Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Tommy Z



Many NFL players are currently looking for other forms of employment since the NFL is currently in a lockout. Bart Scott is attempting wrestling. Chad Ochocinco is attempting futbol. But the Raven's own Tom Zbikowski has decided to take up boxing. Zib has been boxing since grade school, and has an impressive amateur record of 75-15. He first turned pro once his college football at Notre Dame came to an end. He is currently 3-0, with 2TKOs in his young professional career, with his latest victory coming last weekend.

Tommy Z's first fight:


Tommy Z's second fight:


Zib is next rumored to fight at the end of April in Dallas. Go get em Zib

Monday, March 28, 2011

Im Back

Hola fellow bloggers. I am back from my trip to Puerto Rico. Yes I am mentioning that to make you feel jealous. It was wonderful. There are currently three things on my mind I would like to blog about. Here it goes:

The Masters Commercials
Has anyone seen the masters commerials this year? They used to be just Jim Nance sentimentally saying that it was a "tradition unlike any other" which was a little annoying but good enough. Well, if you havent seen the new commercials, they involve some guy speaking as if he is the course himself, like the golf course, the green grass and all, is talking to us and is inviting the greatest golfers to come and play on "himself" I guess. What the hell? Why? I think I tend to be someone who gets annoyed at commercials a lot more than others but seriously, its the Masters man. You dont have to come up with some gimmick to pump up the Masters. Its the Masters for God's sake. Just say that the Masters is going to be happening soon. Its a big enough of a deal. Its the freakin Masters. Its classic. Ok moving on....

Final Orioles Cuts
The Final cuts were made to the Orioles squad today. For a lot of us who are fans, this news comes just simply as news we may or may not be interested in. But I would like to recognize the fact that these are guys who are fighting for a job and essentially got fired. I dont want to make too big of a deal about it, but for these guys, and these minor league deals they have been working off of, they are making little money so I guess just wanted to recognize that. Whether its a sport or not, they got fired from their job. On to the last thing...

Frank Robinson

During my travels to and fro from Puerto Rico, I was able to get some solid reading in. I have been working on quite possibly the most interesting book I have ever read given to me by the one BWAL, Orioles Essentials. The book details all the things you need to know about the Orioles organization throughout the years. One thing I found to be quite fun to read was concerning Frank Robinson and the most impressive set of years the O's have ever turned in. Frank Robinson, most definitely one of the 10 best baseball players ever, was traded to the O's after the 1965 season from the Reds because the GM of the Reds claimed that Frank was "an old 30 year old and didnt have much left in him". Well, do you want to know what Frank and the O's did in 1966? They won the world series and Frank hit 49 home runs, had .316 batting average, drove in 122 runs and was named the MVP. Oh yeah, and during the 6 years that Frank was an Oriole, the O's won the AL penant 4 times and won the world series 2 times. Frank never hit less than 30 home runs and never hit below a .300 batting average. Washed up player eh? Anyway, we unfortunately traded Frank after the 1971 season, but although he played for 21 years, Frank is on record saying that he feels his career is and should be identified by the 6 years he had with the O's.

Adios

The next time you will hear from younger brother Alex will be 3 games into the O's 2011 season. LETS GO O'S!!!!!

Sunday, March 27, 2011

How's your bracket looking?

Even though the Final Four has not been completely determined, the outcome of the B-W Blogway NCAA bracket contest has: I won, because I'm awesome.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

O!!! - Orioles Magic: Pre-Opening Day Tribute to a Baltimore Legend

Well folks it’s Saturday again, a wonderful day of the week. BalTimore Bisk here, blogging live in Maryland, hometown of Cal Ripken, land of the free BIRDS, and home of the bRAVENS. Snow Showers are coming this evening, but don't let them fool you, a strong warm front is heading up the coast from Sarasota, Florida. The Boys of Summer are on their way. In preparation of the season opener I decided to give a brief tribute to Wild Bill Hagy, a Baltimorean legend.


Wild!
Any admirer of Davy Crockett, Jeremiah Johnson, William Wallace, General Maximus Decimus Meridius, Robert Bruce Grupp, or some other wild man of great fortitude would also appreciate Wild Bill Hagy. Wild Bill was a rough and ragged, big gut bulging, tank top wearing, sunglass rocking, and a straw cowboy hat blazen manly man. Cab Driver by day, Baltimore cheer roar warrior by night. He was General Wild William Hagy, leader of the roar from 34.



Humble Fan - National Fame
Hagy is said to symbolize the term "Orioles Magic" as his cheers sometimes led to comeback victories for the O's. Eventually the team recognized his enthusiasm and let him do his Orioles cheers from atop the dugout. Hagy's fame led him to meet Presidents such as Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, and to get write-ups in The New York Times. For many Orioles fans he is closely associated with the Orioles and their victory in the 1983 World Series (source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Bill_Hagy)


THE TRADITION
One of Wild Bills greatest achievements was the development and passing on of a famous Baltimore Tradition. Heavily noticed at local sporting events is the emphasizing and yelling of “O” by most of the fans in attendance during the pre game singing of the National Anthem. (“Oh” , say does that star spangled banner yet wave). As noticed throughout members of my family, the pronunciation of the vowel “O” is also a stand-out aspect of the Baltimorean accent. Aside from the Baltimore O’s and the O so beautiful Baltimore O accent, "The Star-Spangled Banner" has special meaning to Baltimore historically, as it was written during the Battle of Baltimore in the War of 1812. As a patriotic song, it signifies American freedoms; including, presumably, the freedom to shout "O!" (wikipedia.org/Wild_Bill_Hagy).


The Tradition Lives On
Wild Bill departed from this world on August 20, 2007, but General Wild William Hagy’s “O” battle cry lives on. Wild Bill lives on as one of the most eccentric amazing leaders and representative of the Baltimore Professional Sports Scene. Don’t let his beer belly fool you, Wild Bill was Strictly Athletic. Let’s Go O-R-I-O-L-E-S!!! The season begins on Friday vs. the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.


HECK OF A SEASON ON THE WAY FOLKS!!!

If the section on Wild Bill didn't fire you up then read over a couple statements taken from the Men's Journal coming from Orioles Manager Buck Showalter on a couple of his AL east division rivals...

On the Boston Redsox General Manager Theo Epstein...
“I’d like to see how smart Theo Epstein is with the Tampa Bay payroll. You got Carl Crawford ’cause you paid more than anyone else, and that’s what makes you smarter? That’s why I like whipping their asses: It’s great, knowing those guys with the $205 million payroll are saying, ‘How the hell are they beating us?"

On the New York Yankees Shortstop Derek Jeter...
After instilling a healthy fear of God in them, he told them to stop playing scared. Don’t give the other team that much credit: Screw the Yankees, screw the Red Sox, he said. “The first time we went to Yankee Stadium, I screamed at Derek Jeter from the dugout. Our young guys are thinking, ‘Wow, he’s screaming at Derek Jeter’ — well, he’s always jumping back from balls just off the plate. I know how many calls that team gets — and yes, he pisses me off.”

Earl Weaver
Buck Showalter is making his mark and motivating his team to victory. One of the most memorable coaches an Orioles history, Earl Weaver, also had a gift for firing his team up.



ORIOLES MAGIG!!!!
Something magic happens, everytime you go
You make the magic happen, the magic of Orioles’ Baseball!

When the game is close, and the O’s are hot
There’s a thundering roar from 34 to give it all they’ve got

And you never know who’s gonna hear the call
Every game there’s a different star
That’s the magic of Orioles’ Baseball!

Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!
Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!

O - R - I - O - L - E - S !

Magic! Magic! Magic! Magic!

Something magic happens, everytime you go
You make the magic happen, the magic of Orioles’ Baseball!

When Weaver moves and we score the runs
Nothing could be more exciting
Nothing could be more fun!

There’s a love affair between you and the team
You’re the reason we win when we win
And you know what the magic means!

Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!
Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!
Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!
Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!

O - R - I - O - L - E - S !

Magic! Magic! Magic! Magic!

Orioles Magic! Feel it happen!

Magic! Magic! Magic! Magic!

Something magic happens….


LETS GET THE MAGIC BREWING!!!

FEAR THE BIRD!!!!



Blog Dedication:
(This blog is dedicated to all those people who lead, inspire, enliven, and brighten the lives of others like some of the fine young men and women who contribute to the blog writings on the B-W Blogway and Justin who recently celebrated his 26th birthday, but especially WILD BILL HAGY!!!)

Friday, March 25, 2011

How's your bracket looking?

So I am hoping Gary Williams reads the B-W Blogway.

The Baltimore Sun just released their Winter All-Metro selections. The boys basketball player of the year is 5'6'' SOPHOMORE guard Aquille Carr from Patterson. After a solid freshman year where he averaged 25.5 points per game, Carr led the Clippers to a narrow defeat in the state championship game. His sophomore season saw him average 32 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds per game...some impressive numbers.

As you'll see from the following clip, his quickness is only matched by my fellow blogger John's monthly sprint to the mailbox in hopes that one of his beloved comics awaits him.


I think Carr would look damn good in Maryland red. So Gary, grab Keith Booth and a few sweat towels, and hightail it to Baltimore, because I want to be watching the Terps in March, not VCU and Richmond.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Round of 16

My round of 16 predictions based solely off mascot fights...

Aztecs (SDSU) beats the Huskies (UCONN)
Gators (UF) beat the Cougars (BYU)
Blue Devil (DUKE) beats the Wildcats (Arizona)
Bulldog (Butler) beats the Badgers (Wisconsin)

Tar Heel (UNC) beats the Golden Eagles (Marquette) ...I'm not really sure how a tar heel fights...
Jayhawk (Kansas) beats the Spiders (Richmond)...maybe if it was a poisonous spider
Wildcat (Kentucky) beats a Buckeye (OSU)
Seminole (FSU) beats the Rams (VCU)

Here are some mascot fights for your enjoyment





Wednesday, March 23, 2011

FfOoOoTtBbAaLlLl

I hope Zbikowski knocks this bastard out.

Big East Busts Again

For all of our followers out there, I'm sorry I did not post yesterday. I forgot it was Tuesday. With that being said, my blog post was going to be short this week anyways.

I am tired of listening to how great the Big East is at basketball. Many sources like ESPN claim that the Big East is the best conference in college basketball. The selection committee for the NCAA tournament was even considering giving them two #1 seeds (Pitt and Notre Dame). The fact is they received 11 bids to a 68 team tournament. That is over 16%. And how did they fair after two rounds of tournament play? Lets see...

#1 seed Pittsburgh lost 70-71 to Butler (#8)
#2 seed Notre Dame lost 57-71 to Florida State (#10)
#3 seed Syracuse lost 62-66 to Marquette (#11)
#4 seed Louisville lost 61-62 to Morehead State (#13)
#5 seed West Virginia lost 63-71 to Kentucky (#4)
#6 seed Georgetown lost 56-74 to Virgina Commonwealth University (#11)
#6 seed Cincinnati lost 58-69 to Connecticut (#3)
#6 seed St. John's lost 71-86 to Gonzaga (#11)
#9 seed Villanova lost 57-61 to George Mason (#8)


The only two teams that survived the first two rounds were #3 UConn and #11 Marquette. Sure both these teams advanced by beating a fellow Big East teams, but how would they of fared if they were to play a different conference? Would we have any Big East teams left?

Meanwhile the conference with the most teams remaining in the tournament is the ACC!. The underrated ACC only received 4 bids in the tournament, and three of them are still alive; Duke, UNC, FSU.

This is a similar trend to the past three years of the NCAA tournament. The Big East gets a lot of high seeded teams into the tournament, then bust. Meanwhile an ACC team has won the tournament the past two years, and has a very good chance of winning it again this year.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

TAKE THE PLUNGE FOR THE OFFICE LUNGE

Need to get some cardio and leg-work done, but don't have enough time before or after work? Try this out: instead of walking to and from the coffee pot, bathroom, or elevator, try lunging instead! I've been doing this for the past two weeks and have never felt better (note: you may want to up your coffee intake and listen to more Gamma Binaural Beats). After one day, you may be short of breath and will possibly not be able to move your legs, but in two days you will be a lunging machine. I've actually succeeded in chasing co-workers down while lunging backwards. I'll leave you with a video of some lunging office madams (note: I prefer a longer, lower, and more streamlined approach).

Madams of Billiards

For this one, you'll have to actually visit Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-yjL-JEWkCU
Enjoy the rest right here on the blogway.

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Jasmin Ouschan

CUE THE DREAMWEAVER TUNES!
She will be mine. Oh yes, she will be mine.

Saturday, March 19, 2011

March Madness Baby, Ey!

As promised, BalTimore Bisk here to give you an update of March Madness - Canadian Style.

Surprise Surprise Team Manitoba was the winning province of the gold medal match in Tim Horton’s 2011 Brier held in London, Ontario on March 13th. Team Manitoba was led by skip Jeff Stoughton. The losing province was Team Ontario led by skip Glenn Howard. In 4 of the last 6 Briers Glenn Howard has been on the losing end in the gold medal match, making him the Canadian Jim Kelly.


And you might be wondering how the man, the myth, the legend, K-Mart and team Alberta did in the Brier. Well disappointingly, the Old Bear and Alberta finished in 4th after they lost the Bronze Medal match to Team Newfoundland and Labrador. The Old Bear was even shut out of the Brier All Stars selection.

In a post-brier interview, K-mart was quoted as saying, “We played not bad, but not good, you know, mediocre, you don’t win like that. Losing, it never hurts, just makes you a little hungrier, makes you work a little harder and you get back at it”. Well with that spirit, who wouldn’t want to play billiards with the Old Bear?



Next up in the Curling world is the 2011 World Curling Championship held in Regina, Saskatchewan from April 2 to 10th

Update on Endurance Eating

BalTimore Bisk here, eating a delicious filet-o-fish sandwich, and blogging live from McDonalds!!!...




A few weeks ago I wrote a blog on the world of endurance eating. Well b-w blogway may have inspired Joe D'Amicco from Illinois. Joe is a long distance runner who is training for an upcoming marathon solely on a diet of McDonalds. Joe's response so far to his diet... "I feel really good". Hearts out to you Joe! Good luck on your endurance.

http://msn.foxsports.com/other/story/Illinois-marathon-runner-only-eats-McDonalds-as-he-trains-for-his-next-race-031011?GT1=39002

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Bracket

Brackets due today at noon. The password is "Baltimore."

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

UNITED 2011

Who wants to join me for a match?


MARCH
Saturday, Mar 19, 2011
Week 1
8:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Mar 26, 2011
Week 2
4:30 PM ET
VS
Gillette Stadium
APRIL
Sunday, Apr 3, 2011
Week 3
7:00 PM ET
VS
Dick's Sporting Goods Park
Saturday, Apr 9, 2011
Week 4
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Apr 16, 2011
Week 5
7:00 PM ET
VS
BMO Field
Thursday, Apr 21, 2011
Week 6
8:00 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Friday, Apr 29, 2011
Week 7
8:30 PM ET
VS
Robertson Stadium
MAY
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Week 8
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Week 8
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Week 9
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Sunday, May 29, 2011
Week 11
5:00 PM ET
VS
JELD-WEN Field
JUNE
Friday, Jun 3, 2011
Week 12
11:00 PM ET
VS
Home Depot Center
Saturday, Jun 11, 2011
Week 13
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Jun 18, 2011
Week 14
9:00 PM ET
VS
Rio Tinto Stadium
Saturday, Jun 25, 2011
Week 15
8:00 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
JULY
Saturday, Jul 2, 2011
Week 16
7:00 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Jul 9, 2011
Week 17
7:30 PM ET
VS
Red Bull Arena
Saturday, Jul 16, 2011
Week 18
9:00 PM ET
VS
Pizza Hut Park
Wednesday, Jul 20, 2011
Week 19
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Jul 30, 2011
Week 20
10:30 PM ET
VS
Buck Shaw Stadium
AUGUST
Saturday, Aug 6, 2011
Week 21
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Aug 13, 2011
Week 22
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Thursday, Aug 18, 2011
Week 23
9:00 PM ET
VS
Toyota Park
Sunday, Aug 21, 2011
Week 23
7:00 PM ET
VS
LIVESTRONG Sporting Park
Saturday, Aug 27, 2011
Week 24
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
SEPTEMBER
Saturday, Sep 10, 2011
Week 25
10:30 PM ET
VS
Home Depot Center
Saturday, Sep 17, 2011
Week 26
9:00 PM ET
VS
Qwest Field
Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011
Week 27
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Sep 24, 2011
Week 27
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Thursday, Sep 29, 2011
Week 28
8:00 PM ET
VS
PPL Park
OCTOBER
Sunday, Oct 2, 2011
Week 28
4:00 PM ET
VS
Columbus Crew Stadium
Wednesday, Oct 12, 2011
Week 29
10:00 PM ET
VS
Empire Fields
Saturday, Oct 15, 2011
Week 29
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium
Saturday, Oct 22, 2011
Week 30
7:30 PM ET
VS
RFK Memorial Stadium