and we were all able to sit down and enjoy an awesome meal. My sister Debra cooked this year, and aside from making too much food, she killed it. It was so good and parts of it were even healthy...but you'll have to read her blog for that part of the story.

The History of Fernet

If you haven't heard of Fernet-Branca before, don't worry about it. I only learned of this Italian wonder-drink a few years ago from my buddy Guido when I was visiting him in San Francisco.

Invented in 1845 in Milan by a guy named Bernardino Branca it was originally marketed as a cure for, among other things, menstrual cramps. In fact until 1913, only women were depicted drinking it in advertisements. It came to the United States, and more specifically San Francisco, in the suitcases of immigrants and became wildly popular during prohibition. Since it was marketed as a medicinal elixir it wasn't outlawed by the 18th amendment...essentially making it the only packaged liquor legally sold in the US during prohibition.

Somewhere along the line it became a favorite hangover cure among bartenders in SF and it slowly gained a cult-like popularity in the city. By the time I went up to see Guido during the 2006 FIFA World Cup (which Italy won by the way), Fernet-Branca was officially a mainstream drink. To that point, San Francisco drinks more of the liqueur than any other locale in the United States and more per capita than any place on Earth. Which is impressive...especially when you consider that Nate Cavalieri described his first fernet experience as being "punched squarely in the nose while sucking on a mentholated cough drop," in his 2005 SF Weekly story, The Myth of Fernet.

So now, anytime Guido and I get together, we toss back a shot of Fernet-Branca for old time sake. Believe me, we don't do it for the taste.

And Then There Were None

I love baseball season...I always have. In the beginning I think that's because my Dad loved baseball. Later it was because I loved playing the game myself. Now it's because baseball season marks the end of our off-season "Postgame" show.

We've been over this before so I won't waist anyone's time talking about how people don't seem to know that we even do an off-season show, but suffice to say it's a lot more fun to do a show when you know people are watching. The other thing is it's a lot harder to produce a nightly half hour sports show when there aren't any local sports going on. Let's face it, San Diego is a two sport town. Chargers and Padres. When they're not playing, people are at the beach, or in the mountains, or hanging outside.

So with Opening Day coming this Monday, that meant tonight's "Postgame" show was the last of the off-season. If that's not a reason to pop some champagne then I don't know what is.

We Lost a lot of Good Men

It sounds weird when I say it out loud...I've been working as a sportscaster in San Diego since the year 2000. It just doesn't seem like that's possible, I mean I don't feel that old. Regardless, that's how the numbers stack up...I've been at this for a decade now.

During that time I've had the chance to work with a bunch of different people. Matt Vasgersian (who I consider one of the very best play-by-play guys in the business), my boyhood idol Tim Flannery (which was truly a dream come true) and Steve Quis.

I've had the pleasure of working with Steve for the past 4 years and during that time I have laughed harder, had more fun and learned more then I could possibly relay here. When you anchor a show with someone like Steve and I have for the past 3 off-seasons (yes we have a show in the off-season, thanks for watching) it's really nice to actually like the person. Not only does it make the show go smoother, but it sure makes dinner a lot more enjoyable.

Tonight was our last dinner together and most of the crew came out to bid Steve Farewell. He's not actually going too far and will still be doing a lot of freelance work for Channel 4, so it's not like he's moving away. Still, I'm going to miss our romantic dinners at Chipotle.

On the bright side...I might lose a few lbs now. Thanks for the memories Quis...you will me missed.

Lights, Camera, Action

So I'm just going to admit it, just come right out and say it...I've hit the wall. I'm a quarter of the way through this thing and I'm running out of interesting things to say about my pictures. I know, I know...what do I mean "running out" of things to say...but seriously I am in a rut.

Granted it's easier to say interesting things about interesting pictures...but I don't always do interesting things on a random Wednesday. Really that's the problem.

The most interesting thing I did today was help my buddy Teevan produce a story about office chairs. Now don't get me wrong, I love working in video production. I love the story telling, I love the production, and I love the post-production of it all, but it's my job. How many times can I take a picture of me working and get away with it?

Let's hope at least one more time.