Author Archives: mceezy

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April 24, 2010

Raiders Swoop Up Another Leftover Quarterback

By mceezy

These days, it’s almost more exciting to be a Raider fan during the offseason than during the season.  The Raiders are the one team I can count on to make big moves each year to try and get better the following year. It doesn’t pan out in a favorable way, but it’s nice to know that management, for lack of a better word, is not just sitting around apathetically in it’s cryogenic chamber. The most recent addition to the Oakland roster is supposedly Jason Campbell. The guys over at ESPN reported during this morning’s draft coverage that the now expendable Redskins quarterback is headed to Oakland in a trade for the Raiders’ 4th round pick in 2012. This gives Al Davis yet another backup QB to add to his two decade long collection – maybe even longer, because as I think back as long as I’ve been alive, I can’t recall a single franchise caliber QB donning the silver and black. Many will point no further than Rich Gannon earlier this decade, but to me, Gannon will always be the Kansas City Chiefs’ backup. I’d have to go back to Plunkett personally. But that predates my Raiders fandom. I think of names like Jeff Hostetler, Jay Schroeder, Jeff George, Kerry Collings and regretfully, Jamarcus Russell. Now we’ll see how Campbell adjusts to life in the Black Hole. I usually have optimistic expectations for guys who basically got pushed out the door in their old clubhouse, but I’m not sure Campbell ever had the makeup of a starting QB. He had the keys to the truck in Washington for a while, but never really delivered. I really like the idea of two former standout SEC quarterbacks battling it out for the job in a season that will likely make or break both of their seasons.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 22, 2010

Still Captain Jack

By mceezy

He may not be a Warrior anymore, and he may have left on bad terms, but I still have love for Stephen Jackson. The guy wears his emotions on his sleeve, and I can’t fault him for that – on the basketball court at least. During the decisive possession of last night’s Game 2, Jack drove into the lane and got slapped in the face by Matt Barnes, causing his headband to blind him in one eye. Instead of fixing it, Jack left the headband covering his face to show officials that a foul should’ve been called. I’ve done that before, so it’s always reassuring to see a pro baller do the same. No foul was called, but Jameer Nelson took the ball the other way and made a layup plus a foul, that put the game out of reach for Charlotte.  Calling ALL captains, here’s the clip….

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 19, 2010

Doubling Down on the NBA Playoffs

By mceezy

I really didn’t wanna write about this…. It dominated my NBA Playoff-filled Sunday though. So much so that I had to try it today. I was about to orate my observations from the opening round of the postseason, but then I saw it again. The second my fingers hit the keyboard, it came on. Like a rainstorm right after a carwash, I got hit with the KFC Double Down Sandwich commercial. If you watched just one quarter of NBA basketball this weekend, you saw it twice. You hear a couple guys with helium voices talking about chicken. All of a sudden, it’s unleashed. The heralded chicken sandwich that’s too big for a bun, and we’re not talking Tortadas. It takes three or four repetitions before a commercial gets across to me. By the ninth or tenth time, I’m annoyed to the point where I don’t want to try your product simply out of spite. By the 16th time, however, you’ve beaten this thing so deep into my brain, I’m not only gonna try your product, I’m gonna try it fully expecting it to be less than amazing. I know you know what I’m talking about now.

So today I did it. When lunchtime came calling, I doubled down on that ass. I hit up the local KFCizzle on Bradshaw (which for the record sucks) and was immediately hit with a sign announcing the Double Down Combo for $6.99! I knew the DD was going to be small, but with all the value menu fanfare that’s abuzz right now, I was disappointed to see it cost $5 for the “sandwich” by itself.Ultimately, the double down was just like I expected it would be. We know the end of the sandwich they show in the commercials looks good, but we also know chicken breasts are pointy on the other end. How’s that gonna work out? As you would expect, it doesn’t. The reality is you simply can’t make sandwich casings out of chicken. You’ve got cheese hanging out one side, three-quarters of it is chicken-on-chicken, and that one piece of bacon pulls out with your first bite. So predictable. I will concede that there were one or three bites that were heavenly, and for that it may very well have been worth $5 and one meal of my life. And if that other breast were a sandwich like I had expected I might have been okay. But the true glory of this endeavor was to be able to proceed hating the commercial, and the item it endorses, with reason. I can say I doubled down, but it just wasn’t worth it in the end. I’m better off just playing two hands.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Food, Sports

April 15, 2010

Sharks Need to Swim, Not Sink

By mceezy

So Doin Work isn’t exactly NHL Central. That we know. We don’t follow much hockey out here in California. It’s not that we don’t appreciate it, it’s just that we don’t feel it like our neighbors to the northeast. But, as a Northern California sports fan, you can’t help but take a little pride in the success of the San Jose Sharks. They’re a perennial contender, and they constantly are reloading their roster with top of the line talent. All the other Bay Area teams are lucky to have one of those characteristics. The problem with the Sharks though – like most hometown teams here – is they can’t get over the hump in the postseason. The Sharks are entering their sixth consecutive postseason, this time, like many others, a high seed in the Western Conference bracket. They’ve failed thus far though, to not only win a ring, but make it to the Stanley Cup Finals. In their early years of existence, the team was a perennial Cinderella, entering as a low seed and scoring some memorable upsets. Lately, though, it’s not uncommon to see the Sharks with home ice advantage, only to bow out of the playoffs early.

They enter this postseason once again the #1 seed, drawing the Colorado Avalanche. Rob Blake won one for his old team, deflecting a pass off his skate into his own net in Game 1, putting the Sharks in a familiar 0-1 hole. It’s only one game, but one can’t help but think that this is the beginning of another Shark’ playoff meltdown. Game 2 is tomorrow night in San Jose at 7pm local time. Let’s hope they can draw even in the series and not make this another disappointing Bay Area playoff performance.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Sports

April 12, 2010

Texas Stadium Demolition

By mceezy

Now that the Cowboys have the stadium of all stadiums, there’s no need for the old one. This had to be one of the quickest demos of a stadium or arena that I can remember. They were just playing football there a little over a year ago. Nonetheless, the footage is pretty impressive…

1 Comment   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

April 9, 2010

Premature Power Rankings

By mceezy

The first 5 days of the season are in the books. Time to rank the top 5 teams….

1. San Francisco Giants: You may never see me put the Giants atop any rankings ever again. But, for as long as they’re undefeated, they’ll remain in the top spot here. There was no question about SF’s pitching, but the bats have come through early, as the G’s are outscoring their opponents,23-10 thus far.

2. Oakland Athletics: No hometown bias here, I swear. The A’s are 3-1, soon to be 4-1. (They’re up 7-2 late in the 6th in Anaheim). After a setback in the season opener, the A’s rattled off three straight to take a 3-1 record into first place in the AL West.

3. St. Louis Cardinals: Two of three from the Reds and game one of the Brewers’ series earns the Cards the number three spot in our rankings.

4. Tampa Bay Rays: They’re no match for the mighty Bay Area teams, but they took two of three from Baltimore, and the first game of their weekend series with the Yankees.

5. Detroit Tigers: Don’t be surprised to see the Tigers sitting atop the AL Central at 5-1 after their weekend series with the Indians.

5 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Sports

April 5, 2010

Buehrle’s Play

By mceezy

If you’ve seen it, here it is again. If you haven’t, enjoy. Unbelievable….

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 4, 2010

I’m So Ready For Baseball, I Don’t Even Care If It’s the Yankees vs. Red Sox

By mceezy

Here we go… Easter lunch is out of the way, so now the real holiday can begin – no disrespect to Jesus of course. Two of Major League Baseball’s top franchises will take the diamond tonight and kick of the 2010 season. Normally I’d be as interested in a Yankees-Red Sox affair as I would in a Spurs-Jazz snoozefest, but tonight, I’m so starved for baseball I can’t wait to see these guys in action. Aside from the whole Opening Night thing, there’s plenty of other storylines to keep me glued to the tube. Sure, it’s a rivalry game featuring the defending champions blah blah blah, but here is what has got me excited…

CC Sabathia vs. Josh Beckett – Forget great Opening Day matchups, this is about as good a matchup as you’ll see on any given day in baseball. Sabathia is a Bay Area product, so he’s got plenty of supporters at Doin Work. He’s also one of the preseason favorites for the AL Cy Young Award. While Beckett isn’t as high on the Cy Young list, he’s still one of the best pitchers in the game. He may not have the hardware that most pitchers covet, but I’m sure he wouldn’t trade his two World Series rings or his World Series MVP for anything. One might anticipate a pitcher’s duel tonight, but there’s so much firepower on the offensive side for both teams that there are sure to be some runs put on the board as well.

New Additions – Each team picked up one guy I’m looking forward to seeing make their debut tonight. The Yankees replaced Johnny Damon in center field with former Tiger, Curtis Granderson. Granderson is quietly emerging as an elite player in this league, and the Yankees coveting him only further cements that. If he can get his average back up closer to .300 this year, he’ll surely build on his first all-star berth last year with many more to come, since there’ll be no shortage of exposure playing the Big Apple. The Red Sox, on the other hand, tested my hatred of them by signing the legendary Marco Scutaro. Even if Scutaro spurned the A’s to sign with Boston, he can do absolutely nothing to ever stop me from being a fan.

John Lackey in a Boston Uniform – You know how there are certain things that make you cringe or gag at the sight of it? I’m willing to bet that John Lackey donning a Red Sox jersey is going to be one of those. As much as I dislike the Red Sox, there’s not really any players on the team that I hate, aside from Papelbon of course. I think Lackey is going to be that guy, and I look forward to it. I’m actually going to keep a trash can by the couch to start the game in case the first camera shot of Lackey makes me throw up. It could happen.

First Fantasy AB of the Year – I try to keep my fantasy nerdom to a minimum here on the blog, but I can’t lie…. When Granderson steps into the box to face Beckett in the first pitch of the season, my squad, Five Tool Academy, is going to have a monopoly on fantasy stats for the duration of the at-bat. Beckett returns to my team by way of the draft (7th rd) after helping HolyShirtsandPants secure third place in last year’s league. Granderson is a new addition after being selected in the 5th round as part of my five tool plan, complementing other power/speed combo players Matt Kemp, BJ Upton, and Adam Jones. The fantasy season won’t be won with one at bat, but it starts here.

6 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

April 2, 2010

Doin Discounts: FREE Edition!

By mceezy

So you probably know by now that we not only love sports, but we also love passing along discounted tickets and merchandise to our readers. Well here’s one that might top them all. We’re not just offering discounted tickets, this time they’re FREE! That’s right, Doin Work has teamed up with the Sacramento River Cats to offer two free tickets to the Saturday, April 17th game against the Reno Aces. This is a great opportunity to check out some of the future stars of the Oakland Athletics and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Top prospects Chris Carter and Michael Taylor are among the players expected to begin the season in AAA. If you hail from the Sacramento area, don’t miss out on this chance to score two $15-20 seats for free. Hell, even if you live a couple hours away, what better reason to take a road trip to the capital of California for some baseball? There’s plenty of lodging options near the stadium, including dirt cheap motels that won’t hurt the budget. No word on whether prostitutes are included in the room rate, but either way it’s worth checking out. Here’s the official info….

The River Cats management has given me a limited number to tickets to give away to my friends—and complete strangers—to introduce the River Cats to people who didn’t attend a game last year. The tickets are for the 7:05 p.m. game against the Reno Aces on Saturday, April 17. The game will be followed by a terrific fireworks show.

To get your two complimentary tickets, please click here, and enter the password: matchr . This offer is good through April 16th. Like death and taxes, the small fees cannot be avoided. If you know of others who haven’t been to Raley Field lately to see the River Cats, please feel free to forward this offer to them.

Please remember: A limited number of tickets—two per order—are available, first-come-first-serve, to people who are new to the River Cats and Raley Field.

Enjoy the game!

I checked it out, and the total fees come out to $4.

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April 2, 2010

Golden Stick Nor Cal Spring Training Underway

By mceezy

In case you missed the last post, Golden Stick Wiffleball is expanding into Northern California this year. The first preseason tournament was held last weekend in Davis, CA. Check out the highlights if you missed it….

Here’s the good news…. GSWL is hosting another tournament on May 15th in the East Bay. There’s a couple spots left at the time of posting, so email sylvie@wifflebawl.com for more information. This might be the last chance to get some games in before league play starts!

For more information about the league, visit www.wifflebawl.com

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

March 30, 2010

NBA Basketball in Seattle, If Only For a Day

By mceezy

If you’ve ever visited our site before, you probably know which side we’re on when it comes to Seattle vs. Oklahoma City. We’re not the only ones either. Ray Allen is taking charge putting together a charity game to help bring NBA basketball back to the Emerald City. Also scheduled to play in the game are Seattle natives Brandon Roy, Jamal Crawford, Aaron Brooks, and Jason Terry. Noticeably absent from the list is Nate Robinson, but I’m willing to bet when push comes to shove he’ll be there. I think this is a great move on the part of these players. There’s no doubt that Seattle shouldn’t be a 4 sport city. Although, with the Canucks right up the road in Vancouver, it’s not as much of a travesty that they don’t have an NHL team, but they definitely should have an NBA franchise there. I’m not going to go so far as to say they deserve one more than Sacramento, because despite recent figures, Sacramento has proved a long time ago that they can draw sellout crowds for years on end. What stands out to me is Seattle has a history with basketball. The city has produced the likes of the aforementioned players, along with many more. Few cities can match the level of pride that Seattle has, and I hope this game takes them one step closer to once again having a franchise there.

3 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Sports

March 29, 2010

Today’s Headlines… Ricky Martin is Gay; Trees Are Flammable

By mceezy

(Reuters) – Latin pop star Ricky Martin on Monday announced he was gay in a blog posting, ending years of speculation.

“I am proud to say that I am a fortunate homosexual man,” Martin wrote in a blog posting at http://www.rickymartinmusic.com.

“This is just what I need especially now that I am the father of two beautiful boys that are so full of light and who with their outlook teach me new things every day. To keep living as I did up until today would be to indirectly diminish the glow that my kids were born with,” Martin wrote.

Martin, 38, became a father to twin sons via a surrogate in 2008 and at the time no details were given about the birth or the mother.

The Puerto Rican singer of hits such as “Livin’ la Vida Loca,” has long been the subject of speculation about his sexuality. In 2000, TV journalist Barbara Walters grilled him about whether he was gay, but he refused to disclose it.


Anybody surprised? Didn’t think so. I’m glad we can all put this to rest, because not only were we all so unsure of Ricky Martin’s sexuality, but it was that important as well. Here’s a timeline of Ricky Martin’s significance in my life…. 1999: Martin bursts onto the scene with “Livin La Vida Loca”;  2004: William Hung gains notoriety for his cover of Martin’s “She Bangs”;  2010: Martin confirms he is gay.

As you can see, it’s been long storied history. It feels really good to finally close the case on this one. At least he’s a “fortunate homosexual man,” as opposed to an unfortunate one. Maybe I’m over-analyzing here, but I take that to mean that a fortunate homosexual man is one who can get women, but chooses to be gay; while an unfortunate homosexual man is one who couldn’t get women so they had to resort to men. Am I mistaken here?

11 Comments   |  tags: | posted in Music, News

March 26, 2010

Counting Down the Twelve Days of Baseball

By mceezy

Okay, so we’re roughly ten days out, but twelve has a much nicer ring to it. Cowabunga dude… Opening Day is fast approaching. This weekend will be the final one for baseball in Arizona. Beginning the middle of next week, teams will be filtering out and making their way home to prepare for the start of the regular season. Next weekend will be a hodgpodge of exhibition games and then the magic happens. The magic that is Opening Day. I’ve always said I’m not big on party holidays such as St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, New Year’s Eve et cetera. My stance is, who needs an excuse to party? If I wanna get drunk with a bunch of people in green, I’ll go to an A’s game – waaay better than St. Patty’s. Nah, I’m more for the laid back, family holidays like Christmas and Thanksgiving. You know, the ones that actually mean something. In that fashion, I’m hereby declaring Major League Baseball Opening Day an official holiday for myself. I’m going to ask for work off that day. I don’t see why not. If I were Jewish I’d ask for Rosh Hashanah off. If I were Christian I’d ask for Easter off. But I’m don’t take any religious holidays, so why can’t I take Opening Day? If I were to rank specific days of the year based on their importance and the amount I look forward to them, I’m willing to bet MLB Opening Day makes the top 10, maybe even the top 5.

It wasn’t always the most, wonderful time of the year. Baseball and I had a huge falling out that lasted the greater part of the 90s. Neither of us could really tell you what it was. I just wasn’t interested in baseball anymore, and baseball wasn’t interested in piquing mine. The irony of it all is that logic would say I wasn’t a fan of the steroid era. I’m always a fan of the smaller, faster guys, so it would make sense that I lost interest as guys started to beef up. But, there’s plenty of evidence to suggest otherwise. I was a big fan of the speedy Ray Lankford, for instance, and suddenly, rather than  swiping 40 bags a year, he’s jacking 30 homers a year instead. I still rooted for him. Then of course there was the Summer of 98: McGwire and Sosa. I won’t go into detail because we were all there. I think it brought a lot of us back, whether or not we want to admit it. There was something about one particular game late down the stretch of that season that resonated with me through to this day. I wanna say it was the game McGwire hit #62, but after my Adam Morrison memory debacle, I’d say it very well could’ve been #61, or #70, or even #65 or 66. The point is – and it was a day game, this I remember – there came a moment as McGwire’s monumental home run sailed over the fence in the clear blue St. Louis sunshine, where it all came back to me. All the possibilities that baseball presents, where anything can happen on any given day, any given at-bat, and any given pitch. The NBA can claim it all they want, but Baseball is really where amazing happens. And Opening Day is the most wide open day of them all. A fan in Kansas City can look at the standings and see their team in first place, or Skip Schumacher can lead the big leagues in home runs for a day. What am I wishing for this year? That, on the first day of baseball, Roy Steele says to me, “in to pitch the ninth, Andrew Bailey.”

3 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports

March 25, 2010

Back to the 90s….

By mceezy

We all know I love 90s hip hop. I don’t know why, but this song has fallen completely off the map. However, I still think back to it any time I hear a car horn or any reference to tic tacs. I’m pretty sure it’s the only music video to ever feature a white guy in a Texas A&M cap. He does drop the jewel, “I got the black broad and you got the white one.” Words to live by…..

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , | posted in Music

March 23, 2010

Hopefully This Isn’t a Sign of Things to Come….

By mceezy

The Sacramento Kings blasted this press release today. I don’t think it will have much impact on the team per se, but during a time where the future of the franchise is up in the air, you certainly don’t want to see many more changes. The Maloofs will take over his duties, so don’t expect a whole lot to change – for the time being…..

John Thomas Resigns as President of the Sacramento Kings

SACRAMENTO, CALIF., Mar. 23, 2010 – John Thomas, President of the Sacramento Kings, is resigning effective April 2, 2010, Maloof Sports & Entertainment announced today.

Thomas is leaving for personal family reasons.

“We want to thank John for everything he has done for us since we came to Sacramento. He’s been an important leader on our team,” said Joe and Gavin Maloof, owners of the Kings.

“Ten years is longer than most NBA Presidents get to serve. I want to thank the Maloof family and my extended Kings family of co-workers and fans for the privilege. I’m very excited about the future,” said Thomas.

Thomas has 20 years of major league sports executive experience in basketball, baseball and hockey. He began his role with Maloof Sports & Entertainment in 1999. Prior to joining the Kings, he was an executive with the Houston Rockets and Comets.

Thomas has been an active member of the Sacramento community, serving on the Boards of Directors of the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau and the Sacramento Metro Chamber, as well as Valley Vision’s Leadership Council and the NBA’s Team Advisory Committee (TAC).

About Maloof Sports and Entertainment:

Maloof Sports & Entertainment includes the Sacramento Kings (NBA) and ARCO Arena. Led by Joe and Gavin Maloof, and owned by the Maloof family with long-term, local partners, the organization is committed to the community in Sacramento and to making a positive, meaningful difference in the lives of families in need in the Sacramento region. Maloof Sports & Entertainment has donated more than $17 million to charities in 10 years of Maloof family ownership. For more information about Maloof Sports & Entertainment, please visit kings.com, arcoarena.com or call 916-928-0000.

8 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Sports