Thnaks to Jamie for letting me tag along and thanks to everyone for the kind words, depsite what I consider my sub-par performance.
Blog Show XV (Brahsome.com)
Blog Show has a little change up this week (The Hype Guy)
Blog Show No. 15: 'The Dude Abides' (Mr Irrelevant)
Mr Irrelevant presents Blog Show XV (With Leather)
Your Pain is Our Gain (100% Injury Rate)
Blog Show Numero Viente y Cinco (Awful Announcing)
Blog Show Debut (Doberman on the Diamond)
In one of the most unlikely scenarios in television history, The Dude will once again be live blogging from the control room of Washington Post Live tomorrow evening from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m.
The first two instances of the live blog seem to have had one heckuva following as almost 900 people logged on to read the wise words of The Dude.
There will be some changes this week (for the better of course!) Mr. Mottram kindly suggested posting in chronological order, which The Dude will happily do. There will also be a place to leave your comments this week! Where you ask? Well, right here on The Dude Abides, of course!
So spread the word! Tell you friends, family, enemies, and exes! Clear your schedules tomorrow between 5:00 and 6:30 p.m. The Dude is going to take you into the seedy world of television production.
Who knows? Maybe you'll be lucky enough to see more photos from Russ Thaler's Wedding.
Ever wonder what a television show looks like from the inside? Today you're going to find out. Some smarty pants in the hierarchy of Comcast Sportsnet wants someone to live blog Washington Post Live from the control room, and that lucky someone is The Dude.
They have no idea what they have gotten themselves into, really. With any luck, I'll be able insult at least 50% of the staff here in the office.
I guess I should start touching up my resume, huh?
Anyway, if this interests you in any kind of way, please check it out. All you have to do is click on over to ComcastSportsNet.com.
The fun begins at 5:00 p.m. sharp!
UPDATE: Apparently more than 300 people checked out the Live Blog yesterday, so I guess it was somewhat successful. Another indication that it was a success is the fact that I am doing it again next Wednesday (and the fact that I didn't get fired).
June 7, 2006. The day I departed for my trek across Germany. I can't believe it's been almost a year. The experiences that I gained during my trip will be with me forever and now, thanks to power of the internets, it's time to finally share it with you.
This piece aired on Comcast Sportsnet on the day that I arrived home from my 11-day journey. I hope you enjoy it. I know I did.
Out of the Basement, Onto the Game: Soccer Edition (Mr Irrelevant)
Unsilent Majority has made his presence felt on The Dude Abides with the first two of which I hope will be many comments!
This guy is legendary for his commenting prowess across the Blogsphere (he's freakin' everywhere!) and it is truly an honor to have him here.
Two more factors forever endear me to UM.
#1 He's a fellow Bullis guy, which doesn't hurt him, or does it?
#2 He's a heckler extraodinaire.
Anyway, enough with the blogjob. Here's to you kid!
He's in here somewhere!
For more information head on over The Big Picture for a recent interview with Mr Majority.
It all started with what seemed like a drive to the middle of no where. I had figured that once I exited the Dulles Toll Road, I would be sort of close to my destination. I was wrong. It was way out there!
Once I was arrived at Historic Morven Park, I was amazed at the amount of people already there on the grounds. And this wasn't any regular crowd. This was a crowd dressed in their best cocktail attire. Men in light-colored suits and ladies in tight-fitting, breast-exposing dresses were the norm. Most of these ladies were pretty damn good-looking too. I'm talking "double-take as they walk by because they are so hot" good-looking!
So, the first thing that stood out on the day were the rocking versions of the UK and US National Anthems by Journey guitarist Neil Schon.
I'm being totally serious when I say that, other than Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock, this was the coolest rendition of the National Anthem that I have ever heard. He really wailed! More on Journey in a bit.
While Schon was rocking it on stage, The BlackWater USA Parachute Team was dropping in from high above and two United States Navy F-18's buzzed the crowd at a very low altitude. See what I'm talking about when I say this event was wild. This was all just the freakin' PREGAME! I was literally just standing there, my mouth agape, just taking it all in. I hadn't even seen a single horse yet!
Unfortunately for Steinz, he missed all of this, showing up shortly after Take 6 Founder and 10-time Grammy winner Claude McKinght finished up his rendition of "God Bless America", which in this man's opinion, wasn't all that great. He arrived just as the United States Park Police were performing some kind of Horse Trot set to the theme song from James Bond, it was very weird and it lasted for like 45 minutes.
After Agent Bog's arrival, we made our way over to the Chairman's Tent. Now, understand that admission to this tent probably cost some ridiculous amount of money, but Steinz and I were able to just waltz right in thanks to our trutsy press badges! Very Nice! This was the cream of the crop of this hoity toity crowd, and we were right in the middle of it. The actual America's Cup of Polo Trophy, which seemed to be about eight feet tall, stood in the middle of the room, surrounded by the $5000 Cartier watches that would be awarded to the winning team. Funny story; as we walked by the watches I kind of stuck my hand out, in the motion of swiping one of the watches. One of the many security guards who were close to the awards table caught sight of me doing this, smiled, and said, "It's your life". I don't know if was serious or not, but he did seem to be fondling his gun as he he said it.
Steinberg admires the ginormous Trophy
It was at this point that I caught a glimpse of some tremendous looking crabcakes. I immediately jumped in the line, because they really looked worth it. While I was waiting in line, a United States Park Police helicopter swooped in and landed in the middle of the polo field, my line of sight was blocked, but I noticed two men sprinting away from the helicopter, and then I noticed two attack dogs chasing them. WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE? The problem was, I was nearing the phenominal crabcakes, and I didn't want to jump out of line to see all the commotion happenning on the field. Unfortunately for me, when I finally reached the front of the line, I was told that they were out of crabcakes and it would be another 15 minutes before more were ready. Huge Bummer!
It was then time for the polo match to begin! The UK team took a very early 2-0 lead and it looked like the game would turn into a rout! I had been told that these were some of the best polo players in the world but, to be blatantly honest, the game didn't really seem to being played at a very high level. I'm the furtherst thing from a polo expert though, so that will be the extent of my actual analysis because I really have no idea what I am talking about.
Anyhoo, Team USA was able to cut into the deficit with a goal in the third chucker. A "chucker" is the polo term for what would be a quarter in an American Football game. Every polo match is made up of six chuckers. So at the half, the score was 2-1 Team UK.
It was about this time that Steinz and I scored what I consider to be our best interview of the day. We were chillin' in the Chairman's Tent when from across the room, I spotted a face that looked very familiar. It was Al Saunders, offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins.
We immediately made our way over and quickly introduced ourselves. We proceeded to have a very nice coversation with the coach, which will be a part of an upcoming episode of BogTV sometime this week on Washington Post Live. Topics ranged from how OTA's are going (just fine) to which Redskin would make the best polo player (Santana Moss). Saunders was very open in his answers and seemed to be very relaxed around Steinz and I and as you can see from the picture to the right, he doesn't always seem to be that comfortable around the media. I'm sure it helped that I chosen to wear my vintage Redskins polo yesterday!
After some more interviews with high-ranking officials from the two team sponsors; Ritz Carlton (Team UK) and Cartier (Team USA) we spotted another person who we wanted to interview, NBC News' David Gregory. Steinz politely introduced us and asked if we could have a few words. Now, you would think that if we had just scored an interview with the offensive coordinator of the Washington Redskins with seemingly no problem, it shouldn't be a problem to get a few words with a fellow member of the media. Well, if you thought that, you would be wrong, because Mr. Gregory blew us of! Thanks a lot Dave!
Mr. Gregory shows us the size of one his most intimate body parts
At this point, our energy was running low and we had already gathered some great content, so it was looking like we would be making our exit, but then in a bit of magic, we were able to secure an exclusive interview with Journey themselves, but in order to get to them, we had to jump into a golf cart with Michaele Salahi, wife of Tareq Salahi, the founder of the America's Cup of Polo. Now, you have to understand a little about Michaele; she's is quite possibly the most energentic person I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. She is also quite stunning, if I do say so myself. Way to go Tareq! She seemed to know everyone at the event and she just kept saying how much love was in the air.
So, now that you know that about Michaele, you can understand the fact that the route to Journey was full of detours, one of which lead us to another interesting interview.
One of our stops was right in front of the player's tents so that Michaele could get a quick word with Tareq, and one of the miglers in front of the tents was the one and only John Walsh, of Amerca's Most Wanted fame. Turns out John is a polo player himself, and one of his teammates from his club team down in Florida, was a member of the British team. Walsh really knew his stuff when it came to polo and he was very forthcoming and open with Steinz and I. I guess we just have that effect on people. After a few more minutes of schmoozing, we were again in the golf cart on our way to finally meet Journey!
Now, keep in mind that all of this was happening during halftime. This was no oridnary halftime though. For one thing, it lasted for what seemed like an hour and a half. It's definitely the longest halftime I have ever witnessed. There was also live entertainment from The Webb Sisters, whose groove was so smooth that it even had Agent Steinz dancing. In fact, at one point, two hoity toity's walked by as Steinz was shaking his thang, and gave him a look of pure confusion. It was truly a terrific moment!
Steinz gets down to the mighty sound of The Webb Sisters
After what seemed to be an extra long golf cart ride, we finally reached a little cabin in the woods. We went inside and were told to wait. The anticipation was at a peak, and after a few minutes, we were escorted into the room that had been set up as Journey's dressing room. It was quite chill. Two things stood out to me, one of which I cannot mention here and another was the cooler full of Sam Adams. We met Leslie, who seemed to be some sort of PR type and then we were face to face with Neal Schon. A few minutes later, Jeff Scott Soto, Journey's new lead singer, joined in on the converstaion. The boys were very gracious with their time, spending almost 25 minutes with us. It was kind of a surreal setting in the back of the little cabin. We were surrounded by huge trees, speaking with one of the more popular groups of the 1980s, and it was all because of a polo match. WILD!
Jeff Scott Soto: replacing the legendary Steve Perry
This brought our day in Leesburg to an end. It was definitely a day that I will not soon forget and I really cannot wait until next year's edition, when the American team will take on Italy! Maybe next year David Gregory will take time out his wine drinking to actually speak with us.
JL: Where did the name 'Blog Show' come from?
Littles: That's an interesting story Jim. The first go around at trying to come up with a name was at the DC Sports Bloggers Happy Hour. Although we had some interesting ideas thrown out that night, nothing was decided on and that was probably for the best considering the bar tab that we ran up. To be honest, I can't really recall who actually came up with 'Blow Show', but I know that Jamie, Dan, and I made the final decision on the name over dinner at Gordon Biersch Brewery, where we ran up another pretty hefty tab! One thing I do know is that the minute that it was decided that 'Blog Show' would be the name, I knew that the theme song, which has become sort of an internet phenomenon, was going to be an ode to the Saturday Night Live sketch 'Dog Show'.
JL: Gordon Biersch, huh? You guys seem real classy?
Littles: Well, in all fairness, GBB wasn't our first choise. We had originally arranged to dine at one of the more exclusive restaurants in DC, The Old Ebbitt Grill. But I, being the novice businessman that I was, didn't realize that getting a table there on a Thursday night, without a reservation, was harder than Vida Guerra's ass.
JL: That is a fine ass, isn't it?
Littles: It sure is Jim.
It sure is
STAYED TUNED TO THE DUDE ABIDES FOR MORE EDITIONS OF 'INSIDE BLOG SHOW'
So, without further to do, I give you, 'Inside Blog Show'. James, the floor is yours.
JL: The concept of Blog Show is one that has been called "revolutionary", but where did the original idea actually come from?
Littles: Well, James, first of all, thanks for having me. It really is an honor that you dropped by this afternoon, and let me be the first to say that I really can't see your face without thinking of Will Ferrell. But, I digress. With regards to your question, it really started with the insistance of Dan Steinberg to include a weekly segment, devoted to the sports blogosphere, in the new talk show that The Washington Post and Comcast Sportsnet were teaming up to work on, appropriately titled, 'Washington Post Live'.
JL: And, as I understand it, it wasn't long before another blogger's name was being banded about in the Comcast Sportsnet newsroom?
Littles: That's correct Jim. Steinberg mentioned to the powers that be that there was a local lad, by the name of Jamie Mottram who had been dubbed 'The Blogfather' by his fellow blog brethren. The kicker was that he had TV experience.
It seemed to be a perfect match! So, we had our stars, now all we needed was a direction for the segment.
STAYED TUNED TO THE DUDE ABIDES FOR MORE EDITIONS OF 'INSIDE BLOG SHOW'
Since I cannot speak about the case that I am currently sitting on the jury for, let's instead discuss some athletes who have been to court and stood in front of a juror like myself.
#1 Orenthal James Simpson
Hands down, the most high-profile trial involving an athlete, and quite possibly the most high-profile trial, period. You know the story, but here it is in a nutshell:
Nicole and Ron are found dead.
OJ jets from LA to Chicago
OJ returns to LA from Chicago.
OJ is questioned by police.
Police issue a warrant for OJ's arrest.
White Bronco.
Suicide watch.
Judge Ito.
Marcia Clark.
Christopher Darden.
Robert Shapiro.
Mark Furman.
F. Lee Baily.
"If the glove don't fit, you must acquit"
"We the people, find Orenthal James Simpson not guilty on the charge of 1st degree murder"
So, this begs the question. Before this whole ordeal, "The Juice" was definitely considered one of the greatest running backs of all-time. Is he still held in that regard? I, for one, think he should. Whatever he did or didn't do, it doesn't change what he did do on the field.
#2 Kobe Bryant
The case against Kobe Beef eventually collapsed, but not before his reputation was forever tarnished. He lost almost every endorsement deal he had (including Nutella!!!), and he had to drop some absurd amount of dollars on an "I'm sorry" ring for his wife, Vanessa.
In case you missed his "apology", let's refresh (uh, sort of) ...
I should add that, technically, Kobe never had to appear in front of any jurors, because the criminal case ended during jury selection. So, in the end, this was a lesson to all NBA Ballas; when you tap random white-ass in a random-ass hotel room, make sure she knows the deal, or just give her a large amount of cash to shut her yap!
#3 Jayson Williams
Jayson really liked his toys. He had earth movers, dune bugeys, mac trucks, and a whole host of other kind of interesting vehicles to play around with on his huge New Jersey compound. He also liked to play with guns ... especially shotguns! So, naturally, he thought it would be a good idea to play around with one his toys one night after a good number of cocktails. And, naturally, he should invite his limo driver to partake in the fun. OOPS! Yea, that huge hole in your limo driver? YOU DID THAT JAYSON! YOU SHOULD WIPE DOWN THE GUN AND JUMP IN THE POOL! That won't look shady at all!
In the end, the jury didn't convict Jayson of manslughter, which was the most serious of the seven charges he faced due to the incident. The four charges that he was convicted off mainly dealt with the cover up of the event.
Williams should be heading back to court to be retried on a reckless manslaughter charge sometime in the near future.
So what do we all learn from this?
Thank God we are not OJ Simpson, Kobe Bryant, or Jayson Williams!
It's a whole different thing to try to do this, or this, or this, or this, or this, or this on a daily basis.
So, let's go over the basics ...
Q: Why "the dude abides"?
A: Well, because, the dude abides.
Q: What's my interest in the sports blogosphere?
A: Just like the sun is the center of the solar system, Blog Show is the center of my blogosphere.
Q: Do you really have the time to do this?
A: No, no, and a lot more no's.
Q: So why are you doing it?
A: There isn't a better place for me to put the Indian version of "Thriller" on the display!
Q: What are you wearing?
Q: Why do you keep talking to yourself?
A: I couldn't get this guy to do the interview.
Q: So, you're the mastermind behind the scenes of BogTV and Blog Show?
A: You got me!
Q: Shouldn't you mention The Blogfather at some point?
A: Yes, he deserves it.
Q: Are you done yet?
A: Now I am
