Thoughts on the Leafs season so far

New Year, new post.  Can you believe this shitty blog is a year old? That is a lot of Big Brother and fast food talk.  I am going to stop saying I am going to post more, because until Big Brother Canada starts in March I really don't see many posts on the horizon.  Anyways tonight is a different story, I am going to give some thoughts on the Leafs season so far.  First things first that Winter Classic shot is pretty cool eh... I don't usually buy into the whole hype about the Winter Classic, and I think the NHL is over-doing this whole outdoor game stuff with another 5 outdoor games on the horizon this season, but it was pretty neat seeing over 105,000 fans, over half of them decked out in the blue and white take in the game.  It helps that the Leafs destroyed those piece of shit Red Wings too.  That will teach that ogre Todd Bertuzzi to mess with our water bottles.  It would have been kind of cool to go see it live, but I think I prefer the warm confines of my couch over freezing my nuts off to see a crappy view of the game a mile away. 

 

Well this has really been a tale of two seasons.  As per their usual style the Leafs jumped out of the gate very hot going 10-4-0 in the month of October, despite being frustratingly out-shot every single god damned game, but then they came back down to Earth with a 4-6-3 November, and now only have 2 regulation victories in the last 20 games.... yikes thank god for the extra point for going to OT and the fact for the first time ever they've been half decent in the shoot-out.  If the season ended today they would be in the playoffs holding one of the Wild Card positions, but the teams behind them in the standings are awfully close and if they don't get their shit together the Leafs could be on the outside looking in come playoff time in April.  A lot has pissed me off about the season so far, but I have been happy with some things.  I am going to point out a couple of good things and and couple of bad things that have stuck out with me thus far this season.

THE GOOD

The Goaltending

There is no doubt that time and time again the goaltending has bailed out the Leafs this season.  As I said in my Leafs season preview post I said I liked how the Leafs have a 1a and a 1b goalie and how they can just ride the hot hand.  As mentioned earlier the Leafs are painfully outshot almost 2 to 1 in many of the games they have played this season, and it has been either Jonathan Bernier or James "Optimus Reim" Reimer that have bailed them out, and they are pretty much the main reason they hold onto a playoff spot right now.  If this was fucking Vesa Toskala and Jonas Gustuvsson....whooo boy they would be looking at a high draft pick this year. So far Randy Carlyle has preferred Bernier over Optimus Reim, but Randy Carlyle is a fucking douchebag... more on that later. I don't see Reimer lasting very much longer in Toronto, because for some god forsaken reason Carlyle does not trust him as much as he trusts Bernier.  Reimer getting the quick yank in that game against Detroit before Christmas is the proof, he has yet to pull his golden boy Bernier this year.  (on an aside, pull his golden boy sounds very dirty).  I am not knocking Bernier, I hope he is proves to be a solid #1 tender for years to come, but I really like Reimer, and I think he is getting shit on by Leafs management.

Kessel and van Dreamsdyk

Holy fuck I love watching these two play together, it's such a shame that they are American.  For all of Brian Burke's blustery nonsense, these two additions are two of the best the Leafs have ever made.  People shit on the infamous Kessel deal to this day, but the guy has consistently produced his entire time in the blue and white, and Burke got JVR from the Flyers for Luke Schenn.... remember that guy?  That has to be one of the biggest steals in the history of the NHL.  Like I said it's a bloody shame these two are Americans, they will do some damage for Team USA in the upcoming Olympics.  They are 1-2 in scoring on the team this year, yeah they are notoriously streaky players, but when they're going they are very fun to watch.  Honourable mention goes to Joffrey Lupul who when healthy is always one of the best players on the ice, as well Mason Raymond has been great this season.

THE BAD

David Clarkson

I really hate shitting on a guy on the Leafs but David Clarkson is absolutely useless.  Why they gave this guy so much money is beyond me.  As you can see above our friends at Pension Plan Puppets have produced this handy chart to show how much of a cap hit it is going to cost the Leafs to buy out this plug in the next few years, with the cap going up I suppose it's not so bad, but any monkey could have told you throwing superstar money at David fucking Clarkson as a free agent isn't the wisest of moves.  I know he wasn't brought in to bring Kessel or Crosby like productivity but 2 goals and 5 assists over 30 games is unacceptable for someone making his money.  But as we saw on 24/7 he did a marvelous job of protecting the sanctity of the Leafs water bottles.... Jesus Christ wasn't that the stupidest thing you have ever heard in your entire life... "Don't touch our fucking water bottles" he sounded like he was a kid in Grade 3 on recess.  I hope he turns it around and soon, at $5.25 million per year he bloody well better.

Randy Carlyle

I hate Randy Carlyle.  I hated him before and I hate him even more after watching his crap on 24/7.  Why does he hate my boy Nazem Kadri so much??  Seriously the guy rides him like a fly on shit, and because of his monumental stupidity Kadri is on the trading block and will likely flourish on another team.  The guy ran Mikhail Grabovksi and Clarke MacArthur out of town, and they have succeeded with other teams, and I can see the same happening with Kadri.  The guy insists on playing two goons (Orr and McClaren) a night, and gives guys like Jay McClement (who I do like don't get me wrong) heavy minutes while leaving guys like Kadri and Peter Holland stapled to the bench.  I don't like his hard-ass style either, this may work for some high school coaches, but these are grown men making millions of dollars, and they aren't going to be treated like common trash for long.   I think a lot of players have already tuned him out.  Plus as we also saw on 24/7 the goof doesn't know how to use a fucking toaster.  Something has to be said about the fact that the Leafs collapse in the 3rd period seemingly every game.  They’ve given up a tying or go-ahead goal in the 3rd period in 17 games this year, and in 11 of those, they’ve either lost the game, or lost points. This has a lot to do with Carlyle's policy of just sitting back when they have the lead and not keeping their foot on the gas.  The Leafs blogosphere (read: people who write way better blogs than me) turned on Carlyle ages ago, and now the Toronto media has started to as well.  Frankly I think the Leafs are lucky to be in the position they are in, and they would be way better off with a new head coach.

Well so concludes my first post on 2014 with some thoughts on the Leafs.  I still the think the Leafs are going to win the Cup, especially if they fire Carlyle.  As I hinted in the opening paragraph don't count on too much more blogs out of me until Big Brother Canada starts.... I still should go review McDonald's poutine though!

REVIEW: McRib

Holy shit it's been two months since I've posted on here? What's even more shocking is this is the first time I have had my beloved McDonald's since my review of the mediocre McLobster back in August.  Shocking I know considering how much I love McDonald's.  I think I've only been to McDonald's 4 times since I've moved to Kingston back in early May.  When I was in London I lived well within walking distance of 2 McDonald's plus I worked beside another one, so I would go quite a bit, sometimes 3 times a week... yikes.  Here in K-Town there isn't a location anywhere near me...upon telling this to a friend he said "no wonder Kingston a prison town."  There's also no Popeye's Chicken here, another reason why this is a Prison Town, but I digress... I've seen commercials for the McRib lately, and I thought I should give it a try, both because I needed a McDonald's fix, and I know about 2 people who have been waiting with baited breath for me to review it on this crappy blog.  There are people who are absolutely diehard about the McRib, I've heard of people in the States who would travel great distances to go to McDonald's that were serving them.  McDonald's only brings it out every few years, and during it's last go around I tried it and wasn't too impressed, perhaps it was because I had it at the decrepit Dundas and Richmond location in London, I still maintain that it is the worst McDonald's location in Canada, if not in the entire world.  This visit was a different story, I very much enjoyed the McRib.

I should start by saying I LOVE ribs.  BBQ Ribs are pretty close to being my favourite food, and my Mom makes some of the best ribs out there, the London Ribfest - as overpriced as it is - was always one of the highlights of my summer.  There is no better sweats than the meat sweats you get after eating a rack or two of ribs, I've probably sweat more eating ribs in the last couple of years than I have sweat from exercise.  Obviously the McRib isn't as good as ribs would get at Ribfest or any other BBQ joint, but it was still pretty damn good, so the meat in the McRib may technically not be pork, and it is the same stuff that they make gym mats with, big fucking deal it still tastes good.  I think what set apart the McRib was the BBQ sauce, it was really good, you could slather that on real ribs and it would win a gold medal at Ribfest.  It was sweet, had a nice tangy bite to it, and as you can see in the picture above they gave you a ton of it.  I like the idea of having onions and pickles on it, but these fuckers at the Gardiners Road location in Kingston gave me two measly pickles on it...two!! One of them was so tiny and thin you could see right through it.  The McRib is wide enough to warrant at least 3, if not 4 pickles. McDonald's has really stepped down their pickle game in recent years, it has come to the point where I've had to ask for extra pickles when I order a Big Mac...seriously is it that hard to give out more than two god damned pickles??  I was too embarrassed to go back and ask for more, but it would have made the McRib even better than it was.  On another note, they did not season the fries.... McDonald's fries without salt is like Christmas without presents.  For shame Gardiners Road location...for shame.  Overall I would definitely order the McRib again, but I imagine it's not going to be around for too much longer, but when it's back in 2015 or whatever I will be sure to get it again.

Well that's it for this review, I would like to update this blog more, but there hasn't been that much for me to write about lately.  Perhaps I can write something about the Leafs season thus far...something to look for in the future!! McDonald's also brought in poutine...I don't know if that will warrant a full blog post, but if I try it and feel compelled to write something I will!

Thoughts on the 2013-14 Leafs season and more!

May 13, 2013 was a roller coaster of emotions the likes of which I have never experienced in my entire life.  Being a Leafs fan, (along with being a Blue Jays, Bills and Raptors fan) I am all too used to disappointment and misery as a sports fan, but it's always disappointment and misery I can see coming a mile away.  That game 7 against Boston was easily the lowest I have ever felt as a sports fan.  That game had it all the dizzying highs, the terrifying lows, the creamy middles.  When Kadri scored to go up 4-1 with only 11 minutes to play I was on cloud 9, getting congratulatory texts from fellow Leafs fans, planning on the second round.  But then Boston scored....and again....and again...and finally again in overtime.  It was the most monumental heart stomping collapse I have ever witnessed.  I shit you not I had trouble sleeping that night.  After waiting 9 long years for the Leafs to be in the playoffs again, they go and blow it in historic fashion like that.  Even friends of mine who waste no time talking shit about the Leafs to me gave me at least a night to mourn....then the shit talking began in earnest and did not stop the whole summer.  This YouTube video sums up that horrible night perfectly....this was painful for me to watch again!

But enough about god damned game 7, I am so sick of hearing about it, and I know I will be chirped about that game for the rest of my life.  Game 7 happened, we can't change what happened and now let us never speak of it again.

The Leafs had a busy off season for sure.  To be honest, I am not so sure about the moves they made.  First and foremost using one of their two buy outs on Mikhail Grabovski (shown above stabbing a pineapple...yeah that is an actual pictuee of him) was absolutely stupid.  Granted he didn't have the season offensively that he was capable off, and he was getting paid a lot after he signed an big extension under Brian Burke.  But still the guy was extremely skilled and was being used wrong by Randy Carlyle as a 3rd-4th line checking centre.  Carlyle didn't like him so instead of buying-out John Michael Liles and his massive salary (the guy can't even make the NHL roster) they shockingly let Grabovski walk.  Even after he was a free agent it took forever for a team to sign him, it took a couple of weeks for Washington to sign him and a lo and behold he has a Hat Trick in the season opener.  I guarantee when the Leafs play the Capitals he will light them up.  They basically used the money they saved on cutting Grabovski to resign Tyler Bozak to a 5 year $21 million dollar contract.  Ugh, I think they totally overpaid for Bozak, who is OK as a 2nd or 3rd line centre, not a 1st line centre.  Hopefully he proves me wrong, and he did score a beauty short handed goal Tuesday night against the Habs, I just think they're going to end up buying this contract out in a couple of years.

The other big move they made was signing David Clarkson, who was the most sought after free agent on the market.  Don't get me wrong, I love players like Clarkson, he can score, he can forecheck and play good defense, and he isn't afraid to drop the gloves....or leave the bench to fight in a fucking pre-season game which landed him an automatic 10 game suspension.  He's drawn comparisons to Leafs legend Wendel Clark, who was Clarkson's favourite player growing up.  Clarkson is even wearing number 71 which is just Clark's 17 in reverse.  My concern is the massive contract they gave him, a 7 year $36.75 million dollar contract.  That is waaaaay too much money, and way too long a term for a guy like him.  Like I said, once he finally starts playing I think I will end up liking him, but that kind of money is obscene, is he going to be worth the $5.25 million a year when he is a 36 year old ankle burner??  The Leafs signed Dave Bolland too, I like that signing, and he has already worked out great scoring 2 against the Flyers on Wednesday night.  All these signings lead me to believe that head coach Randy Carlyle has fuhrer like control over decisions with this team, GM Dave Nonis is signing the guys that Carlyle likes.  Carlyle seems like an asshole to me, both Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur have trashed him and his style this off season.  But if Carlyle gets the players he wants, and they can get W's, then that's all that counts.  I don't have a Ron "Wrong" Wilson hatred for him yet, but that could happen.

I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about the goalie situation.  For whatever reason Leafs brass do not believe in James "Optimus Reim" Reimer.  I am not going to sit here and say he is the second coming of Martin Brodeur, but he is a solid goalie who led them into the playoffs last year.... plus his wife is a smoke show, as seen above giving her infamous stink eye to Elisha Cuthbert (Phaneuf's wife) last season in the playoffs.  The Leafs went out and signed Jonathan Bernier from LA, who is younger and had less NHL experience than Reimer.  Everyone is high on Bernier, but with Jonathan Quick being yearly Vezina candidate for the Kings every season he was seeing little to no action.  All that being said I really like the idea of the Leafs having an 1a and a 1b goalie.  There have been 2 games thus far and each goaltender has played a game and won and have looked very sharp in those victories.  It's a great problem for the Leafs to have picking who will be the goaltender every game.  Plus with injuries you never know what could happen.  Obviously Carlyle is going to go with the hot hand, if they end up being a true tandem play a 60/40 split of games or something and playing the way the both are capable of playing, I think that will really help the Leafs and their playoff chances.

One of the biggest moves of the off season was made the morning of their season opener.  Phil Kessel re-upped with the Leafs for a 8 year $64 million dollar contract, and unlike David Clarkson I think Kessel is worth every penny.  I don't get how I am constantly defending this guy, with Leafs haters and fans alike. I also don't understand why he is a whipping boy in the Toronto media and he has been since he got here just this week David Feschuk wrote yet another horrible article and in this one he was calling Kessel fat!  Is this fucking grade 6?  The Toronto media doesn't like him because he is doesn't like to talk to them, and I don't blame Kessel who would want to talk to that collection of miscreants.  Kessel has been one of the most consistent pure goal scorers in the last few seasons, and he was AMAZING in the playoffs against Boston, his former team that he always had trouble against.  Imagine his numbers if he was playing with a top flight number 1 centre...not Tyler Bozak, but I think Nazem Kadri can fit that billing in the not too distant future.

Nasty Naz the Skillmatic had an eventful off-season, threatening a hold out and demanding a big extension before settling on a smaller 2 year bridge deal with the Leafs.  Kadri is another guy Leafs management and the media like to shit on.  Granted he is cocky, but I don't think burying him in the AHL or on the 3rd-4th line will help.  Carlyle rides him like a fly on shit, and he has already been in Carlyles dog house this season. I honestly believe in Kadri's potential, and I hope the Leafs don't squander it.  He should be centering the first line with Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on the wing, that line would set the world on fire.

The NHL season is less than a week old and already there is controversy.  In Tuesday nights season opening Leafs and Habs game, Colton Orr and George Parros had their second fight of the night (there was 5 total fights that game), George Parros swang and missed Colton Orr who ducked him, and Parros headed up falling face first into the ice, and had to leave on a stretcher.  Watching that live it was a scary scene to be sure.  Immediately the debate on Twitter launched into the pro-fighting and anti-fighting stance, with the vast majority of media and bloggers that I follow taking a strong anti-fighting stance.  Plenty of words were written over the subject over the next couple of days with columnists like Bruce Arthur and Michael Grange who I respect and columnists I loathe like Damien Cox and Steve Simmons trumpeting having fighting banned from hockey.  My personal opinions have shifted on fighting, I have always enjoyed a good hockey scrap, and when I go to OHL games I am always on my feet cheering when a fight breaks out, but I honestly think someone is going to eventually get seriously hurt, if not die in a hockey scrap soon.  It has already happened in a minor league a few years ago, it could easily happen in the NHL.  To me there is always going to be room in the NHL for a spontaneous fight, something that happens as a result of two players getting on each others nerves after a long, hard game - think Jarome Iginla fighting Vincent Lecavalier in the Stanley Cup final back in '04.  But when hired goons like Orr, Parros, John Scott or whoever drop the gloves 3 minutes into a game just because they have to - the "staged fights" the game can do without.  If you want to watch staged fights go watch the WWE.  People are calling on a full ban on fighting, which I disagree with, maybe just have a game misconduct after a fight, or a fine if you have more than 5 fights, and a bigger fine if you have more than 10.  That will deter the goon vs. goon fights, while allowing more naturally occurring fights to happen.  Even if the NHL does ban fighting (which it wont) I will still watch, Olympic hockey, World Junior hockey and Playoff hockey have little to no fights and that is often considered the best hockey to watch.  People saying they will stop watching or people will stop watching hockey because there is no more fighting are just stupid.

As for the rest of the league, I don't really care or follow it that closely.  I hate the Senators just as much as I ever did, it was hilarious to see that Krusty the Clown looking loser Daniel Alfredsson bolt on them realizing how hopeless they are.  The Sens went out and traded for Bobby Ryan aka Bobby Stevenson who is bound to have a terrible season for them and he will wish he was on the run from the FBI again.  I don't think the Sens will even make the playoffs.  The divisions are all different this year with Detroit and Columbus joining the Eastern Conference.  Once again the NHL screwed this up, I think it is stupid that there is 16 teams in one conference and 14 in the other.  Plus the new division names are so dumb, really the Metropolitan Division?? Why the hell did they call the Leafs division the Atlantic Division, most teams in that division are nowhere close to the Atlantic Ocean, in fact there is closer teams to the Atlantic in the stupid Metropolitan Division than there is the Atlantic Division.  I don't get why they just didn't name the division after old hockey players like they used too.  Name the divisions after Wayne Gretzky or Gordie Howe, Bobby Orr or Dougie Gilmour, you know legends. The playoffs are all different too, the top three teams in each division will advance, and there is 2 wild card teams.  That being said, this how I think the divisions will play out.

* = Wild Card Teams

Atlantic Division

1.  Toronto Maple Leafs
2.  Boston Bruins
3.  Detroit Red Wings
4.  Tampa Bay Lighting*
5.  Ottawa Senators
6.  Montreal Canadiens
7.  Buffalo Sabres
8.  Florida Panthers

Metropolitan Division

1.  Pittsburgh Penguins
2.  New York Rangers
3.  Washington Captials
4.  New Jersey Devils*
5.  Carolina Hurricanes
6.  New York Islanders
7.  Columbus Blue Jackets
8.  Philadephia Flyers

Central Division 

1.  Chicago Blackhawks
2.  St. Louis Blues
3.  Nashville Predators
4.  Minnesota Wild*
5.  Colorado Avalanche
6.  Dallas Stars
7.  Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division

1.  Los Angeles Kings
2.  Vancouver Canucks
3.  San Jose Sharks
4.  Anaheim Ducks*
5.  Edmonton Oilers
6.  Phoenix Coyotes
7.  Calgary Flames.

Leafs over Los Angeles in the Stanley Cup final, as we will finally get revenge for '93.   

Well enjoy the season everyone, I think I will do a post like this every month or two on how the dominate Leafs season is going, plus me and my friend Killer are going to start a sports podcast, so look for that in the near future too!

Autopsy of the 2013 Blue Jays

It wasn't supposed to be like this you guys.  This year was supposed to be different, different from the last 20 years of misery we've suffered as Jays fans.  Sure in that span we had 9 winning seasons, and sometimes had some decent ball clubs, but playing in the tough AL East against the juggernaut Yankees and Red Sox, and lately those pesky god damned Rays and Orioles, the Jays never got within a sniff of the playoffs.  The last time the Jays saw post season action was when Joe Carter touched 'em all in '93.  I swore that 2012 was the worst season they could have ever had, with the injuries and underachievement and the fact that their fucking manager quit on them for greener pastures.  After such a shitty year last year, GM Alex Anthoupolous went "all-in" selling the farm to pick up some quality all-star players in Jose Reyes, Josh Johnson, Mark Buerhle, Melky Cabrera and of course the reigning NL Cy Young winner R.A. Dickey.  I was doing fucking backflips last November when those trades happened, you couldn't wipe the smile off my face.  The Blue Jays were trumpeted as World Series contenders instantly by many respected baseball pundits.  Hype was sky-high... then they actually started to play games, and holy fuck did they ever suck.

That Opening Day game really just summed up the whole bloody season immediately.  Dickey giving up untimely home runs, JP Arencibia being absolutely horrific behind the plate - didn't he give up 3 passed balls? - zero offensive production, led to an 4-1 loss to the Cleveland Indians.  I remember feeling completely deflated after that game, and sadly that same feeling carried throughout the course of the season.  Then John Farrell and the Red Sox came in, that was the series we were supposed to show him what an idiot he was for ditching the team, but the Jays lost 2 of 3, including Dickey getting lit up in a 13-0 loss.  That's what chaps my ass the most about this season, John Farrell and the Red Sox winning the East after cruising all season.  I hope they fall flat on their face in the playoffs.  I kept trying to convince myself that it was an early season funk and that they would snap out of it and start kicking ass and taking names.  My favorite Blue Jays blogger Andrew Stoeten of Drunk Jays Fans had to write countless blogs and tweet at countless amounts of idiots to calm down and assure them that this is going to turn around, and I was on his side and believed that it was going to get better but aside from that miraculous 11-game win streak in June, it never did!

The starting pitching was absolutely horrendous, Josh Johnson quite possibly had the worst season I have ever seen a starting pitcher have.  Granted, he was injured but the games that he was healthy he was god awful.  The guy was pitching for a contract too! In every sport players are usually lights out during their contract season.  He had potential to get himself a massive $150+ Million dollar contract during free agency this off season, now he should be lucky to get the Jays qualifying offer.  R.A. Dickey certainly did not come as advertised.  The thing with Dickey this season is he had such shitty luck.  He had very good stretches in ballgames, and at times looked every bit the NL Cy Young Winner of 2012 but it seemed as though every ground ball hit against him found a god damned hole in the infield, and he gave up soooo many home runs, it doesn't help that the SkyDome is one of the best hitters ball parks in the league.  He says his knuckleball is better when the roof is closed, and he had some back issues this season, so hopefully next season they keep the roof closed for his starts, and he is over his back issues.  Once again Brandon Morrow was injured, he is the one that I had the most hope for, but even in the games he was healthy he did not look good.  It is crucial for him to come back and pitch to his potential, the Blue Jays need him.  Despite a slow start Mark Buerhle came as advertised, and in the dog days of summer he was by far the Jays best pitcher.  Then there was the horse shit pitchers they trotted out start after start in that 5th spot.   JA Happ won that job out of Spring Training and was doing a decent job.... until he was nailed in the face with a line drive and fucked up his knee collapsing off the mound.  They rolled out a succession of absolute shit starters who either weren't ready for the bigs or way past their prime.  Sean Nolin, Ricky Romero, Aaron Laffey, Chien Mien Wang, Ramon Ortiz all got starts for the Blue Jays and were horrific. Todd Redmond and Esmil Rogers have been rotation fixtures the last few months because of injuries, and have done decently, but I think will be better suited for long relief in the bullpen in 2014.

For the most part, offensively players came as advertised.  Bautista was Bautista until he got hurt at the end of the season, Edwin Encarnacion had a very, very good year, Colby Rasmus had a break out year, and once Brett Lawrie and Jose Reyes got over their respective injuries, they turned into the players we all hoped they would be.  The issue lies with the gaping holes they have in offensive production from their Left Field, Second Base and Catching positions.  I'm not one of those sabermatrician stat geeks and quite honestly I am too dumb at math to wrap my head around these fucking formulas these nerds have produced to measure baseball stats, but I trust them.  They say if the Jays had at least replacement level talent (look up the WAR stat) they would be in a way better position than they are now, they wouldn't be running away with the East, but they would have been in wild card contention like the fucking Cleveland Indians and Kansas City Royals have been.  The worst offender has been JP Arencibia, seen above as Macho Man Randy Savage because... why not?  It's been determined that he has had one of the worst seasons in the entire history of major league baseball.  This isn't just me spewing unsubstantiated bullshit like I usually do, it is actual fact.  Take a look at this article by Drew Fairservice of Getting Blanked on how historically awful JP Arencibia has been.  There is no way he should be back as the starter next season, he seems like a nice guy, and I do feel bad for him, but they have to cut him loose.  I guarantee he will end up on the Rays or Yankees and whenever he plays the Jays he will come back and hit dingers and play great just like every other ex-Blue Jay does.

Melky Cabrera and the rest of the bums they trotted out to play left field were also a black eye on this team.  It turns out Melky had a fucking tumor on his spine, which may explain why some games he went out there and chased down fly balls and ran the bases like he was a 68 year old man.  At second base Maicer Izturis and Emilio Bonfiacio sucked quite a bit at the start of the season, committing atrociously ugly errors in the field and sucking at the plate.  Izturis picked it up a bit before he was injured, and Bonifacio was thankfully dumped to Kansas City...of course then he started playing good.  If they got better production out of those positions that would have accounted for at least 10-15 more wins which would have let them playing meaningful games in September....that's all I can ask for, I am sick of September Blue Jays games that don't matter, watching other teams compete for a playoff spot, and then playing high intensity playoff games.  That's all I am asking for Blue Jays, I am not asking for a World Series ring, just play games in September that matter, and then let's get some October baseball back.  That being said, I think 2014 will be better.

If you have ever heard me talk about sports, you know I am always preaching about next year.  Next year is the year for the Leafs, or the Bills or the Raptors or the Blue Jays... when you support these shitty and perpetually mediocre teams next year is all you have.  That being said I think the Blue Jays, with their current core and some key additions will be the team we all expected them to be in 2014.  If they plugged the gaps in the positions I just mentioned they will improve vastly.  Brian McCann and AJ Pierzynski are catchers that are available, and while I am not a huge fan of either of them, I am sure seeing them in a Jays uniform will change my mind completely.  I am willing to let them give Cabrera another shot (really what other choice do they have?) and let them see if this fucking spine tumor is what caused him so much grief this year.  As for 2nd base, I don't know, as much as I love Kawasaki (like everyone else on Earth) I don't think he is the answer at 2nd and is better suited for a bench role.  Ryan Goins has been good recently, but I don't think he is the answer either.  Isturuz did have a good stretch before he got hurt, and I think he got used to the SkyDome carpet and was playing better defensively, so he could have a shot.  If AA can swing a deal or sign a better 2nd baseman I say go for it.  Robinson Cano is available as a free agent but rumour has it he is seeking a 10 year $305 million dollar contract....no thank you!!

Aside from that the Jays are solid offensively.  My favourite player right now has to be Colby Rasmus.  He is such a fucking hick, and I think it's hilarious.  DJF put up a video in the summer of the Jays talking about their walk up-music, and Colby was such a Jethro talking about being in the south and with bucks on the wall "spittin a lil' tabbaca."   He is a hell of a ball player, and he is getting better, St. Louis gave up on him way too soon. Jose Reyes is such a good ball player too, if he stays healthy in 2014 he will have a very good year.  Bautista and Encarnacion have shown no signs of slowing down, in fact Encarnacion has had one of the best offensive seasons in all of baseball this year, and there is no reason to believe that will stop for both those players next year.

Brett Lawrie has been a stud at third base.  His web gem plays have been pretty much the only reason to watch this team down the stretch.  His balls to the wall type play may actually be a bit of a downfall for him, it's baseball for christ's sake you can relax a little bit.  I think now that he is getting older he will realize this, and I think he is a career Blue Jay who will put up consistently good seasons for years to come... if he can stay healthy. .

As for the rotation, R.A. Dickey and Mark Buerhle (barring a trade) are pretty much the only 2 guaranteed starters, and I am fine with that.  Buerhle had some stinkers, but he had some gems, same goes for Dickey.  I think they should offer Josh Johnson the 1 year qualifying offer and let him prove that he is worthy of being a top pitcher in MLB like has the potential to be.  I think he is due for a turnaround season.  Drew Hutchison and Kyle Drabek could be competing for a spot, and hopefully Morrow is healthy enough and performs to his potential.  Don't forget AA is always capable of pulling off a big deal for another solid starter that will come completely out of the blue.  The bullpen has been amazing all year, and that is a strong point heading into 2014.  Brett Cecil, Sergio Santos, Steve Delabar, Casey Janssen have all had great seasons, add a Esmil Rogers or Todd Redmond into the mix, and that is a solid pen.

It's gonna get better Jays fans, firing John Gibbons or a complete roster overhaul is not going to make things better, staying put with what we have, with a tinker or two will do just fine.  Look no further than the dreaded Boston Red Sox, they were talented team that with a mix of injuries and bad luck ended up having an awful season in 2012.  They went from worst to first this year with pretty much the same roster they had last year + a few key additions.  If the Blue Jays can make those keys additions, and get continued production and some bounce back seasons from their core,  I have no reason to believe that the Blue Jays will finally be back in the post-season next season.  For my own sanity I hope I am right.

Credit Scott Johnson, Andrew Stoeten, Getting Blanked and Drunk Jays Fans for the photos in this.

As always give me a follow on Twitter @didhenley

Big Brother 15 Final Thoughts

This shitty season is finally done!  Seriously what a horrible cast, looking back the only people I liked this season was Judd and Howard, everyone else be damned.  Ol' Howdy Doody Andy ended up winning, and I think he deserved it.  He has got a lot of hate on twitter for his game play,  and I don't get it.  I honestly think he played a perfect game, and he is $500K richer for it.  People said that "he didn't play the game and was a floater."  Bullshit.  He played an amazing social game, earning the trust of everyone in the house, and then he turned on them when he needed too.  He also did win 2 vetoes, and 3 HOH's including the all important final one, he won those competitions when it counted, and at no point this season was he ever perceived as a threat or a target.  He really convinced me that he deserved to win when he was getting grilled by the jury, and he was explaining his game to them. Speaking of getting grilled by the jury, what the hell was that verbal diarrhea that was spewing out of VaGinaMarie's mouth.  It was a complete trainwreck, I initially I thought that Andy was stupid for taking her to the Final 2 because I thought she had a decent chance of winning, I even tweeted that and texted the same thing to some friends who were watching.  I think her fumbling through her answers saying "I'm just GinaMarie" and bringing up Nick every 10 seconds cost her in the end with any jury members that may have been on the fence.  Andy is obviously very well spoken and absolutely crushed her in that Q&A.  Even though I did kind of warm up to her the last couple of weeks, here is a reminder why she doesn't have a job to go back home to...Yikes.

Yeah, that's ultimately the legacy of Big Brother 15, it making national headlines because of racist and generally horrible houseguests.  People are blaming casting for getting these contestants, but how were they supposed to know?  I don't think they asked them if they were prone to racial outbursts during the audition process.  As much as I didn't like this cast, people are taking it way to far, once again diehard Big Brother fans are harassing families of players and are calling up their employers insisting they be fired.....uh if haven't been already.  There is absolutely no excuse for that behavior, yeah they are contestants on a reality show, but they are still real people and have to go about their daily lives, people take things way too far and need to get a life.  Granted I talk shit about the houseguests, but that's only on this dumb blog, that I'm lucky to get 100 page views per post on.  I read that Shelly from Big Brother 13 got threats up to a year after Big Brother ended, and she had to get the FBI involved.  People who do that need to be committed to the looney bin.

I am pretty disappointed but not surprised that Elissa won $25K as America's player, as much as I don't get the hate for Andy, I don't get the Elissa love either.  On the website Joker's Updates they had a running poll all year of who your favourite houseguest was and fucking Elissa was always at the top.  I thought she played an awful game, and she is rich too, she does not need the $25K, Judd and Howard who were in the running for that money deserved it way more than her, and they probably need the money!  Spare me the fake shock too Elissa, and of course fucking Helen was in the middle of it all with her ridiculous over-enthusiasm. 

In other news, Amanda is still completely psychotic. I read this morning that Jessie said in an interview that Amanda and Elissa had it out (again) in the Jury House. They should have filmed the Jury House the last couple of weeks, it would have been a lot more interesting than the actual house!  I think living in the Big Brother house would make anyone go crazy, but Amanda is this nuts in real life.  Good luck with that McCrae.

Well that about wraps up my Big Brother posts for this year, I hope you had as much fun reading them as I did writing them.  If nothing else this gave me an excuse to keep the ol' blog active.  I'll have to go do some more food reviews or something soon.  I think I'll do an NHL season preview before the season starts, maybe a MLB Playoff preview, I'll think of something else. Big Brother Canada starts up in February so we have that to look forward too, my friend Willie is going to apply, and if you know Willie you know there is pretty much a 100% chance that he will make it on the show.  I thought of applying but I don't know... I doubt I'd ever get cast, I am really not that exciting hahaha.  In the meantime you can give me a follow on Twitter @didhenley I usually post a lot on there...but it's mainly re-tweeting The Iron Sheik.

Big Brother 15 Week 11 Thoughts

Jesus Christ is this season over yet?? Once again I apologize for the tardiness of this blog, yesterday my friend Jonny invited me over for poker, and at first I declined because of course I had Big Brother on, but then I thought who gives a shit, this final 4 is brutal.  Really the only thing I missed was not being able to watch the snarky comments roll in on Twitter, that's really the best way to watch things like Big Brother or the Oscars or whatever, peoples jokes on Twitter are usually 100 times better than what you're watching.  Anyways... I just finished watching it, and to absolute no one's surprise McCrae aka McPizza aka Tuglord was shown the door.  I always thought he looked like Canadian rock legend Geddy Lee of Rush as seen in the picture above.  McCrae doesn't have the massive beak Geddy does, but at least Geddy showers unlike McCrae who might as well have stink lines wafting around him constantly.  McCrae was hampered all season by that lunatic Amanda, I guarantee he realizes that now, he even said as much in his interview with Julie Chen, he had a few days alone in the house to reflect, and I guarantee he is kicking himself.  Those two are definitely not going to last long outside of the house, Amanda is far too crazy, as evidenced in the jury house tonight.  I can't believe how absolutely delusional she is, McCrae played a shitty game and it was because of her, but she thinks he has played the best game ever....and she was still shocked that she got booed by the audience when she was evicted of course she got booed! She is going to get booed by random people while she walks down the street for the rest of her life because she sucks so much.

My cousin sent me that pic she found on Twitter of the final 5.  I would have to say it is quite spot on, I suppose McCrae does look like Darlene from Roseanne just as much as he does Geddy Lee, and Judd is definitely Boomhauer.  Anyways everyone on Twitter is complaining about people who are left, and I agree with them that they are boring and they are all floaters, but fuck they are the ones who got this far in the game, if floating give you a solid chance at $500K why wouldn't you be a floater?  As much as I don't like Andy aka WAHndy, he is the one that deserves to win, you could make an argument for VaGinaMarie, but WAHndy, as irritating as he is should win. A bitter jury could prevent him from winning but I think the jury will respect what he did to get there, granted he lied and back stabbed people, but that is the god damn point to the game! Honestly if I ever go on Big Brother that would be my strategy I would lay back at first, earn the trust of everyone, maybe tell a fib or two along the way to get people evicted, then start winning shit at the end when it counts.  Andy is a fucking dork and pretty annoying but he is will be $500K richer than any other houseguest this season.  That being said if he goes to Final 2 with VaGinaMarie I think she has a solid chance of beating Andy she has outlasted and has been responsible for taking down some of the big players in this game, and everyone in the jury likes her.  If Spencer somehow falls ass-backwards into final 2 he will lose in a landslide to either Andy or GM.

So GM won the first part of the HOH competition, it was some kind of physical competition which should come as no surprise that she beat Andy and Spencer.  In years past the second part is a puzzle which plays into Andy's favour, and then the third part is the one where jury members come and ask questions, I think Andy has a better chance than GM to win, so I think he will win HOH, evict GM and take Spencer to the final 2, he'd be fucking stupid not too.  I really don't want any of these dorks to win, but one of them has to and out of all of them Andy does deserve it.  We'll see what happens, Sundays episode is a lame clip episode that's gonna show Amanda and McCrae's wedding PUKE!  It is also gonna show this fight, you should watch it uncensored here now below.  Careful there is very salty language, I laughed quite a bit. 

Big Brother 15 Week 10 Thoughts

To paraphrase Ricky from Trailer Park Boys, tonight's episode was Best Case Ontario for me, two of my least favourite people in the house were given the Australia style big boot.  First, Amanda, I am thrilled that she "got to steppen" as VaGinaMarie said.  This girl is nuttier than squirrel shit, I can't stand people like her.  She is such an awful, mean bully to people, but the second things don't go her way she is in tears and stomps around like a petulant little child, she pulled that stunt all season, she can scheme and plot against everyone else in the house but the second someone says boo about evicting her she goes on a rampage. She is completely delusional, even at the end when the audience booed her she was shocked, what exactly was she thinking? She was actually convinced everyone liked her, and that she was gonna win America's Player.  Osama Bin Laden has a better chance of winning America's Player than Amanda.  I don't know why she thought she was invincible, I know VaGinaMarie is dumber than a box of hammers but she made a good game move nominating her and McPizza, she didn't do it because she was jealous that she never had a relationship with Nick like Amanda has with McCrae, when people like Amanda get backed into a corner, they pull the jealousy card.  Child Please.  All week I have been reading Joker's Updates about the deal Elissa and Amanda made, and I was obviously as shocked as the rest of us. I think production had something to do with it, according to the feeds Amanda came right out of the Diary Room and went to Elissa to propose the deal, with Amanda being good friends with the Executive Producer and Elissa being Rachel's sister it is clear who production wanted to win, and they influenced them to come together and I am glad tonight fucked that all up.

Speaking of Elissa, thank god she is gone.  I haven't liked her since before the season started when I found out she was Rachel's sister.  I did feel bad for her at various points in the season, and she wasn't as irritating as Rachel was but I still found her to be insufferable.  Despite it being awful that Amanda said it right to her, she does have a Joker Face... which was so incredibly shiny when she was being interviewed by Julie Chen. She also talks way to slowly, I just want yell "t-t-t-t-today Junior!" when she talks.  She is also wealthy in real life, I am not saying rich people should be excluded from playing Big Brother, but really when your husband is a millionaire who owns hockey arenas, and you've been able to afford thousands of dollars in plastic surgery, you don't need $500K.  A lot of people on The Twitter are boo-hooing because Elissa is gone, I don't get it.  It's not like she played a good game or anything, as much as I didn't like Rachel, at the end of the day I had to give her credit because she was a good player, I didn't see that at all in Elissa.  Plus is she completely stupid? Thinking McCrae was the one that voted to evict Amanda?  Julie Chen is never one to be at a loss for words, but she was completely stunned that she can be that fucking dumb.

Andy looks like my sisters cat River, and he is going to win this whole game.  Not that I want him to win, but he totally is going too.  Granted he is a floater, and cries all the time but his social game has been good, he played both sides of the house like a violin.  One of my sisters friends correctly predicted Andy was going to win back in early August, so I have to give credit there, it took me until last week to predict he would win! If the Exterminators (aka Exterminaturds) are indeed the final 4, I think he'll win against them all, but if somehow McCrae sneaks his way in I think he has a chance, but him not playing the next HOH all but guarantees that he will be nominated and the one that is evicted next.  Speaking of HOH there is no spoilers to report, who knows when they plan on doing it, as usual I will read the spoilers and as usual I will end up pissing off my friend Jonny when he overhears me telling his wife what the spoilers were, because he doesn't want to hear them.

With the there being an eviction on the Wednesday episode and the Thursday episode you guys might be so lucky as to get 2 blogs next week! Don't count on it though....but if I feel so inclined I just might, then again the rest of this season is going to be boring as fuck now that the villains are gone.

Big Brother 15 Week 9 Thoughts

I'm sorry that this is a bit late, I left the power cord to my laptop at work, and this piece of shit computer is lucky to get about 10 minutes of battery time before it needs to be charged.  But what an episode that was last night! Aaryn's actual eviction was one of the craziest I've ever seen in all my years of watching Big Brother.  I actually went back and watched it again, it was just as awkward and uncomfortable to watch the second time around! The first thing I noticed was the audience reaction was one of the most subdued ever, usually everyone gets a big round of applause, but Aaryn barely got any applause and there was a few boos thrown in for good measure.  Then there was the interview, Julie Chen threw her some soft ball questions at first - the usual shit, then WHAM, she confronted her about the racist comments, and of course Aryan denied everything, saying it was a southern stereotype etc., then the Chenbot actually read her some of her more famous quotes.  Aryan was really painted into a corner and was obviously gobsmacked and didn't know what hit her, the audience even laughed at her answers. She seemed apologetic, claiming she loved Helen and Candice and everyone else and then she went on how everyone in Texas makes jokes like that.  Julie Chen really didn't hold anything back on her, and good for the Chenbot, this was big news this season when it happened, it would've looked bad if they didn't say anything.  Still I kind of felt bad for Aaryn because she has been the scapegoat for all the racist stuff this season when VaGinaMarie, Spencer, Amanda, Jeremy have all made derogatory remarks and nothing was said about that. Aaryn did deserve that Julie Chen smackdown, but so do the rest of them!  Bottom line is Julie Chen is a powerful woman, do not fuck with her.

Amanda is crazy.  I'm not just making things up or over-exaggerating things like I always do, I honestly thing she is mentally unstable.  I really didn't mind Amanda at first and even in recent weeks when everyone started hating her, I didn't hate her as strongly as everyone else I know did, I thought she was playing a good villain, but now I am with everyone else, she is truly an awful person and needs to be given the heave-ho.  Really the producers should have kicked her out by now.  How many times did she physically threaten Elissa?  That whole thing where she "tortured" her was brutal, she was nothing more than a bully, and ultimately it is going to lead to her exit from the game. Wasn't in awful when she gave Spencer, Andy and McCrae shit for not torturing Elissa either, threatening them with being "her next target" if they talk or be nice to her? Believe me I am no Elissa fan but nobody deserves to be treated like that.  She has been in charge pretty much the whole game and all the "power" has clearly gone to her head. There is a rumour on the Twitter that Amanda is actually good friends with Alison Grodner (the executive producer of the show) and that production pre-determined that she would be the winner.  You can read all about that by here http://www.celebdirtylaundry.com/2013/amanda-zuckerman-wins-big-brother-15-allison-grodner-cbs-fixed-rigged-corrupt-0809/  That's probably why they haven't showed any of the racist things Amanda has said on air, being friends with the Executive Producer clearly has its perks.  She is honestly bi-polar, one minute she is acting like this mega-bitch the next she is crying because she lost a competition.  I think McCrae has to be wondering what he got himself into, he does try to stop her from stirring up trouble and gets mad at her for it, but other than that he is still pretty whipped.  Now for who won HOH.......

Holy shit VaGinaMarie won HOH and I could not be happier!  I have been a bit hard on her this season, but she has kind of grown on me.  She is still batshit crazy with the whole Nick thing, but she has made me laugh quite a bit recently.  I kept up with the live feeds from last night and today, and it is pretty much assured that she will nominate Amanda and McCrae, thank fuck!! If that happens I honestly think Amanda is going to have a nuclear meltdown.  As soon as GM won HOH, Amanda was right in her ear telling her to nominate Elissa for evicting Aaryn, calling Elissa a bitch and shady, the whole 9.  Last night in the HOH room Amanda goes to GM and says that she wants her McCrae and Andy to be Final Four, and GM was like "oh for sure."  Then Amanda started crying because she says she misses Aaryn, GM went to hug her then rolled her eyes at the camera.  When Amanda left the room, GM looked at the camera and said "She's fucking crazy!! She's going up!!"  I guarantee they'll show that on Sundays episode.  That signaled GM's face turn for me.  Amanda and McCrae are convinced GM is going to put up Elissa and Judd, they are going to be blind-sided at the nomination ceremony and Amanda will go apeshit, I am not doing anything tonight so I am going to watch that free live feed site that my cousin hooked me up with to see the fireworks.

It's easy for me to pick now, but fucking Andy is going to win this game.  The Exterminators will be Final 4, and if he goes to Final 2 with either Spencer, Judd or GM, he'll win the whole god damned thing.  I'd much rather Judd win but my money is on Andy to win the whole thing.....ugh.

Big Brother 15 Week 8 Thoughts

It's no secret that I can't stand Helen, and I was thrilled when she was evicted, but I can't really celebrate because she is now in a competition to get back in the house.  I will honestly shit bricks if Helen gets back in, by the time I finish writing this the competition may be over, but until then I have no clue.  But still Helen is the worst, the fucking crying, the motivational speeches and pep talks, "doing a crazy dance", the fact that she rambles on and on and doesn't shut up. Seriously if her speech before the eviction was at the Oscars she would have got the wrap it up music for sure.  Her sidekick Elissa is no better, her permanent duck face and talking like she is fucking stoned all the time.  I hated her whole stunt where she said she was going to leave the show completely if she went to jury, what a fucking baby.  Plus I read on the live feeds that she said was "Big Brother Royalty" and that production will do whatever they can for her to stay because she is Rachel's sister.  She's awful.

That being said I have absolutely nothing good to say about the 3AM alliance either.  Holy piss everyone left this season sucks.  Andy is such a little squealer/tattletale if someone farts in one room I am sure Andy goes running to Amanda telling her exactly who ripped it.  Aaryn is a racist nut job as we all know, I am so sick of her winning these competitions then doing exactly what others want her too and always saying "I was pushed into a corner" blah blah blah.  Give me break, plus she is fucking dumb, I read on the live feeds that she took a big swig of nail polish remover thinking it was water.  McCrae, I really don't hate strongly, but he still sucks, take a fucking shower for once in your life.  I think McCrae would have been way better this season if he wasn't leashed to Amanda.  Speaking of Amanda, pretty much everyone I talk to about the show hates her as much as I hate Helen.  I can't stand Amanda either, she is cocky as fuck, but she has controlled the game thus far, and if she ends up in the final 2 she deserves to win the $500K.  Amanda is kind of like Rachel, she is a hypocrite and is a big fucking baby when she doesn't get her own way, but Rachel ended up winning, and I think Amanda has a very good chance to this year.

So my cousin hooked me up with a site where you can watch the feeds for free and I am watching the HOH/Jury Re-Entry contest now.  PS you can watch it here at http://bbfeed.99k.org/page2.htm The shitty thing is producers keep fucking around, they'll show a few minutes of competition then cut to trivia questions.  So far Spencer, McCrae, Andy, and Jessie are gone.  This competition is so stupid, it is taking forever they only fire balls at them every 4-5 minutes or something. I am tired now and want to go to bed but I can see myself staying up to watch this.  I hope to god Elissa doesn't win, I really want Judd to come back in the house and for him to win HOH, at least he is one contestant I like.  If I don't fall asleep I'll post the results tonight, if not I will tomorrow morning (in case you don't know how to look it up yourself hahaha)

UPDATE THE FIRST:

Judd is back in the house!!! Now it's down to who wins HOH. 

UPDATE THE SECOND:

Fuck!! Elissa won HOH....I just really don't like Elissa, but I think she will put up Amanda and McCrae which should make for some good TV.  My prediction is Amanda is gone.....uhhhh so much for writing earlier that I think she'll win the whole game. 

Big Brother 15 Week 7 Thoughts

So in yet another predictable move, a unanimous vote sends Jessie packing.  Whoopdee-Fuck.  Up until tonight's episode she has done absolutely nothing interesting in the house.  The fights tonight at least made things interesting and it exposed Helen for the fraud that she is.   By the way what the fuck was with that little shimmy dance she did when she voted to evict Jessie, that was so fucking awkward.  Anyways, good riddance Jessie thanks for offering next to nothing all season.

hate hate hate hate

I hate everyone left in this miserable cast. This house sucks.  They have been so predictable thus far "going with the house" instead of shaking things up.  Plus as we all know they are deplorable people in real life, especially VaGinaMarie.  I guess just because they were given psychiatric tests before the show, that doesn't mean they passed them. I was quite shocked tonight when Julie Chen - who appeared to be wearing a burlap sack, seriously she looked like the fucking Paper Bag Princess - called out the house for not making any big moves and and for playing it safe...Helen then shit out some nonsensical answer that I barely paid attention too, but still I can't believe she basically told them all they're a bunch of assholes and horrible Big Brother players.  That being said something HAS to happen, the "3 AM Alliance" is gonna butt heads with Helen and Elissa soon.  This match is hard for me, it's like when the Montreal Canadiens play the Ottawa Senators in hockey, I hate both teams so equally that I can't bring myself to pick a favourite and I hope they just mutually self-destruct.  That being said if I had a gun to my head and had to choose I would rather the 3 AM alliance take out Helen and Elissa, I can't stand either of them. 

Isn't that picture creepy as all fuck...seriously gives me the heebie jeebies, and I am not even talking about the clown.  Aaryn the Aryan is a 4 time HOH, you got to give credit where it's due, she has been pretty good at competitions this year, but is she actually going to take control of her HOH?? When she was first HOH way back when Jeremy (remember that turd?) controlled her HOH, and Helen has controlled her last two.  My prediction is that she nominates Spencer and Elissa.  If she knew what was good for her she'd put up Helen and Elissa, you can't always count on veto, so they shouldn't plan on backdooring her, just put up those two wenches and be done with it.  A plan to evict Helen can be pulled out without a hitch....but because of the stupid fucking twist she could walk right back into the house.

They pulled this stunt on Big Brother Canada, and I wasn't a fan of it then, and I'm not a fan of it now, at least this time the Jury House members compete to get back in.  The only one I want back in would be Judd, but if Helen gets evicted and turns around and walks right back in I'll shit bricks.

REVIEW: McLobster

I think it's time for a little break from my Big Brother reviews, I haven't done a food review in a while, and believe it or not since I moved to Kingston at the beginning of May I have only been to McDonald's once, there really isn't a convenient location close to me, so don't worry I am not on some god forsaken diet.  McDonald's hasn't really rolled out anything new since my last review of the Jalapeno Angus Third Pounder, granted they had the QPCBLT but that doesn't fucking count.  Adding bacon, lettuce and tomato to a Quarter Pounder is a weak attempt at a new burger and it certainly didn't warrant a national ad campaign. You could have just added lettuce, tomato and bacon to a Quarter Pounder yourself, and besides the bacon who in their right mind would do that?? I've heard of the McLobster before, they've had it available in the Maritimes during the summer for years now, so when they rolled it out here in Ontario I thought it was something I would have to try.  Overall I give it a solid "meh" it wasn't blind-blowingly good, but it wasn't unedible like the Grilled Cheese and Ketchup Lays chips I had yesterday that I was only able to stomach three handfuls of. 

Compare the photo I took and the advertisement, it looks nothing like the actual thing.  This really should come as no surprise as everything you get from any fast food place looks nothing like it does in the commercials.  Based on the ads, it looks like you get some hearty chunks of lobster, but that certainly was not the case.  I'm not really a huge lobster guy, if I ever go out for a fancy meal it's steak all day, I even live a stones throw from a Red Lobster and haven't stepped foot in the place.  That being said I do like lobster, but you certainly don't taste any nor do you get much of it in the McLobster.  

Now for the taste test, first things first the mix is cold, I was not expecting that, it threw me off right away.  The predominant taste is that of green onion...the bastard child of the onion family.  The whole thing ended up being like a lettuce, green onion and a watery mayo sandwich.  The sandwich was very bland, and could have really used some Frank's Red Hot or at the very least some salt and pepper.  If they knew what was good for them they would substitute that mayo with some Big Mac sauce, now there is a million dollar idea.  At $8.99+tax for a combo, this certainly was not worth the money, and I will most definitely not be ordering it again.  I do give McDonald's some credit for trying something different, but the McLobster fails to leave any sort of positive impression with me.