Thank you, Al Gore, for creating the internet, and therefore, allowing for this blog to exist.

My brother Bram has never been mentioned in this blog before and may never be mentioned again, but today, he deserves this mention.

His MSN name today reads, "Had Gore won, there'd be snow."

Nick Lachey at the Grey Cup?

I'm over a month late on this observation but I saw an old article in the National Post that said Nelly Furtado was not the first choice for halftime performer at the Grey Cup (That's the CFL's championship game for those who don't know... that's like the NFL of Canada... FOOTBALL GAME). Do you know who was? Well I ruined it in the title. Yes, Nick Lachey. Nick Lachey? Nick Lachey to football is like Andy Dick to a caged streetball match... someone is going to get hurt.

Raps News & Notes

I was at the Second Annual Chris Bosh Foundation Xmas Bash this past weekend, and I asked Chris Bosh about his knee injury -- he said he’s feeling physically "OK," he just needs to let his knee rest a bit before jumping back into action. I also asked Chris about which former Raptor (from the past few years) he misses the most. The answer? — “Alvin Williams. He’s just such a hard worker and good guy, but his health wouldn’t let him play. I hope he gets healthy and gets back to league,” said Bosh.

I also got to talking with Fred Jones, and I was asking him about his injury. He says he’s "alright" but immediately launched into talking about his shooting slump. He went on about how he was struggling and what not— let’s hope it’s not as deeply engrained in his psyche as it appear to be. Like Nicholas Cage in Moonstruck, he needs to just "snap out of it!"

It has been rumoured online that Jerome Williams was thinking of coming out of retirement— so, being the basketball keener I am— I asked. He laughed, and said he was thinking about. Joey G piped in and started making fun of him – calling him old and what not - but Joey agreed they could use the rebounding help.

And finally, I was asking around, seeing if I could find any funny stuff about Chris Bosh that no one else would know. Didn’t find much, but Darrick Martin was telling me that Chris can fall asleep anywhere, anytime— kind of like everyone’s grandfather.

The York Report

Two quotes from Marty York's column in Metro over the past week, which, if you know anything about Marty, need no explaining, though I will add some context after the last quote:

"Some Toronto players still think Sam Mitchell is a bad coach and want him replaced — the sooner, the better. And, if you hear or read otherwise, consider the source."

"By the way, basketball writer Steve Buffery, who has been known to take unfair shots at sports writers, is no longer with the Toronto Sun, sources say."

And now for that context, here's an excerpt from Buffery's Nov. 23 column, addressing a York column from last month that quoted an unnamed Raptor who "said" he wanted Sam Mitchell fired:

"...never mind that the article's author is a veteran muckraker with no credibility, who was long ago run out of the mainstream Toronto media. In fact, the writer in question has rarely, if ever, been spotted inside the Raptors locker room at the Air Canada Centre. His sources are said to be certain season ticket holders desperate for a sense of importance."

Where the Buffalo Roam

I'm too young to know Peter Boyle for anything other than playing the angry grandfather in Everybody Loves Raymond. If I saw Young Frankenstein, I'm too young to remember, and really should see it again, or for the first time.

A few months ago however, I became a fan of Hunter S. Thompson and went to the local big box chain (you want a mention, you pay for an ad) and picked up "Where the Buffalo Roam," a film from 1980 starring Bill Murray as Hunter and Mr. Peter Boyle as his sidekick/attorney.

Watch something else that he appeared in so you don't remember him as an angry old man, because he was far from it, as the Raymond cast told Larry King today.

So even though he's not bitter and cruel, I'll still quote his best line from Raymond.

"You're a trophy wife? What contest in hell did I win?"

Now moving on to Paul Arizin, one of the 50 greatest NBA players of all time, who also died Wednesday. My only memory of him was opening a pack of cards, commemorating the NBA at 50, given out at a Raptors game about 10 years ago and finding an Arizin card. Sorry Paul, you retired 21 years before I was born, that's all I got.
I have an inappropriate joke that I would like to share but I won't. I'll save it until the New Year when it will still be "too soon" but at least not on the day of their deaths.

"Now that's an addiction"

Here's the Youtube clip of the moment. Bob Saget at a college singing "Danny Tanner is not gay."

Grammys

So here's the scoop on the Grammy Awards. The nominations will be announced today (Thursday) at about 11:30 a.m. ET. Every year, several artists attend the press conference to announce the nominees, and surprise surprise, they all become nominees.

So if there is some sort of way to place a wager, here's the list of artists who will be announcing the Grammy Award nominees tomorrow, which means yes, they too will be nominated: Mary J. Blige, James Blunt, Chris Brown, Josh Groban, Evanescence's Amy Lee, Ludacris, Corinne Bailey Rae, Rascal Flatts, Justin Timberlake, and KT Tunstall.

andPOP has interviewed Blige, Blunt, Lee and Bailey Rae all this year… four Grammy nominees interviewed by andPOP… not a bad year.

Jerry Stiller can beat up your grandfather any day of the week

Watching King of Queens is a guilty pleasure, but should I have to feel guilty about watching it?

Critics hate the show, almost as much as they hate Yes, Dear. But King of Queens has been on the air for nine years and is in serious syndication. So why do I have to hide my laughter when Doug mispronounces a word like situation?

I will not hide my laughter any longer.

I am happy King of Queens is back on the air tonight for its final season. I thought it was cancelled, and I did not shed a single tear, not will I shed a tear of happiness now that's it back for one last hurrah. But I will watch it. And I am not ashamed to admit it.
(Note: my computer was hijacked. I didn't really write this post, just for the record.)

Shaq Fu

Remember when the Fu-Schnickens recorded a song with Shaquille O'Neal? Music at its best. He should have never stopped rapping.