The Origins of Sean and Sarah

Sarah and I have nearing hit the home stretch of the baby countdown (see the naming poll to your right) and I thought it might be fun to tell you readers (or reader… I am not sure I have multiple readers) a story about the beginning of the Sean & Sarah era. In the comic book world they call this an origins story.

Well after Sarah and I had been dating for about six months and about half of that being long distance (is Terre Haute to Indy considered long distance?) I decided that I might just want to marry this girl. Why? Sarah tempted me with promises of a life full of Fruity Peebles, Candy Corn-peanuts snake mix and Persimmon Pudding. With that knowledge in mind, I got a ring and decided to put together a plan to ask this lady to marry me.

I figured that since Sarah and I were still in college the best way to ask would be at her sorority formal. I know, I know, 13 years later that seems really lame. It seemed at the time to be hella romantic. Anyhow the week before the formal I was going to drive to Sarah’s hometown and ask here dad’s permission, but for some reason I could not get there (maybe work, I don’t really remember) so I had to call and do it on the phone. I still remember making the call and being really nervous, so when Papa Jim got on the line, I could barely speak, which does not happen to me often. I remember asking him for his first born's hand in marriage and I got what seemed like 20 seconds of silence. I thought for sure he was going to hang up on me and who could blame him? We had only been dating for like six months and Sarah was still a junior in college. Come to think of it, I am not sure what we were thinking? If Caeleigh’s future boyfriend tries to pull that stunt I will have to put my foot on his neck. Anyway Jim finally said he thought that it would be fine. Not exactly a ringing endorsement, but I like to think that he has warmed to me over the years.

So the following weekend was the big Zeta formal in Terre Haute, yes I proposed in TH! I bought a sweet J. Riggins suit for the big occasion (nothing but the best for the big fella) and off we went to the formal. The Zeta’s have a little bit of a strange tradition, they invite there parents to their Spring Formal (nothing like getting sloshed and making out in front of Mom and Dad!), which I always thought was straight weird. But really, who am I to say anything? I was proposing at what is essentially a broken-down college prom. So Sarah parents were in attendance which was cool, so they could see the whole thing go down.

Well before the big candlelight ceremony (which is when I was going to drop the bomb on Sarah), the DJ called all the fathers and daughters out to the dance floor to have a father-daughter dance to kickoff the formal. Now this DJ was a kid we knew for school and he was about as sharp as a bowling ball. Let’s just say this kid lived on the 420 highway and leave it at that. So what song did he chose to play for said Father-Daughter dance? I’ll Make Love to You by Boy II Men! That was how the tone was set for the evening, nothing like a little musical suggestion of incest to kickoff the night I am going propose.

Well after that smashing start we did the candlelight. Basically all the girls standing in a circle and a candle goes around for each romantic event, lavaliere, pinning and engagement. The guys stand behind their dates as this is happening and the candle stops on the victim, I mean lucky girl. So once they announce engagement I whisper in Sarah’s ear “what sucker would do this here?” and her response “yeah, I know, how lame, right?”
Not exactly what I was looking for, but I set my set up for it.

So then the candle stops on her and I swear she thought it was joke. Her face had this “yeah right” look on it... but then I took her to the center of the circle and dropped to one knee and asked. Her answer? Of course she said yes, I mean, I was wearing a J. Riggins suit and no one turns down a J. Riggins suit proposal!

So 13 years later we have a house, two cars, one kid here, another on the way and a pet squirrel in the backyard. Yes we are living the American Dream.

A Very Reavo Christmas

I am a major Christmas freak… I love all things Christmas except the weather; bah humbug on you weatherman! But back to the good stuff, let me tell you just a few of the reasons I love Christmas so friggin much.

Traditional Christmas Carols sang by Today’s Entertainers – You have not lived until you have gotten your Christmas groove on to the First Noel by N’SYNC! Reavo fun fact -my favorite Christmas song is Baby Its Cold Outside by Dean Martin.

New Christmas Songs (meaning anything post 1970) – I have news for you horrible individuals who say you hate Paul McCartney’s Wonderful Christmastime, so listen up. If you feel that way you must be a child of Satan and there will be a special place in hell for you upon leaving this life. Don’t mess with Sir Paul’s Holiday tune! I also am a big fan of Step into Christmas by Elton John and Christmas all over Again by Tom Petty.

Hickory Farms – I love me some Hickory Farms! Christmas without a log of Summer Sausage is sacrilegious.

Eggnog – Best. Drink. Ever. Ok maybe that’s a bit of an overstatement, buts let say it’s the best egg based drink of all time. Fun Fact - The origins of eggnog can be traced all the way back to the 18th century according to Wikipedia, so it must be true.

It’s a Wonderful Life- I hate NBC for rationing our It’s a Wonderful Life viewing! I loved the old days when It’s a Wonderful Life was on every channel on the dial at least once a day… curses to you NBC. I still love this movie. Is it mad hokey? Hell yes, but I still tear up every time an angel gets its wings. Take that old man Potter!

Mimosa’s on Christmas Morning – A Reaves family tradition that makes dealing with the family just a little bit easier by being tipsy. Also a fun side effect is when you have to put your kid’s toys together, being drunk up the difficulty factor by 10 and really challenge yourself. A few years back a Barbie Dream House took me 4 hours and 6 Mimosas to put together.

Shopping without a list – I love it when people give me a list of the things they would like for Christmas and I blow it up and buy not one thing on the list. Why? Because, I want you to be surprised and delighted Christmas morning! I don’t want you to know what you are getting, hells bells why even wrap presents if you know what you’re going to get!

A Very Brady Christmas - One of the dopest (is dopest a word?) made for Holiday TV movies ever. Best of all the whole original cast got back together for this mess except Cindy (who was always my least favorite of the Brady's) . The role of Cindy was filled by the hot chick from Charles in Charge which may go down as one of the greatest TV free agent pick ups of all time. This is some of the worst writing and acting of all time, but I love it all the same!

Grandmas Biscuits and Gravy – No Christmas is complete with out Grandma Bonnie’s Biscuits and Gravy with a side of bacon and coffee.

The count down is on folks, 23 days till the fat man in the red suit goes on his world tour (skipping all Paul McCartney haters – coal for you!) so you better be good!

The Stand Comic Book

My favorite book of all time is The Stand by Stephen King. If you have not read this book you are missing out. Don’t give me that I don’t read horror novels baloney sauce because The Stand is hardly a horror novel. If anything it is adventure novel with some sci-fi elements. Think of it as Lord of the Rings meets I Am Legend. Well the good people at Marvel comics have created The Stand Comic book series and I have just finished the second of the thirty edition series. I can tell you that is a superior effort. The art is breath taking the story telling detailed with out letting the story drag. It is a must pick up for any King fan or comic book geek.

Blog-Worthy?

I have been MIA recently… Why? I am not really sure, I guess not much has happened that I feel is blog-worthy. Now I have recently been using the blog to pick football games (for entertainment purposes only). Unfortunately I was so bad it at picking games it got depressing, so I have suspended that for the time being (meaning forever). In other news my wife has started a blog (I know, what a copy cat right?) detailing our impeding arrival so feel free to take a gander if you are in need of a little sleep aid. Actually it is not half bad; however she does something called spell-check, which removes all the gritty realism of a blog like mine. Well feel free to give Sarah's blog a read if you like, but be for warned, she talks about be gassy.

http://reavesfam.blogspot.com/

NFL Picks Week 7

Oh my, how did we get so far off track? Last week should have been a good one. I made what seemed like at the time all the correct picks. But again the wheels came off and I had my worst week yet this season. Worst yet my season total dipped below the 50/50 mark. Lets see if I can pull this thing out of the crapper and make up some ground this week.

49ers (+10) at Giants- I like the G-men here. The trip from the west coast is tough and the 1:00pm game is even tougher. Its a big number but I think the G-Men cover.

Steelers (-9 1/2) at Bengals- While the Bengals have the worst record in football, they are not regularly being blown out which makes 9 1/2 a home versus a division rival troubling. I am taking the Bengals and home they can keep it close.

Titans (-9) at Chiefs- I am taking the Titans here in what should prove to be a ugly game.

Vikings (+3) at Bears- The Bears kill me every week. I think they are going to pull this game out, in what could be a struggle. Take the Bears and hope for a push if nothing else.

Chargers (+1) at Bills- How good did the Chargers look last week? This is a 1:00pm cross country trek for the Bolts, but I still like them here. The Bills will give them a difficult game at home, but the Chargers are starting a roll.

Saints (+3) at Panthers- The Saints seem to be clicking as of late and the Panthers are unraveling. I am taking the Saints here.

Cowboys (+7) at Rams- Will Romo play? Will Roy Williams play? Who cares, its the Rams we are talking about. Take a very mad Cowboys team.

Ravens (+3) at Miami- After watching the Ravens get trounced by the Colts its hard to pick them even getting points. I would never bet this game, but forced to pick a winner I will take the Phins.

Lions (+9 1/2) at Texans- This will be real nasty. Take the Texans and thank your luckily stars you are not a Lions fan.

Jets (-3) at Raiders- Jets... why? Because its the freaking Raiders.

Colts (-1) at Packers- The Colts will need to bring their A game, but I like them coming off of last weeks momentum building game.

Browns (+7) at Redskins- I like the rally after last weeks loss and cover here.

Seahawks (+10) at Bucs- Bucs... Seahawks are terrible.

Broncos (+3) at Pats- I like the Broncos to pull the upset here.

NFL Picks Recap Week 6

The Poor get poorer... I am missing games at an alarming rate. This is getting uglier than a night of Saki bombs and rice wine. I cannot be brought to give details on how bad this past week was... so a simple wrong or correct will have to do.

Panthers -2 at Tampa - I like the Panthers here. Tampa came back down to earth last week and the Panthers are coming off the bye week. They will cover here, no problem.

Recap- Wrong

Rams +13 at Redskins - Skins all the way here. The Rams are the worst team in football and Hazlett will not make one bit of difference.

Recap- Wrong

Bengals +8 1/2 at Jets - I love the Jets here. Palmer is out and the Jets had a week to work on some new wrinkles. Jets will crack this wide open at home.

Recap- Correct

Raiders +7 at New Orleans - Raiders owner Al Davis is a coward. Take the Saints for no other reason than that.

Recap- Correct

Miami -3 at Houston - This is tough because Houston should have won last week vs Indy and biffed the end of the game away in a whack job finish (I loved it, but that was sick). Do they come out mad or defeated puppies. I say defeated puppies. I say grab the Fins and don't sweat the points.

Recap- Wrong

Chicago -2 1/2 at Atlanta - ATL is a much improved dream, but this is a sucker bet. Chicago's D will break Matt Ryan in two. jump on this game with both feet. Chicago all the way.

Recap- Wrong

Lions -13 1/2 at Vikings - Vikings. Enough said.

Recap- Wrong

Ravens +4 at the Colts - I cannot believe this spread. I hate to say in but I will be betting B-More. I think the Colts pull this one out a game that will likely be decided by a FG.

Recap- Wrong

Jacksonville -3 at Denver - I like Jacksonville here. Denver's D is all kinds of bad so Jones Drew and Taylor will go nuts.

Recap- Correct

Eagles -4 1/2 at 49ers - I think the Eagles are going to wipe the floor with the 49ers. I think this is a two toucher.

Recap- Correct

Cowboys at -4 1/2 at Arizona - Boys will not let this one be close after last weeks scare. Arizona is basically a home game for the Cowboys.

Recap- Wrong

Green Bay+1 at Seattle - I love this game. Grab the Packers and count your money.

Recap- Correct

Pats +5 at San Diego - Hmmm. This one is a tough call. I think i go with the Pats and the points. San Diego is in a free fall, and even if they win, it will be close.

Recap- Wrong

Giants -7 1/2 at Cleveland - G-Men all the way. Points scare me, but they have played great all season and Mistake by the Lake is in bad shape.

Recap- Wrong

Week 5 Record – 5 – 9 – 0
Season Record – 30 – 34 – 3

Geek or not to Geek that is the question.

Am I a Geek?

Hmmmm… I would have never thought of myself as a geek in the past. But more and more I feel I might just be crossing over into true geek-dom. So let me lay out the facts on both sides of the argument and you can decide.

Pro-Geek – Facts about me that could cross the geek Mendoza Line.

I love the Justice League of America and still have my childhood comics to prove it.

I play in two fantasy football leagues. Now on the surface that does not sound bad, actually fantasy football is a bastion of geek-dom draped in the sports.

I write a blog. For real that is some real geeky stuff. I admit it, but if you actually read it you are way worse.

I know the full theme song to Different Stokes and Facts of Life. Maybe this is just weird, not geek-rific.

I have watched every Kevin Smith movie over 50 times.

I like all time travel themed TV shows and movies.

I know what the prime directive is and actually have an opinion of how it affects Starfleet's alien interactions in the universe.

My favorite book is the Stand and I love almost all Stephen King fiction.

I own an Aquaman T-Shirt.

I have all the seasons of Superfriends on DVD.

I love Logan’s Run, Planet of The Apes and all other kitschy 70’s science fiction.

I listen to lots of Podcasts.

Con-Geek - Facts about me that keep me out of the geek hemisphere

I did watch Heroes, but I have recently quit.

I don’t online game.

I don’t play Magic the Gathering.

I am extremely attractive. Seriously, I am way hot… for real.

I am not a fan of Battlestar Galactica, new or old.

I shower on a regular basis.

I really dig Jackson Browne. This fact does not push me in one direction or the other, I just like to pimp my Jackson Browne addiction.

I have never been to a comic convention.

Ok so now you have the facts. What do you think? Am I a geek or no?

NFL Picks Week 6

Alright folks coming into week six I am exactly even on the season at 25-25-3. But this is when I should start making some hay. I have seen all the teams play plenty and I know the contenders and pretenders. I am planning on opening it up this week, so strap it on!

Panthers -2 at Tampa - I like the Panthers here. Tampa came back down to earth last week and the Panthers are coming off the bye week. They will cover here, no problem.

Rams +13 at Redskins - Skins all the way here. The Rams are the worst team in football and Hazlett will not make one bit of difference.

Bengals +8 1/2 at Jets - I love the Jets here. Palmer is out and the Jets had a week to work on some new wrinkles. Jets will crack this wide open at home.

Raiders +7 at New Orleans - Raiders owner Al Davis is a coward. Take the Saints for no other reason than that.

Miami -3 at Houston - This is tough because Houston should have won last week vs Indy and biffed the end of the game away in a whack job finish (I loved it, but that was sick). Do they come out mad or defeated puppies. I say defeated puppies. I say grab the Fins and don't sweat the points.

Chicago -2 1/2 at Atlanta - ATL is a much improved dream, but this is a sucker bet. Chicago's D will break Matt Ryan in two. jump on this game with both feet. Chicago all the way.

Lions -13 1/2 at Vikings - Vikings. Enough said.

Ravens +4 at the Colts - I cannot believe this spread. I hate to say in but I will be betting B-More. I think the Colts pull this one out a game that will likely be decided by a FG.

Jacksonville -3 at Denver - I like Jacksonville here. Denver's D is all kinds of bad so Jones Drew and Taylor will go nuts.

Eagles -4 1/2 at 49ers - I think the Eagles are going to wipe the floor with the 49ers. I think this is a two toucher.

Cowboys at -4 1/2 at Arizona - Boys will not let this one be close after last weeks scare. Arizona is basically a home game for the Cowboys.

Green Bay+1 at Seattle - I love this game. Grab the Packers and count your money.

Pats +5 at San Diego - Hmmm. This one is a tough call. I think i go with the Pats and the points. San Diego is in a free fall, and even if they win, it will be close.

Giants -7 1/2 at Cleveland - G-Men all the way. Points scare me, but they have played great all season and Mistake by the Lake is in bad shape.

NFL Picks Recap Week 5

Buffalo +1 - I like Buffalo here. Boldin is out for Zona which will enable the Bills D to key on the Zona passing game. I like the Bills to win on the road here.

Recap- Missed here, but Edwards was knocked out in the first series of the game. So I really don't feel to bad about this one. I still think the Bills are on the right track this year.

KC +9 1/2 -Oh this is tough, I do not think KC will be in this game, however Damon Huard will help KC keep it in the same solar system. Take the points and pray.

Recap- Ouch!

Bears -3 1/2 - The Matt Millian era is over in Detroit but the losing is not. Bears by a touch.

Recap- Now we are on the right track. Bears destroyed Motown.

Cincinnati +16 1/2 -How mad is Dallas. We will find out. I am taking the Natty to squeak by on points alone.

Recap- Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner! Cincy shows some life. Dallas, slept on them but the more talented team wins in the end.

Tampa Bay +3 - I hate to say this, but maybe Tampa is for real. Denver D is horrible.Indy -3 - The Colts right the ship this week. Please?

Recap- Pushed here... Denver got lucky.

Jacksonville -4 - I think the Jags will win at home in the defensive struggle. The points scare me, but I will eat the 4 and go with the Jags at home.

Recap- I was on the fence on this game all week. I fell on the wrong side.

New England -3 - I hate the Pats, but they are a crafty group. I think they win here, in a tight battle.

Recap- The '08 Pats are not nearly as good as the '07 squad, but do not take them lightly. They will compete all year.


Giants - 7 - Seattle is not good. Take the G-Men coming off the bye week and getting healthy.

Recap- Seattle is one sorry football team. It would take a very large spread to make me get near them this season.

Philly -6 - Philly got job last week and will light up the Skins at home.

Recap- How is Philly losing these games?

San Diego -6 1/2 - Bolts smack down the fins. LT throws for his first TD of the season.

Recap- Bolts playoff chances are going up in smoke.

Baltimore +3 - The Titans fall this week. Ray Lewis just does not age and Collins will not take a team to 5-0.

Recap- Pushed

New Orleans -3 - Not sure about either teams, so I will take the home team and hold on.

Recap- Missed here... I have been pushing the Vikes all season, I change it up for one week and look what happens.

Week 5 Record – 4 – 6 – 2
Season Record – 25 – 25 – 3

NFL Picks Week 5

Time to get this trend stopped! Each week my picks have gotten worse. But I feel very good about this weeks games.



Buffalo +1 - I like Buffalo here. Boldin is out for Zona which will enable the Bills D to key on the Zona passing game. I like the Bills to win on the road here.



KC +9 1/2 -Oh this is tough, I do not think KC will be in this game, however Damon Huard will help KC keep it in the same solar system. Take the points and pray.



Bears -3 1/2 - The Matt Millian era is over in Detroit but the losing is not. Bears by a touch.



Cincinnati +16 1/2 -How mad is Dallas. We will find out. I am taking the Natty to sqeak by on points alone.



Tampa Bay +3 - I hate to say this, but maybe Tampa is for real. Denver D is horrible.



Indy -3 - The Colts right the ship this week. Please?



Jacksonville -4 - I think the Jags will win at home in the defensive struggle. The points scare me, but I will eat the 4 and go with the Jags at home.



New England -3 - I hate the Pats, but they are a crafty group. I think they win here, in a tight battle.



Giants - 7 - Seattle is not good. Take the G-Men coming off the bye week and getting healthy.



Philly -6 - Philly got job last week and will light up the Skins at home.



San Diego -6 1/2 - Bolts smack down the fins. LT throws for his first TD of the season.



Baltimore +3 - The Titans fall this week. Ray Lewis just does not age and Collins will not take a team to 5-0.



New Orleans -3 - Not sure about either teams, so I will take the home team and hold on.

NFL Picks Recap Week 4

No time for the in depth recap, as we are have some peeps over to watch the game. But bottom line is the Reavo Train derailed last week! I biffed 9 games and only got 4 right.

Week 4 Record – 4 – 9 – 0
Season Record – 21 – 19 – 1

Daddy II “The Sequel” This time it’s personal…

For those frequent readers of the blog (all three of you) that have not heard and maybe were wondering where I have been recently (besides picking NFL games)… I am making a return to the hood… fatherhood that is.

Maybe “return” is not the right term, as it’s not like I ever stopped being a father to CJ. But the return to being a father to a new born is definitely something that took a while to wrap my mind a round. I thought at 35 and with a seven year old only 11 short years from the launch pad, I was well past my diaper changing days. Its not that I did not enjoy the first one, but I had decided, in my head at least, Sarah and I were one and done.

So how did we get here? I will save everybody 5th grade health class recap, but my guess is a little to much sushi and wine one night mixed with a little defective birth control (user error maybe?) yada, yada, yada and a baby #2 is on the way. So now we need to get all that stuff that was previously given away or sold, things like a crib, baby monitors and the goofy chair that shakes like a car in need of an alignment.

But that is not to say that I am not excited. Surprised? Yes, but like many things in life the unexpected events are the most exciting and often rewarding. Once you get past the not so fun stuff, like midnight feeding and diapers, you remember all the wonderful things like, giggling babies, first steps, first words and the way your baby looks at you and makes you melt with love. My feeling on kids in general is they are kind of like farts... I dont want to be around yours, but I like mine just fine. I love being a father to CJ and I am thrilled to continue to build the life Sarah and I have together by expand our family by one.

Oh yeah and one of the best parts of the new arrival… The naming! Yes we have to find a name for baby X… Due to a clause in my contract, I have exclusive naming rights to all children that Sarah and I create. The front runners as we speak are Cooper, Brick, Nate, Bailey, Clark, Eight, and Major for a boy. For a girl we are looking at Kelsey, Natalie, Emily and Addison. Let me know what you think.

We are looking at a April 4th release date so be on the look out for Daddy II “The Sequel” This time it’s personal…

NFL Week 4 Picks

Last week was a bit rough, but I still ended up north of the 500 mark. I like the spreads much better this week. So off we go.

Buffalo -8 (The Rams are sucktacular this year. I would not pick the Ram if this spread were 20 points.)

Atlanta +7 (Welcome to the beginning of the end of the Carolina Panthers. I think the ATL may just be for real… and Carolina is a paper tiger that has gotten all kinds of lucky this year.)

Cleveland +3 ½ (Why am I picking Cleveland? I wish I knew. I guess I am hoping they suck the big one in the first half and then bring in Brady Quinn to save the day. Anyway take the points and hope both of these dog meat squads keep it close.)

Washington +11 (Will Dallas win this game? Hell yes. Will they win by 11 points? Hell no. This one will be close. This is a division rival; Washington will keep it within a touchdown.)

Denver -9 ½ (KC bad. Denver good. You do the math.)

Jacksonville -7 (I wish that the Texans would hang an L on the Jags, but that is just not going to happen. Jags bust this open wide open and win by at least two touchdowns)

San Francisco +5 (It seems that maybe SF has a football team again. I think NO might pull out a W but it will be close. I like SF with the points.)

Arizona +1 ½ (I like Zona here is what should be a very high scoring game. I would take the over and tease this game… if I were going to take it at all.)

Philly -3 (I think the Bears will keep this close. Philly is banged up, but I still think they will pull it out.)

San Diego -7 ½ (Is this the week Al Davis gives Lane Kiffen his freedom? I think so, I also think San Diego takes this one is in a laugher)

Green Bay +1 (I am not sure why Green Bay is a dog here. Tampa is at home and Green Bay did get smoked by Dallas last week at home, but dude Greaseball is still under center for Tampa. Green Bay wins by a touch.)

Minnesota +3 (The Tennessee dream season hits a snag today. Minnesota picks up a victory in a surprise road win. I am guessing a last second field goal is the difference either way.)

Pittsburgh +5 ½ (I am not really confident in this pick as the B-More D may keep it within a field goal. But something tells me that Pittsburgh at home on Monday night is worth a touchdown.)

NFL Picks Recap Week 3

Atlanta -5 ½ (Tough game here, KC is horrible and ATL had one good game and one bad game. When in doubt, pick against KC, especially when they have a backup QB going.)

Recap- Started the day with a nice W. I think what we learned here is that KC is really in trouble this season. I still think The ATL is still a mystery team. Rookie QB’s are scary, but this team has a nice running game so who knows.

Cleveland +2 (Another difficult game here. What does it say about B-more, that they don’t even get the 3 point cushion for being the home team? I am going with Cleveland.)

Recap- Man I missed this one big time. I really thought Cleveland would be decent this year… but then again I thought investing in AIG was a good idea as well.

Oakland +9 ½ (Buffalo wins, but does not cover. Oakland is banged up and Buffalo is an improved football team, however I feel their value might be an inflated a bit here.)

Recap- Picked this one right! Oakland is not a bad football team… They have decent skill position players. How good could they be if they did not have Cloris Leachman as an owner (don’t act like you have not noticed the resemblance)?

Chicago -3 (Bears rebound from last week’s loss. I would not be surprised if this game ends in a push.)

Recap - I biffed here, but this game should have an asterisk. The Bears got jobbed on a bad call. The Bears should be 3 – 0 rather than 1 – 2.

Green Bay +3 (The balance of power in the NFL may be shifting back to the NFC. Dallas, Green Bay and Philly all look really tough. This is a very good early season match up. Green Bay has to love being a 2-0 home dog. This could be another push game, but I like Green Bay at home.)

Recap – Wrong! I was way off here. Dallas is just in a different class this year. The NFC East is far and away the best conference in football this year.

New Orleans +5 ½ (The football Gods will punish Denver for last week’s theft of a victory. I like NO getting the 5 ½ in a game I think they might just win.)

Recap – That’s more like it. I have a soft spot for this team, not sure why, but I always kind of pull for them. I think it’s a Ditka and Katrina thing , call Diktrina effect. They lost this game, but covered for me here.

Jacksonville +5 (Once again I am picking against my Colts. I feel like they Horseshoes will pick up the win, but not cover the spread. )

Recap – Picked against my boys again this week. I just have no confidence in the run defense at this point. I still think the horseshoes make the playoffs, but they need to string together some wins after the bye week. Never the less, I won this game.

Minnesota -3 ½ (The Viking s are a pretty good team without a QB. Is the Gus Bus the answer? Not likely, however I think they pick up the W and cover here. I am worried about the Steve Smith factor here, but something tells me the Vikes will not go 3 – 0.)

Recap – Does Reavo know football? Yes he does. I told you the Vikings would not go 0 -3. Carolina is O-V-E-R-R-A-T-E-D.

Miami + 12 ½ (This spread is just too big with the way NE is playing games right now. They are playing the dump it short game, trying to keep Cassel out of trouble style of football. Thus far the safe route it is working, but that is not the kind of game plan you win by 12 ½ with. )

Recap – I hit this one on the nose. Matt Cassell, I’ve watched Tom Brady and you sir are no Tom Brady.

Cincinnati +13 (I hate this game! I hate it because I am a sucker for big spread underdogs. You and I both know Cincinnati is going to lose this game and big, but how big? I guess I think less than 13, because I am picking the worst team in football. Mark me down for the sucker bet.)

Recap – Bam! I am on fire baby. The Natty actually came play and almost picked off the G-Men. In typical Bengal fashion they blew it… as usual. Quick shout out to my HS girlfriend and Bengal’s fan Monica that popped her third puppy this week! Congrats Monica!

Philly -3 ½ (Look for Philly to blowout Pittsburgh here… I think they win by a 10 spot.)

Recap – I called this one almost to the point. I said Philly would win by 10, and they only won by 9, my bad.

Detroit +4 (The Detroit resurgence starts today! Ok maybe not, but I do like the Lions to keep this close if not win.)

Recap – Hi. My name is Reavo and I am a Lions-apologist. I have made excuses for this team all year. They were my sleeper pick to come out of nowhere and make the playoffs. I love Megatron and Roy Williams (when healthy). I was as wrong… oh so wrong about this team. This is one crappy ballclub.

St. Louis +9 ½ (First off I think the Rams might be the second worst team in football, but I also think Seattle is a bad team… so I guess I go with the team that is getting 9 ½. Call it my big spread addiction.)

Recap – I don’t care how big the spread is I will not pick the Rams again all year. They make the Lions look good.

Tennessee -4 ½ (The Texans will not be able to run against the Haynesworth anchored line… Titans win by a touch.)

Recap – Dy-no-mite! I am that good. Breaks my heart to say this, but I think the Titans maybe looking at an AFC South title.

Arizona +3 (I will pick Zona all day here, Cardinals by 9 points… chalk it up.)

Recap – I really thought Zona was the real deal. I am still pissy, because I actually lost money on this game. That’s what I get for putting money on Arizona.

Jets +8 ½ (Farve on Monday night… LT is banged up… Phillip Rivers is a gutless punk. I am rolling the dice and taking the Jets.)

Recap – Man I missed this one big. No excuses, just way off. Jets are not as good as I thought.

Week 3 Record – 9 – 7 – 0
Season Record – 17 – 12 – 1

NFL Picks Week 3

NFL Picks – Alright let’s see if I can light it up again with another week of amazing picks. The games were very tough this week. I am a big spread junkie so this will be a challenging week to try to lay off the sucker bets.

Atlanta -5 ½ (Tough game here, KC is horrible and ATL had one good game and one bad game. When in doubt, pick against KC, especially when they have a backup QB going.)

Cleveland +2 (Another difficult game here. What does it say about B-more, that they don’t even get the 3 point cushion for being the home team? I am going with Cleveland.)

Oakland +9 ½ (Buffalo wins, but does not cover. Oakland is banged up and Buffalo is an improved football team, however I feel their value might be an inflated a bit here.)

Chicago -3 (Bears rebound from last week’s loss. I would not be surprised if this game ends in a push.)

Green Bay +3 (The balance of power in the NFL may be shifting back to the NFC. Dallas, Green Bay and Philly all look really tough. This is a very good early season match up. Green Bay has to love being a 2-0 home dog. This could be another push game, but I like Green Bay at home.)

New Orleans +5 ½ (The football Gods will punish Denver for last week’s theft of a victory. I like NO getting the 5 ½ in a game I think they might just win.)

Jacksonville +5 (Once again I am picking against my Colts. I feel like they Horseshoes will pick up the win, but not cover the spread. )

Minnesota -3 ½ (The Viking s are a pretty good team without a QB. Is the Gus Bus the answer? Not likely, however I think they pick up the W and cover here. I am worried about the Steve Smith factor here, but something tells me the Vikes will not go 3 – 0.)

Miami + 12 ½ (This spread is just too big with the way NE is playing games right now. They are playing the dump it short game, trying to keep Cassel out of trouble style of football. Thus far the safe route it is working, but that is not the kind of game plan you win by 12 ½ with. )

Cincinnati +13 (I hate this game! I hate it because I am a sucker for big spread underdogs. You and I both know Cincinnati is going to lose this game and big, but how big? I guess I think less than 13, because I am picking the worst team in football. Mark me down for the sucker bet.)

Philly -3 ½ (Look for Philly to blowout Pittsburgh here… I think they win by a 10 spot.)

Detroit +4 (The Detroit resurgence starts today! Ok maybe not, but I do like the Lions to keep this close if not win.)

St. Louis +9 ½ (First off I think the Rams might be the second worst team in football, but I also think Seattle is a bad team… so I guess I go with the team that is getting 9 ½. Call it my big spread addiction.)

Tennessee -4 ½ (The Texans will not be able to run against the Haynesworth anchored line… Titans win by a touch.)

Arizona +3 (I will pick Zona all day here, Cardinals by 9 points… chalk it up.)

Jets +8 ½ (Farve on Monday night… LT is banged up… Phillip Rivers is a gutless punk. I am rolling the dice and taking the Jets.)

NFL Picks Recap

Arizona -6 1/2 (I think AZ is for real this year)

Recap -This one goes in the win column. Zona has the best wideouts this side of Indy.


Carolina -3 (Bears looked good vs a beat up Colts team that was unfocused... they come back to earth)

Recap– Pushed in this game, Carolina has won two games that they probably should not have, but the scary thing is that they did it with out Steve Smith. Maybe the big sleeper in the NFC this season.


Tenn +1 1/2 (Tough game to pick with all the Vince Young stuff, but I think the Bengal’s are a bad, bad football team)

Recap– Another win for me here. The Bengal’s are all kinds of horrible this season. I think Marvin Lewis bites it this season.


Green Bay -3 (I like Detroit to come on late this season, but not this week)

Recap– Score another for Reavo. Brett who? Rodgers looked amazing in this one. I guess the Packers Management knew what it was doing after all.


Minn +1 1/2 (I hate to do it and pray I miss this game, but the Colts looked all kinds of bad last week)

Recap– Bad pick on my part. I guess its karma for me picking against my boys. Gonzo had a great game. Marvin is starting to show some real age, but held on to the ball after a big hit which was nice to see. If they can sneak past the Jags next week, and get healthy after the bye week, they should be set up well for the rest of the season.


Buffalo +5 1/2 (I love this spread... I think Buffalo wins out right)

Recap– It’s like a broken record… I was right again. I told you this was a great spread and that Buffalo would win out right. Buffalo is solid team, but don’t get too excited, just yet.


Oakland + 3 1/2 (Kiffin wins his last game before getting canned by crazy Al)

Recap– Oh my it’s a landslide; Reavo is amazing, he picked correct yet again. Now let’s see if Kiffin gets wacked this week. My bet is yes.


St. Louis +8 1/2 (Rams lose, but I can't pass this spread up)

Recap– The wheels came off here. The Rams are just terrible.


Cleveland +6 (Cleveland loses by a FG, take the 6)

Recap– Right yet again. Cleveland has some weapons, just need to put it all together. I would not be surprised if they sneak in to the playoffs this year at like a 9 -7 record.


San Diego -1 (LT breaks this one wide open)

Recap– Lost this pick, but I got hosed (if I would have had money on this game I would be jumping out a window). LT gets hurt and SD still should have won. Bad officiating bites me here.


San Francisco +7 (another spread I can pass as I think SF wins this game by a FG)

Recap–I am Reavo the Greek, picking not only the game but calling difference in the score! JT O’Sullivan sounds like a Irish mobsters name, but this kid is a gangster with the pigskin.


Atlanta +7 (TB wins but does not cover)

Recap– Bad pick on my part, what else can be said.


New Orleans -1 (Redskins were coached very poorly last week... Payton and Brees are licking their chops to pick apart this D)

Recap– I am still not sure how they blew this game. New Orleans had the Skins dead to rights and let them back in.


Philly +7 (Hard Knocks has everyone buying in to the Cowboys... I think they are a very talented team with a lot of bad actors. Boys win, but don't cover)

Recap– Ended the week with a win… I should do this for a living; it has to have a better return than the current stock market.

Week 2 Record – 8 – 5 – 1
Season Record – 8 – 5 – 1

NFL picks

As a huge NFL fan I thought it would be fun to do my best Hammering Hank and pick all the NFL games against the spread this season(all spreads are from Yahoo.com)... I skipped week one due to work and travel...

Arizona -6 1/2 (I think AZ is for real this year)
Carolina -3 (Bears looked good vs a beat up Colts team that was unfocused... they come back to earth)
Tenn +1 1/2 (Tough game to pick with all the Vince Young stuff, but I think the Bengals are a bad, bad football team)
Green Bay -3 (I like Detroit to come on late this season, but not this week)
Minn +1 1/2 (I hate to do it and pray I miss this game, but the Colts looked all kinds of bad last week))
Buffalo +5 1/2 (I love this spread... I think Buffalo wins out right)
Oakland + 3 1/2 (Kiffin wins his last game before getting canned by crazy Al)
St. Louis +8 1/2 (Rams lose, but I can't pass this spread up)
Cleveland +6 (Cleveland loses by a FG, take the 6)
San Diego -1 (LT breaks this one wide open)
San Francisco +7 (another spread I can pass as I think SF wins this game by a FG)
Atlanta +7 (TB wins but does not cover)
New Orleans -1 (Redskins were coached very poorly last week... Payton and Brees are licking their chops to pick apart this D)
Philly +7 (Hard Knocks has everyone buying in to the Cowboys... I think they are a very talented team with a lot of bad actors. Boys win, but don't cover)

Sad Sack

So a few years back I was on a flight to Canada for a business trip. I got the nice bump to first class and settled in for the long trip to British Columbia from Indy. I looked in the in-flight magazine to see what the movie would be and to my horror it was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. What was this happy horse crap? Seriously, that was what I had for my in-flight entertainment? I figured, I would watch a few minutes and then nod off and wake up north of the border.

But a funny thing happen… I became really engrossed in the flick, so much so when the movie reach its climax and Carmen sees her Dad getting married, I actually started to cry a bit… on an airplane… on my way to Canada. I am such a sad sack.

Bring on the New TV Season!

Oh I love this time of year. If you’re a fan of TV this time of year is like Christmas Eve. You know, when your five years old kicking it in your bad arse footie PJ’s waiting to unwrap the Star Wars Land Cruiser the next morning. You think that super special toy is going to be awesome because the package looks good and commercials seem dope, but sometimes that toy turns out to be dud.


Well the new TV season is upon us and we are being inundated with ads for the new shows and a few actually look pretty good, both Fringe and Gary Unmarried have caught my eye. But nothing has me as excited as the return of 90210!


Dude, I love me some 90210. Kelly, Brenda, Brandon, Steve, Silver, Dylan, Donna and the rest of the 90210 gang were a staple of my high school and college years. Even though the Peach Pit After Dark had to be the lamest night club in Southern California history, it looked incredible to me. 90210 also featured groundbreaking musical guests like Color Me Badd and Montel Jordan! Let’s face it the show had it all.

I still watch the show every now and then on the weekends. It repeats well. Damn it Ray Pruitt keep your hand off Donna’s enormous head! It will be tough for these young whipper-snappers to keep up with rivalry Brenda and Kelly had (I was always a Kelly man from day one) back in the day, but I look forward to seeing them try.

Hopefully the new 90210 ends up being a toy that we can all enjoy for the next 10 years…

New School

Is there anything tougher for a kid than going to a new school? When my wife and I made the decision to send CJ to Catholic School we considered everything from the money it would cost to the educational benefits for CJ. The one thing we really did not consider was the toll it would take on a kid that does not like change one bit.

This is really odd considering I had to change schools in 1st grade, 6th grade and 7th grade due to relocations and recall it was brutal. I remember how tough that first day can be on a kid. I still remember my first day at Westlane Middle School being extremely scary because it was a new city and a new school. I remember sitting alone at lunch the first day because I knew no one.

I know in my heart that we made the right decision, but it does not make the tears she is shedding tonight any easier to see.

What a Croc

On our recent trip to Disney World my wife and I discussed the proliferation of Crocs into the American world of footwear. I know you might be saying “Dude, that is not much of a revelation,” as Crocs really took off a few years back. But that is my point exactly. Hasn’t this shoe fad had its day? It’s week? It’s month? It’s year? I mean really shouldn’t we be getting ready to discuss it on I Love the 2000’s.

When we were at Disney World every other person had on Crocs it seemed (including my wife and daughter- so embarrassing). Hell, even dudes are wearing these things now (I prefer to believe these men were Euro’s). Please don’t tell me how comfortable they are… because even if they make your feet feel like you are walking on clouds you look like a D-bag wearing them (I give a pass to kids).

So let’s all band together and forsake all that is pure in this crazy world. Stop buying these freaking things. Throw all Crocs already purchased where they belong, in the closet with your parachute pants, jean shorts and tight-rolled jeans (which my wife informs me are coming back in style… oh the horror).

Disney World

Okay – I know I have been MIA for like a month, but I have been working my arse off recently. Plus I took the family on a wonderful trip to Disney World two weeks back. So let’s recap our little Disney extravaganza.

I have a friend at work who says she does not understand adult Disney enthusiasts… Well she sure does not understand me, because I love Disney World and the overall Disney experience. I love seeing Disney through my daughter's eyes. Every ride, parade, fireworks show and attraction brings joy and excitement.

CJ (my daughter) really became a rollercoaster enthusiast when she found out that Daddy would buy her a trading pin for every big ride she would try. By the end of our six day trip she had pins for Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, The Tower of Terror and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Actually, enthusiast might be an overstatement, since she would bury her head and not look up till the ride was over, but at least she would try right?

Overall it was an outstanding trip and I can’t wait to hit WDW again next year. If loving Disney is wrong, I don’t wanna be right! Enjoy the pics!

The Agony of Defeat

The agony of defeat… those were the words of great Jim McKay that opened ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Well I have been defeated in my mission to blog for 25 days straight. My blogging operation was defeated by one thing… the 4th of July holiday, ok maybe my old friend Coors Light contributed to my downfall as well. I had a wonderful break, but man it really killed my blogging abilities. I fully accept defeat in this task, so no more e-mails. The pictures are from the 4th of July festivities. All I can say is well played Uncle Sam, well played sir.

Mr. Lineback

I recently found out my High School Drama teacher Phil Lineback passed away earlier this year. Mr. Lineback (seems weird to call him Phil) was my favorite teacher. He was the kind of teacher who made you feel good about yourself, while still letting you know your better self was out there and within reach. He would yell (he was a stickler about memorizing lines) occasionally and was not afraid to show his true emotion. But you always knew he was trying to get the best out of you. He and Mrs. Rice (his office mate) always had an office full of students prior to the beginning of school. Why? Because they were the kind of educators that would make a student that may have felt like an outsider feel a part of something. It’s strange reaching an age when your teachers and friends parents start to pass and it not so much of a shock, as a fact of life.

Favorites - High School Edition

I love Facebook because it gives you chance to reconnect with old friends from high school and college. It's so interesting seeing what everyone is up to today as well as flooding you with memories of days gone past. Ahhh… Living the dream, the high school dream. Today’s blog will feature my favorite moments from High School (we will get to college soon enough).

Jr. Spec – North Central High School was filled with unique traditions and experiences, but one of the best is Jr. Spectacular. Better known as Jr. Spec, this theatrical performance (dude that is some stretching of the term theatrical performance) is written, directed, and performed by members of the Jr. class. Sounds nice right? Like “oh the Jr. class got together and put on a little show together.” How sweet? Nope you got it all wrong… the Jr. class divides themselves among social groups and competed against each other in a battle royale that is part social experiment-part drama camp. This is not to say that I did not enjoy it… in fact I loved it. The real fun was the summer before my Jr. year at our “writers meetings” which basically amounted to me and the other writers (again very liberal use of the word) seeing how much we could make each other laugh and deep discussion of how crazy hot Michelle Freckelton’ s mom was.


















Operation White Cloud – Another tradition at NC (not so unique) is Senior Skip Day, or Senior Slop Day (not sure on the origins of the slop term) as we called it. Now part of this tradition is pulling pranks on the school in the morning before taking the rest of the day off. I still remember some daring seniors releasing a greased pig in the lunch room my sophomore year. I was asked to participate in a secret mission known as Operation White Cloud. Which was your run of the mill toilet papering of the high school. But really it was so much more, as this was intricately planned attack with over 20 guys broken in to four squads of TP warriors… ok the prank kind of sucked but we had a wicked time doing it.

Prom – Oh so good looking… Yes, I was oh so good looking on Prom night. My date could barely keep her hands off of me. It was great seeing all the kids I grew up with cleaned up and looking PIMP. My date was not too bad either.

Radio/ TV Class- Three hours each day with Chris Ponder… sign me up, dude was a freaking riot. This class was so much fun because basically all we did was dick around for three hours and talk about the Wonder Years. Plus it was a great class to skip.

Repertory Theater – The most dope class in high school by a long shot. It was another great dick around class (what do you mean I need to learn my lines... blasphemy!) I may not have been much of an actor, but man I perfected my BS skills in this class.

And there you have it… Reavo’s Favorite High School Edition.

Quickie

Alright tonight will be quick because I got home late... We will go back to the favorites theme tomorrow, but tonight I have to share a really cool moment.

Tonight was my daughter's last softball game of the season. And after the game all the girls got individual participation trophies. But they also gave two special awards, one for Mental Toughness and another for Most Improved. Caeleigh got named Most Improved and I am such softy I almost started to cry (what a wuss, right?). Its so funny, how your child's accomplishments can provide such joy... This is my favorite moment for quite sometime.

Favorite Things - Vegas Style

My new mission is to blog everyday for the next 25 days. Why? Because I have not been blogging as much as I had been and I thought maybe by challenging myself, I will be able to rise to the mission at hand. To accomplish this goal I am going to go all Oprah and theme these blogs as my favorite things. Each day will be a list of my favorite things. So I hope my loyal reader (I refuse to believe I have multiple readers) like finding out all of my favorite things over the next 25 days... if not, check back 26 days from now.

First topic on our Reavo favorite’s tour is my favorite things about my favorite vacation city… Las Vegas!

The Flamingo – My first trip to Vegas was for Joe Taylor’s bachelor party and we stayed at the Flamingo and it has a special place in my heart to this day. Yes, I have stayed at much nicer hotels (Mirage, Caesar’s and Green Valley Ranch) since that maiden Vegas voyage, but there is something about the place Bugsy built that I really love. I just can’t figure out what that smell is in the casino.

The Ellis Island Steak Special – The best deal in Las Vegas in my opinion is this bad boy. Ellis Island Brewpub is connected to a very interesting (and by interesting I mean depressing and scary) little casino adjoining the Vegas Super 8. Now don’t let that scare you off of this place because for $4.99 this dump serves up a 10-ounce filet-cut steak, served with salad, vegetable, potato, garlic bread, rolls and a beer. Holla! This is a must for any guy’s trip. Is it a great steak? No, but I didn’t get mad cow disease or food poisoning there either, so I got that going for me.

The Bellagio Fountains – Greatest free Vegas attraction, enough said.

Fat Elvis at the hotel formerly known as Barbary Coast – First off THFKABC is my favorite place to gamble on the strip (I refuse to call it by its new name, so like Prince did back in the day I call it the hotel formerly known as Barbary Coast or THFKABC for short). It is a charming little joint with nice dealers and reasonable gambling limits. But the super secret awesome feature that THFKABC has is it’s afternoon Elvis Impersonator known as; you guessed it, Fat Elvis. Another must see and it is free, a rarity in today’s Vegas.

Sahara Poker Room – Not the classiest or best smelling poker room on the strip (by a long shot), you are probably wondering how it made my list. Well it is by far the luckiest for Mr. Reaves. In fact I won the 11:00pm tourney here a few years back. So to recap, this place smells nasty, has rude dealers and cocktail serve is lousy, but I will go back every trip to LV in the hopes of lightning striking twice.

Snackus Maximus – This is the pool side snack shop at Caesar’s Palace, the food is alright, but reason it make the list is its name… It does not get better than Snackus Maximus.

And there you have it... Reavo's Favorite's Vegas Style.

Cubs Sweep the Sox

Quick hit here... The Cubs are putting the sweep on the White Sox tonight and I love it... God Bless the USA and the Cubs. All Sox fans are dirt bags in general and should be ashamed of themselves. That's really all I have to say about that.

The Real "Crazy" World

I admit it folks, I was ready to give up on the Real World. I was ready to throw in the towel on my old TV friend. Ah but then the crafty folks at Bunim/Murray Productions (the production company behind the Real World/ Road Rules Universe) unleashed Real World Hollywood. Just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in!

The new season of the RW is truly a carnival of TV madness. Whoever cast this edition of the RW deserves a fat raise because I guarantee they had to hang out at some pretty strange places to find this group of morons and nut jobs.

The all star of this loony bin is Joey… Joey is a body-builder who would like to be an actor. Joey is also an alcoholic with some serious rage issues. I know, let’s put this ticking time bomb on a reality TV show surrounded by alcohol and panty-droppers. Brilliant! The thing I find most disconcerting about crazy Joey is the he has this hulking body, but a very small almost miniature size head. On top of have a pea sized cranium and some serious crazy eyes , Joey does this thing with his hair were he spikes it straight up in the air with massive quantities of hair gel. He looks a little like the Slim Jim Guy (not the Macho Man).

The other character that has made this season exceptional is Greg. Greg won an internet contest to join the cast, so he dubbed himself the chosen one. This aspiring male model (not enough of those in the world) does not have girlfriends, instead he has associate females. This guy is pure comedy; he loves to pull “pranks” on the other roommates. For example he put rocks in another roommate’s bed and stole a female roomies underwear. Those are some ingenious “pranks”… watch out Ashton, dude may be trying to steal your gig.

Here is the rub, these two are so awesome (truly train-wreck TV) the that rest of the cast is just window dressing and their characters have been totally neglected other than supporting the story lines of the two lead knuckle heads (Roomies unite in hatred of Greg and unite in fear and then later support of Joey). All this would be fine except both these idiots left the show last week! Greg got “fired” from the cast "job" (yeah doing an improv class was so tough this guy kept blowing it off) and Joey left because he could not handle staying clean around the rest of these drunks.

So what to do now? I mean without the stars, the last few episodes are going to be really disappointing unless you enjoy watching Sarah put on makeup or sleep (this chick may want to get checked for narcolepsy). I guess I just have to wait for these two to premiere on the next RW/RR Challenge.

Cat Killer

It’s funny the wacky shiz you remember from your childhood. I remember my third birthday I had a wicked Cookie Monster Cake. I recall being royally POed that ET got beat by Gandhi for best picture of the year. And I definitely remember crushing big time on Kim Fields, Tootie from Facts of Life fame, back in the day. Tootie if you are out there, you missed out because as you can see below I have moves.





Back to the topic at hand...But the one thing I have heard about, but don’t remember is the day I killed a cat. Hold your horses PETA freaks. When I was a wee lad of three years of age (yes I remember the Cookie Monster cake that same year, but not taking a feline life, sue me) my mother and I came to visit my Grandparents in Indy and we brought our new cat with us. Now the way my Moms tell this story, this cat was a hellcat. This kitty would claw the heck out of my mom in the middle of the night and was generally kind of a d-bag (can a cat be a d-bag?).


Well long story short (too late) I guess I was a chunk as a toddler and a clumsy chunk at that… I was watching Sonny and Cher with my Mom and I rolled right of the couch. Question? What the hell kind of parenting is that? I know, where is child welfare when you need them? Anyway as I rolled my happy arse back up on the couch, I apparently had some blood on my super sweet PJ’s. My Granny asked my Moms if I was OK (Maybe she should have asked before my mother let roll off the couch like a freaking weeble-wobble?) because she saw the blood. Well you guessed it; I fell on the cat and crushed the poor kitty like a beer can at a fraternity party.


The next day I woke up and wanted to play with my cat and Grandpa told me that the cat had bolted after being taken to the Doctor for treatment of a stomach ache. I guess I was not very sharp at three because I bought that happy horse crap.


When I was in High School my Mom filled me in on the real scoop. I am sorry Mr. Cat… So sorry, I barely knew you. RIP.

Oh Mother

Well Mothers Day was a few weeks ago and I have been thinking recently how lucky I got in the Mom Lottery. For reals (I am feeling very street tonight… been watching too much of the Wire, I guess) basically there is a parent lottery and you end up jackpotting like me or end up coming up craps like one of those poor Spears kids.

Why is my Moms (damn Wire) so dope? Well first my Mom always, I mean without exception put my needs in front of her own. I never needed for anything. Sure, maybe I did not get everything I ever wanted, but I always had anything I needed and I usually got everything I wanted as well. Heck she ponied up a Wii for the family this year.

But it’s not about getting nice things; it’s about exposing to so many of the things I love today. The summer before my sixth grade year, my Mom felt like I was up to no good (she was probably right) and she decided was going to try to get me interested in something beside laying around and watching Different Strokes (love that Arnold Jackson). So she read The Stand to me aloud, two to three chapters per night. To this day it is by far my favorite book. I reread this book myself any time I hit a rough patch or feel like I need to be reground. I owe this to Mom.

My mom exposed me to raw cookie dough (way before it came in packages), Psycho, To Kill a Mockingbird, the British version of the Office, my first trip to Graceland and so many other things that have made my life richer today.

I got my sense of humor from my Mom and most importanly she is the one person that will call me on my BS.

I am very lucky indeed.

Reavo's Strange Likes

First off I realized pretty early on in my life that I have some pretty, how shall we say… interesting likes, others might deem them strange. I find beauty in things many others don’t. I also have a well defined taste palate; enjoying food and tasty treats others with less developed palates might miss the pure deliciousness.

So here are a few of what some people may refer to as “my strange likes”.

Candy Circus Peanuts –Some find them gross, others find them disgusting. Me, I love them. I love them stale and hard. I love them fresh and soft. I love the smell as you bust open a new bag. In 7th grade I ate a whole bag and made myself puke… doesn't matter like a girl that treats you poorly I always come back for more.

R Kelly – Some find him gross, others find him disgusting. Me, I find him to be a pure genius. Yes I know he has may have made some interesting choices where to urinate recently, but dude is a pure lyrical showman. My personal favorite is the Ignition remix.

Logan’s Run- OK I can’t use the gross disgusting line here, but many people find Logan’s Run to be a really boring 70’s sci-fi movie. Me, I see a masterpiece. Sure it moves a bit slow, but it is a great concept and is 70’s kitsch at its finest. However, this one maybe the my fanboy coming out.

Dawson’s Creek – Many may find it a little nuts for a straight man in his mid 30’s to profess his love for a show whose target audience is teenage girls, but if loving Dawson's Creek is wrong I don't wanna be right! I am proud to say I love it (for the record I also like Degrassi as well, classic and the new generation… yeah for real). Weird? Maybe, but I love the Pacey/Joey/Dawson love triangle of season 3. I loved the show because I hated Dawson, so rooting for Pacey to win the heart of the pre-robot Katie Holmes, became good sport. It was a well written (excluding the boring year in college) piece of teenage melodrama that I miss each time a see a crap filled commercial for One Tree Hill.

So those are just a few of my strange likes…

Loose Ends

OK a couple of loose ends to tie up here my loyal readers…

I have yet another new guilty pleasure, The Paper on MTV. This new reality show instant classic chronicles the inter-workings of a southern California high school newspaper. The show does an excellent job showcasing the true experience of a high school geek squad. Now I was never on my high school newspaper staff… I was way too cool for that.

No, Repertory Theater and Radio and TV class were my personal geek calling cards. But back to the Paper, the thing that makes it a great show is that these kids take the newspaper so seriously. You can also pick out each of the characters from your own high school experience. I went to a school with a girl (HG if you are reading this it’s you!) that is a dead ringer for the lead character Amanda. So if you get a chance throw a glance at the Paper, you won’t be disappointed.

On to other things…

American Idol – Oh what to do about the new singing Elmo doll – David Archamakemewannapuke. I cannot stand this kid.

Scramble – My new addiction is wearing out, I still enjoy a game here and there but the magic is gone I fear.

GI Joe – Good news fellow fanboys… There will be a live action GI Joe movie… Roadblock, Duke and the rest of the Joes will be hitting the screen next summer! Yo Joe! Yeah you guessed it I had a wicked collections of GI Joes back in the day.

That’s it for now…

Operation Sneaky Tooth Fairy

Recently my wife and I had to attempt a covert operation under the cover of darkness. My daughter CJ had been an absolute nightmare for like a week because her front top right tooth was loose. CJ is the kind of kid that is a dream to be around 90% of the time, but man if she is sick or God forbid has a loose tooth… Katie bar the door, it is time for trauma-drama!

So this tooth was so loose that every breath would move it. Literally the tooth was swinging in the breeze. CJ would absolutely not let us pull it out. She was refusing to eat because her tooth was bothering her, so that compounded her already horrible mood. One morning CJ came in our bed room before school crying and said she look “ridiculous” with a loose tooth lisp, but still would not touch her tooth. I had finally had enough. I was like Joe Don Baker in Walking Tall; I needed to take matters into my own hands.

That night after CJ went to bed it was time to put my plan in action. The insurgent tooth, had to be deal with… it was time for Operation Sneaky Tooth Fairy! I got the flashlight and tiptoed in to CJ room. The glow of my flashlight illuminated CJ’s powdered blue walls, I slowed my breath like GI Joe solider Duke on a mission behind Cobra enemy lines. I was so freaking stealth that CJ did not stir as I made my way towards her bed. I was there, it was the moment of truth; the tooth and I were going to do battle. I moved her upper lip slightly and I barley grazed the loose bugger. That was all it took, the tooth was out in an instance. But… oh no… where had it gone? I could not find the tooth. At that point it was time to call in reinforcements, the wife. I told my wife she needed to go and find the tooth, I was afraid CJ might choke on it or something. The problem is my wife could not stop laughing. So she and I are standing in my daughter’s room, try to regain our composure before completing the mission. Finally my wife pulled herself together and rescued the tooth from CJ bottom lip.

Operation Sneaky Tooth Fairy was completed successfully and the next morning we had our sweetheart back. Can you say Father of the Year?

Nothing mini about the Mini

Recently I embarked on a new challenge. The Indianapolis Mini Marathon! I have thought about doing this for years, but always thought why pay $55 dollars to be miserable? I am miserable most days for free. But this year I decided what the heck, you only live once (unless you buy Shirley MacLaine’s take on things) lets do it.

What was I thinking?

Now most folks who sign up for these 13.1 miles of hell, train for months to prepare for the big day, me, not so much. Originally I had delusions of running this monstrosity. Then I remembered, I run like I am tied to a tree. So walking seemed like a more logical choice for this broken down old body.

There are some very nice ladies that I work with that offered to let me train with them, but I was always otherwise detained when they were conducting their training sessions. Activities, such as Wii, Scramble, blogging and sleep all took precedent to training. This is not to say I did not train at all, but not nearly enough. I topped out at eight miles during my training, never getting close to the 13.1 I was going to need to complete this chamber of horrors.

I was frightened the morning of the Mini that would not be able to keep up with sub 18 minute pace needed to avoid the loser bus. Yes if you don’t maintain that 18 minute pace, they pull you from the road and make you get on a bus. Oh the horror!

Well I rode down to the Mini with the marathon vets from work that had offered to let me train. They were calm and relaxed, but I was a bundle of nerves. What had I gotten myself in to? As I walked in to corral X I was looking for an escape from this madness. But alas there was no escape; I was going to have to do this.

As I crossed the starting line with two of my co-workers I was filled with adrenaline! I could do this. In fact when one of my fellow walkers started to run, I did as well! Yeah let’s run this whole thing I thought, who needed training? Then we came to our senses and slowed down, this was half marathon after all.

I was fine until mile three. My partners decided we would run at the end of the miles… well as we got to mile three I ran. I turned to see where my partners were and BAM I went down like Tonya Harding had taken me out. Except my Tonya Harding was my own lack of coordination. I got up and dusted myself off; I was no worse for wear.

Other than my brush with ground, I was fine until I hit the mile nine. Every step from mile nine and 12 was utter hell. Each step hurt immensely, my feet bottoms felt like I was walking on broken glass. I was getting cold chills and I had to use the bathroom.

Then I hit mile 12. I realized I was going to finish… I could do it. I told myself over and over, just finish and you will never ever make this mistake again. Just finish it this once you can say you did it and then be done with it forever.

Crossing the finish line was unbelievable! I even ran the last 1/ 4 mile. I could not believe I was finally done… in 3 hours and 20 minutes. I was able to keep a 15 minute pace, which is not too bad for my lack of real training.

Now the crazy part… I can’t wait for next year.

Quick Grey's Take

OK seriously... I enjoy Grey's as much as the next person, but really I think its time for Seattle Grace to invest in another elevator. It seems that this hospital only has one elevator, which is a bit odd for a facility of its size.

The Essence Of Philly - He, Who Gambles, Loses

I recently blogged about my friend Brock, within minutes of the post going live I received an e-mail from my boy Philly. He wrote how funny he thought the post was and he rolling on the ground laughing (I am pretty funny, if I do say so myself). So I thought if he liked reading about Brock, hell he will love reading about himself. Good for the goose and all that stuff.

I have so many stories about Philly that it is really tough to narrow it down to just one. I mean do I write about the time I got Philly free tickets to the 500 and he proceeded to get so, drunk he could not walk home? Or maybe I write about the night he got drunk and picked a fight with a guy, and met his future wife in the same night, dude is a serious pimp. No I must share with you a very special night, a night when Phillip gambled and lost.

It was a few years after we were out of college and a few of the fellas decided to hit the old college stomping grounds for a little bro’s weekend retreat (read drunken debauchery of the worst kind). Well after a day of drinking at homecoming we decided to hit a party at the house (can you say still trying to live the college dream?).

Well I look at Philly and he had a very strange expression on his face. I walk over to him and ask “what the deal?”
Philly says dejected “I gambled and I lost”
I said “what do you mean you gambled and lost?”
Philly looked at me with stone cold seriousness and said “I thought I was going to fart, but I poo-pooed in my panties.”
Yes that is why I love Philly.

Sunday Funnies

It’s been a while since I have checked in. I have been wicked busy at work recently and I have been trying to feed my Scramble addiction whenever possible, so keeping up with my blog seems to have taken a back seat to a paycheck and word finding games, my apologies loyal reader. To make up for a lack of recent posts I will hit on a few different subjects, so put on your A.D.D. reading caps and we will get this bad boy rolling….

Recent Itunes Downloads –
I downloaded the new Everclear album this week. This is odd for me as I usually prefer to cherry pick my favorite cuts off an album rather than download the full monty, but after sampling the Vegas Years, I knew this would be the exception to the rule. The album offers Everclear’s take on some of the band's favorite covers tunes. The group’s unique rock flavor adds a nice edge to songs like This Land is your Land and Land of the Lost. An interesting side note, the group also seems to love songs with girl in the title including the follow cuts Rich Girl, American Girl, Southern Girls and you guessed it Brown Eyed Girl.

Video Clip of the Week-
I recently came across this little ditty on Funnyordie.com. Give it a look if you have ever longed to see Will Ferrell and Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters letting out their inner Stevie Nicks and Don Henley.
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/02abda16b8

Faster Pussycat –
When I was in high school one of my favorite pastimes was “What shirt will Rick wear today?” It was a simple but fun game I used to play to ease the pain of high school boredom. I had a three hour Radio and TV class with this dude Rick (no recollection of his last name), who had an extensive concert t-shirt collection. I mean this guy had a shirt for every 80’s hair-band that ever cut an album. I had never even heard of many of these groups. Remember my IPOD has songs from Rick Ashley, Lionel Richie and Hall and Oates so Poison and Motley Crew are not signature Reavo listening. Anyhow I would try to guess before class what shirt Rick would be wearing, but I would also award myself bonus points on a sliding scale based on the guessed band’s obscurity. The crown jewel of this obscurity was Faster Pussycat. Yes, old Rick did have a Faster Pussycat shirt. I salute you Rick for your bold concert t-shirt fashion choices!

Ready to Hulu

Baby, if you've ever wondered, Wondered whatever became of me,
I'm living on the air in Cincinnati, Cincinnati, WKRP.
Got kind of tired packing and unpacking,
Town to town and up and down the dial Maybe you and me were never meant to be,
But baby think of me once in awhile.
I'm at WKRP in Cincinnati...

If you are like me and love classic TV from your childhood like WKRP and St. Elsewhere I have a site you need to check out. Now we won’t address the fact that I was watching these shows at grade school age (apparently Mama Shirley was asleep at the TV wheel). There is a new site called hulu.com which features theses classics and many others free of charge. You do have to deal with limited commercial breaks from the like of Chilies (I want my baby-back, baby-back, baby-back), but other than that, no fee or charges to the viewer.

The site also offers full episodes of modern day favorites including The Office and Friday Night Lights in addition to the classics. There are also movies available as well, but most of them seemed less than top shelf… Sorry if there are a lot of Meet Joe Black fans out there. Give hulu.com a look during your next surf.

Be Careful What You Wish For...

I remember when I turned 15 and I got it… my first chest hair. It stood all alone on my caved in 15 year old chest. I had not been that excited since I beat level 12 of Donkey Kong! Ah yes I was on the verge of manhood and I was getting ready you bust out Burt Reynolds style baby. Magnum PI was going to have nothing on me because I was going to be known as Chesty McHairsalot.

So imagine my disappointment when my Chia-chest really did not bloom. Oh I had a few chest hairs here and there but not the garden of chest shrubbery for which I had longed. That is until I got out of college, then Presto-Chesto, I became a hair growing machine.

But like anything,there is too much of a good thing. I hardly got to enjoy my sweet chest beard before I started to realize that the old growth on my chest was making its way to my shoulders. Then it moved south to my back! My back!?! Suddenly my dream come true had turned in to a nightmare… I am an old man with back hair. I am Burt Reynolds, but not cool Smokey and the Bandit Burt Reynolds, instead I am gross old Dukes of Hazard Burt Reynolds.

The Enigma that is Brock…

So I have been MIA from blogging this week. I did eight miles on Saturday training for the mini and my right foot has been killing me ever since. I am not sure what I did to it but man it hurts. I have also been very busy this week with my new obsession… Scramble on Facebook. It’s basically a boggle rip-off, but it has me hooked.

I also really have not had much to write about this week, nothing has really caught me as blog-worthy, like I really ever blog about front page news?

Then it came to me… Brock. I need to blog about Brock. Brock is a buddy of mine. Actually he is more than a buddy he is one of my best friends, heck the guy was one of my groomsmen. I also believe he is a CIA operative or maybe a magician. I met Brock my freshman year of college. Brock was one of the few actives in my fraternity that actually was cool to me when I was a pledge. Brock has always been dope. He is the guy that is always up for a beer, a game of golf or hitting the bricks for a road trip. In short Brock is a very cool dude. A guy like Brock is a must have for any entourage… easy to get along with and up for anything.

But… And there always is a but, right? But Brock also is an enigma that I will never fully understand. From the very early days of knowing Brock I realized he was a different bird. First off Brock used to disappear without telling anyone (maybe because of a secret CIA mission?). You would walk down to his room on a Tuesday and ask his roommate where Brock was and he would be like “no idea, I have not seen him” then Brock would be MIA for two or three days. When he return there would be no explanation, besides maybe a “oh I decided to head home for a few days.” Dude, tell someone, give us a heads up. More than a few times we considered calling THPD and reporting Brock missing. Hell we almost put him on a milk carton once he gone so long.

Brock also appears out of nowhere. Last summer Brock started this deal of appearing out of thin air (he is almost Copperfield-like). Brock and I were going to go golfing one weekend and he was supposed to meet me at my house. Well I am out in my driveway putting my clubs in my car and poof (!) Brock appears behind me. When I say appeared I mean appeared, no car, no sounds of footsteps... he was just there. Brock says he parked on the wrong road and walked over, but I believe he has developed a teleportation skill.

So maybe Brock is a bit of an enigma, but aren’t we all in our own way? I mean some of us blog and some of us disappear and reappear. In the end Brock is wicked cool in my book, heck the guy never made me pay for a formal or hayride in four years of college (he just charged everyone else in the chapter extra so he and I could go for free… suckas!) but I still think he maybe a CIA operative or a magician.

Reavo goes all Fan-boy... What a Geek

Super Friends… Best. Cartoon. Ever. I have been reading JLA (that’s Justice League of America for non-fan boys) comic books since the early eighties. I am a huge fan of the Super Friends cartoon adaption of JLA that was on ABC Saturday mornings from 1973 -1986. During that epic run the Friends took on various rosters of superheros but the core group was always Superman, Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Batman and boy wonder Robin. During their network television run the team would include other superhero icons as Green Lantern (Hal Jordan is wicked), the Flash, Black Vulcan, Apache Chief and Hawkgirl.

The reason I am blogging about JLA/ The Super Friends is that Warner Brothers, parent company of DC comics the owners of the JLA characters, has announced they are going to produce a JLA live action movie. As a fan, I should be happy about it, but I am not. I feel that JLA is a much more natural fit in animated form. The recent Cartoon Network resection of the JLA was amazing and proves the animation point. In fact the recent JLA revival is more true to the heart and theme of the comic book than the Super Friends, but it misses much of the kooky eighties charm of the Friends take on superheros. The nifty lean towards anti-violence is why I prefer the eighties version. Plus I actually like the Wonder Twins, call me a crazy.

I cannot help but doubt Hollywood’s ability to capture the true flavor of my favorite superhero team after so many hero flicks have missed the mark in the past few years. Let’s hope they get this one right. Hopefully it is more X-Men and less (way less) Fantastic Four. But, I would be just as happy if they put out an animated version of the JLA.

Reavo

Reavo's Rules of Grammar and Spelling

Dude, I have some issues. I recent read some of my blogs and realized they were littered with errors. I would love to blame my pubic school education or maybe Indiana State University, but alas I can not. To be honest I know what 90% of the problem is... slow fingers. You see my mind races (often not coherently) like a rabbit on crack from topic to topic, but my fingers type like the fat kid in gym class... slow. So I guess I naturally compensate by dropping words or not using proper tense. You would think that I would see these mistakes as I read my blog (yes I do read it, for real I do!). It does not work that way, because my mind naturally fixes the mistakes for me. This problem is magnified by the fact that I blog at night when I am not always at my strongest mentally. So dear reader, if you find yourself reading my blog and trying to guess what I drinking when I wrote it, I apologize... and answer is probably Coors Light.

Reavo

Quick Question

Do any of my loyal readers, all three of you, know whatever happened to Dirty Doug or Joe-Joe? If anyone knows their location please let me know... I am trying track them down. I would like to put them in a new VH1 reality show "Dirty Doug and Joe Joe do the Bayou!"

Reavo

Tuesday Download Day!

All right boys and girls its Tuesday and you know what that means... New Release Day on Itunes! So what did yours truly download today?

Drift Away - Steve Acho
How to Save a Life - Steve Acho
Far Away - Steve Acho
Faithfully - Steve Acho
Touch My Body - Mariah
You Can't Count on Me - Counting Crows
The Green Gentleman -Panic at the Disco
Nine in the Afternoon - Panic at the Disco

All told I spent $7.92, for some pretty good tunes... Looked at some Ringo Starr stuff, but decided to pass and hold on for the upcoming Beatles releases (Right Mr. Jobs?).
If you are wondering who Steve Acho is, well he is a dude who plays a mean piano and does some very nice covers. I am sucker for a wicked cover artist, maybe that explains why I enjoy Idol?
I really enjoy the new Mariah song. I know that its not cool to like Mariah, but whatever, I have liked her since Vision of Love hit when I was in high school (random fact - this was my song with one of my high school girlfriends... cue the vomit sounds).
The new PATD is awesome, I definitely recommend any Beatles fan check it out. I had read that the new album has some Fab Four flavor and it certainly does. Finally, the Counting Crows are a staple of mine (the live version of Rain King is an all-time favorite of mine) and this one is a fun upbeat diddy.

Feel free to leave comments on any downloads you did this week.

Reavo

Road Rules/Real World Challenge... I have issues

So what would happen if the Road Rules/ Real World gang got drunk on spring break and hooked up with the freaks from American Gladiators? Well, besides not having a conversation about quantum physics, they would have an ugly baby called the Road Rules/Real World Challenge.
The Challenge comes in a number of different varieties--Gauntlet, Inferno, Battle of the Sexes and whatever craziness the team at MTV can come up with. Now I am going to be completely honest here... I love it. Not like innocent puppy love, but for-real stalker obsession sick in the head love. I really have issues because this show is an absolute train wreck. The concept is basic enough. Take the out-of-work RR/RW alumni and throw some money at them to do physical or mental competitions that the producers rip-off of Survivor while living in one house together. Then, add barrels and barrels of liquor... presto TV GOLD! Sad, so so sad, that a grown man (a father no less) watches this rubbish (keep in mind, I tease my wife for watching The Hills, from what moral high ground I ask you?). But man, this show is like crack for me. I think the secret to my passion are the psychos they cast on this show. To start with you gotta be that special kind of crazy to go Real World in the first place (Road Rules is barely even on anymore, so we will stick with the headcases on RW). Add to that a nice Peter Pan I-don't-wanna-grow-up complex because we have cast members (not sure what else to call them, but talent seems like a major stretch) from the second season of the Real World doing these challenges. These people, some of which, are actually older than me (yes Beth I am talking about you... If you are closer to your AARP card than your college spring break maybe, just maybe, its time to hang up your old challenge shoes, before you break a hip) and are still grasping to what little bit of fame the challenge provides for my entertainment. I pray someday there will be a Hall of Fame for the greats of the RW/RR to be celebrated by fanatics like myself.

I need help I tell you.

Reavo

Am I Eligible For My Midlife Crisis?

Today I turned 35 (yes on Easter, now I know how all those Christmas babies feel) and it brings me to a very interesting question.

Am I Eligible For My Midlife Crisis?

I figure that my life expectancy is probably around 70 years of age which means that I should have reached full eligibility for my Midlife crisis. So do I get to buy a sports car? Should I maybe buy a Harley? Maybe I need to color my hair and deck myself out in some sweet gold bling...

Naw... I think I better just kick it the way I have been. First off I am not really a gear head so a sports car would be wasted on me. Since I can barely walk down the hall without falling down, a motorcycle would almost assuredly lower my life expectancy a great deal. I like my hair with the premature grey (you try being married 11 years and NOT going grey) and my Pop has the gold bling covered (Mr. T has nothing on my old man...) so I don't want to bite his style.

But maybe I do need to make a few changes in my life. My wife recently bought a new wall plaque that says Live Laugh Love (from JCPenny no less, nothing but the best for my fam). I think that is a great motto for life. I live plenty (don't believe me? guess you have never been to a Wii party with me). I laugh more than my fair share, I may actually want to tone it down a bit. But I perhaps I could love a little more. I can sometimes hold grudges or be less than forgiving. So thats my resolution for the second half of this life (however long it lasts)... To love a little more.

In the words of Kanye "Havin' money's not everything not havin' it is I was splurgin' on trizz,"

Reavo