1) A quick recap about the weekend:  The weekend went perfect.  I’ve been thinking about it a lot and don’t think it could have gone better.  At the rehearsal on Friday, the priest made mention of different options depending on the weather.  After he listed the options, I told him the weather was going to be fine.  It was.

I was a little disappointed in my best man toast, but this is only because I wanted it to be perfect.  In reality, it was good.  I got a ton of great complements including “best speech I ever heard” and “I wish you went longer,” but I chose to focus on the missteps.  I was telling a friend about it on Monday and she was amazed that I memorized a seven minute speech.

As a few people said, I think I was just being too hard on myself.  There’s a video of it and if you want to see it, let me know.

2) Last night was the start of the NFL draft.  For the first time ever, the first round was held on a weeknight.  I love the NFL draft and find it fascinating.  Apparently I am not alone because the draft was crashing SoSH last night.  Usually, this only happens during Red Sox playoff games or after a big trade.

The Patriots selected Devin McCourty, who is a cornerback out of Rutgers.  From everything I’ve read online, this is not a popular pick at all.  Bill Belichick will undoubtedly get lit up on sports talk radio later today.  While I agree that the Patriots need a pass rusher, they still have twelve more picks including three in the second round tonight.

This is a very deep draft and there are many quality guys left on the board. To be honest, I really don’t mind the pick.  The secondary was awful last year and I have no problem with adding depth back there.  With guys like Santonio Holmes and Brandon Marshall coming into the division this season, shoring up the secondary isn’t such a bad idea.

3) Speaking of that second round tonight…

Tonight is going to be one of the crazier nights in recent memory for Boston sports.  Those three second round picks will make or break the Patriots draft.  I don’t think I’ve ever been as nervous as I am right now for a player draft.  This draft is crucial for the Patriots and it is imperative that they do well.  They are already behind the Jets in the division race as it is.

Along with that very important draft, both the Bruins and Celtics have playoff games and the Red Sox have a game against the Orioles.  It was hard enough watching the Sox with the first round of the NFL Draft going on.  I don’t know what I am going to do tonight.  I need three more TV’s and a more versatile attention span.  It is rare when I can say this, but tomorrow night the Red Sox will be at the bottom of the Boston sports totem pole.

Have a great weekend, everyone.  Make the most of every day.

I just have to mention:

He may be a jerk and his team did beat the Buckeyes in the National Championship game a few years back.  Even still, Joakim Noah has just won a special place in my heart.  This is actually fitting on 4/20.

His comments after his playoff game last night were fantastic.

“You like it? You think Cleveland’s cool? I never heard anybody say I’m going to Cleveland on vacation. What’s so good about Cleveland?”

I’ll be back with a blog entry recapping the weekend sometime tomorrow.

is one of my favorite days to be in Boston.  I am going to celebrate by attending a Boston sports triple-header: Red Sox at 11am, check out the Boston Marathon for a little while, then the Bruins playoff game at 7pm.  And yes, the Red Sox losing streak ends today.

I’m spent from the weekend.  Everything went really great and even the toast went well.  It certainly didn’t live up to the hype I created, but that was (somewhat) by design.  I have been on cloud nine ever since I got home from Portland.  I couldn’t be happier for my brother and my new sister-in-law.  They did really an amazing job in planning their wedding.  It was perfect.

In lieu of a blog entry today, I give you this link.  The link is a youtube of the song my brother wrote for the entrance of the wedding party.  It was the most creative wedding party entrance into a reception that I have ever seen.

Happy Patriots Day!

I’m really looking forward to the weekend.  I hope your wedding day is everything you had hoped for and more.

Today’s blog entry will be delivered in “best man toast” form tomorrow at the reception.

But before that, I’d like to repost what I wrote for my friends Josh and Gemma before their wedding:

Your wedding day is going to fly by.  All of your efforts, worry, and planning will be over in what seems like an instant.  All of your friends, family and loved ones will be in that room with you.  Their mere presence is an expression of love, the best expression of love one can give on a wedding day.  Some of those folks are traversing the country to deliver those expressions and share in your special day.

During your wedding day, be sure to take a few moments every now and again to “stop and look around once in a while.”

Take mental snapshots as the day goes by.  Remember their faces, they will all beam at you.  Remember their words, compliments and advice.  Save said snapshots for a rainy day, when the rigors and rough roads of married life get you down.  Those snapshots will be invaluable on those inevitable days.

I couldn’t be happier for you guys and wish you nothing but a lifetime of love and happiness together.

Congratulations!

Driving home the other day, I was disheartened to see that my local video store was going out of business.  I have rented from Video Village in Pleasantville for over twenty years.  It is a family-owned business; the type of place that you could rent a movie for a few bucks cheaper than the local Blockbuster Video.  Also, it is the type of place that Blu Ray technology hasn’t even reached yet.

Back in 1989, I rented the Sega Genesis from Video Village.  I still remember Rahm’s (the owner) voice as he presented my brother and I with the gaming system.

“THIS is Sega Genesis,” he proclaimed in an authoritative voice.

(He said it as if he was entrusting warriors with samurai swords before heading into battle.)

I knew this was coming.  Last summer, I was in there talking to Rahm and he said he almost closed up shop last year.  His claim was that people aren’t really renting videos anymore.  Services like Netflix and On Demand are rendering these type of places obsolete – even the local Blockbuster closed down over a year ago.  Soon, Pleasantville will have gone from having two video stores to not having any.

My favorite memory of Video Village was from back in 2003.  I had just moved back to Burlington and I stopped in to grab a movie.  As I brought my selection to the counter, Rahm asked me my name and looked me up in the computer.  I wasn’t expecting to be in the system because I hadn’t rented there in about 12 years.  As I watched him hunt and peck the keys, I noticed that the computer looked very similar.  Surprisingly, I was still in there, listed under the address of the house I grew up in.

Rahm was still using the same computer.

My feelings about Pleasantville and the importance of moving back after being exiled have been fully documented on this blog.  I can honestly tell you that when I saw my name in the Video Village computer after all those years, under that old address, I truly felt home.

I’ll miss heading in there to grab a movie on my way home from wherever.  I’ll miss seeing Rahm’s smiling face behind the counter.  He would always have a movie suggestion and would never forget to hand me the latest copy of the new release pamphlet.  I’ll miss wondering why he still had more VCR tapes than DVDs and that all too familiar smell of the place.  And lastly, I’ll miss laughing to myself as I watched people make the “walk of shame” from the rear of the store (adult section) to the checkout counter.

Godspeed, Video Village.

Thanks for the memories.

Recently, I’ve been DVRing “Dancing with the Stars.”

I know what you’re thinking, but let me explain.

I’ve never really watched the show before and it never appealed to me.  Looking at the TV ratings, I couldn’t understand why this show did so well.  Out of overall viewers, DWTS was TV’s most watched show last week (American Idol won the 18-49 demographic).  I never would have guessed that in a million years.  People must really love watching celebrities dance.

There is one reason I’ve been watching DWTS this season: Chad Ochocinco.  To me, he is the most dynamic personality in sports.  He’s great on Twitter and I’d probably watch him on any show, including a dancing show.

I’ve found that the best way to watch DWTS is taped.  I can watch a two hour show in about 15 minutes.  All I really watch is Ochocinco, Erin Andrews (come on, I’m a guy!), and the old guy.  Everything else I can fast forward right through.

But, the shark jumping isn’t because I tape DWTS.

Ochocinco didn’t do that great during the first two weeks.  He even did worse the second week than he did during the first week.  However, last week he had his best week.  After he got some good reviews from the judges and his scores, it moved me and I really felt great for the guy.

This is over a dancing show!!!!

Yeah, I’ve totally jumped the shark.

I love Jack Edwards.

Take a listen to his Bruins soliloquy starting at :32 of this youtube.

Photo credit: Jim Davis, Boston.com

And, I’m spent.

We’ve just concluded 36 of the most interesting hours of the sports year.  Let’s take a brief look back on what just transpired:

Sunday 1pm – Celtics 117, Cavs 113: The team has been absolutely dismal lately, but this was a needed win.  Hopefully, it inspires a great playoff run.

Sunday 8pm – Red Sox 9 Yankees 7: Although it didn’t have the same feel as a normal home opener, this was a great start to the season.  I had a feeling we were in for a good night after reading Bill Simmons take a completely different (for him) look at baseball.  From Pedro’s magical first pitch to the great performances of the Red Sox newcomers, it was a spectacular night in Fenway.  Scu-Scu-Scutaro!

Sunday approx 8:13pm – McNabb traded to the Redskins: It is never a good thing when iconic players are traded away from their franchises. This was a huge deal for anyone who follows the NFL and reminds me of the Drew Bledsoe trade.  From the Patriots perspective, it is a great deal because the “Donofro” did not end up in Oakland (the Pats own Oakland’s first round pick in 2011).

Sunday approx 10:30pm – Evan Turner wins Naismith Trophy: The Naismith is the Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year. “The Villain” is the first Ohio State Buckeye to ever win the award.

Monday 1pm – First pitch in Cincinnati: I really wish MLB got back to the tradition of having the first pitch of the season being thrown in Cincinnati.  It is a very big deal to people in the Queen City.  They throw a parade and it is one of the few days when the city buzzes.  Baseball should really start in the home of its first professional team.

Monday 1pm-Tuesday 1am – MLB Opening Day: Opening Day is a special day. For me, it signifies the end of winter.  It is even better when your team signs Josh Beckett to a four year, team-friendly contract extension.

Monday 2pm – Tiger’s Back: This story will only get bigger as the weekend approaches and the Masters begins.

Monday 7pm – Capitals 3 Bruins 2 (OT): The B’s played well against one of the NHL’s best teams. We’ll take the point.

Monday 9:21pm – Duke 61 Butler 59: Years from now, the one thing people will remember most about the 2010 NCAA Tournament was how well Butler did.  They were a team nobody knew about three weeks ago and in the end, everyone rooted for.  I can’t imagine what it was like for those guys to play in front of 70,000 people, in the city Butler is located in, for the national championship and come so close to winning it all.  What a heartbreaker.

If that final three pointer went in, it would have been one of the greatest moments in American sport.  IMHO, it would have been bigger than Flutie’s Hail Mary pass in Miami.  This game was a fitting end to a spectacular NCAA tournament.  The only bad thing was Jennifer Hudson’s butchering of “One Shining Moment” (the traditional end to the CBS broadcast of the tournament).

And yes, I’m still pissed about West Virginia losing.

Happy Easter and happy opening night, everyone!