Song of the Day

Today's song is Forever by Chris Brown.

College Football Week 5 Picks

Well, I may be in London, but there are some big college football games going on back home. The most intriguing match-up to me is Minnesota at #19 Michigan. It opens up Big 10 play for the 4-0 Wolverines; however, a few of those wins were cupcake games. I'm anxious to see, well hear about, how they do against their first Big 10 opponent. On to the picks...

Games I Care About:
Minnesota at #19 Michigan > Michigan
Penn State at Indiana > Penn State
Kentucky at #1 LSU > LSU
Auburn at #10 South Carolina > South Carolina
Idaho at Virginia > Virginia
#17 Texas at Iowa State > Texas
North Carolina at East Carolina > North Carolina
Ole Miss at Fresno State > Ole Miss
UCLA at #6 Stanford > Stanford

Big Games:
#14 Texas A&M at #18 Arkansas > Arkansas
#3 Alabama at #12 Florida > Alabama
#8 Nebraska at #7 Wisconsin > Nebraska

Big Games I Care About:
#13 Clemson at #11 Virginia Tech > Virginia Tech

Live-ish Update

Well, as I sit and write, it is 10:30 PM on Wednesday night. This blog is being posted at 2:20 AM Eastern Time on Friday...which would make it today, as you read it. While it's 2:20 AM on the east coast, it is 7:20 AM in London, which is the time that my flight is scheduled to land. I'll be here until Monday afternoon. Thursday, I had an interview in Boston in the morning, and, if all went according to plan, hung out in the city with some old friends from school before my 7:45 PM flight out of Logan--my first international flight. There's been no mention of this trip before because it is a surprise for Allison. Hopefully, she won't check this before I get a chance to see her.

One of the first things planned for my trip is the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace, which is taking place at 11:30 (local time) this morning. There will be plenty of updates on the trip when I get back.

Song of the Day

Today's (appropriate) song is Leaving on a Jet Plane by John Denver.

Go Yankees...Wait, what?

I never thought I'd be in this position. I actually want the Yankees to win. It's strange that they're the team that needs to help the Red Sox get out of this epic September collapse and squeak into the post-season. The Yankees are tied with the Rays, who are tied for the AL Wildcard spot with the Sox, 7-7 in the bottom of the 9th. I feel like when I checked an hour ago, the Yankees were up 7-0. What happened?

Meanwhile, in Baltimore.....

The Sox currently lead the Orioles 3-2 in the bottom of the seventh, but the game is being delayed to rain.

The really frustrating thing is that if both the Sox and Rays win (or lose), they will have a one game play-off for the AL Wildcard, but I won't be able to see it. Nor will I be in a position to check the score of the game until around 2 AM Friday morning. The reason for that will be explained Friday. Let's just hope the Sox and Yankees win tonight.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Made in America by Toby Keith.

The Waiting Game

Having just come back from my seventh interview, the biggest thing I've learned is that most of trying to find a job is simply waiting. It starts with sending out a resume. On average, a company will have your resume for about a week before they get back to you to schedule an interview. The interview time they schedule will probably be a week after that. Of course, the interview I just had, they had my resume for four weeks, and then scheduled an interview for the next day when they contacted me.

Then, you go in for your interview with lasts 30-90 minutes. After that, it's more waiting. Most places take a week, sometimes two weeks, to pick a candidate. If you are selected, in most cases, it'll be about another week before you start. So, let's recap....4 weeks of waiting, with only 30-90 minutes of doing something yourself.

Cowboys Week 3 Reactions

Again, anyone who wants to criticize Tony Romo can go ahead. The fact is, that last night he lead Dallas (2-1) to an 18-16 win over the Redskins (2-1). Playing with a broken rib, and a center who couldn't figure out when to actually snap the ball, he lead the team down the field late, with the game on the line, to get Dallas in field position for their sixth field goal of the game; something he has often failed to do.

In addition to the Cowboys woes, the refs didn't give them any favors, either. I was watching the game with a Giants/Patriots fan, and he even he said that the refs should've been wearing maroon and gold. I will say, though, that the Cowboys did get a few calls to go their way late in the game so it wasn't entirely one sided.

The win marks the first time in the three year history of Cowboys Stadium that Dallas has won the home opener. They will need to shape up for next week's game, when the (shockingly) 3-0 Detroit Lions come to Arlington.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Better With the Lights Off by New Boyz ft. Chris Brown.

College Student Style Upgrade

Found this article on Art of Manliness. It's a good read, especially for any young men looking to upgrade their style a little bit; something I recently went through myself. Check it out.


5 Easy Ways for the College Student to Upgrade His Style

College Football Week 4 Review

Michigan beat San Diego State to start of their season 4-0, and moved up to #19 in the polls. LSU beat West Virginia, and moved up to #1 in the AP poll, but stated at #3 in the USA Today poll. My picks got back on track this week, only getting two games wrong. Virginia lost to Southern Miss, and UCLA beat Oregon State. The most exciting game for me this week was Florida State at Clemson. Clemson won and moved up to #13/15 in the polls, while FSU dropped to 23/24. Hard to believe that two weeks ago they were #5. The FSU/Clemson game was followed closely by the Oklahoma State/Texas A&M game. OK State now finds themselves at #5/6, and A&M dropped to #14/13. In Games I Care About I was 6-2. In Big Games I was 5-0. In Big Games I Care About I was 1-0. The overall record for this weekend was 12-2, which improves my overall record to 26-9.

Song of the Day

Today's song is God Gave Me You by Blake Shelton.

Manssentials #5: Taking Your Hat Off

Men used to wear hats for practical purposes: protecting your head from the elements, shading sun from your eyes and face, and to look just a bit more dapper. Tipping your cap was a way of saying hello. Today, hats are a fashion accessory--unless you're a farmer, rancher, etc., or are required to wear a top hat for a black tie party. Of course, men also used to remove their hats any time that they went inside at all. Now, it's rare that a hat will come off the man's head until he is ready to shower. While taking your hat off any time you are indoors may be way out of date, there are still some times that you should show some manners in regard to taking off your hat.

1. When Eating
Growing up, I used to hate that my mom would make me take my hat off at dinner, and out at restaurants. Now, I'm glad she did, and I understand why. I'm not saying that a place like McDonald's or Burger King requires this, but if you'll be eating a meal and being served, take off your hat. Also, any time you are eating in another person's home, or are having guests over at your home, take it off. If you're worried about having hat hair, odds are you will know that you're about to eat at a nice place, so why even wear a hat out? Plus, no one will think less of you for having hat hair at dinner. There are, however, some people out there who will think less of you for wearing a hat at dinner.

2. During Prayer
Even if you aren't religious yourself, it is the proper custom to remove your hat for prayer. A true gentleman would never want to intentionally offend anyone so follow the customs and take it off. Also note that some churches require you taking off your hat upon entering, even if you're just visiting. When in doubt, take it off. Sorry, I can't think of a clever rhyme there.

3. National Anthem/Pledge of Allegiance
Most likely, you will hear those most often at a sporting event. And, most fans do wear hats to the games to support their team. However, even when the P.A. announcer says, "please rise and remove your caps," not everyone does. Show some respect for your country, you do live in the best one in the world after all, and take off your hat.

4. When Everyone Else Does
I'm not really a fan of doing just because everyone else is doing, but there are certain times that it is necessary. There may be a custom that you're not familiar with, but it's important to try to follow them as best you can. If you notice that other gentlemen are taking off their hats, too, it's probably a good idea to follow their lead and takes yours off as well.

Breaking in Top-Siders

This is the pair.

We've all been there before: a nice, new pair of Sperry's, just waiting to be broken in. The problem: it takes some time, usually at the expense of your feet getting a blister or two. And, let's face it, a fresh, out-of-the-box pair of Sperry's, with their new, stiff leather, looks a little....well, dorky. A couple of weeks ago, I needed to get a new pair so that my footwear looked just as nice as I did for My Friends' Wedding. Knowing that I'd be there all afternoon, evening, and into the night, I did not want to spend a bunch of time of the dance floor with an unbroken-in pair of shoes. I needed to get this new pair broke in, and fast. And, I found a way to do just that: water and walking.

Luckily, I live within walking distance of a small lake, which came in handy. If you don't have that luxury, dropping your shoes in the tub, or sink if they fit, will work just as well. I found that simply spraying them with a hose, wasn't nearly as effective. Everyday, I would put my Sperry's on, walk to the lake, and stand in the water with them on for a while. Usually 30 seconds to two minutes, getting the shoe soaked. When they were soaked, the first thing I did was crouch down with them on, causing my toes, and the shoe, to bend as far as possible. After doing that for a while, I'd walk 1/4-1/2 mile in them. I'd take them off, let them dry, and repeat this the next day. After 3 days they were much softer, and I managed to break this pair in without a single blister on either one of my feet.

I'm sure you've also noticed that new Sperry's don't stay tied very easily at first, either. Once the shoe, and its laces, were wet, I'd tie them, making the bow very tight. With this process, I never had an issue with them coming untied.

College Football Week 4 Picks

This is starting to become my favorite part of the week. Hopefully, I'll do better than last week, but there are some games that I expect to be really close this week, including Oklahoma State at Texas A&M, and Arkansas at Alabama. Last night, in a game of, "someone cares?," Cincinnati beat NC State 44-14. In a similar game tonight, UCF plays at BYU. Not counting this for my record, but I'm taking BYU. And, we'll see if I can finally pick an Auburn game correctly.

Games I Care About:
San Diego St. at #22 Michigan > Michigan
North Carolina at #25 Georgia Tech > Georgia Tech
Eastern Michigan at Penn State > Penn State
Georgia at Ole Miss > Georgia
UCLA at Oregon State > Oregon State
Southern Miss at Virginia > Virginia
#15 Florida at Kentucky > Florida
Florida Atlantic at Auburn > Auburn

Big Games:
#14 Arkansas at #3 Alabama > Alabama
#7 Oklahoma State at #8 Texas A&M > Oklahoma State
Vanderbilt at #12 South Carolina > South Carolina
Missouri at #1 Oklahoma > Oklahoma
#2 LSU at #16 West Virginia > LSU

Big Games I Care About:
#11 Florida State at #21 Clemson > Clemson

Song of the Day

Today's song is John Deere Green by Joe Diffe.

Best Logo in the NHL

The NHL preseason started last night. Unfortunately, my favorite team, the Chicago Blackhawks lost to the Edmonton Oilers 4-2.

In more upbeat news, the Hawks' "Indian Head" logo was voted the league's best in a recent poll of The Hockey News' readers. Of the 11,000 voters, 18% voted for Chicago's logo. Detroit took second, with 11% of the vote. Not surprisingly, the rest of the Original Six, Montreal (8%), Toronto (6%), and Boston (4%), rounded out the top 5.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Good Life by OneRepublic.

Cowboys Week 2 Reactions

I actually missed the Cowboys game this week. I was flying from Chicago to Manchester during the game and completely missed it. When I landed, I got the update on my phone that Dallas won 27-24 in OT. It was another hour or so after that before I even heard of the injury to quarterback Tony Romo. Despite all of the criticism about him choking during crunch time (some of it merited), Romo is a tough player, with a strong will to win. One of the strongest testaments to that is the way his teammates always stand behind him, something that is becoming increasingly rare in the NFL these days.

Next week, Dallas takes on the (surprisingly) 2-0 Washington Redskins on Monday Night Football. It will be the home-opener for the Cowboys.

Song of the Day

Today's song is If I Die Young by The Band Perry.

My Friends' Wedding

The look.

On Saturday, two of my friends got married at the Marina Grand Resort in New Buffalo, Michigan. The resort is on Lake Michigan, next to the New Buffalo Yacht Club. It was a small wedding, only about 30-40 people, but still very nice. The ceremony took place on the resort's roof deck, and, thankfully, the weather was beautiful.

Heather and Mike worked together in high school, for a freight company. They had seen each other around, but never crossed paths enough to really get to know each other. That's where I came in. I knew Mike from church, and had met Heather in driver's ed in 2003.

In 2008, Heather took me to Steak 'n Shake, where she had me text Mike and get things set up for their first date. Interestingly enough, their first date was a movie, and then dinner at Steak 'n Shake. They've been dating for the past 3 years, and, as of Saturday, are now married. They left for their honey moon in the Dominican Republic yesterday morning.

To be honest, during the ceremony, and the meal at the reception I was pretty bored. Really, the only people there that I knew were in the wedding party, so I didn't get  chance to talk to anyone until after the meal when everyone was out on the dance floor. It ended up being a really fun experience, though. And, of course, I'm very happy for my two friends.

The vows.

The view.

The bride and groom.

The maid of honor and bride.

An Oldie...

Remember this video? The Tea Partay.

College Football Week 3 Review

The best thing to come out of Week 3 in college football is that Michigan is now ranked. They are #22 in the AP poll, and #21 in the USA Today poll after beating Eastern Michigan and starting 3-0. My picks, on the other hand, weren't nearly as impressive. For the second week in a row, Auburn did what I said they wouldn't, and most other college football teams followed suit. In Games I Care About, I went 3-4. In Big Games, I was 1-2, putting me at 4-6 for the weekend. My overall record is now 14-7.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Colder Weather by Zac Brown Band.

Prep Kids

Saw this photo on the Vineyard Vines blog, and I love it. It was taken during Nantucket Race Week. These kids dress better than a lot of adults. Check out the Vineyard Vines blog here

College Football Week 3 Picks

Tonight's big game is #3 LSU @ #25 Mississippi State. This week's picks are coming in a day early to include that game.

Games I Care About:
#21 Auburn @ Clemson > Auburn
Eastern Michigan @ Michigan > Michigan
Penn State @ Temple > Temple
Ole Miss @ Vanderbilt > Ole Miss
#23 Texas @ UCLA > Texas
Virginia @ North Carolina > North Carolina
Louisville @ Kentucky > Kentucky

Big Games:
#3 LSU @ #25 Mississippi State > LSU
#17 Ohio State @ Miami (FL) > Ohio State
#1 Oklahoma @ #5 Florida State > Florida State

None of my teams have featured games this week, so there are only two categories. However, the Virginia/UNC game is a pretty big ACC opener for both teams. Unfortunately, I will miss most of the games on Saturday due to a wedding that I have to attend.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Let It Rain Over Me by Pitbull ft. Marc Anthony.

Andy Bernard

A new season of The Office is getting ready to start on NBC. While most viewers are big fans of Jim and Pam, or Dwight, my favorite character has (well, since his debut) always been Andy.

Andy Bernard is the most prep character on the show. He is the best dressed, often wearing blazers, bright sweater vests, and colorful pants. In some of the episodes we see into his past, and learn that he used to work at Abercrombie; a store that used to be very prep. It's also a well-known fact that he is a Cornell grad, where he sang in the a Capella group, Here Comes Treble. The clips below are from seasons 3 and 4.

Prep Essentials: Croakies

Much like Kleenex, Croakies is actually a name brand that is used as the name of a product. The normal term is sunglasses strap or sunglasses retainer.

The history of Croakies (the brand) goes back to 1977. A ski patrolman in Jackson Hole, Wyoming came up with an idea for retainers that would grip his sunglasses through all of his adventures. The first material used for Croakies was an old wetsuit, cut with a pair of hand scissors. The grip design was based off of the Chinese finger trap, and soon became a hit with all the ski patrolmen.

So, why the name Croakies? Back in the 70's, the ski patrolmen used the word "croakies," when they couldn't think of the proper name for something (like a "whatcha-ma-call-it"). The name eventually stuck.

Today, croakies are especially popular among Southern fraternity men, boaters and fishers (they do float), and preps across the country. Retailers like Southern Proper, Vineyard Vines, Southern Tide, and Lilly Pulitzer sell their own custom croakies.

Croakies fun fact: Croakies became standard issue on the space shuttle, starting in 1990.

Song of the Day

Today's song is You and Tequila by Kenny Chesney ft. Grace Potter.

Cowboys Reactions

While I do prefer college football over the NFL, my favorite NFL team is the Dallas Cowboys. Last night they opened the season at the New York Jets. While the first three quarters were great (Dallas was leading 17-10), in typical Tony Romo fashion, things started to fall apart. Romo did pass for 342 yards, and two touchdown passes, he was responsible for two key turn-overs late in the game. They were outscored 17-7 in the final frame, and lost 27-24.

After last season's 6-10 finish, this was not the start Cowboys fans were looking for. Next week, Dallas is at San Fransisco, who beat Seattle 33-17 yesterday.

College Football Week 2 Review

Well, not a bad weekend of college football. The featured game of Notre Dame and Michigan did not disappoint, with three touchdowns in the last 1:02 of play. Thankfully, Michigan came out on top 35-31. My picks ended up being pretty good, as well. Although, I will admit that this weeks games were pretty easy to pick. In Games I Care About, I was 6-1. In Big Games, I was 2-0. In Big Games I Care About, I was 2-0, making my overall record for the weekend 10-1. Not a bad start.

Song of the Day

In a rare Sunday edition of Song of the Day, here's Where Were You by Alan Jackson.

Remembering 9/11/2001

President Bush's speech from Ground Zero:

Song of the Day

Today's song is Cheers (I'll Drink to That) by Rihanna. Enjoy your weekend.

College Football Week 2 Picks

Okay, here are my picks for this weekend's college football games. I'm breaking them down into three categories: Games I Care About, Big Games, and Big Games I Care About. While I'm a long way from being a feature on anything on ESPN, I would still consider myself to be pretty in-touch with the college football world. I do think I'll end up having a pretty good record, which I'll keep track of at the end of each week. I don't look at the spread, or anything like that, I just pick the winners.

This week's most talked about game is Notre Dame at Michigan. College GameDay will be there, and it's the first ever night game at Michigan stadium. Look for it at 8 PM on ESPN.

This game doesn't really fall into any of the categories listed above, but I'm picking Missouri to beat Arizona State. On to the picks...

Games I Care About:
Central Michigan at Kentucky > Kentucky
Mississippi State at Auburn > Mississippi State
Rutgers at North Carolina > North Carolina
Wofford at Clemson > Clemson
Southern Illinois at Ole Miss > Ole Miss
Virginia at Indiana > Virginia
San Jose St. at UCLA > UCLA

Big Games:
South Carolina at Georgia > South Carolina
BYU at Texas > Texas

Big Games I Care About:
Alabama at Penn State > Alabama
Notre Dame at Michigan > Michigan

Not many big games this week. They'll pick up later in the season, especially when we start getting into conference play. Let's see how it goes...

Song of the Day

Today's song is Sorority Girls by Luke Bryan.

College Football Returns

One of my favorite times of the year is college football season. With college football comes all the joys of it: tailgating, the crisp fall air, the bands playing, and the cheerleaders. My favorite college football team is the University of Michigan, so be ready for plenty of posts on the Wolverines over the next few months. On Saturday, they opened their season with a 34-10 win over Western Michigan, in a lightning storm shortened game. Next week they take on rival Notre Dame (0-1) under the lights at the Big House in Ann Arbor. On top of that, ESPN College Game Day will be there.

Overall, the season started out pretty well for my teams. North Carolina, Auburn, Michigan, Virginia, Kentucky, Penn State, and Clemson won. On top of that, Oregon and Notre Dame both lost. The only disappointment was Ole Miss losing to BYU.

Check back later in the week for some Week 2 predictions.

Song of the Day

Today's song is Party Rock Anthem by LMFAO ft. Lauren Bennett & GoonRock.

Featured Brand: Brooks Brothers

While the two previous featured brands were pretty new, this one is turning back the clock a bit. A lot in fact. Brooks Brothers is the oldest men's clothier in the U.S. It dates back to 1818 Manhattan.

The brand was founded by Henry Sands Brooks, and he opened H. & D. H. Brooks & Co. in Manhattan. The first store was located on the corner of Catherine St. and Cherry St. The guiding principle of his company was, "to make and deal only in merchandise of the finest body, to sell it at a fair profit and to deal with people who seek and appreciate such merchandise." In 1850, Henry's three sons, Elisha, Daniel, and John, renamed the company "Brooks Brothers."

Today, there are currently 210 Brooks Brothers stores in the United States, and 70 in other countries. Brooks Brothers launched its website in 1998.

The Brooks Brothers logo is the Golden Fleece. In case anyone was wondering, it shows a sheep suspended in ribbon, which is the symbol of Flemish wool merchants, dating back to the fourteenth century.

Currently, Brooks Brothers is having a 60% off clearance sale, so be sure to check them out at BrooksBrothers.com.