One of the many reasons that makes the La Crosse area so great is the scenic drives, ranging from gorgeous farmlands to the scenic bluffs. I've driven to many different corners of the country, and I will argue that the drive on 14/61 from La Crosse to Winona is one of the most gorgeous drives in the country. The only drive that I've been on that rivals that is Highway 77 that runs north/south through the foothills of the Appalachians in North Carolina. In this link right here, you can take some pride in Wisconsin and vote for the Great River Road as the prettiest drive in America.

This play was brought to my attention this morning, having happened last night during a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Boston Red Sox. I've never seen anything like it.

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=espn:7939962

Growing up, I hated Michael Jordan. I loved basketball, but I hated the fact that he and the Chicago Bulls were so good and dominated the 1990s. As I got older, I came to really respect his ability and what he was able to do on the basketball court, especially the "Flu Game" against the Utah Jazz. When I saw the Gatorade commercial highlighting that game a few weeks back, I thought it was a genius spot. I never thought that it was trying to claim that Gatorade had magical powers. It was just a damn good commercial. In fact, here's the spot I'm talking about.


Great commercial, which is why I think this article is a joke.
The Public Health Advocacy Institute is claiming that then spot "encourages teens to engage in dangerous behavior." So they're not supposed to play sports? Right. C'mon people.

In case you're not aware, the Milwaukee Brewers have a pretty special baseball player in Ryan Braun. Last night he hit three home runs, and each was different. The first homer he went with the pitch to opposite field, the second he hammered into deep left field, and the final one was a line drive. Oh yeah, then he had a triple too. Matt Kemp is the MVBP of the NL right nbow, but I have a feeling that May might be pretty nice for Mr. Braun.

http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/gameday/index.jsp?gid=2012_04_30_milmlb_sdnmlb_1&mode=recap_away&c_id=mil#gid=2012_04_30_milmlb_sdnmlb_1&mode=video

Ryan Braun.
Aaron Rodgers.
Jonathan Lucroy and Yovani Gallardo.

Four of my five favorite people. (And you too, Mom.)

 I'm not someone who video chats very often, but seeing how fake and superficial our society is as a whole, I'm not totally surprised by this article. I am surprised that men had chin augmentations more often than women though, as evidenced here.
"There were nearly 21,000 chin augmentations last year, a 71 percent increase from 2010, according to the release. Women had nearly 10,100 procedures, a 66 percent increase, and men had almost 10,600 procedures, a 76 percent increase."

Really dudes? Come on. Buck up and lift a weight or two. Maybe even go for a jog.

Disagree with her politics if you'd like. I have no problem with this.

I hope to be half the man this guy apparently was.

I love watching The Masters every year because of the history and the tradition, and you can tell that it just means a little bit more to the players. The days leading up to the tournament are also quite interesting, with the practice round and the par-3 tournament. It's on my sports bucket list to make it down to Augusta to watch The Masters. This video is simply incredible, but I can't tell if Martin Kaymer is that good or if he got lucky...

The new commercial is pretty good...but I'm fairly certain this would be called a balk.

This Friday, I will be making my first of many pilgrimages to Miller Park this season to watch the Milwaukee Brewers in action, and today I received the delightful news that Wisconsin's own Laura Kaeppeler, the current Miss America, will be throwing out the first pitch. This pleases me greatly. And judging by the looks of her, I'd say she's going to be throwing a "curve" ball.

I bought $5 worth of lottery tickets today, and I fully intend on taking home $640 million so if you bought a ticket, I'm sorry to say that you're just not going to win. When I win, and after I pay off my student loans and buy a house for my parents, here's what I'll be purchasing...

A house with a decked out man cave...

...an Audi R8...

...a tiger...

...a sweet helicopter...

...the Milwaukee Brewers...

...a personal chef...

...and a ski mountain. Could I get all of that for roughly $300 million? I don't see why not.

In the NBA, when a player doesn't play, it's normally for a pretty decent reason. Ankle sprains, broken wrists, bereavement leave...you name it. Tim Duncan, who is universally respected as one of the greatest players of all time, recently turned 36 years old, and it appears that his longtime coach, Gregg Popovich, had some fun with him. You see, since it is a condensed season, many coaches are giving veterans the occasional night off, sometimes known as a DNP, or "Did not play". A lot of times they'll write down some b.s. excuse, like a nagging hamstring injury, but Popovich just told it like it is. Duncan's reason for not playing? DNP-Old.

I came across this article, where some employers are asking job applicants to hand over their Facebook passwords as a part of the interview process. Apparently these employers are not content simply seeking out the Facebook page, but they want to get a look "under the hood" and read messages and check out more of what that applicant is all about. Sounds like an egregious invasion of privacy, but if your dream job came calling, would you let them have a look-see at your account?

What is it with Hall of Fame quarterbacks in the NFL? It seems that they hardly ever get to end their careers how they'd like, even if they have been some of the most popular and proficient players in the most popular league in America for over a decade. Peyton Manning's release from the Colts today is just another in the long line of QB's who have unceremoniously left the teams that they have called home thier whole career. Johnny Unitas, Joe Montana, Brett Favre all found new teams. Troy Aikman suffered injury and couldn't continue. And hell, even Drew Brees is struggling to get a contract from the Saints. It will be interesting to see where Peyton ends up. My money is on Dan Snyder's money in Washington.

Sometimes you gotta just be amazed at the human body. 

Stephanie Decker, left, a 36-year old mother from Indiana, selflessly threw her body over her two children to help shield them from the tornado that struck that state last Thursday.

Her children survived unscathed, and, as this link says, Decker was being hit by "pillars, beams, furniture, everything was just slamming into my back." She survived as well, but will have to have part of both of her legs amputated. It's a miracle that all three survived.

I don't like paying $7 for a popcorn at the movie theatre. Nobody does. But you kind of figure, you want it so bad when you're watching the movie, you shell out a little extra. I'm just as guilty as all of you of sneaking in snacks every once of a while, but suing the theatre after you get caught? Might be a little much.

From now on, you can call me Giancarlo.

If you're a baseball fan, you might be familiar with the exploits of the rightfielder formerly known as Mike Stanton, a slugger for the Miami Marlins. He's a man's man (not unlike myself), standing 6-foot-5 and weighing 250 pounds. He also hits baseballs really really far.



Well he's gone as Mike for the majority of his professional career. According to an article here, "His mom calls him Cruz. Teammates call him Bigfoot." But his full name, according to the article, is "Giancarlo Cruz Michael Stanton. He's not Italian, and Giancarlo isn't a family name -- his parents just liked it."

So here's the question. If you had the option to go as Giancarlo or Mike, which would you choose?

This will be my daughter some day. Not her specifically, but an incarnation like her. You know what I mean. Unless I have boys (fingers crossed!).