The town made famous by 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has now given me another reason to smile. No, I’m not talking about Bristol’s Baby-Daddy, Levi Johnston. Rather, I’m here to gush about my new indie-rock favorite and Wasilla-born, “Portugal. The Man.”
Hard to describe exactly what PTM sounds like, so bear with me. Imagine ‘Indie-Rock’ having intercourse with ‘Blues’ while ‘Folk’ films. Occasionally, ‘Electronic Funk’ will drop in with suggestions, but typically it’s just the three of them in the dingy motel room.
For the evil scientists of the world, I’d say the formula looks something like this: White Stripes + My Morning Jacket x Mars Volta / Cursive = Portugal... (Remember to utilize the Order of Operations to ensure positive outcome)
My math might be off a little here, but I think the formula works to an extent. Anyway - motivation for this posting comes from an afternoon session with its newest album “The Satanic Satanist." I hope you enjoy!
No … I’m not going to reprise the 1969 Neil Armstrong moonwalk, though that also occurred on July 20. Instead, I’ll take this opportunity to wish 36-year-old “Foppa” a happy birthday. An equally giant step for mankind, Swedish hockey great Peter Mattias Forsberg entered the world on this day in history.
Happy Birthday, Peter! Beyond your breathtaking ability and Hall of Fame career, you’ll always have a special place in my memory for a legendary hook-up story that featured Foppa and my barely-legal friend from high school. Haha, still makes me laugh.
The game lasted 2 hours, 31 minutes – the fastest since 1988 – and the fans deserved it. After suffering through the meticulously long HR Derby on Monday, I only had about 2.5 hours to give before I turned on baseball.
Due to Rockies success in the 2008 All-Star Game, I was fully expecting Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis to show up big – and Hawpe almost delivered. With the game tied 3-3 in the seventh inning, Hawpe launched a homerun ball deep into left-center field, only to have it thieved by Carl Crawford’s leaping, over-the-fence grab. … It’s OK, Brad. We still love you.
Finally, let’s talk about the throw that never was: President Obama’s ceremonial first pitch.
Let’s be honest, there was a lot riding on this pitch. Americans put a lot of stock into our leaders’ athletic ability - and deservedly so. I’m still convinced this photo had more to do with the 2004 Presidential Election than Ohio ever did. Moreover, President Bush’s iconic first pitch after 9/11 brought this country together and made us all proud to have ‘W’ at the helm (if only for a moment).
That’s why I resolutely believed that Obama must deliver a clear-cut strike to calm our country out of this recession (hyperbole-pending). To add to the mounting pressure, it seems like nobody has thrown a strike in these situations since Bush. How was America going to react if Barack conjured famed first-pitch fool Marky Mark?!
Fortunately, some FOX executive avoided the situation all together by not showing the pitch. OK, that’s not exactly fair. They aired the pitch from a snail’s-eye view, making it nearly impossible to gauge Obama’s arm strength or pitch location
Like the rest of my liberal brethren, I’d love to place all the blame on Rupert Murdoch and FOX. But… I think Obama’s staff may have had something to do with the imperfect camera angle.
It’s basic PR: control the message. From that camera angle, any dreadful pitch (short of a 2000 Rick Ankiel toss) would have looked serviceable.
So, we are stuck with this, and it is probably for the best. Had President Obama gone Trent Edwards last night, the fate of the Free World would undeniably be in danger. Well done, Obama PR team, you sidestepped major disaster.
It’s about time: ESPN finally has launched a YouTube channel. ESPN's mega-agency Wieden + Kennedy created this official welcome message for YouTube, and I must admit... it's pretty damn good.
Here’s what is going to happen: I’ll make my prediction, brag when I guess correctly, delete this post if I get it wrong. Fair enough, right?
First, let’s look at the field (alphabetical):
Nelson Cruz, Rangers
Prince Fielder, Brewers
Adrian Gonzalez, Padres
Ryan Howard, Phillies
Brandon Inge, Tigers
Joe Mauer, Twins
Carlos Pena, Rays
Albert Pujols, Cardinals
You figure Pujols is the odds-on favorite because he’s on a tear and the game is in St. Louis. Ryan Howard and Joe Mauer are also probably a safe bets. I’d love to see Adrian Gonzalez take home the title for some NL West love.
But my money is on the darkhorse, Carlos Pena. The guy can mash, and he’s pretty streaky (which can be a good thing). We see it happen every year: One of the participants gets red-hot, puts up a huge total, only to fall in the later stages due to fatigue. For no reason other than a hunch, I think Pena outlasts the fatigue and goes the distance.
The town made famous by 2008 Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin has now given me another reason to smile. No, I’m not talking about Bristol’s Baby-Daddy, Levi Johnston. Rather, I’m here to gush about my new indie-rock favorite and Wasilla-born, “Portugal. The Man.”
