Fugazzi Grand II : SNL (update)

Here's where I'm at. Just finished season 32, skimming through season 33 right now. Should be done looking at clips in about a month. I will be molding and shaping the list in April and May. The plan is to unveil about 10 moments a day, and culminate with the Top 20 moments on the day of the season premiere in fall.

Brauny

I'm not feeling overjoyed with the news that Ryan Braun won't serve a 50 game suspension. I'm happy, don't get me wrong. Unfortunately, I'll always wonder if he got off on a technicality. I'm just happy that he'll be playing on Opening Day. The problem is, if his numbers take a dive, some people will say it's because he doesn't have Prince Fielder protecting him anymore, and some will say it's because he's not juicing anymore. The fact is, I don't know what the hell happened, but it's important that Ryan Braun put up an even bigger year this year, to shut everyone up ....

Fugazzi Grand II : SNL

A year and a half ago, I presented Fugazzi Grand to the world (9 people), which was a list of my top 1000 favorite songs. The idea was to share what I like, and I wanted to hear what you loved as well. I had a lot of fun creating it, and got a lot of good feedback. A lot of good conversations about music came from it as well. In the last 500 days or so, I have added a follower, and it's about time to start crafting Fugazzi Grand II : SNL. This will be a list of my top 1000 favorite Saturday Night Live moments. With the help of netflix, I have becoming familiar with the episodes that aired between 1980 and 1988, and along with re-watching some of the highlights from all 37 seasons, I am very close to presenting the list.

I was born 9 days before the show premiered in 1975, so I've always thought of SNL as my little brother. The show was a big deal to my mom and dad, as they used to make a frozen pizza and burn popcorn in anticipation of the show. I had seen a handful of episodes throughout my childhood, and always enjoyed it, but didn't become hooked until the 15th anniversary show aired in September of 1989. I've only missed a handful of shows since.

I plan to bring Fugazzi Grand II: SNL to you this summer. Stay tuned !

R.I.P. Gary Carter

I'm not even sure what to say tonight. I'm 36 years old, and just 5 days ago, I explained death to my daughter for the first time, and thought I did a pretty good job explaining it to her, and tonight, I'm at a complete loss for words. Celebrity deaths are always sad to hear about, but this is different for me. Gary Carter is one of my all time favorite baseball players, and once or twice a year, he and a handful of other people that have never met me, bring me to tears as I watch Game Six of the 1986 World Series. Every time I've watched it, I'm 11 years old again, and every time the 10th inning ends, it feels like my Grandma is about to come out and yell at me for waking her up.

This hurts a lot, nothing else I can say right now ....

It Will Happen

You see that man giving you the finger to the left? That is Hossein Khosrow Vaziri. You may know him as "The Iron Sheik". I am trying desperately to have this 68 year old man host my Fantasy Football roast this summer. And goddamnit, I will not rest until he agrees to do so .... stay tuned.

The greatest invention ... ever

If you don't agree with me, I will physically fight you. Just bought two used books at Half Price Books, and if you know me, you know how I hate what is left over when you try to take an old sticker off of an old book. This sexy product made my Roger Angell and Robert Creamer books look brand new ....

R.I.P. Whitney Houston

Still the greatest version I've heard of the Star Spangled Banner ... incredibly sad news

Sweet Nostalgia

You bet your ass I bought it.

So Good

This is one of the reasons I may never come around to finishing a second baseball book. I could never be as good as Dan Barry is in this. I recommend borrowing this from me, or picking it up at the library soon. Incredibly well written and entertaining.

I Thought I Let Myself Go

Say Cheese !

These are the moments that I treasure the most ....

The "fill in the blank" Bowl

Two nights ago, the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLVI. One Hundred Eleven Million people watched the game. Here are a few problems I have with the Super Bowl ...

• The name. We call it Super, even before it's played. A dozen or so of these games have been Super, but a lot of them have less than that. The game I watched Sunday was only "Super" for about 3 minutes ...
• The halftime show. I've only really liked three of them (U2, McCartney and Prince). Would it be ok if we talked, I don't know, football, during the halftime show, and air Madonna's performance on VH1 Classic or MTV2.
• The roman numerals. Let's stop numbering the game altogether. By numbering the games, the NFL is pretty much ignoring any champions that were crowned between 1920 and 1965.

If it were up to me, next year's scheduled game would be referred to as the 2012 NFL Championship Game instead of Super Bowl XLVII. And at halftime, we would leave the 80's pop stars in the Nice Price bin at Best Buy, show highlights of the first half, and give analysis of the second half.

I understand it's a chance for advertisers to reach out to over 100 million potential buyers, and I think that can still be done with all the commercials that are paid for, but I think it's time the focus go back to the game, and use the game to celebrate the league's rich history. The Cleveland Browns have never even made a Super Bowl, but did you know that they have won more NFL Championships than the Patriots?