Hey Cubbie fans (and haters)...

This is probably the funniest thing I've read since Kyle Farnsworth got his ass kicked by an electric fan.

THe Chicago Cubs Spring Training Chatroom

Though I have no tickets, I have taken the day of the Cubs home opener off to go hang around the field and maybe find my way in. I have a line on rooftop tix, but we'll see how that pans out. I'm hoping for particularly blog-worthy events. I will keep you posted.

Speaking of that, I really need to get a digital camera soon so I can remember what happened the next day.

Brad Seal of Approval: I found the new love of my life....

....and she is Miller High Life. The commercials do not lie. It is a damn good beer at a tasty price. It is now the "Official Beer of Brad". If you are in the mood for classic American swill, get an ice cold bottle of this golden gem. So tasty!

I love this picture

Courtesy of Amber's camera phone. I don't know if she meant to be artsy or the camera phone is just a piece of poop, but either way I think it sums up this past, lost drunken weekend perfectly.

'nuff said.

In the spirit of the season...

Part of the fun of sports is rooting on our favorite teams to win.

Well, we all know that.

The dark, seedy, yet just as fun side of sports is rooting for your most hated teams to lose. Sometimes an Iowa loss is just as thrilling as an Illini win (see last years first round of the tourney for example).




Now in pro-sports it's easy to find a team to hate. There's only so many teams to pick from. For example, let's say you develop a dislike for....I don't know...lets just say...purely as an example.....the St.Louis Cardinals. That's one of only 30 teams. Chances are you'll find away to demonstrate your intense hatred for them in many ways on many occasions.

Now in Division I basketball there are so many teams to pick from! I want to say hundreds, but I'm not sure and I'm too lazy to count. If anyone wants to do it for me, please go right ahead. You have to agree though, there are lots of the buggers. So how do you pick who to root against and even then,why? Yeah, you have your traditional teams that you detest, but why limit your hate to just them? If you're anything like me you probably have spare oodles of hate just looking for a constructive outlet! Maybe in the 64 teams left vying for the title in the NCAA tourney you don't know if you should be rooting against the Niagara Purple Eagles or the Albany Great Danes....hmmmm....what's a fan to do?

Well, the folks at Slate has come to your aid. They have picked out 13 Teams For You To Root Against.

Enjoy!

*Brad hangs up the "Gone Drinkin'" sign on the Pulpit*

The Running Man.

This weekend, for a brief moment, winter loosened it's grip on my fair city. It actually got up to the *gasp* 50's!!

After running in near-zero windchills for the past two months, it was finally the day I'd been waiting through the cold and darkness for. I pulled on my shorts, tied up my shoes and headed out. I ran toward Lake Michigan where we have one of the best running paths anywhere. If you ever visit Chicago and you are a runner you must log some miles on it. It's a glorious way to see the Second City and it's inhabitants. (Map here.) Oh, as you can see they let bikers and rollerbladers on it too, but please don't run me over.

I felt so good I planned on running six, but once all was said and done, I finshed seven miles in just slightly under an hour. I took it nice and easy, enjoying the scenery and all that was going on. It was quite crowded down there but awesome none the less. It was like the city was waking from a great slumber. It was my best run of the year so far and I just keep feeling better and better. Training for the Soldier Field 10 mile starts next Monday, then once that is run it will be time to focus on the Chicago Marathon in October. Barring injury, I'm feeling quite positive about doing well in both.

Oh, and I've currently run 116 miles since January 1st.

It's the most wonderful time of the year!

Well, this is the week I look forward to all year. To me it's like Christmas, Thanksgiving and Halloween all wrapped up into one and covered in a layer of rich milk chocolate. These are the first two days I request off each and every year. I've been excited since the middle of last week. I've felt like a kid staring at his Christmas presents under the tree, and feeling like time had stopped, that Christmas would never come....like the second hand on the clock was moving backwards.

What's so special about this week?

March Madness and St.Patrick's Day. Joy!



This Thursday through Sunday I will be rooted in front of many televisions at some Chicago drinking establishment or at one of my friends' houses gorging myself on beer and basketball. I have taken Thursday and Friday off just for that expressed purpose. It's pure gluttony of all things manly. I really somehow just need to get it established as a religious holiday....the high holy days of Bradism.

As if there weren't already enough reasons to whoop it up, my friend Sean will be in town from Arizona where he moved six or so months ago as well. ( For a moving photo essay on Sean, I can't recommend visiting my friend Amber's blog enough. Yes, he's one of those guys. ) It's going to be good to see him...and to drink many beers with him again.

So if you have a hard time getting a hold of me this weekend you know why. I also want to apologize in advance for any incoherent voice mails or text messages you may receive from me. I've developed a bad habit of doing that lately. It has kind of been my new method of showing affection to family and friends. If you are a recipient, please be flattered, and you might want to save it for future celebrity roasts, birthday parties or blackmail purposes, if I ever decide to run for office.

So to all, enjoy this week. You know I will.

Things That Never Fail to Make Brad Smile: Volume #2

Oh Arrested Development, how I miss you. You were taken from us much too soon....

Score Some Digital Heroin

Just to share my new addiction with the world.

Kill You Some Zombies

Now I have to get back to the game. Get you some!!

R.I.P. Tikitten's Boys.

Well, Oskee came home yesterday a little lighter...testicular-ly.

So if you get a chance, pour a little out for my little guy's little boys. Cryin' shame he never got to use 'em....

First Race of '07.

Sorry for being scarce...but frankly not much has been going down around here lately.

For those that don't know, after a hiatus of a year or so, I've been running pretty seriously since last December. I've already logged over 100 miles this year, most of it in pretty crappy conditions and pretty frigid temperatures. I'm already signed up to run at least five races this year (Shamrock Shuffle 8K, Race to Wrigley 5K, Soldier Field 10, and the Chicago Marathon). Yesterday, I ran the first race of the year with my friends Tracy and Chris. It was the Wacky Snacky 5K. It was not all that wacky, but it was fairly snacky considering there was a snack food buffet after the race. It still was not quite snacky enough for Chris' tastes. He likes snacks.

As you can see from the picture, it was pretty chilly at the start (25 degrees or so). I did not know quite what to expect for my performance since I hadn't run a 5K since last year. We lined up in the cold and tried to stay warm by hopping around. When the gun went off, Chris took off at a furious pace. I just tried to keep up with him. When we hit the first mile I saw a time of about 7:30, and that wasn't adjusted for the 20-25 seconds it took me to get to the start line! Keep in mind my training runs have all been at about a 8:30/9 minute mile pace. I slowed down a little and overall I felt pretty good the whole time. I eventually finished with a time of 23:40 which works out to a pace of 7:38. That's better than I could ever of hoped for. Chris and Tracy did really well too. I was able to double back after I finished and watch the finishers enter the chute. I saw Chris coming in and started yelling, "C'mon Chris. You're almost to the snacks!!!!" I don't think it helped, but he finished his first race in good time and managed to avoid getting puked on by the girl behind him. Mad fly props to Chris!



I want to say now that during the next race I run (Shamrock Shuffle) I'm going to take it easy and just enjoy it, but I say that every time. Then I line up at the start, and I can't help but run balls out. My only savior is that the Shuffle is so crowded it should help to throttle me down some....and the scenery running through downtown Chicago is awesome.

All in all, it was a great start to the running season.