Behind the Scenes and On the Field

2 Days ago I attended the Wegman's LPGA Championship at Locust Hill in Rochester, NY. But I did not go as a fan, I went as media for my school's radio station 89.1 the Point, which is a student-run station. I had never been to this event so I wasn't too sure to expect. I do enjoy the game of golf, so the atmosphere was definitely a new experience. Going as media was also a new experience because I was able to get all the behind-the-scenes action. Including meeting sports reporters from the local news stations, such as John Kucko and Don Alhart. Not to mention all the free food and drink that came with it. :)

But don't be so quick to judge on the LPGA. Of course its not the Masters in Augusta, Georgia or Pebble Beach, but it really is an exciting venue. There's a great amount of intensity when a golfer is working on a birdie put, such as the par 3 9th hole. It was incredible to see so many people standing there for 5 to 10 minutes not saying a word as Paula Creamer was looking to go -1 for the day. It was also nice to see that these women were almost normal people. Not like a LeBron or Kobe, who needs their own show to tell the world if they're moving to a new team. When Angela Stanford hit a ball that faded to the right into a crowd, she apologized and asked if she had hit anyone, concerned for their safety. And at the 9th hole she signed and gave a ball to a girl whom was no more that 8-years-old. Easy to say the little girl was too happy to speak. I'll  tell you one thing though. These girls can play. I like playing golf but I'm no good at it. I can't measure distances with different irons and contemplate how the wind will affect the ball's trajectory. I just hit in the general direction and hope I land somewhere near the green. The eventual winner of the event, Yani Tseng, was consistently landing her shots within 10 feet of the hole, as well did Christie Kerr. Overall it was a great event to go to and I had a blast being able to meet these women.

Last night I had a league soccer game. Before this match we had no wins and five losses. Sounds like a rough season eh? You could say so, but our team isn't looking to win anymore. Not saying that we're quitting but we  are just out to have a good time and make fun of each other on the field. This team has been together for years, I joined about 5 years ago, and we're friends more than teammates you could say. So we jumped out to a 2-0 lead and it eventually slipped away as they tied it at two. At this point we told ourselves "Let's actually try to win since we have a legitimate shot at it for once". So we did and eventually scored to win the game. The funny part about the goal was that it was scored by the kid who showed up 20 minutes into the second half. And we are all joking to him "Dude we don't need you! We're actually winning!" Never-the-less he puts in the game winner. So yeah, Churchville Fire is 1 and 5 and i'm pretty sure the wins stop there.

But i'm OK with that :)


And now for the LOLpicture of the day

RamRod Out!

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Horsepower :)

So this evening I was playing Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit on my Xbox and I was just free roaming around and took a picture of a specific car to gain an achievement from the game. Then I decided to have some fun with it and try some screenshots with some more cars. My best friend Kyle came over to hang and helped out with a bunch of pictures for this and here are the fruits of our labor!

Here is the original photo I began with. It's a Ford GT driving by a satellite array in a desolate desert road. I really liked how this one came out, especially with the glare of the headlights coming across the screen.

I decided next to toy around with a Lamborghini Murcielago SV. This one had a bit of it's own photo shoot with 3 pictures.

 I started off simple with a distant shot of the car and the moon high up in the sky. Nothing too special.

Now it's getting fancy haha. A worm's-eye-view of the rim and door panel with a lighthouse in the back. This was tricky to get because i wanted to get the Lamborghini logo on the rim, the SV logo on the door, AND the entire lighthouse.

This one is pretty cool. I would compare this to releasing a lion out of its den. The Superveloce just owns this photo and makes the tunnel its bitch. :)

I decided next to see what I could do next with some of the McLaren models:

This is one of my preferred pictures in the collection. I decided to go back to the satellite array and chose the black McLaren. It took me about 10 minutes to find the angle I wanted, but I eventually came out with this angle and I loved it!

The new McLaren MP4-12C defines ferocity and simplicity. There are no radical cuts or features of it. It's fast and all it has to do is hit the gas and it will take your breath away. I went with another worm's-eye-view and went to get the moon once again. The building is an airport hangar. Yeah you can drive right onto an airport runway, but if you've played any racer previous to this, you know it's almost a requirement!

This is actually just one of two images of a cop car Kyle and I made, and he come up with the idea of "Why not take it at a police station?" So we did and came up with this. We saw the mustang police cruiser and of course we needed to have that in there. So we combined it with the mustang and the SCPD banners and signs on the building.

Back to Lamborghini...only FASTER!!

Back to the satellite array. It just provides such a good backdrop for the cars! I wanted to see what I could manage with the lighting, or lack of. Since the satellites wouldn't give off enough, I went to the street lights and it gave off the perfect amount to illuminate the top of the Reventon.

The rim of the Reventon has to be one of the best looking out there, so I focused mainly on that and wanted to do a beach shot. I saw the going along I couldn't really see a decent backdrop, until I saw the ferris wheel. I took one picture and it didn't look too great because the rim was facing straight forward and didn't show enough like the ferris wheel. So I went back to the gameplay and turned the rim as you can see. Allowing this picture to turn out very well.

Now Lets Flash Some Muscle!

750 hp at 6200 rpm. This shot of the super snake was through the eyes of Kyle Lentine. First we had to wait for the night cycle to come through the game. He wanted to line up the car with the railroad tracks that ran through the dimly lit tunnel which gave this picture great depth!

When we drove around with the Corvette ZR1, Kyle said "How about something with the palm trees?" So it was off to the beach. Since the trees were too tall to take a good picture, we used the shadow and originally the picture didn't have enough to it. So then we tried having some tire tracks lead into the shadow and we came out with this.

Because the Dodge Challenger looks like a car that can blow through a brick wall, Kyle had a fantastic idea of having the Challenger in the middle of breaking something. The construction barriers were perfect and we were lucky enough to pause the game at the perfect time.

Shaken not Stirred:

The Aston Martin One-77 is personally my favorite car to drive in the game. Kyle and I had been trying to get an action shot around traffic for a while, eventually we gave up. Kyle was driving around and pulled this out of nowhere. When he paused to the menu screen and went to photo mode we both went, "WOAHHHH!!!!!" It was difficult to get an angle at first but we both really like this one.

Ken Block Wannabes:

We slowed things down with the Subaru Impreza WRX STI in this picture and wanted to include an airplane in the picture. So to get most of the plane in the picture we tilted the camera and hugged the STI under the plane's wing.

The Fastest Cars You'll See:

Originally I was driving around with the McLaren MP4-12C, but when I saw this picture, it was too easy! I went back to the menu, selected the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 and stuck it in front of this billboard.

The theme of this picture "Saving the World, One Millionaire at a Time". We chose the Koenigsegg CCXR simply because it is a green car believe it or not. It runs on petrol AND Biofuel (E-85 Ethanol). And we threw this in front of the wind farm, sticking to the going green idea. Also when the picture is blown up to a larger size, you can see the carbon fibre in all it's glory! :D

The Beauty of a Sunset: 

Trying not to sound cliche right now but this was our last picture and I feel it was our best. The Nissan GT-R is my second favorite to drive around in the game. We hit Sunset Road and lucky for Kyle and I, it happened to be sunset! This was our final product and this is my favorite picture out of the entire photo shoot.


Yeah yeah I know, I spent probably around 4 hours doing all of this, but it really is fun to see what you can come up with. I've never really tried photography and I know this isn't exactly what it is, but it really is fun to play around with. Hope you enjoyed the slideshow!
 :)

All About the Rhythm

It was when I was about 6 or 7-years-old when I first started playing musical instruments, piano being the first. Soon after, when I was around the age of 8, I picked up a trumpet and joined my elementary school band. I stuck with piano up until about 9th grade, then I eventually stopped playing due to time restrictions with other extracurricular activities. Once I finished up high school, my trumpet hasn't gotten much action but there are times where I see what I can still muster up after not playing on a daily basis for about 2 years. And about a year and a half ago, I decided to pick up a guitar. Not a day goes by where I don't tinker around with the 6 strings and play some chords. 

Rock and metal had been my preferred musical genre to listen to for a few years, probably around 4 or 5 by now. I thought it was the coolest thing seeing, guitarists rip away at solos and play their hearts off. I wanted to do something like that. I knew drums wouldn't work at my house simply because no one in my family can tolerate what I listen to, so having literally what many call a "noise machine" would just not work out. So that left the choice between bass and guitar...

Around December of 2009, I was looking to kill some time, and I told myself "Think of something you've never done before...EVER!" Then I thought, why not ACUTALLY pick up a guitar and learn! There was just one problem. About 90% of guitars made are standard right-handed guitars. Guess who's a lefty...This guy. So after looking and looking, I found a few electrics a guitar center and tried them out. It took me about an hour of toying around to decide on my Ibanez Gio.

I loved my Ibanez, but there was a part of me that wanted to play some softer music as well, so I looked online to find a beginner's lefty acoustic guitar and I found this Sunlite for about 90 dollars.

I know these aren't exactly Gibson Les Pauls or Fender Strats, but I've been told it's never about the guitar...That is unless all the frets are buzzing. So far I have yet to have a lesson under my belt, meaning all that I know has come from lots and lots of patience. I've also been lucky enough to have a few friends at school help me out with a few tricks of the trade. Right now i'm still not guitar shredder like Dave Mustaine, or Brian Haner Jr., more commonly known as Synyster Gates from Avenged Sevenfold, but with enough work, I would like to have at least half, no scratch that, a tenth of the talent that they do.

I started off with some basic songs, here's a few...

Landing in London by 3 Doors Down

Hero of War by Rise Against

Daughters by John Mayer

And now i'm into some more complicated stuff...

Gunslinger by Avenged Sevenfold

Butterfly by Jason Mraz

Another Song About the Weekend by A Day to Remember

God Hates Us by Avenged Sevenfold

This has easily been one of the best hobbies I've picked up and I don't regret a second of it. I'm trying not to sound like a teenager who knows 3 chords or can play Cliffs of Dover on medium, but I really truly do love the music that is out there and I don't want to stop playing it ever! Heck, maybe i'll start my own band. :) And if you can think of anything that might be interesting or fun to play, let me know!

A7X RULES! :D

IT'S YOUR F***ING NIGHTMARE!!!!

His Solos are Like Fingerprints. Never the Same.

Over the past few days, The City of Rochester has held its annual International Jazz Fest in the heart of downtown. The last time I attended this was the first year it was held about ten years ago and I don't remember much other than Aretha Franklin being the headliner. I hadn't planned on attending this until I saw a commercial for it and heard the background music was a song by a jazz artist that I happen to enjoy a lot. So I then became curious and jumped online and sure enough Trombone Shorty, the artist of that background song was playing at the Jazz Fest. I've enjoyed listening to his CD since getting it a few months back. That's when I made the plan to go out and see him. It was well worth fishing through the crowds let me tell you. 

I went with one of my best buddies who happens to enjoy jazz music as well. We began pretty far from the stage at the beginning, but we put his lack of size (no offense) to use and slowly made our way closer to the stage throughout Shorty's performance. It was also nice to see some familiar faces from high school that I had not seen in what has been at least a year. The atmosphere was great! It was outside which is an automatic plus, along with 65 degree temps and a slight breeze out of the east, you couldn't possibly ask for a better night for a concert. 

Shorty came out and did his thing. He was absolutely incredible on his trumpet and trademark trombone. His solos are incredible and he is truly a gifted musician in that every single solo he does is different from one another. He has a set key and sticks with the notes that are in it. He doesn't think either, he just plays and lets his instrument do the work, which I find incredible. Also, have you ever seen someone hold a note on a wind instrument for 4 minutes? Yeah, that happened tonight. Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews has trained himself to breath in and out simultaneously so he can keep himself full of oxygen and then play his trumpet. After about 30 seconds people were amazed by his lung capacity but they hadn't realized that was the tip of the iceberg. An absolutely amazing talent that I wish I was able to grasp when I played throughout high school. 

But it wasn't just him who was the star of the show, every single artist of "Orleans Avenue" played incredibly and had their own time to show off their skills. The bass guitarist and both saxophonists (tenor and baritone) were absolutely amazing as well. Not to forget the drummer and guitarist, they played incredible as well! I loved when they all switched positions on stage, for example Shorty switched to the drumset and the drummer went to the guitar and so on. That was definitely a treat! But don't take my word for it, go see these guys live!!! If they are within 100 miles of where you live, go see him! It is a show well worth seeing! 

But really....GO GET HIS CD!!!! It's called Backatown. :)

Be One With Your Controller.

So I'm sitting here snacking on my mom's chocolate birthday cake which has enough sugar that can put a Rhino into diabetic shock when I think to myself, "Should I go waste more time on my Xbox?". I decided no, which is why I'm here. I enjoy playing videogames as much as the average 19-year-old guy does. My current game of choice is Assassin's Creed Brotherhood, by Ubisoft. I love the multiplayer that finally came out with it, and the story that it follows is absolutely phenomenal. A little confusing but great nonetheless. Knowing that it isn't the highest played online game some of you might not know how it is. Just a quick run through, 8 player free for all, kill your target, don't be killed. Simple but fun.

I enjoy the online gaming a lot, and I've played Call Of Duty, and Gears Of War and games of the shooter genre. But when you get online it becomes a verbal warzone. You have the cliche 12 to 14-year-olds who are there to have a good time, but instantly irritate the older guys who are in the same lobby. And then when it comes to the older guys player either they're heckling the younger kids or they constantly talk shit because they had 20 kills and 4 deaths and other players didn't do so well. If you have played at least 2 hours of this online, you would know what i'm talking about. I was once playing CoD: MW2 one day and this one guy kept talking and talking.....aaaaand talking. I told him once " Hey man, this is a videogame, you don't have to constantly boast about how well your doing or how you're getting killed by someone who's using the same gun as you are and is clearly kicking your as while doing it". And of course he replies with several vulgar and inappropriate comments, just so he can sound like the tough guy. And of course because he plays Call Of Duty, he would do perfectly well in the real world with a sniper rifle. First, these games are not even close to what the real thing is, and second, 9 times out of 10 he would be shitting himself with bullets whizzing by his face. And they continue on and on about their kill death ratio and 10th prestige rank. "Great job! You can press a button! Do you remember Deedee from Dexter's Lab? "OOOOooooo what does this button do?? You know, all that stuff that matters in the real world. I like the recognize these people as "That Guy".

Lets dive into the financial part of these games. Lets see, 65 bucks for the new mindless, run of the mill, "just like all the others" shooter that comes out yearly. Yeah I'm not too interested. Once a year, I get between 2 and 3 new games, and they're usually for Christmas. Although I probably will pre-order Assassin's Creed Revalations because that series has me hooked until it ends. But when people ask me, "Have you played this this and that?" No. "Well why not?" Cause I don't have 8 hours a day to waste on my Xbox and parents who can buy me all these games. Then there's the whole, "Oh you must suck at that game then."....Did you not hear my last statement or are you developmentally disabled?

I know this doesn't change much, but being the whole tough guy though a microphone and a controller doesn't do you much good. Have fun being as I mentioned earlier "That Guy" and good luck with your future cause if you're spending more than 5 hours a day in front of your TV screen doing so, your future is slowly slipping away, Team Deathmatch after Team Deathmatch.

Lemme know how you feel or if you wanna argue i'm all ears!

Game 7!!!!

Well, this series has gone exactly where I figured it would go, but some of the scores were not expected to be what they were (ie. Boston 8, Vancouver 1). You couldn't ask for a better Stanley Cup Final, at least within the last 5 years. Two Vezina trophy contending goaltenders, Roberto Luongo and Tim Thomas have easily been the difference in this series even though it is tied up.

Starting off with the netminders, it has been a no contest. Tim Thomas has continued his stellar performance throughout the season and postseason and unless the Canucks find a way to rattle him, because right now his confidence is through the roof. With a goals against average just above 2.00, and a postseason-leading .937 save percentage, Thomas is on fire and it's going to take something special to cool him off. And his aggressive style of play shows 2 things.
1. He's not afraid to get into a scrum to find the puck and make the save.
2. He trusts his defensemen to cover angles that might be too far for him to cover due to his aggressive play.
Luongo on the other hand has had his struggles, more specifically in Boston, so he should be a little grateful that game 7 will be in British Colombia. Luongo has been pulled twice this series, which surely has knocked him back mentally, especially after what he said about Thomas the day before game 6. Boston got to him early and often game six and got him off the ice before the 10 minute mark of the 1st period, scoring 3 times on only 8 shots. Granted some of these goals followed some sloppy play from Vancouver, as well as some undisciplined actions (Alex Edler: Boarding, Team penalty: Too Many Men) but Luongo was beat clean on the short side from not the best angle on a shot by Brad Marchand at even strength. I do not believe this will happen, but keep Vancouver's backup, Corey Schnieder in the back of your head because he might get some time on the ice. And I'm using might very loosely because it still is game 7.

Vancouver needs production from it's top line. I think everyone can agree with me there. Henrick Sedin has only 1 point this entire series and it didn't mean too much to his squad because they were already down 4 goals in the 3rd period. And his Twin Brother, Daniel, has only 2 points this series (0g, 2a). I'm not saying a comeback was totally impossible but Tim Thomas is too good of a goalie to let that happen. Boston has had no trouble getting pucks in the net, in Boston, but Vancouver has been a different story. The Bruins have only 2 goals in the Rogers Centre which leads some concern that there could be a repeat of games 1 and 5. Boston has the depth to score in this series with at least 9 players, give or take, with a goal. As well does Vancouver, but the real difference is that when Boston wins...it's an absolute shellacking. And when the Canucks win...they squeak out of a dead lock in either overtime, or late in the 3rd period.

Offensive Keys to the game:
Van: Get Boston's D-men tired, to try and force them out of position and knock in a few around Thomas.
Bos: Get to the net early!! Rattle Luongo off his game.

X-Factors:
Van: Jannik Hansen... Most people would say either of the Sedin twins, but they are expected to perform, and granted they haven't shown much this series, Game 7 is do or die. Here's my opinion with Hansen...Because Vancouver lost Mason Raymond in game six due to a fractured Vertebrate, Hansen is now up on the second line with Ryan Kessler and Christopher Higgins...Expect Hansen to give that line some more body to push Boston around a little more. If he can manage to win the puck down low, Hansen can then make some nifty passes into the slot or back to the blue line.

Bos: Mark Recchi... Originally I was going to pick Chara on this but considering Boston's lack of scoring in Vancouver, they will need the guy who's won the cup twice to help lead Boston to the back of the net. Recchi is that man, with 3 assists in game 6 Recchi has proved to still be a playmaker and can provide scoring opportunities which Boston will need in Vancouver

Boston wins in Overtime 2-1, goal by David Krejci, and the Cup stays in the states.

Let me know what you think!!! I'm open for conversations!!!

Every Game is Deserving of Attention

First off I would like to congratulate Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitski, Mark Cuban and the Dallas Mavericks organization on their first ever NBA championship. A hard fought season led to this day and you gentlemen most definitely deserved to raise that fancy trophy. 

As we all know this will be the top head line tomorrow for sports networks such as ESPN, and it will be the top headline the following day, and then the day after. When day 3 rolls around it feels like i'm watching these media giants play the same thing over and over again just because I have nothing else to watch on TV (I don't have satellite or dish :/). And sometimes that's the case. Just for the record, the NHL is in the Stanley Cup Final, with what many people would agree to as probably the best series of this year's postseason. With that in mind, how much coverage outside of the NHL network does this really get? Let's just say Barry Melrose, Hockey analyst for ESPN makes alot of money for about 2 minutes of airtime each time Sportscenter plays through the hour. That is if they don't want to talk about the L.A. Lakers season ruining 3 game losing streak in Mid-January. So they lost 3 games in a row...Kobe is off his game, does this really need to be something that's talked about for 30 minutes? I find it hard to believe that it does. I take nothing away from basketball and how it clearly is one of the most watched sports in this country, I myself am not a basketball player at a whopping 5 feet 9 inches I'm far from being a center, and even a point guard for that matter.

Look at it this way, about a week ago, sportsnation was doing their weekly highlight bracket. Clip numero uno was Dirk being Dirk and using his massive frame against whoever the Miami Heat defender was (Chris Bosh?) to score a layup with 3 seconds left in Game 1 of the Finals. Great skill in getting to the basket and definitley clutch play I would have to say. Clip numero dos was Lionel Messi (Argentinian Soccer Superstar) scoring a goal with his left foot, through 3 defenders, bending away from the goalkeeper all while at a near sprinting pace. Truly a piece of work, also adding that Messi is no older than a recent college graduate. I could be sounding a little biased here but as far as skill required to complete these clips, I feel as though the soccer goal blew the layup out of the water (or the pitch). But in the end, Dirk Nowitzki's "incredible" layup that he does 15 times a single game beats out a remarkable shot from Messi.

Baseball...America's pastime, everyone can play it no matter the age, gender, color, you name it. 15 games into the season and can someone please tell me why they are talking about October already?! Many people misunderstand me when I say baseball is boring or overexposed. I say this in regard to spring training and postseason predictions 6 months ahead of time. There is no reason to look that far into the future and there are too many variables that can affect a teams course throughout the season. But these guys who are paid an incredible amount of money to play a game perplexes me. Yes I know the New York Yankees have the most coveted history in sports and yes I'm aware that one of the hardest things to do in all of sports is to hit a 97 mph fastball. Trust me I wouldn't even want to have someone throw a beach ball at me at that speed. I enjoy going to the occasional Red Wings game down at Frontier Field (AAA League) and hoping the taco guy strikes out so I can get a free taco at Taco Bell. But it's mid April and "Insert baseball player name here" has a strained groin. While down in The Nation's Capital, defensemen for the Washington Capitals, just took 6 ounces of vulcanized rubber to the lower jaw and somehow managed to comeback and finish out the thrid period. Does it seem strange that the guy who strained his groin from "sprinting to 3rd base" gets more attention than something that could end a man's career and possibly his life in an instant?

As far as these media giants and all the stories they play over and over, there is a lot that is undermined in the heart of several other sports. I just watched the college rugby championships the other week...I still think you have to be mentally i'll to play that sport but it really was incredible what these young men were doing and I have taken a new interest in it. I'm sure sportscenter and ESPN don't because so-and-so is now on a 3 game losing streak and they only have 85 games left to make that deficit up.

I'll leave on this note, all sports and games have great moment and one of a kind accomplishments.I said all sports for a reason but in the eye's of the media, right now it only seems like it has to be a Lebron moment, or another steroid doping allegation.

Comments? Questions? Opinions? I'm more than willing to listen...Hell I didn't come up with this just cause I was that bored. I kinda was though :)