A sign of friendship?

I found myself reading a review of the movie Jackass 2 today. The article focused on the extreme amount of homosexual behavior by heterosexual men that takes place in the movie. It is possible that this behavior is one of the things that makes their jokes and stunts even funnier, not the fact that they are poking fun at homosexuals, but because they are showing a demented form of male bonding that is common among groups of friends.

I can't argue with this analysis. For the most part, my good groups of friends act like, well, a bunch of homos when we are together. I'm not sure what the reason for it is, but somehow it seems to be a sign of good friendship, like you have to be close enough to somebody to act in this ridiculous fashion.

And for those that know Sesh, keep an eye on him in the background. Classic Sesh laugh-clap.

Also, check out the girl that walks into the room, and then turns around and walks out.

Tennis Roadtrippin'

One thing I would not recommend is spending 8 days in Las Vegas. I literally felt like I had been gone for a month and was completely removed from reality.

An unprecedented controversy occured at the Tennis Channel Open while I was there. A new round robin format was used for this tournament as opposed to the traditional single elimination format (round robin gives fans more than one opportunity to see their favorite player if they happen to lose their first match). Defending champion James Blake lost his first match. To advance, Blake had to blow out his opponent in his second match and he was on his way to doing that, up 6-1, 3-1. His opponent was experiencing mild discomfort in his knee, so instead of forcing himself to continue playing, risking injury when it was obvious he would lose, he retired (forfeited the match to Blake) assuming Blake would move on.

Little did they know, the rules state that if your opponent retires, you get the win, but not the points. Therefore, Blake did not have enough points to advance. He started flipping out, yelling at everyone at the Tennis Channel saying he would never play in this tournament again.

In a surprising decision, the tournament directors called the head of the ATP in Portugal to ask if they should make an exception considering this is a new format and the players were unaware of the rules. Woken up in the middle of the night and not entirely aware of the situation, the ATP Director in Portugal gave permission to switch the ruling allowing Blake to advance.

I was in attendance at my first sports press conference as James Blake said he thought they made a good decision in the end. Other players such as Lleyton Hewitt who were interviewed disagreed saying "they can't change the rules in the middle of the tournament."

It turns out Lleyton was right. The following morning, the ATP reversed its decision and ruled that Blake would not advance. The ATP Director said he had been unclear on what exactly was going on when he made the decision.

Lleyton Hewitt ended up winning the tournament.

Drama at the Tennis Channel Open. Exciting stuff.

Attached are pics of the player party the night before TCO, my new passion for climbing mountains anywhere I can find them (Vegas and Malibu), and the Pacific Life Open tournament in Palm Springs from the following weekend.

Tennis. Who knew it could be a fun sport?!

One of those songs you wish you wrote because everyone can relate

Story Of My Life

High school seemed like such a blur
I didn't have much interest in sports or school elections
And in class I dreamed all day
About a rock 'n' roll weekend
And the girl in the front of the room
So close yet so far
Y'know she never seemed to notice
That this silly school-boy crush wasn't just pretend

Life goes by so fast
You only want to do what you think is right
Close your eyes and then it's past;
(it's the) story of my life

And I went down to my old neighborhood
The faces have all changed, there's no one left to talk to
And the pool hall I loved as a kid is now a seven eleven

I went downtown to look for a job
I had no training, no experience to speak of
I looked at the holes in my jeans and turned and headed back

Good times come and good times go
I only wish the good times would last a little longer
I think about the good times we had and why they had to end

So I sit at the edge of my bed
I strum my guitar and I sing an outlaw love song
Wonderin' bout what you're doin' now and when you're comin' back

T Bone B Day

Happy b-day to T Bone Stallone. TC, we've had some good times over the years, not as many recently as we've had in the past, but the upside is that it's completely up to us to change things and build on the past, we have total control. I think it will happen one way or another. Happy birthday buddy, have fun at the show this weekend, this one's for you.

Q Spreading Love Around the World.......