Welcome to Day 1 of the Thrilled 32 round of the 2014 May Mayhem Tournament of Champions! This round will be advanced like the opening round (at my discretion), but, as we now have introduced everyone in the Tournament, this round will focus more on fun memories that I have with those still on their quest to be crowned the 2014 Champion of Champions.
But, first, to honor America, this choral presentation of our National Anthem:
Okay! Let's get it going! Day one of the Thrilled 32 is starting........now!
5) Haley Terndrup vs. 13) Emily Wizola
What better way to start up the Thrilled 32 round than by highlighting two women who are quite fun to be around, and who I've only been around on a very limited basis, haha. It sets the trend for most of today's match-ups.
Haley, obviously, one of the Fantastic Four/Core Four/Fabulous Four/any other "Four"-based nickname we have used in the past, from our Mardi Gras trip this past March, and so the bulk of my time with her was spent on the streets of NOLA. However, prior to that meeting, we had been involved in group chats as a collective unit (sans Kristin, most of the time), and that is how I found out that Haley is, reportedly, a pretty awesome wing-woman to have. Probably my favorite memory of Haley was when she assisted us in peer-pressuring Maui to take that jello shot out of a plastic syringe (clarification: they are sold that way; it wasn't like a real syringe). Would Maui have still done with the two of us (me and Kristin) telling him he should? I don't know. He was pretty caught up in his dancing, and getting props from a black guy with gold teeth IN NEW ORLEANS, and so that certainly gives him street cred for dancing, as far as I'm concerned. However, Haley joined by taking a shot, too, and may have been the driving force that got Maui to do so as well. That was a good night, for sure. #NOLA
Probably my favorite memory involving Emily would be when I discovered that she was big into Southern rap or when she was talking about being a Patriots' fan, but who would struggle to find bars that televised their games here in town. It was really unfortunate because neither of these cool facts were known about Emily until she was almost gone; she could have been in our Pick Em League much sooner. I don't know how well she picks winners, but it is a bummer that Emily's coolness was only realized at the end of her tenure. If I ever get around to making my podcast/Internet interview show, I will certainly invite Emily on to talk rap and hip-hop. She knows her stuff, too. If not for Emily, I probably would still be pondering whatever happened to Petey Pablo-- but she told me: he's in jail. BUT still making records! I can dig it. I think I'll pull an "upset" here and advance Emily to the Smooth 16.
4) Dana Troy vs. 5) John Herboth
Probably my favorite recent memories with Dana include watching the 49ers' games with him at his house. Sure, the Wooden Chicken was a great destination for us in the past, but, as we have become competitive and damn-near-elite the bandwagon fans have also began to swell; and such a small bar, as the Chicken is, gets way too crowded way too fast that it's just not worth it. Seriously -- driving from St. Johns to damn-near Gresham (probably a solid 35-40mins) at 9am for the afternoon game, just to hope to get a table for the two of us was ridiculous.
What I will miss, though, is the emotional outbursts that Dana has while watching the games. ESPECIALLY, when we have had to watch them online where the game is always either delayed, or choppy, or not up to his HD standards....whereas I'm relatively content with whatever, since it's the best option that I see available. Anyways, his pending move to Seattle this summer means that I'll need to find some where else to watch the 49ers' games at this coming season -- or the few that aren't going to be televised due to residing in the Seahawks' TV market (another thing that he rants about, haha) -- and that the experience won't be as exciting but I'm sure the text messages will be lively.
I have a lot of great memories with John over the years, but the one that immediately comes to mind was during kickball last season when he and Benny collided in the outfield. Yes, this probably comes to mind because I'm trying to get a game of sloshball scheduled for Friday night (if you want to play, seriously, let me know -- all are welcome), but it is a great tale nonetheless.
If there is one thing that a Herboth will do, it is pursue a fly-ball with every ounce of their being. It doesn't matter if they're playing left field and the ball is kicked to center; nor if they are playing short stop and it's a foul ball down the right field line; it doesn't matter: they are going to pursue that ball. It's great if you're on their team and you're comfortable with them "Herbothing" you (the verb created to describe when someone cuts in front of a teammate in order to make the play instead). Benny, however, must not have gotten the memo or seen the Herboths in action -- because he pursued the ball with equal intensity.
When that ball was sailing between them, I (playing 1st base at the time) remember saying: "Ohh...they're definitely going to collide." It was a fly-ball that was just high enough to where both of their eyes had to be up (negating their peripheral vision) BUT just low enough to where it was losing altitude fast enough to warrant a full-speed sprint by both of them. It was magical.
If memory serves correct, Benny saw him at the very last moment and got down, as John plowed into him. I believe that Benny took a knee/leg to the upper body -- maybe it was his head, or shoulder, or arm-thrown-up-in-defensive-reflex-to-protect-the-head -- as John went tumbling over him. But he made the catch. We took a TV timeout thereafter to tend to the wounded and make sure everyone was okay. It was spectacular. Such theatrics are only saved for sloshball games when the would-be catcher has their beer sprayed all over the place in a brilliant water-fountain-esque spray. With sloshball now on the brain, I'll advance John to the Smooth 16, in a slight "upset".
5) Justin Cumnock vs. 13) Andrew Salzman
I don't have a specific memory that stands out with Cumnock, as I usually see him at typical house parties doing typical house party things. So, this may be a prime "upset" in the making, because, even though I only hung out with Andrew on Fat Tuesday down in NOLA, it was a fun few hours with drunken story-telling, his explanation on what factors he puts into his fast food reviews/evaluations, and even our discussions on if he was like the Boston version of Joe Krcma. There certainly are some overlaps, for sure.
My favorite memory with Andrew was when we the group was at dinner after the Tropicana club (....I think). The girls had wanted to go to some restaurant that sounded fancy, but it was closed, and so, on our walk back to the chaos of Bourbon St, we saw a smaller "restaurant"/maybe a "diner" (??), that I forget the name of -- BUT it was open and had a table large enough for the 5 of us. Anyway, despite being one hurricane in, and working on a second (in the plastic chalice that hung on a plastic chain around one's neck, for hands-free transportation), we got some more drinks there and got some much-needed food. That's when Andrew started talking about his evaluation system for fast food -- which was pretty interesting, as it was not at all biased by personal opinion, usually tainted by regional preferences (i.e. Californians tend to rave about In-n-Out, but it's just okay, really; and Seattle-area folks rave about Dick's, but that's nothing impressive, either). The evaluations even factored in public opinion measures, as well. For example, if ignoring politics, then Chik-fil-a is the best of the best, per Andrew's evaluation metrics, BUT, if factoring in their owner's political opinions/beliefs, then he said, I believe, that McDonald's still reigns supreme overall. It was interesting stuff.
As I don't have an immediate story or memory that I can think of with Cumnock, I think that it makes sense to advance Andrew into the Smooth 16, and so that is what I shall do.
AND NOW, the Round 2 : Day 1 "Marquee Match-Up" presented by the Foster Family Care Network
There are a lot of different ways to support local foster kids, instead of opening your home. For example, you can donate supplies that all kids need and that foster kids may not have as immediate access to: things like school supplies, shoes, coats, and new clothes. You can do this through Sleep Country USA and their Foster Kids program, where they are responsible for acquiring said supplies on a MASSIVE scale each year for local foster kids. Donations of supplies that have come from the generosity of people such as you.
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| Click the image.....you know that you want to.... :-) |
1) Kristen Dutra vs. 8) Meredith Jaeger
Kristen and Meredith. I am not sure if they have met in past Tournaments (again, I don't keep statistics as well for the Tournament as I do other things), but this is a great match-up between two great women.
I don't see Meredith all that often, sadly; usually just at birthday parties or the random times that our lunch schedules and destinations overlap. Speaking of which, one of my favorite recent memories of Meredith was a month or so ago, when the Chipotle at Cascade Station opened up and she was there MOMENTS before I arrived to check it out. I found out about it on Facebook -- when she was commenting about how uncannily loud it was in there; almost like a dance club (by the way, I credit her criticism/suggestion because the music is much lower now than it was on their opening week). It goes hand-in-hand with a time a year or so ago when I ran into her at the pizza place -- Pizzanos, I recommend them if you're in the area -- on lunch. I don't know if she's ever been to Grant's (I know I've suggested it in the past....but, I don't think I have invited her the past couple of times that I've gone....I'll need to be better about that), but she is one of the few people that I ever see while on lunch, and, due to the limited times that I see her (in general), it makes the random lunch sightings that much more memorable.
Meanwhile, I have a lot of great memories with Kristen, but most notably -- that I have the 49ers now on my mind, with the season upcoming in just a few months -- was when her and I went to meet Jerry Rice at the grand opening of the Fred Meyer in Wilsonville. It was sweet. I got wind of it (via Dana Troy) and called up Kristen to see if she wanted to go -- and she did. So, I picked her up and we drove down to Wilsonville to meet the legend himself. The clutch move on her part, though, was that she actually got Jerry Rice to personalize her dad's football!! I am pretty sure that she was the only one successful in that - as Jerry Rice's handlers then quickly made the announcement that there would be no personalizing of memorabilia. It was a smooth move on her part, for sure. Even though I got black listed by Ty Griffin for all of eternity because I thought of Kristen instead of him, when this opportunity presented itself, it was a great time and a great experience. Oh, and Kristen bought me fro-yo to say "thanks". I'm looking forward to seeing her again on my trip to the Bay Area in July as I'm pretty sure that I haven't seen her since her birthday celebration (with the first time that I had played laser tag since probably middle school) a few months ago -- which seems way longer now that I think of it.
Well, I may not see Kristen again until July but we'll hear more about her next week as she is advancing to the Smooth 16 round of the 2014 Tournament! The higher seed finally prevails on this day! Oh, Meredith, I'll likely be going to Grant's sometime next week -- I'll see if you're interested in experiencing it (if you haven't done so already); it's quite good. I am a fan.
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And that will do it for this first day of the Thrilled 32! Four folks have advanced to the Smooth 16, while four others have joined the prior champions who exited last week. They will have more company before the week is through, I assure you.
Looking ahead to tomorrow, there is a bit more heavy-hitters being featured and so some good stories should ensue.
-Ryan.
Commissioner
May Mayhem Tournament of Champions
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