Archive for the 'Humor' Category

15
Mar
11

‘The Bachelor’- After The Final Hos

Will you accept this rose?

I’ll readily admit that I tuned into the Bachelor season finale to see which lucky girl Brad Womack would undoubtedly break up with almost immediately. I may have, in fact DVR’d the entire season… don’t judge me. I have to confess that I was looking for a trainwreck. I was secretly hoping for a shark to rip off one of Brad’s limbs during his final date with Chantal. Better yet, how great would it have been if one of the final contenders had sex with his WAY hotter twin brother during ‘meet the parents’ night? Brad reminds me of a rejected Muppets character. Jim Henson evidently used up all of his good ideas and this is the turd that was produced as a result. The un-attractive, not funny, annoying Muppet nobody wanted around… Well, except all the loony women desperate for love.

A point of interest for me was the fact that Brad saw a shrink during the show on a regular basis. What the hell kind of shrink indicates that this is an acceptable way to find a healthy relationship? That guy should lose his crackerjack medical license for being within 100 yards of this situation. Does he encourage Brad to screw with the women’s heads even more? Clearly, there’s an air of instability here if they’re willing to subject themselves to this type of torment. Ladies, you were duped! I can’t recall ONE interesting thing Womack said the entire season. WHY? I don’t understand why anyone would fight over this guy. With that being said, ‘The Bachelor’ might be affecting my dating life. I have a date Saturday, and I’m curious to see if he brings 5-8 other girls or if I get the solo date. I have the routine down if it’s a group date. At some point I’ll be crying into my wine glass, while wearing a bikini. Then I’ll stab one of the other chicks in the back by suggesting that she isn’t right for him. Then I’ll announce that I love him and we’ll make-out.

At one point during the finale, Brad actually broke into a sweat, gasped for air and requested a glass of water because of a conversation with eventual ‘winner’, Emily. I have to say, it was pretty awesome to see a guy have that type of reaction to someone other than me. It’s different though because I do it for entertainment purposes. Emily is a single mother and she was really grilling this guy about becoming a father to her five year old, as the rest of us sat back and watched with sheer enjoyment. I don’t know about you… I laughed. Sweetheart, I’m a single mom as well. Even we non-boring mothers have a hell of a time finding a date. You expect him to sit through that when he knows full well that the roll in the hay later is probably going to be horrible? When it’s over, he’s going to be stuck with conversation that includes words like ‘golly’ and ‘good gracious’? Good luck with that.

It was fairly obvious by the ‘After the Rose’ segment that there will not be a trip down the aisle EVER. Brad and Emily sat awkwardly on the couch together and Emily played with her hair the entire time. Every woman on the planet knows that’s secret code for “get me out of here. I really hate this douchebag.” She’ll reap the rewards by going on to have her own reality show which will inevitably suck even more than the Bachelor. Maybe she’ll be a contestant on ‘Dancing with the Stars’ or film an independent horror film. She’d have to play a corpse though because playing a living being is too much of a stretch for that personality.

06
Jan
11

Will Work For Free House

In a truly inspiring story, a homeless crackhead with a lengthy list of felonies has been given the opportunity of a lifetime by the Cleveland Cavaliers organization. Ted Williams, the self described ‘man with the golden voice’ was plucked out of his dumpster this week and turned into an overnight internet sensation. Upon hearing his radio ready pipes, the Cavs offered him full-time employment and a free mortgage paid for by Quicken Loans which is their parent company. Wow… this is marketing genius, right? Something needs to be done when the only press you’re getting is centered around how many consecutive losses the team can manage to string together. Clearly, it’s a pathetic attempt on the Cavs part to remain relevant in any way possible, while simultaneously giving the impression that they give a shit about people. Great plan! I, for one was thrilled to hear how the Cavaliers are into second chances these days. I’m assuming this means that anyone who has been denied employment on the basis of a criminal record will be encouraged to re-apply immediately. Silly background checks… who needs ‘em? Somehow I doubt that Joe the maintenance guy securing a job collecting empty beer bottles and peanut shells would create the same media circus though.

I personally can’t wait to get my hands on the new homeless guy line of merchandise sure to be hitting the Team Shop shelves soon. T-shirts, paper bags to put your bottle of booze in, maybe some fake meth teeth with a C-sword logo on the left bicuspid. Of course, there will be a homeless guy doll with a little cardboard sign located right next to the moondog plush. Oh… the money they can make off this guy while pretending to be humanitarians is limitless. I’ll tell you what… the halftime show just became a whole lot more interesting. Maybe they’ll have the homeless guy partner with the Scream Team on some super creative routine where they all emerge from cardboard boxes and steal things from unsuspecting fans. Now THAT’S ‘Where Amazing Happens’. Ted and Austin Carr can Yuk it up and compete for the most nonsensical catch phrase of the game. This is gonna be awesome!

I’m not sure if anyone else remembers the gigantic mortgage crisis that essentially crippled the economy. It’s fairly fresh in my mind, considering it just happened. In a nutshell, mortgage companies were pimping loans to people who clearly couldn’t afford to be homeowners. All of those people are ironically all homeless now. What better way to overcome that clusterfuck than giving a vagrant a free house! Way to go, Quicken Loans… You and all of your caring! You might have been better served to personally offer each and every default loan holder a punch in the face.

With that being said, I’m certainly all about giving people second chances… as long as you level the playing field. Doing good deeds simply because they cast you in a positive media light is not what it’s all about. Any amount of research into this guy’s background may have given a reasonable person pause. ‘Woops… I knocked someone up’ is a lot different than ‘woops I knocked someone up nine times.’ Your fifth felony is well beyond what second chances are made of. If you dig deeper and consider statistics on commission of a crime vs times someone is actually caught… you do the math. Some will argue that the homeless lifestyle is what drove this guy to a life of crime, and I’m sure that’s a factor. My problem is that at some point, there was a conscious decision to smoke crack, stop showing up for work and ignore the fact that he had nine children. In my book, that’s an asshole pure and simple. On what planet is it a solid business decision to blindly make such employment offers? My guess is that they conduct a minimum of two interviews and a criminal background check before they’ll hire a cashier for the Team Shop. I’m not buying into this warm and fuzzy bullshit. I refuse to take anyone seriously that makes business decisions based on You-Tube clips, fortune cookies or Magic 8 balls. Oh well, Maybe the Miami Heat will attempt to sweeten the pot by also offering jobs and mortgages to two of Ted’s buddies. I smell homeless guy package deal in the air.

04
Jan
11

Finally… A Real ‘Bachelor’

Over the years, the mere word ‘bachelor’ has become synonymous with douchebag so I’d like to extend my sincere gratitude to ABC for finally getting it right. If I hear that word used to describe a man, I’m all but certain that he’s a complete player. This is a guy that isn’t married because he has no desire to be. That, my friends might inhibit the amount of poon he’s raking in. He’s a smooth talker and knows exactly how to finagle his way into your pants. As a tribute to the true idea behind bachelorhood, the reality TV Gods have finally answered our prayers. Brad Womack, who’s the only ‘Bachelor’ to horrify and humiliate both of the finalists in the contest for his affection is back to ruin more lives. Thank you, camera wielding Jesus!

On the premiere last night, we were introduced to the lovely ladies. Luckily, nobody drowned in the sea of insecurity. Not one of these lunatics opted to leave when they realized that this dickhole was back for more Primetime free banging. In a shocking twist, Brad elected to honor anyone exhibiting any level of slutty behavior with a rose. Stretching your legs inappropriately over your head while wearing a skirt will probably get you noticed, as was the case with the particularly desperate Rockette named Keltie. Understandable I guess when you’re surrounded by gay men dressed as Nutcracker dolls and Santa during Radio City’s Christmas production. However, announcing that you’re ‘bendy’ will likely only distract him from your face for another episode or two… max. Then we had Madison who stole the show by sporting Vampire fangs. Of course, why wouldn’t she do that? If that doesn’t scream, “I’m wild in the sack,” I have no clue what does. She licked those jagged things in an attempt to be sexy, but it reminded me a lot of the way my gram used to lick her dentures when she’d gotten to the end of her tube of Polident. Except, my grandmother’s ‘fuck me eyes’ were a little more impressive. I saw the way she looked at my Grandpa after dinner at Perkins and an episode of Matlock. At least Madison’s a shoe-in for the Twilight themed porn that’s undoubtedly being scripted as we speak.

We were left hanging in suspense, waiting to see if Chantal the bitch-slapper would receive a rose. How is it possible that a woman could crack a guy across the face on national TV and remain in the running? Are you kidding? ABC probably had to edit out the part where Brad popped a boner after that clear- cut sexual advance. I can’t wait for the penis punch in episode three. There were some awkward moments of course. My favorite was the self-proclaimed ‘manscaper’, Rebecca who elected to wax off a little bit of Brad’s arm hair leaving a ridiculous looking bald patch. She alluded to waxing his undercarriage, but surprisingly Brad didn’t appear to be receptive to that. I think I saw Madison eyeing up the wax kit, but that might have just been another attempt at a sexy look. Who can really tell? It wouldn’t surprise me if she ended up in a production trailer with a key grip or best boy. One clever young lady opted to wear ruby slippers as an indication that she was from Kansas. Tragic that someone would consider that a selling point isn’t it? I don’t even know that one’s name. If I lost interest… surely Brad did too. One elegant blonde elected to throw herself into Brad’s arms during introductions. I suppose it was designed to be a romantic, sweep me off my feet type of thing. The end result was more like a frat boy inspired cannonball. When all is said and done, Brad will get laid a ton and we’ll all surely be entertained. With a disclaimer like this one… anyone gets hurt, it’s all on them. They might as well just call it ‘The Bachelor, Gang Bang Edition.’ All I know is that I’m headed over to Target to get some Vampire fangs, a pair of ruby slippers and a ball waxing kit. It’s going to be a great weekend. I can feel it.

16
Mar
10

The Broad’s Side of… Revenge

We’ve all heard the story recently of the four jilted women who banded together against some cheating SOB and crazy-glued his unit to his thigh. Hilarious? Yes. Illegal? Absolutely! These four are now looking at six months in prison. This led to some conversations with girlfriends about seeking revenge against someone who has wronged you, and specifically where you draw the line between funny and handcuff worthy. My friend Sharon convinced me that the following story needed to be shared with a wider audience. Keep in mind that I am not endorsing revenge, but there are some instances where it’s necessary and insanely funny.

I had an experience recently, which I’ll take some responsibility for because I never should have allowed myself to get involved with this particular guy. I was trying to keep an open mind and not judge people based on certain social behaviors and physical traits. Huge mistake on my part. If your gut tells you something…go with it. This guy is 38 years old and has never been married…for a slew of reasons. He’s not what I would consider attractive on any level. He’s balding, but tries to trick people by wearing a crusty, sweat ringed baseball cap at all times. His dental condition reminds me of the exhumed corpses you sometimes see on CSI. Evidently, ten years underground will wreak some havoc on your enamel. Aside from the cadaver teeth, he also has an unruly, unkempt bush of facial hair which contains little particles of food more times than not. If that isn’t enough to convince you that I was digging at the bottom of the barrel, his living conditions are a step above section 8. He rents an apartment inside a home owned by one of his ten brothers, and part of the deal apparently is that there is no upkeep on the landlord’s part. The bathroom in the apartment upstairs steadily leaks into a Tupperware container strategically placed on his poker table. The only furniture in this dump is two poker tables, a bunch of folding chairs, and a mattress and box spring placed directly on the floor. For good measure, there aren’t any sheets on the bed. Appliances include a mini frat boy fridge, a 13 inch TV and a microwave. His car has scotch tape holding the bumper together, but he has to be careful driving it because of his duo of DUIs. I know… what the hell was I thinking?

To my horror and disbelief, HE cheats on ME! My first thought was “How the hell could you possibly find someone else to accept your trainwreck of a life style?” He knocks back a few too many tequila shots at his company Christmas party and sleeps with the receptionist. He probably wouldn’t have bothered to tell me if she didn’t claim to be pregnant about a month later. The way I found out that something was amiss was a complete accident. I went to his sewer of an apartment one Friday night after last call (which was the only way I could handle being there), and he wasn’t home. Of course, the door was open because there’s nothing worth stealing. I instantly knew he was with another woman…you just feel it. I was just about to write a nasty note when a genius idea struck me. What can I do within the confines of the law to inconvenience his life and make sure that he’s MFing me for days?

I started by removing the lightbulbs from every light fixture in the place. This involved unscrewing the globes from the chandeliers and replacing them once the bulbs were out. That way it appeared to be a problem with the electricity, which wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility if it were cut off. I imagined him making the trek to the basement to investigate the breaker box. I didn’t physically remove the lightbulbs from the property because that would be stealing. Stealing is wrong, my friends. Next, I hid his TV remote in the oven because clearly that’s the last place he’d look, but not before removing the batteries and placing them inside a bag of frozen peas in the freezer. I spot checked for back-up batteries in drawers to make sure there were no replacements conveniently available. I also switched two cables on the back of the TV, so that once he had recovered the remote and replenished the batteries he still wouldn’t have a functioning TV. Next, I took every left shoe that he owned and hid them. He isn’t what you would call an organized person, so there are shoes strewn all over the place. I’d be willing to bet that he was at least three pairs in before he realized he only had access to right shoes. I can only hope this happened Monday morning as the time came to get ready for work. I’m not sure that his skuzzy weekend flip flops showcasing the hairy big toes would be welcome at the office. The skanky receptionist would be there to greet him. I’ve taken to calling her the Q-Tip since she’s built like one with a puff of platinum blonde hair, good for only one thing and completely disposable. I also remembered that he had a Monday night poker/football party at his place, so I took his 6 decks of cards and hid them. He always hosted because the lack of basic home furnishings made it extra roomy. I admired my handy work and felt pretty satisfied with myself. I sent a quick text that said ‘You really should lock your doors’ and headed home.

The Q-Tip couldn’t keep the fake pregnancy charade going because eventually you’re expected to give birth. She told douchebag that it had been an ectopic pregnancy and that the doctor had given her the morning after pill. That’s equivalent to saying you were instructed to take 2 Flinstones chewable vitamins to terminate the pregnancy. A few weeks later, I ran into him at a local bar. His shit- mobile was parked outside and I debated snapping a picture of it and posting an ad on Craig’s List. Of course, I would have used the office number, so that every potential ‘buyer’ would speak to the Q-Tip and then be directed to him. She’d have to earn her $8 an hour fielding all the calls. In the end, I decided that I couldn’t possibly do anything worse to him than the hand he was dealt. Waking up every morning and having to face another day as him is about the worst thing that could happen to a person. The lesson I learned is that open mindedness sucks. I prefer being a judgemental asshole because, quite frankly, I’m usually right.

21
Nov
09

O-H-I-O You An Explanation

For whatever reason, every time I visit my brother in Dayton I end up demanding a trip to the local Waffle House. There aren’t any in my neck of the woods. Although it cannot be considered top tier cuisine, I need to have my semi-annual dose of those hash browns with all the random crap on them. Without fail, it is always a painful experience. This time around, I had almost reached my breaking point. Our booth was in the middle of the restaurant right next where they prepare the bubbling pots of grits. The ‘chef’ was working diligently on my scattered, smothered, chunked and topped hash browns with intermittent spittoon breaks. I was growing more agitated by the second. I was immersed in adding my fourth sweet n low to my coffee in an attempt to mask the taste of Valvoline and Lucky Strikes…. when I caught something out of the corner of my eye.

I am, by nature, a people watcher. I love creating back-stories for all of the characters I encounter in day to day life. A family of misfits walked in and squatted in the booth directly across from us. It wasn’t the fact that they were already sitting in the booth before the waitress had a chance to remove the last mutant patrons’ dirty plates that got my attention. It was the apparel. The dad was wearing a red Ohio State Hoody that was just short enough to allow an unobstructed view of his plumber’s crack. At first glance, I was pretty certain that the thing with him was a dude who had been cursed with an unfortunate set of man cans. It was wearing a Michigan sweatshirt. When the maize monster spoke, I was taken aback that it was in fact a ‘she’. So…now my wheels start turning and I’m trying to determine how this college sports rivalry played out in this household. Naturally, my first thought was the old Alma Mater tribute. That thought was quickly dismissed as the gang of geniuses passed around the maple syrup in a futile attempt to open it. It was as if it were the Rubik’s Cube of condiment dispensers. For the record, they never did solve the puzzle. Then Maizeilla removes all collegiate probability by uttering the sentence, “I seen Bobby at Wal-Mart”.

The next likely scenario is geography. Perhaps the maizeopotomus was actually from Michigan. It’s completely possible that there’s a double-wide outside of Ann Arbor that’s missing its matriarch. I’m not sure why that’s disturbing to me. I live in Ohio and will freely admit that I’ve had more than one drunken night singing “Hang On Sloopy” while decked out in an Ohio State shirt or lid. I draw the line at Buckeye necklaces, any type of dangling earrings, face tattoos or red and white socks with a giant ‘O’ on them. I didn’t graduate from Ohio State, nor do I really care all that much about the outcome of most games. I do have enough respect for those who do care NOT to wear a Michigan shirt. I also married someone who had the distinction of being Ohio State alum. I am a firm believer that if I had been a Michigan fan, that would have been a deal breaker. Those freaks are that serious about their team. Sitting across from him in public wearing Michigan colors would have been considered a sign of the Apocalypse. If I would have shown up to watch the Ohio State/Michigan game wearing anything even suggestive of allegiance to Michigan, I would have had a chalk outline around my lifeless corpse by Halftime. I was also privy to the surreal celebration following Ohio State’s National Championship. It was borderline homo-erotic. Grown men were hugging and crying a little as they professed their love for one another and the scarlet and gray. Ahh…Maurice Clarett, you did us proud! Well…you know what I mean. BEFORE the ATF had to intervene and confiscate the AK 47, miscellaneous other weapons, bullet proof vest and open bottle of Grey Goose. I hear he’s rapping on the prison circuit these days.

The only other rational explanation is that this was a Faux Rivalry just to create controversy. Maybe it’s ‘in’ these days to have the dueling team sweatshirts. Dental hygiene is also in, and they didn’t appear to be jumping on that band-wagon. I’m fairly certain that these two trailblazers are the reason behind the need for establishments to post signs on their doors reminding people to wear shoes and shirts. All I know is that the gene puddle I saw at that table actually made me dumber. I went home and did a crossword puzzle to try to recapture some of the brain cells that were left at the restaurant that day. It suddenly became clear to me why Kid Rock went Ape Shit crazy at a Waffle House. I wonder if he was wearing a Michigan shirt at the time…

23
Oct
09

The Broad’s side of the circus

I have never been a fan of the Circus, State Fair, Carnivals, or anything with the word ‘fest’ attached to it. Even if it’s something I love, making it a fest ruins things for me. Beer Fest, No thanks. Really Hot Single Guy Fest… I don’t think so. With that being said, I love my daughter and sometimes as a parent you’re required to do things that suck for the benefit of your child. Someone allowed my kid to see a commercial advertising Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. Trust me, I will find out who if it kills me. Needless to say, I recently attended a performance against my will. The show began with the annoying Ringmaster bellowing about the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’ and how mind-blowing this whole experience promised to be. A shit ton of clowns bombarded the stage and I felt like I was watching a scene starring the homeless population. They would run a few steps and then fall down for no apparent reason. Just then, I saw something fabulous and most likely un-intentionally hilarious. There was a token black clown amongst the group. He wasn’t wearing any clown make-up and his hair was completely normal. He had obscenely muscular, Popeye-esque arms which were accentuated by the ridiculous skin tight black and white striped shirt he was wearing. He looked like the Hamburglar’s ghetto cousin. His cropped pants were painted on as well, and it appeared that he might have been smuggling an additional clown in his drawers. While Schlongo, the big-peckered clown danced around with the other clowns, I started to wonder how this came to be. No…not the big package thing! The circus career. How the hell does that happen? Was he banging one of the hot Asian trapeze broads in Detroit and BAM! The next thing he knows he’s a god-damned circus clown in a travelling caravan. That had better be one hot piece of ass.

No circus is complete without the random animal acts. There’s a lot of talk about animal cruelty in the circus, and I can certainly see why. The elephants were the first to take center stage. They walked in decked out with giant tarps decorated in sequins and bold patterns. You could tell they were embarrassed and probably even a little pissed off. Everyone knows that type of ensemble isn’t flattering for the full figured. I’m sure they’ll end up in the elephant version of ‘Glamour’ on the ‘Don’t’ page with those little black bars hiding their eyes. Next, we witnessed dogs jumping through hoops, walking on their front legs and doing hurdles in unison. I found myself critiquing one dog because it kept screwing up the jump rope trick. He was standing on his hind legs jumping rope, but he’d trip after several tries. I’m thinking, “Jesus, six times… that’s all you got?” Then I realized that the only trick my dog has ever effectively mastered is the one where she farts and leaves the adults in the room to blame each other. I learned one very valuable lesson from the animal portion of the show; you shouldn’t wear skins from a slain zebra. Before you think I’m going all PETA on your ass, I’m actually doing this as a public service announcement. It turns out that zebras are, in fact, retarded. Wearing the hide of one of these mongoloid animals might make you instantly dumber. The only expectation for the zebras was for them to trot around in a circle and then reverse the process. WAY too difficult. They all started bumping in to each and spinning in confused, random circles. It was like watching a dance class at the Helen Keller Performing Arts Academy. Maybe they hit the sauce before the show because they were forced to wear the same outfit as Schlongo.

As we left the arena, there was a picketer stationed out front with a sign that said ‘Ringling Brothers Beats Animals.’ He was there before the show as well, and I couldn’t help thinking what a bullshit way to waste three hours of your life. I can’t imagine anything worth picketing over. Isn’t this 2010? What’s wrong with firing off an angry e-mail or updating your Facebook status to: “so and so thinks Ringling Brothers should give that jump-roping dog a break. It’s not his fault he fucked up. He’s a dog”. I’ve never understood picketing, and god knows I love sharing opinions. Does it ever need to be expressed on a piece of poster board attached to a stick? Every year a group of jackasses pickets across the street at the ballpark before baseball games because they’re all bent out of shape that the team’s named the ‘Indians.’ Really? You’re that worked up over the cartoon logo, ‘Chief Wahoo’? Is there seriously a relative of yours that bears a striking resemblance to the scarlet faced, grinning chief? Let me guess… your Uncle Dave’s Indian name is ‘Crouching Catcher Hidden Championship’, so it really strikes a nerve? Here’s a piece of advice, buy the hat with the script “I” logo and move on with your life. Chances are Chief Wahoo will get traded to the Twins in a package deal with Slider anyways. The last thing I want is to feel like I’m entering an abortion clinic anytime I head out to the ballpark. To hell with it all… I’m just going to stay home and watch the ‘Greatest Show on Earth’: Sportscenter.

22
Oct
09

Cleveland Sports Curse

There's no crying in baseballAnyone who has spent any amount of time in Cleveland is aware of the ‘curse’ we’ve been under for over 45 years. Don’t even try to argue the Cleveland Crunch soccer championships… no one cares. I’m not sure I agree with the logic behind the curse. Is it bad luck or just bad decisions? I can’t speak for anyone else, but I didn’t really appreciate the MLB Playoff match-up of Cliff Lee v CC Sabathia. Wouldn’t it be awesome if the Cleveland Indians were able to secure such top caliber pitching talent? Oh wait… they both used to wear Tribe uniforms. Isn’t THAT a bitch! The Indians probably aggravate me more than any other Cleveland team because I’m a huge baseball fan. With that being said, there’s not much worse than bad baseball. I’m one of those losers that can score a game or calculate an ERA in my head, while most of my female friends think that ‘ERA’ is laundry detergent. I get pissy if someone doesn’t understand which way the ‘K’ faces when recording a strike-out, and I know the rules of the game inside and out. I’m also pretty irked by the name change. What used to be Jacobs Field aka ‘The Jake’ is now Progressive Field. By definition the word progressive is as follows: Promoting or favoring progress toward better conditions or new policies, ideas, or methods. I love sarcasm as much as the next guy… but C’mon!

Every year a group of jackasses pickets at Progressive Field before baseball games because they’re all bent out of shape that the team’s named the ‘Indians.’ Really? You’re that worked up over the cartoon logo, ‘Chief Wahoo’? Is there seriously a relative of yours that bears a striking resemblance to the scarlet faced, grinning chief? Let me guess… your Uncle Dave’s Indian name is ‘Crouching Catcher Hidden Championship’, so it really strikes a nerve? Here’s a piece of advice, buy the hat with the script “I” logo and move on with your life. Chances are Chief Wahoo will get traded to the Twins in a package deal with Slider anyways. The last thing I want is to feel like I’m entering an abortion clinic anytime I head out to the ballpark. Someone asked me how I’d feel if the team were named the ‘Cleveland Guidos’, mocking my Italian heritage. Are you kidding me? I would LOVE that. Shit, they could start pitching with meatballs for all I care. The opposing bullpen could be called ‘Al Capone’s Vault’. When the starting pitcher loses steam, they’d open the door and there wouldn’t be anything in there. Dress up the Grounds Crew like little gangsters and have them rake the field to the always catchy tune ‘The Hitman’. Every time an opposing player hits a homerun, he gets some brand new cement shoes and a one way ticket on the Jet Express to Put-In-Bay. That my friends would be a fun day at the ballpark!

I’m not even sure what to say about the Browns this year. The only Quarterback controversy we have brewing is who sucks more. If we had a contest based on head shots, clearly Brady Quinn takes the prize, but otherwise it’s a dead heat race. He really needs to stick to endorsing deodorant and energy drinks. He looks so much better sans helmet. The Browns helped me discover my love of fantasy football. I needed something to look forward to on Sundays besides the pizza and beer. So, now I get to pretend that Randy Moss is on my team every week. It’s like when a guy realizes that his wife is an annoying nag and she’s never going to lose the baby weight since the kid’s now ten years old. He turns to porn which is the fantasy football of relationships. You get to construct the perfect team that’s obviously way better than the one at home. If someone gets boring, you can trade them or cut them with a click of the mouse. Over the years, the Browns have made me feel like a battered wife of sorts. I keep breaking up with them, but in the end I always go back for another ass kicking. The only difference is that they never apologize or send flowers afterwards.

The Cavaliers are probably this town’s best shot at a championship, but to be honest basketball has never been my favorite sport. I don’t really understand the draw. It appears that the owner, Dan Gilbert is very committed to winning and doing whatever it takes to get the ring. LeBron’s obviously a power house and this could be his last year. Look at the influence that guy has. He single handedly got Braylon Edwards traded. In my opinion, Braylon should send a thank you card and a fruit basket for that. All of the Browns players should start picking fights with LeBron’s posse. They’re only a few ‘Yo Mama’ jokes away from a one way ticket out of here. I’m not even going to bust out ‘Maybe next year’. When it’s all said and done, we all remember ‘The Shot’, ‘The Drive’ and ‘The Fumble’. We’re constantly reminded of it by ESPN analysts and other national media outlets. There were death threats against Jose Mesa after the Tribe lost the 1997 World Series to the Marlins who were an expansion team. Damn, we could have carried through on that threat if the Cleveland Guidos were around.

19
Sep
09

The Broad’s Side of… Hooters

Cans

Cans

One thing about me that appears to get revisited time and time again is the fact that I used to be a Hooters Girl. At this point, I think I could travel to space or find a cure for cancer…and the focus would still be on this little tidbit. I’m not sure why people are so fixated on it, but I have absolutely no regrets when it comes to this part of my life. I was so bored with my retail management career at ‘Bed Bath and Beyond’ that I decided to make a drastic change. If I folded one more towel, I was afraid that I would resort to shooting up the Calphalon aisle just for entertainment value. As a kid I was subjected to taunts of ‘Jenny Jenny…flat as a penny’ and of course all the ultra-creative comments about the level of jealousy the walls were experiencing due to my flat physique. I took matters into my own hands and financed a top notch pair of cans. Yes, they allowed me to take out a loan to pay for my enhancement. Good luck with the repo man in the event there’s a default on that loan. Naturally, I was looking for a return on my investment which led me to Hooters in Cleveland’s ‘Flats’ district.

The Flats were by far the best place to go on any given night. The Hooters restaurant was situated right in the middle of a riverfront strip of bars. There was a great patio out back where we had jet ski rentals in the summer. Kenny, the jet ski guy was the brother of one of the managers and his sole responsibility was rentals. After he appeared on the news for the third time for discovering a dead body under the dock, we began to think there was a chance he was the one putting them there. He didn’t even crack the top ten on the creepy list. There were countless loners that would come in and stalk us from a distance. To be fair, this was WAY before Match.com so their options were pretty limited. You’d have your occasional boner guy who made no effort to hide his pop-up ad. Mix in a few homeless guys, some pro athletes and Drew Carey…that pretty much sums it up. You never knew what was in store for you day to day. Am I going to score World Series tickets today or witness a murder? It could easily go either way. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen an ESPN anchor piss out the second story window at the ‘Basement’ onto a police officer. That dude was stuck covering BMX racing on Saturday afternoons for the next four years.

My favorite part of my experience there was definitely the friends I made. You would think they would all be catty and jealous of each other, but that wasn’t the case. Sure, there were some assholes working there, but a dozen years later I still count many of them among my best friends in the world. In hindsight, even the one that slept with my boyfriend while I was on vacation in Vegas turned out to be ok. I don’t even think she waited for me to clear the security checkpoints before she bedded him. It turned out that she did me a HUGE favor. He ended up getting grotesquely fat and going to prison, although not necessarily in that order. The old ‘chicken or egg’ argument. He was a Basement bouncer and I have no idea why I thought that was cool.

One of my favorite games to play was to set people up for embarrassment. I’ve always been really into sports, so I’d instantly recognize athletes when they came in. I’d provide some great mis-information and veil it as a tip enhancing opportunity for my co-workers. I had them congratulating NBA players for their World Series MVP awards, or have them call David Cone ‘Mr. Maddux’ throughout his whole chicken wing dining experience. I’d pick out random customers and tell the waitress that it was someone famous so that she’d waste all of her time fawning all over him or ask for an autograph. That never got old. One of my favorite experiences came courtesy of Drew Carey. His entire cast and crew was in town filming the opening sequence for ‘The Drew Carey Show’. He sent two chubby women in to the restaurant as a test to see which Hooters Girl would even acknowledge the fact they were alive. I brought them to a table and chatted with them while everyone else suddenly pretended to have pressing issues to attend to. Nobody liked waiting on women, but I didn’t mind. Drew’s entourage pulled up to the back dock and one hour of my time resulted in a $350 tip. I felt like one of Heidi Fleiss’ girls…except I wasn’t required to bang a disgusting Hollywood producer with back hair resembling a really ugly sweater. Drew arranged for me to leave work early and go to the ‘Have A Nice Day Café’ with the group. I was drinking booze from a straw out of a smiley face fishbowl with Oswald while my friends were slinging wings and listening to drunk assholes ask, “Do you have any milk?” over and over again. You would be surprised at how many guys thought that was a wildly creative and hilarious thing to say.

It’s sad that there are no longer any Hooters in the Cleveland area. All three locations have long been closed. I make a point of eating there any time I visit a city that has one. I also make sure someone I’m with asks the waitress if they have any milk, and I laugh like the person should take his act on the road. “OMG! You should totally tour with Dane Cook. You’re by far the funniest guy alive!” I used to be borderline embarrassed by my stint as a Hooters Girl, but I’ve realized that it was probably one of the best things that have ever happened to me. I’ve met at least three friends that would bail me out of jail or give me a kidney if one of mine turns out to be a dud. I’ll definitely tell my daughter all about the experiences I had with those broads she calls ‘Aunts’, Michelle, Shelley and Melanie. I’m far removed from my bikini contest days, but at least I can say that I pulled it off!

14
Sep
09

The Broad’s Side of…Tailgating

Oh yes! Football season has arrived. There is not much I enjoy more than the pre-game tailgate experience. The Browns home opener is consistently my favorite day of the year. Say what you want about Cleveland sports teams and their inability to bring home a championship. One thing’s for sure…we know how to tailgate in this town! One argument could be that we purposely send ourselves into a booze induced state in order to ease the pain just a little bit. The 2009 kickoff of the tailgating season was nothing short of exceptional. My friend ‘Lola’ (she’ll get pissy if I use her real name) provided me with the opportunity to attend the game when her boyfriend was sentenced to house arrest. Yeah Crime! Who says it doesn’t pay? He was sitting at home on the couch while my ass was in his seat. I wonder if that ankle monitoring device interferes with the Direct TV reception at all.

We began our day at about 7:30 am. Why wouldn’t that be a great idea? People really go all out. There are various RVs which are painted brown and orange and are undoubtedly captained by some douchebag that sold his house in order to tailgate ‘in style’. More often than not, the douchemobiles have a resident DJ that plays requests in exchange for beer or gratuitous boob shots. The majority of them also have a hot commodity called a bathroom on board. If you’ve never been in a port-a-potty in a tailgate parking lot, you’re a very fortunate individual. Needless to say, I felt the need to charm my way into one of these shitters on wheels. You’d be surprised how receptive people can be when you’re opening line is, “So…who do I have to let motorboat me in exchange for use of your mobile pisser?” Works every time! The best part is that they’re too shocked to attempt to cash in.

Lola and I came across an acquaintance who graciously offered us the chance to partake in a beer bong. As tempting as it is to suck off of some gross tube that forty other people recently had in their mouths, I had to take a raincheck on that one. The acquaintance (we’ll call him Asshat) regretfully did not follow my lead. This next part could make me appear to be an insensitive asshole, but in order to establish a proper visual I feel the need to provide you with all of the appropriate information. Asshat happens to suffer from what could be a series of disabilities. As he so eloquently stated after four cracks at the beer bong, “I’m a god-damned cripple.” Curious battle cry, if you ask me. I’m not sure if poor judgment is recognized as a disability in the state of Ohio, but this moron might just change the way the rules are written. He thought it was advisable to yell angrily at a passing security officer, calling him a ‘wanna -be cop fag’. By the reaction of the security officer, that was not the first time he’d heard that sweet-nothing. Asshat continued with his perplexing tirade by asking this nice gentleman to pass along the following message. “Tell Mayor Campbell to fuck off”. One major problem with that statement, besides the obvious… Mayor Campbell hasn’t been the mayor of Cleveland since January 2006. At least I’m fairly confident that the only polls this guy is familiar with are in Juggs Magazine. As his swan song, he used one of his crutches to swing at a fan wearing a Vikings jersey and horn adorned helmet. Lola’s brother had to throw Asshat over his shoulder and haul him away before Po-po got a hold of him. If you’re an asshole…you’re an asshole. It shouldn’t be contingent on whether you can walk or not. I can tell you that I had not one ounce of sympathy. I actually debated beating him with his own crutches. Wrong?

At one point, we were on a futile mission to locate a friend when we were given this useful piece of information. “We’re South of you.” WTF? THAT’S how you try to direct someone to your tailgate location? Wait, are you wearing brown and orange and standing near a cornhole board? Perhaps you’re eating a hotdog and drinking a beer? Jesus, you have got to be kidding me. How about providing some useful information? We never did find them. Maybe it was because there were plenty of distractions. At some point, we stumbled upon a set-up which included an assortment of greenery on the six foot banquet tables (which also had table cloths, I might add). In my opinion, you should have to turn in your man card if you allow such a thing to occur. Your penis better be velcro’d on, because you’ll need to give it back. There should also NEVER under any circumstances be cupcakes, salad or any other pussy foods present at the tailgate. It’s all about the numerous meat products and how much can be consumed in a day. Only meatetarians need apply. I was fairly surprised that I managed to get through the day without being violently pegged in the face with a cornhole bag, football or flying feces. There was almost an incident involving a mini Spongebob football. That six year old should consider himself lucky that near disaster was narrowly averted. Who brings a kid into that type of environment? Judging by his parents, I hope he was driving.

Once inside Cleveland Browns Stadium, we decided to swing by the bar before heading to our seats. We wanted to find the quickest way, so we stopped to ask an employee directions. The response I received was, “I don’t know where the bar is. I’m not from around here.” Huh? WTF are you talking about? ‘Here’ is the place that’s paying you 8 bills per hour to answer questions such as these. Could you possibly glance at that little pocket map for some insight? I can actually see the map from here. It’s in a lanyard hanging around your neck for Christ’s sake. I’ll tell you what….Give me two dollars and I’ll read the map myself since you seem to be so confused. My smartass persona had officially been kicked into high gear at this point. We finally found the bar with some encouragement from a non-retarded staff member. Once inside, we had to find a loophole in the ‘no shooters’ policy. Evidently, two ice cubes and a swizzle stick elevate your shot into the drink category. That was unfortunate for the turd next to us who had been looking for the perfect opening line. He determines that “do you have any mosquito repellant” is the way to go. Naturally, my response went a little something like this…”Well, if I do have some on, it doesn’t appear to be working very well since you broke the barrier.” I think Lola had a pretty good time and will probably invite me back next time there’s an available ticket. Hmm… I’m thinking trumped up rape charges against her boyfriend might be in order. Can you do that anonymously? There must be a way to keep him off the streets until January.

10
Sep
09

The ‘LeBomb James’ Experiment

Ok…so I’ve finally arrived at the point where I’m capable of discussing the fact that the Cleveland Cavaliers are not 2009 NBA Finals Champions. I’m ready to talk about the night our collective hopes and dreams were shattered (until next year, as all of us Cleveland sports fans have been conditioned to say for the past 45 years). Game 6 of the ECF against the Orlando Magic was a road game, so I found myself pre-gaming at the ‘Clevelander’ in downtown Cleveland before heading over to Quicken Loans Arena to watch the ass-whooping that I hadn’t really envisioned. It was an upbeat crowd that had gathered to toss a few back before tip-off. I was sitting on the patio with a few friends enjoying one of the dozen nice weather days we see per year, when something alarming happened. There were several obnoxious, Varejao wig wearing frat boys near us making a pretty compelling argument for revisiting prohibition. Just when I had figured out how to ignore them, this collection of tools (aka the Toolbox) feels the need to indulge in a prop related shot. Don’t get me wrong, I’m all about adding production value to my shooters…just as long as nobody gets hurt. On paper, this particular shot sounds like a brilliant idea. Logistically…not so much. It’s called a ‘LeBomb James’, and there are conflicting reports as to the ingredients. One recipe calls for Crown Royal in honor of LeBron’s ‘King’ moniker, grenadine for the wine, pineapple for the gold, and sprite because evidently LeBron is obligated by sponsorship law to be associated with Sprite. Oh, but the best part is the granulated sugar finale. The goal is to emulate LeBron’s pre-game chalk toss ritual by releasing it into the air as if you were freeing a dove. Why wouldn’t you want to toss a little Splenda into the air after a shot?

Here’s an excellent reason: Eyesight is awesome. There was no warning whistle from the Tool Box that this shot was to be anything other than one of a sugar-free variety. I am busy participating in what I can only assume was captivating conversation when the Sweet ‘n Low assault occurs. This gaggle of douchebags launches the grainy little weapons skyward while chanting MVP, directly into the wind. Needless to say, said granules find their way into my unsuspecting corneas. I can unequivocally say that it’s a fairly painful process. I couldn’t see the public bar high-fives through my stinging retinas, but I could hear them loud and clear. Once my Helen Keller impersonation ended, I became keenly aware of the fact that I was literally coated in sugar. It was in my hair, my nose and unfortunately, my bra. I now know exactly what Mel Gibson meant when he called that police woman ‘Sugar Tits’. Trust me, it’s not a compliment.

We all know how the story ends. Cleveland lost and our boys were making tee times while the Orlando Magic danced around wearing their ECF Champions shirts and hats. As I sat watching it unfold, a single teardrop trickled down my cheek. Strangely, the saccharin wedged into my iris made that tear taste a bit like lemonade. I had never really considered artificial sweeteners a weapon until that day. I stand corrected. I’ve now decided to retire my rape whistle and pepper spray for good. Who needs it? If I’m ever accosted in a dark Cleveland alley, I’ll just start yelling “Cleveland hasn’t won a Championship in over 45 years” and hurl a fistful of Equal into the perpetrator’s eyes.




About the Broad

A humorous look at dating in your mid-thirties and the other hilarious things that happen around us on a daily basis.

 

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