GTB Friday All Skate

Wanted to pop in early this morning and thank Dan over at the DC Sports Bog for sending along my latest cubicle decoration, the Gilbert Arenas Donut poster. It replaces a 2004 wall calendar my predecessor left up and I was simply too lazy to take down. So the Agent Zero poster joins the Gheorghe autograph, the Mia Hamm autograph, the Jets coffee mug and the Khalil Greene booblehead as the only sports paraphernalia in my cube.
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And here are my Brandon Lang winners this week (from yesterday's comments):
Chicago (-1) vs. New Orleans
God wants them to win. And maybe Spike Lee too. Saints.
Indy (-3) vs. New England
I'd like to see Manning win this game. Which of course means he won't. Patriots.
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There is a new scourge of FM radio...an unbelievable plague infecting Top 40 stations and VH1's Top 20 countdown. I know you've encountered it, because it's impossible to avoid. It is prevalent in the work of various douchebag bands, with Hinder and The Fray being the current leaders in the clubhouse. It's what I now call "Whiny Rock", and it's highlighted (of course) by that whiny-ass tone to the song, the whiny-ass lyrics and the complete disregard for enunciating anything while you whine for 4 straight minutes. You know what I mean...roll the clips (damn it YouTube):
- Horrible, rotten whiny Fray
-- Suck-ass Hinder
I don't want to give the impression these are the only two offenders, let's also recognize these clowns:
- Nickelback
-- The All-American Rejects
I blame Grey's Anatomy for this.
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REVERSE SKATE
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This is bound to entertain Whit - I have some weekend college hoops picks for you to scrutinize, as part of my Battle for the Aggro-Crag (Full disclosure: I had never heard of this Nickelodeon show GUTS or this crazy Aggro-Crag thing before - I thought Double Dare was the only money game show on Nickelodeon). I am, however, happy to get involved in any pick 'em league run by a guy who has met OJ Simpson. Proving once again I am a terrible gambler, I went 4-4 last week, putting me squarely in the cellar...the Week 2 picks:

Saturday
*LSU at Arkansas - Big Baby Davis. 28 and 14. Four fried chickens and a Coke. LSU.
*Texas at Villanova - Kevin Durant really is as good as you've heard. It's not a stretch to think he will cause Curtis Sumpter to blow out his knee for the 11th time. Texas.
*Wisconsin at Illinois - Lando Tucker will own the Illini tomorrow. Wisconsin.
*Arizona at UCLA - How have we not cannonized this Chase Buddinger kid yet? Arizona.
*Oklahoma State at Texas A&M - I hated A&M last year. Nothing's changed. Okie St.
*Boston College at Clemson - BC just had to kick two donkeys off their team, one of them being the 3rd leading shot blocker in the country. Clemson needs this win more. Clemson.

Sunday
*Maryland at Virginia Tech - Maryland, consistently inconsistent. Va Tech has another solid home win in them. Va Tech.
*Marquette at Pitt - Pitt is the king of the Big East. Aaron Gray is a really big, really goofy white dude. Pitt.
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Rob: The Founder of Gheorghe: The Blog here to make a cameo appearance. Since Teejay's bound and determined to get more people to come to this remote outpost, I figure it's a decent time to tell our new visitors why Gheorghe: The Blog exists. The text below is from the very first entry in these pages, born from my extremely bored mind in November 2003. Still rings true today:

"Mission Statement, or What's a Gheorghe, and Why Should I Care?

I don't trust anyone that can't laugh at himself. I think that Crash Davis was dead on, right up until he started talking about Susan Sontag, at which point I tuned out. I'm hopelessly addicted to the Boston Red Sox, even though I know it's not good for me. I believe that sports, like society at large, is full of self-important, egomaniacal windbags at all levels, and I intend to use this space to tilt at the windmills that threaten to suck all of the joy out of the things that I love.

This space is named, with love, for the most fun athlete ever to draw a paycheck from a professional franchise. Gheorghe Muresan, late of the Washington Bullets and New Jersey Nets, stood 7'7" and weighed 330+ pounds. He shuffled around a basketball court like a slightly more mobile version of Frankenstein's monster, with a splay-footed gait and elbows and knees that flailed about as if independently operated. His elongated, comically expressive face conveyed the unmistakable glee and amazement with which he viewed his place in the NBA’s firmament, even as he made the often numbing journey from rookie to veteran. He played a handful of NBA seasons with a modicum of success, being honored as the NBA's Most Improved Player in 1997-98. Most importantly, though, he played basketball and approached life with a pure, unadulterated joy that was, and is, unmatched by any other professional athlete.

Gheorghe's spirit and the joy with which he appears to approach life offer lessons for all of us about the important things. This space will celebrate those in sports and elsewhere that live with Gheorgheness, and skewer those that think they are more important than the game - be it sports or life. Gheorghe: The Internet Magazine, had a brief, meteoric run several years ago, flaming to earth in a blaze of apathy amidst rampant rumors of financial mismanagement. Gheorghe: The Blog rises like a phoenix from the ashes, or at least like a Weeble, to carry on the Gheorghian mission."