ESPN's Who's Now - What a Joke!

ESPN’s “Who’s Now” feature has got to be the most ridiculous thing to come out of that network in recent memory ... and they’re are milking it for everything it’s worth, squeezing a full week’s programming out of the most asinine of debates. I can’t believe this actually passes for sports programming right now. They actually have a panel of ESPN anchors, celebrities, and sports “has beens” discussing the merits of what actually constitutes “nowness” for a bracketed plethora of current sports icons. Can they possibly evaluate an athlete on a characteristic that is more vague? It’s ludicrous! Who Cares! Do I really have an interest in what Keyshawn Johnson thinks makes Michael Phelps qualify for Mr. Popular in the category of Nowness? This is like having a contest to find out which color of paint dries fastest … and these guys are serious! I can’t wait for football season to begin so it can usher in a renewed dedication to relevant sports programming. The program director that came up with this brain-fart needs to have his head examined.

UFO Festival in Roswell

The 2007 UFO Festival in Roswell, New Mexico was an excellent way to spend my vacation this summer. The city of Roswell was everything I expected it would be. Shops with alien themed merchandise lined Main Street, the local McDonald’s was shaped like a giant flying saucer, and even the street lights had little alien eyes painted on each one. We kicked off our first day with breakfast at the Cover-Up Café, a weather balloon tracking, 1940’s military themed, restaurant that was built in a converted Denny’s. The seats and walls were olive drab and the wait staff dressed in fatigues as guests watched giant flat screen monitors tracking imaginary weather balloons. The food was fair, the service was poor, but the atmosphere was interesting. As a fan of the Roswell television series, I expected a Crash Down Cafe and UFO Museum to round out my Roswell tour. A Crash Down Cafe, the Cover-Up is not, but there is indeed a UFO Museum on Main street. It ws not as elaborate as the one on the TV show, but it had its technical merits. World renowned UF-ologists, B-list celebrities, a costume contest, and a parade rounded out the week of convention activities. We spent the rest of our time indulging in conspiracy theories and Mojito’s that we carried around town in alien shaped bottles from Wal-Mart. Definitely a must on the list of any SciFi enthusiast.

Roadtrip to Roswell - 2007 UFO Festival

I've always wanted to go to Roswell, NM. When I found out that they hold a UFO festival in the city of Roswell every year, I had to make the trip. A road trip would also be a great way to get some additional stadium visits in and the "Road Trip to Roswell" was born. My girlfriend Crystal was onboard for the week and half long journey and on June 29 at 11:00pm we were off. The plan was to visit NFL football stadiums in St. Louis, Phoenix, Houston, Dallas, and Kansas City as a sidebar to main event ... the UFO Festival commemorating the 60th anniversary of the UFO crash of 1947. But we were going to do it right! We arranged to have coordinated costumes, to sticker my Ford Explorer with "Alien Hunter" badging, and to take part in one of the finest gatherings of extra terrestrial minds in the continental US.

We started by driving through Indiana and Missouri ... stopped at the Edward Jones Dome in St. Louis and took the mandatory pictures at the arch. From there it was Oklahoma City and a quick stop through the National Monument commemorating the victims of the bombing in 1995. A long drive through the night got us to the Four Corners monument the next morning. The Four Corners monument is located where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico come together at a single point. We then drove to the Grand Canyon to see one of the natural wonders of the world.

Stadium 7 - Lambeau Field - Green Bay, WI

This was the crowning achievement of my Quest, my trip to the "Frozen Tundra", Title Town, Lambeau Field. Of all the stadiums in the league, this is the one I most wanted to attend a game in. Packer fans are most like Bills fans. They're warm, blue-collar, cold-weather fans who actually own their team. Easily the envy of any small market team. I thought that of all the stadiums in the league, Lambeau would be the most difficult to get a ticket for. That was until Day to the Day, Day, Day ... all Day, informed me that his cousin, Tory Humphrey was a player for the Green Bay Packers and could get us tickets ... player tickets, that would place us in row two of section 116, right behind the player bench. That was an amazing experience ... donning the foam rubber cheesehead and cheering on the venerable Brett Favre as he took on the New England Patriots in a rematch of their 1997 Super Bowl win, we had a blast. Check out my experience at Lambeau Field at, http://www.nflfootballstadiums.com/LambeauField.htm.

Stadium 6 - Paul Brown Stadium - Cincinnati, OH

It was Monday night football at TJ's spot and myself, Day Day, and TJ got together to watch the game. I had spied a pair of tickets on E-bay that weren't getting many bids earlier in the evening. They were tickets for the Cincinnati Bengals game that Sunday, so when I got over to TJ's I bid on the tickets and won. Our Frat brother JC lives in Cincinnati and I hadn't seen him in a while so I thought it was a opportune time to pay him a visit. JC is a walking party ... all day, all night, all JC. That dude is a trip. I was looking to have a good time and the city of Cincinnati delivered. The Bengals game on Sunday was awesome! Paul Brown Stadium was filled with orange and black the the fans were in a frenzy as their hometeam Bengals took on the SanDiego "Super" Chargers. I'd purchased a Carsen Palmer jersey the night before and for some reason had the theme song to "WKRP" in my head. "WHO DEY!!!" Check out my experience at Paul Brown Stadium at http://www.nflfootballstadiums.com/PaulBrown.htm.

Stadium 5 - Bank of America Stadium - Charlotte, NC

I have been visiting my friend Jermain in Charlotte, NC for years. Each spring I 'd take about a week and play golf down there, usually stopping at the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the way down. During all of those visits, Bank of America Stadium loomed in the background mocking me as it beckoned for me to see a game. This fairly new facility, built in 1996, was Stadium #5 in my Quest. Last Spring, when I was in Charlotte, we noticed the Dallas Cowboys were coming to town to face the Carolina Panthers on Halloween weekend. Jermain is a huge Cowboys fan and has never seen them live. I thought it was my duty as his best friend to make sure he got there. I bought a ticket on priceline,com to fly into Charlotte for the weekend well before we got game tickets because I was on my way to Germany. Tickets to see the Cowboys were harder to come by than we expected. In the end, E-bay was our salvation as we scored seats in section 543 the week of the game. The Cowboys were victorious as Tony Romo debuted on national TV. Check out my experience at http://www.nflfootballstadiums.com/BankofAmerica.htm.

Stadium 4 - Ford Field - Detroit, MI

Ford Field in Detroit, MI is a state of the art indoor facility in the heart of downtown Detroit. Constructed in the Old Hudson's Warehouse area of the city, the Ford family has built an awesome domed structure with plenty of ambient light, fantastic concessions, and a practice facility all in one conglomerate structure. Adams St. and Beaubien St. were the original border streets of the Hudson's Warehouse. They are now enclosed within Ford Field to serve as concourses, housing concessions and souvenirs. Detroit is where I currently reside, and Ford Field does not disappoint as an NFL venue ... Stadium #4. For my first trip to Ford Field, I was accompanied by the fellas from Buffalo who braved driving bans throughout the city to watch our hometown Bills take on the Lions. The Bills lost, but your can check out my experience in Ford Field at, http://www.nflfootballstadiums.com/FordField.htm.