Who am I, sir?

A Utah man am I, sir, and will be til I die!

I had the pleasure of attending Utah basketball's win over Wyoming yesterday. It's always great to get back to the U of U campus and it's always better when they win. I think this is the 4th time I've gone in the last 12 months and the Utes have won every time I've gone. I guess Coach Boylen's motivational speeches of "Win this one for the D Train" are really paying off.

In addition to the game, the University of Utah was celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Jon M. Huntsman center. This brought back memories, for me, of going to basketball camps there during the Rick Majerus years. In addition to the jolly fat man, I was also privileged enough to learn from such Utah greats as Keith Van Horn, Michael Doleac, Hanno Mottola, and perhaps the greatest guard in Utah history, Andre Miller.

Meeting and learning from Andre Miller is of particular fondness for me as I was able to see him as a truly poor college student. I remember during basketball camp, some of us had some down time and we went into the Utah locker room. I saw in Andre's locker a notebook filled with doodles, among a few actual notes. As I was leaving the locker room and passing the south doors of the Huntsman Center, I saw Andre roll up in a gray/silver car that looked to be either a Gremlin or a Yugo. This dude was POOR. And incredibly unassuming. When he would coach our team during camp, he spoke so softly that he sounded like he was whispering. In addition to this, I don't think anyone realized how good he was really going to be. Coach Majerus, when talking about Andre, said, "We expect pretty good things out of this kid." How about leading the Utes to the National Championship game in 1998? Keith Van Horn only ever made it to the Elite Eight.

So I guess since I'm writing on my beer blog, I should tell you about the beer of the night. I, of course, wasn't able to drink at the game, but afterward I had the extreme pleasure of going with my good friend Jill to the Red Butte Cafe. Red Butte is a member of the Pub Group Restaurants and, as such, has both amazing food and amazing beer. The beer includes those from the Desert Edge Brewery and the Moab Brewery. My consistent favourite, and possibly the best beer in Utah, is the UPA (Utah Pale Ale). When in doubt, I always order this and last night was no exception. Perfect balance of hops, with the unfiltered bitterness of a lighter ale. Truly delicious and I enjoyed every part of dinner.

Cheers to the boys in red! Here's to 40 more years of basketball mediocrity (with the occasional great season), football superiority, and gymnastics domination!

Mo's on Sundays

I know I've talked about Mo's Bar & Grill on Sunday nights before, but I don't think many people get how fun this endeavor really is. Let me tell you what this place offers, in a nutshell. A FREE comedy show featuring some of Salt Lake's Finest. In addition to my brother, regulars include the up and coming Cody Eden, Christopher Stephenson, Levi Rounds, Ryan Doud, and the frat boy Josh Whitaker. On top of this, you get some of the cheapest beer and food served by the coolest bartenders and servers. Yours truly goes there, snags some beer, and gets caught up on grading while being entertained by the truly raw Salt Lake comedians. You see, this place isn't censored like other comedy clubs around. And it's on a Sunday night so you don't have to deal with...families. Yeah, families.

Anyway, come out to Mo's on Sunday nights starting at 10:00 for cheap drinks, cheap food, and free local comedy. Always a good time!

Here's a video of Cody Eden at Mo's. As honest a portrait as I could give you, and for once, NOT my brother. Enjoy!


Fast food and fun science facts.

Cody Eden | MySpace Video

Ah, the Birthday Beer

I had the honour of celebrating not one, but two birthdays this last week. The first was that of my very dear friend Shance. As some of you know, Shance is a bartender at The Woodshed, formerly owned by my other friend and basketball teammate Benny. Well, Benny sold the bar and the new owner, coincidentally, hired Shance. Luckily for us, though, Shance was not working that night, but was rather the guest of honour. I had the whole night planned out so I wouldn't have to drive. I walked to the bar while my brother, John, had taken the car to do comedy in Tooele. John finished his set at about 11:30, which got him to the bar just in time to drive my drunk ass home. Shance hired a great DJ for the night and I had a fantastic time. In addition to catching up with old friends, the drinks at The 'Shed really are some of the cheapest in the city (Voted best Cheap Drinks 2008 by City Weekly).

Then on Saturday it was time to celebrate the 21st birthday of my good friend Anna. This girl is stunningly beautiful, as evidenced by her being a contestant in the Miss Utah USA pageant in October. It was so fun to see her drinking legally and the night was highlighted by her dancing on the piano to Sir Mix-a-Lot's "Baby Got Back". Effing hilarious and it fulfilled my fantasy of singing that song as if in natural conversation ("So Fellas." "Yeah?" "Fellas." "Yeah?" "Has your girlfriend got the butt?" "Hell Yeah!" "So shake it." "Shake it?" "Shake it." "Shake it?" "Shake that healthy butt. Baby got back!")

Now here was the tricky part with both of these birthday celebrations. I'm BROKE. Couldn't afford birthday presents and could barely afford to by birthday beverages for the guests of honour. Luckily I have the world's coolest friends and Shance was a cheap date (again, Woodshed is THE place for cheap drinks) and Anna had enough people buying for her that I snuck by without buying (I owe her). Great times were had by all and I had more than my fill of beer.

Happy Birthday Shance and Anna! This one's for you!

Bring it on out, how about this Jazz!

John: "You sure? We still have two more quarters of basketball."
Me: "Good point, better get a tall boy."
And thus I drink 24 more ounces of Budweiser as the Jazz take care of the Rockets in Houston. It was an ugly game, but it was made less ugly by my second favourite basketball companion, ice cold beer. My brothers and I have it worked out to a pretty exact science. When we go to Jazz games in person, we get good and hammered at home and then TRAX it to the game. Once there, we like to average a beer per quarter. This is easily accomplished by taking advantage of the ESA's policy of 2 beers at a time. Snag 2 before the game, snag 2 more at halftime. This leads to full enjoyment of the contest while minimizing the effect on one's wallet (we always buy cheap seats too).

When watching the Jazz on TV the science is a little less exact. As evidenced by the conversation between John and I during Tuesday's game, the main goal is to always have a beer in hand. I had run out of beer at halftime and was toying with the notion of watching the second half without said libation. John took good care of his brother and the situation was quickly remedied at a reasonable $2 cost.

Now, before I had the pleasure of watching a game on my brother's new 46" high def flat panel TV, I had the privilege of attending not one, but two Jazz games in person. To make a long story short, I was trying to meet up with a friend who had season tickets both times and failed as a result of not knowing how to work my new phone. I did, however, have two of the best Jazz game experiences I've ever had. The first was made fun by the constant pursuit of my friend with absolutely nothing to go on. I had 1 beer that night and it was delightful (Bud Light Wheat). The second was made fun by giving up on my friend early and instead trying to find my brother. I had two beers this game (Budweiser both times) and ended up sitting alone in a sea of awesome, younger fans. I've gotta tell you, there is nothing like being surrounded by young fans, many of whom are attending their first game. They get excited about absolutely everything, and every chant you do is new to them (they had seriously never chanted "DEFENSE!" before).

So there you have it, watching the Jazz with my old friend beer. The only thing better is watching them with friends, and I always make sure and have them handy. Cheers to our boys in blue!

Had an amazing night out.

At Avenue Q with a great friend. No beer, but this still seemed like the best place to post. Enjoy!

This is why I love Dane Cook.

I'm completely sober.

One for the Ages

Don't even know where to begin. This has been the most beautiful pain I've ever felt. And I owe it to knowing all my friends. I don't play favourites, but you know who you are. You leave me alone with nothing but scars. You gave me this face so I could use my ears to let you use what I like to choose. I only choose when I have no choice, and lately I've felt that I have no voice.

So this one's for you, and you and YOU, and especially me because you know what's true. So here goes nothing it's a Cat in a Hat. If you like it then you dig it and I'll give it right back.

Peace and Love

D Train

Lady Gaga, Poker Face Riff