To Live is to Die(t): Improvements in Past Month & Things I Need to Work On (Chapter 3)

So it's been about about a month since I started working out. While I haven't seen the results that I'd like on the scale, I remain optimistic that as long as I keep eating better and exercising, things will be better long run.

Some definite improvements

1. No fountain drinks/Diet Coke in the past month - Strange thing is, I'm not even missing it all that much. Strange only because I was used to drinking close to 100 oz of it daily (sick, I know). Even though my intention was to avoid drinking it for a month, I'm going to see how long I can go without drinking it.
2. Limited Fast Food - Outside of one trip to Wendy's last weekend (bacon cheeseburger & 5 nuggets), I've been able to avoid fast food for the past month. I've had Subway/Jimmy Johns a few times a week in the past month & also been eating a lot more cooked food (or food bought from the grocery store, like Lean Pockets).
3. More protein/cooked meals - In lieu of bad food from the fast food joints, I've been getting in the habit of eating cooked things more. I've had at least 2 or 3 egg-based meals a week - seeing as though eggs are one of the few things I cook. Otherwise, I've had my lovely girlfriend helping me out with that.
4. Working out 3/4 times a week - I've been able to fit in this many workouts (gym and at home on the treadmill) in the past month. I believe I can keep up with this.

Now, the downfalls/things I can still improve upon:

1. Need to do more workouts at gym - It's nice to be using the treadmill at home, but I feel like I don't do as much cardio on it versus actually going to the gym. Something about the 10 minute trip to the gym makes me want to get more out of my workout. Plus there's multiple ways of doing cardio at the gym versus only one at home. One of the reasons I've lost less than two pound
2. Need to eat more healthy stuff - While I have made some strides in eating, there's still a lot I can do to improve my diet. I have been eating more fruits, but I need to find a way to eat more veggies. This will be a challenge. I'd say I've been doing well with it, but there's always something to improve upon here.
3. Beer - This has been something I haven't scaled back on as much as I should. Wednesday and Friday nights usually have me in social situations, which means a few beers. I'll need to cut back on these drinks or perhaps switch to a lower calorie options.

After a month, I've only lost a couple pounds. While that's not exactly where I wanted to be, I feel like I'm on the right track (major cliche alert). I appreciate the tips that people have given me concerning the dieting/working out, as I don't know the right way to do it.

I'll be out of commission blog-wise next week, as I will be in Costa Rica on a work trip (woo hoo!). I'm hoping to continue my healthy ways when I go down there for 5 days.

We're Talkin' Baseball: 2012 MLB Preview

Updated 3-3-12

As far as offseasons go for baseball, this one had a little bit of everything.

The top two free agents in MLB move out of the NL Central much to the delight of the Reds, Pirates, Cubs and Astros. Albert "El Hombre" Pujols signs a rich deal with the Angels, while Prince Fielder gets a king's salary from a Detroit Tiger squad that is looking to take the next step in the AL.

A current MVP was revealed to have a suspicious drug test back in December. Luckily for the Brewers, Ryan Braun will not have to face a 50-game suspension (at this current time anyways) after a panel overturned the tests on the grounds that the samples were mishandled.

Josh Hamilton continues to face his inner demons and may have cost himself a shot at a big contract after his drinking incident earlier this month.

Oh, and the Chicago side of things - each squad loses a pitcher to the Marlins. On the Sox end, most of us actually wanted our hurler (Buehrle) to stay in the city limits, but the length of contract in addition to playing for Ozzie Guillen again was enough to wisk him away from the South Side. Meanwhile, everyone knew Big Z would be gone. As a 4th or 5th starter on a loaded Marlins staff, Zambrano could give the Marlins the necessary pitching depth to compete with the Phillies for the NL East crown.

Aside from those moves, not much can be said about Chicago baseball teams' chances in 2012. Given his track record in Boston, Theo Epstein gives the Cubs a great chance to rebuild their minor league system. While they are a longshot to make the playoffs this year, I'd say that Cubs fans are probably feeling a little more optimistic about their future than the Sox, and that has everything to do with Epstein.

The White Sox were in a clear rebuilding mode this offseason, shipping away Quentin & last year's closer Sergio Santos while letting Buehrle sign with Miami. Chris Sale is the unknown as he enters his first year in the starting rotation, which features John Danks, Gavin Floyd, Jake Peavy and Phil Humber.

My friend Nick highlighted in his White Sox preview a few weeks back that the South Siders have a wide range of possibilities depending on how things fall into place. You could probably say that about any team, but I see his point. You have to figure Adam Dunn will get things somewhat figured out, but will it be his standard .250/40/100 remains to be seen. I believe Rios' one good season a couple years back was the exception in what has been a lackluster career given his hype as a prospect.

I don't know how much longer Konerko can keep these numbers up as he continues to get up there in age. The starting staff seems to be their best chance of success, with Sale being the X-factor. We already know Peavy will only start 20-25 games - he can be penciled in for a couple DL stints at random points in the year.

Vegas has the White Sox win total at about 74, which I believe they will go OVER. I see a 77-78 win season in the Sox future. Likely 3rd or 4th place finish.

Sorry, getting ahead of myself. Without further ado, here's my predictions for the MLB season.

All over/under victory totals are from 5dimes.com as of 3/3/12.

AL East - Favorites: Yankees; Other contenders: Red Sox, Rays. Thoughts: After entering 2011 the favorites following some offseason moves, the Red Sox find themselves projected behind the Yankees in the division entering this year. New York's big move in getting stealing Michael Pineda from the Mariners solidifies their staff. They will have enough offense to hold off the other squads. I say Rays take second and win the American League Wild Card.

AL East	O/U
NYY	93	Over	94-68
TB	86.5	Over	91-71
Bos	89.5	Under	87-75
Tor	80.5	Over	82-80
Balt	69.5	Under	65-97

Pick: Yankees (w/ Rays winning Wild Card) - rest of division in order (Red Sox, Blue Jays, Orioles)

AL Central - Favorites: Tigers; Other contenders: none. Thoughts: Out of the six divisions in MLB, this division has (by far) the biggest gap between first and second place (at least on paper). The Indians have a mid 80s win projection and are expected to finish 2nd behind the Tigers, with the Royals around 80 wins and the Sox behind them. I still think there's questions with the Tigers' pitching staff behind Verlander, but their stellar offense should be enough to win the division.

I think the Royals are heading in the right direction and would be my pick to be the surprise team of the AL this year. Not enough to take the division yet, but perhaps in 2013.

AL Central	O/U
Det	92.5	Over	94-68
KC	80.5	Over	83-79
Cle	78.5	Over	81-81
Sox	74.5	Over	78-84
Min	73.5	Under	69-93

Pick: Tigers - rest of division in order (Royals, Indians, White Sox, Twins)

AL West - Co-Favorites: Rangers & Angels; Other contenders: none. Thoughts: The Angels made the biggest splashes by picking up Big Al and CJ Wilson in less than a 12 hour span.  Many are projecting them to overtake the Rangers for the division crown, but I still have my money on the Rangers. The Angels could take the Wild Card, but I'm a big fan of the Rays and what Joe Maddon has done in what was once a sesspool of a franchise and now is a perennial contender despite their small payroll.

AL West	O/U
Tex	91	Over	92-70
LAA	92.5	Under	90-72
Oak	71.5	Over	74-88
Sea	72	Under	67-95

Pick: Rangers - (w/ Angels winning Wild Card*) - rest of division in order (A's, Mariners)

*Pick Added w/ New Wild Card Format announced at end of February

Looks like I have the same AL playoffs as last year. Not what I set out to do, but that's how I see it.

On to the NL...

NL East - Favorites: Phillies; Other contenders: Nationals, Marlins, Braves. Thoughts: This division takes the crown as the most competitive division in baseball, edging out its AL directional counterpart. I like most of the moves that the Marlins made, and with Josh Johnson back in the rotation to join Buehrle, Ricky Nolasco, Anibal Sanchez and Zambrano, the Marlins have formed one of the better rotations in baseball. Not to mention they signed Reyes (who should still have a few good years in him) and have a nucleus of Mike Stanton & Hanley Ramirez, whose only worry is how he will adjust to moving to a new position.

Maybe I'm drinking the Nationals' Kool-Aid, but I have them as my NL breakout team. They also have a solid staff, when, if healthy, stacks up well to the Marlins. Strasburg, Zimmerman, Gio Gonzalez and Edwin Jackson are a solid 4 starters. I have enough faith in them to make them one of my new "Baseball Hats of 2012" in my lifelong goal of collecting a hat from every MLB franchise.

I don't know why, but I'm not sold on the Phillies. Ryan Howard, who is still recovering from an Achilles injury suffered in 2011 postseason, saw most of his key #s dipping in the past 3 years without the injury. Halladay and Lee will keep the Phillies in contention, but I see the Phillies being the 2012 version of the Red Sox - not so much collapse but failing to make playoffs despite heavy odds of making it*.

NL East	O/U
Mia	84.5	Over	92-70
Wash	83.5	Over	89-73
Phil	93.5	Under	88-74
Atl	86.5	Under	81-81
NYM	71.5	Over	72-90

Pick: Marlins (w/ Nationals & Phillies* winning the Wild Card). Rest of division in order (Braves, Mets) *Pick Added w/ new Wild Card format just announced

NL Central - Favorites: no clear favorite; Other contenders: Reds, Cardinals, Brewers. Thoughts: This division is the most wide open based on its lack of a clear favorite. Many expect the Cardinals to take a step back w/ the loss of Pujols and LaRussa, but they always seem to find a way to contend - also, Wainwright will be back. Likewise, Fielder's absence will be hard for the Brewers to fill, but they still have a solid pitching staff.

NL Central	O/U
StL	84	Over	87-75
Mil	84.5	Over	86-76
Cin	86.5	Under	80-82
Cubs	74.5	Under	72-90
Pitt	73.5	Under	69-93
Hou	64	Over	66-96

Pick: Cardinals - rest of division in order (Brewers, Reds, Cubs, Pirates, Astros)

NL West - Favorites: Giants/D-Backs; Other contenders: Rockies, Dodgers. Thoughts: I don't have a good read on this division. No one saw the D-Backs' run coming last year - I see a slight regression to slightly above a .500 record. With Posey coming back and a solid pitching staff, I like the Giants (I'm a sucker for a good pitching rotation). I see them edging out the Dodgers, who have Cy Young candidate Clayton Kershaw & MVP candidate Matt Kemp leading them to a potential division crown that has eluded the franchise as of late.

NL West	O/U
SF	87.5	Over	89-73
LAD	81.5	Over	84-78
Ariz	86.5	Under	82-80
Colo	81	Under	78-84
SD	73.5	Under	68-94

Pick: Giants - rest of division in order (Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Rockies, Padres)


AL Championship: Yankees over Tigers
NL Championship: Marlins over Giants

World Series: Marlins over Yankees (but not because the NL gets home field with their All-Star victory). The Marlins are due for one of their random World Series runs and have a squad that can compete for one.

Random Individual Predictions (aka - R.I.P.):

AL MVP: Miguel Cabrera (Det)...Sleeper: Nelson Cruz (Tex)
NL MVP: Hanley Ramirez (Fla)...Sleeper: Buster Posey (SF)
AL Cy Young: David Price (TB)...Sleeper: Michael Pineda (NYY)
NL Cy Young: Roy Halladay (Phil)...Sleeper: Madison Bumgarner (SF)
AL HR Leader: Jose Cabrera (Tor)...Sleeper: Adam Dunn (CHW)
NL HR Leader: Mike Stanton (Fla)...Sleeper: Jay Bruce (Cin)

With this being said, if you can find a way to fade all of these picks, be my guest. Feel free to offer up your own predictions.

Bolek. Out.

Rest in Peace: The Passing of Two Grandmas & Appreciating My Own More

The past few Wednesdays, I've had something to write about my workout/diet of the most recent week. While I'd like to get to that, there's something that's occurred in the past couple days in my group of friends.

On Monday, I learned of one friend's grandmother passing away - a friend who I've known for the past 13 years and whose family has embraced me as one of their own over that time. As many of us do these days, I caught wind of this news on Facebook, with a family picture of them with their grandma/mother acting as an obituary of sorts. I didn't get a chance to meet this grandma too much, but she had to be a good lady to spawn the family that I know today.

About 48 hours later, I received a text from another friend of mine to let me know his grandma had passed away. Like the friend before, it's a friend I've known for almost half my life now. I've met the grandma - very sweet lady, great person (much like the family that came after her).

My heart goes out to my friends during this time of loss for their families. Fresh in mind, I can relate to their losses. As many of you know, I lost my Grandma Bolek almost 10 months ago. I lived around the block from her from 1986 until her passing last year, so it was hard saying goodbye to a lady who represented what it meant to be a Bolek.

I'm sure my friends can remember a time like me when they were kids and they went over to grandma's place only to get spoiled to death. In my case, my memories of Grandma include playing Store with her and finding the Easter Eggs in the backyard full of change - you always hoped to get the eggs with the quarters in them.

I also remember the delicious chocolate chip cookies my grandma made. No one could ever pass those babies up. I've never seen anyone make cookies since that resemble them. God do I miss them.

These passings have made me remember all the good things about Grandma Bolek, but more importantly, they make me appreciate the grandma that I still can see and talk to. As much as I love my Grandma Bolek, I love my Grandma Raynor just as much. She has always been a great grandmother to me and all of my cousins. I enjoy hearing her laugh when a joke is told - sometimes at her expense. That's just how she rolls. She has the ability to laugh at herself sometimes.

To those of you reading this that still have grandparents alive, make sure you appreciate their existence. You wouldn't be around if it wasn't for them. I'm fortunate that I've had grandparents live into my adulthood so I can appreciate them. I wish my grandpas lived long enough for that, but what can you do? Just appreciate the times you have with your grandparents.

Rest in peace to my friend's grandmas. I wish you and your families nothing but the best in dealing with these tragedies.

Even though you don't know how to operate the Internet and wouldn't be able to read this unless it was on QVC, I'd like to say that I love you Grandma! Make sure you express similar sentiments to your own.

Critique of Whitney Houston Coverage:The Story Not Told

At this time last week, what were your thoughts of Whitney Houston?

Assuming you were in the camp that didn't ignore her problems and thought she wasted away her early successes as a singer on drug use...flash forward a day later - are you still thinking those same thoughts?

Maybe I'm just not connected to people's conversations about musicians and pop culture all that much or I'm watching/reading the wrong coverage, but everything I've heard about Whitney Houston before she died was nothing at all like the thoughts that are coming out now.

When someone with her recent problems passes on, the conversation changes from her being a talent that withered away amid substance abuse issues to forgetting about the problems altogether and just focusing on her career and positive things in life.

With my dad off of work and his habit of watching those Hollywood-heavy shows like Extra and Inside Edition on the boob tube, I could not count how many times I heard a news segment begin with "Annnnd IIIIIIIIIIeeeeeeeIIIIIIIII willllll always love youuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu, ohhhhh" in the past week while working downstairs. Every major network was covering this story as she had never done anything wrong.

A similar situation occurred with the death of Michael Jackson, where the simple mention of his past allegations of child molestation would give you nasty glares from many people in the room, arguably some of his fans.

I never understood why the complete story of people isn't presented when someone dies. Well, I do understand - we want to preserve a positive memory of someone as our first thought when that person's name is mentioned.

But isn't telling the complete narrative (the good and the bad) important to tell? Shouldn't it be mentioned more that the last decade of her life that saw her devolve from one of the world's greatest singers to a person with a substance abuse problem?

I'm not trying to take anything away from what she did as an artist in the 1990s, but for hardly a peep to be mentioned about the whole story of her life puzzles me. It's like the 2000s never happened.

If you were to ask someone who knew little of Whitney Houston to base their opinion of her off the coverage the past week, you'd think she was a saint her whole life.

side note: If Michael Jordan is to pass away in about 10 years and he continues to suck as an NBA owner, I believe it should be noted in the stories about him that he was bad as a basketball executive. But we all know that the Powers-That-Be would write the fluff pieces like they have always wrote about him. The only thing that media people have felt comfortable critiquing him on was his baseball experiment. You hardly ever heard anything about his womanizing or gambling for fear that a media member might lose access to the guy.

I digress.

When it comes for my time to pass on from this Earth, I'd expect people to remember me for the good AND bad of my life. Granted, the bad in my life might be limited to a few moments/time spans in my life. I'd prefer the entire narrative of my life be told, not just the good parts.

In my case, the bad moments in life were the prequel for better moments that were on the near horizon that had a "redemption/comeback story-feel" to them. Some people aren't as fortunate to bounce back from their bad moments to live and tell about it.

That doesn't mean we should ignore that it ever happened. Instead of making all of these pop stars out to be Statue-esque Idols who are above all humans and could do no wrong, let's present them as the humans that they are - a complicated blob of success and failure, littered with good and bad decisions, events and moments along the way that made them the person they turned out to be.

Linough is Linough: The True Comparisons Made Between Lin & Tebow

Since I took my sports blog hiatus a couple weeks ago, a new "Mania" has emerged in the sports world. Just when ESPN and other media outlets thought that they were going to lose ratings/viewers with the disappearance of Tim Tebow from the news cycle, a new world-wide phenomenon started his ascent in the city that already dominated the news cycle earlier in the month with a Super Bowl victory.

Ladies and gentlemen, meet Jeremy Lin.

The undrafted Harvard point guard was out of a job on Christmas Eve when the Rockets released him right before the regular season. The season before, Lin was buried on Golden State's depth chart behind such guards as Stephen Curry & Monta Ellis and saw very little playing time.

A few days after being released, the Knicks picked him up - but they played him very little. Lin played in just 9 of the team's first 23 games, playing in less than 55 total minutes in that time.

By many accounts, he was close to being released again due to the Knicks' depth at the guard position. Luckily, injuries forced Mike D'Antoni's hand as the Knicks coach gave Linn some playing time.

In the 7 games he has played significant minutes (past 6 have been starts), the team has been undefeated. In his 6 starts, he averaged almost 38 minutes per game while averaging 24 points and 9.5 assists in helping lead the Knicks back to the .500 mark and the playoff race.

Comparisons to Tebow

As a result of this performance, Lin has dominated the social media news cycle. Any casual sports fan with a television on in the past two weeks has seen at least a handful of highlights if only watching TV minimally.

With ESPN and other major media outlets shoving the story down our throats, comparisons of the coverage have rivaled that of Tim Tebow. In this madness, people have also gone out of their way to say that their careers have had similar arcs.

I am hear to completely dispel the notion that their careers are parallel as some have been saying. Outside of the media coverage, not much is the same between the two. Since everyone loves charts, I decided to make one that compares the two on many key components of their short careers:

Name	Jeremy Lin	Tim Tebow
Sport	Basketball	Football
Position	Point Guard	Quarterback
Team	NY Knicks	Denver Broncos
Height (according to team site)	6'3"	6' 3"
Weight (team site)	200 lbs	235 lbs
Years in Pros (of current/completed season)	2	2
College	Harvard	Florida
Other Colleges That Recruited Him	Brown	Alabama
Round/Pick that each was picked	Was not drafted	1st Round, 25th pick
Main Reasons for Promotion to Starter	Injuries	Overwhelming popularity/Starting QB Inefficiency
Before he started, fans _________.	never heard of him for the most part.	were quite polarizing regarding his future effectiveness.
When he finally started, his coach ______.	had him run the offense he has always run as coach	changed team's offense around, saying they'd be screwed
		if they ran a regular offense
Team record before he started in 2011-12 season	(9-15)	(1-4)
Team's record in first 8 games started after promotion	(6-0 - does not include game preceding streak - came off bench)	(7-1)
Notable win streak	6 wins (current)	6 wins
What each man averaged during streak:	51% shooting (averaging 17 shots/game)	50.4 Completion% (averaging 20 attempts/game), 7 TDs, 1 Int
	averaging 24.3 pts, 9.5 asts, 6 turnovers,3.8 rbs per game	Averaged 146 yards passing/60 yards rushing
Downfall during streak	Turnovers	Low Completion Percentage, Bad Passes
Shooting/completion % compared to league avg	49.7% Shooting - League Average is 44.4% as of 2/16/12	46.7% Completions - League Average was 60.1%
(includes games not started - 2011-12 stats)
Most Popular Nickname for Hype	Linsanity	Tebowmania
Reasons for Sudden Hype	Long win streak, out of nowhere "feel-good" story	His fourth quarter comebacks (5 total, including 4 in a row)
Many Suspect Hype is Based on…	Race	Religion
Start of Career Hype resembles that & reminds me of…	Kurt Warner	Danica Patrick
Twitter Followers as of 2/16/2012:	380,057 (@Jlin7)	1,216,574 (@TimTebow)

I tried getting through the blog without a Lin pun, but the title itself dispels that notion.

While the chart shows some similarities, the one thing to remember is that the Lin story is changing daily and the mania is likely to level off at some point. That's not to say he can't be a solid point guard in the league for years, but I highly doubt he will maintain his averages once opposing scouts learn of his deficiencies and exploit them.

To say that their careers are similar, particularly when Lin was barely recruited (basically by those two Ivy League schools - a conference not known for their athletics) and Tebow also had an offer to play at Alabama, is hyperbole at its finest.

In either case, for fans of either player, I say the best thing to do is this: enjoy the ride, ignore the critics (including me of Tebow) and hope that their joy rides can last a little while longer.

From Fatness to Fitness: Chapter 2

As you know from last week's writing, I have started working out once again. Unlike my blog towards the end of summer/beginning of fall, I am fully committed to getting back into the great shape that I was back in July 2010.

At that point, I was about 175-180 pounds and working out 4-5 times a week. I could jog three miles in about 25 minutes without much of a problem. Slowly but surely, after I started working from home and going to school full-time, I got fat again. Back up to 220 pounds fat.

Here I am again - right back where I started in November 2008.

Some updates since last week:

• I've been sticking with my "No Fountain/Canned Pop" mantra, although I just had a dream (or maybe a nightmare) that I broke this rule. It's been somewhat difficult not getting my mega amounts of Diet Coke, but not as difficult as I would have thought (given my dependence on it in the recent past).
• The treadmill is no longer a useless machine that has boxes stacked on it - it is now featured in the basement area facing the television. It has been used three times so far and still does not have "Extra Coat Rack" status, although I did recently line up my four new Beer of the Months on the machine. I am hoping to continue using this as a tool for when I cannot make it to the gym.
• My weigh in after leaving the gym today was 218.0, a drop of 1.6 from last week's weight. That brings the total weight to 2.8 pounds in two weeks. I am hoping the pounds start to shed a little more, but the key (as I've learned) is to continue working out and eating better. The goal is 1-3 pounds per week, so I can't complain as I am hitting my goals so far.
• Outside a single order of chicken rings at White Castle, I have also been able to avoid fast foods this month. I feel this, combined with the pop thing, will allow me to trim down and get into better shape.

Some quick lessons I learned this week while working out and dieting:

1. While the treadmill is nice to use, I work out harder when I am at the gym. I used the treadmill on Friday and Saturday in lieu of going to the gym. While I did break a sweat with each work out, I didn't feel the obligation of maximizing my work out the way I would when getting in my car and going three miles down the road.
2. I went about things the right way by not giving up EVERYTHING at once. And by everything, I mean all the bad dietary stuff I do. The fast food and pop are eliminated, but I still continue to enjoy a couple beers every now and then. I don't think I could give up everything bad at once and expect myself to remain level-headed. If anything, if I went about it that way, a severe regression could likely occur and make me want to work out/diet even less than before. I figure some of these continued vices are okay as long as they are done in moderation.
3. Working out while a good pump-up song is on - easy; when John Mayer comes on - not so much. As I mentioned in my Goals blog, one of my objectives for the year has been to listen to my entire I-Pod within a year's time for the first time. I will not skip a song and will listen to each song to its end. Like many people who work out, I use music to get through the process. Didn't really think about the difference between bands and my intensity at the gym. Before, I'd have work out mixes (some purely hard rock, some with some up-tempo hip hop music) that would make workouts a non-stop, intense experience. The motivation to work out through a slow tune must be increased.
4. Speaking of headphones, my most important lesson: just because you have headphones on, doesn't mean that other people can't hear you pass gas. Farting with headphones on is like farting in your sleep - you have little idea on the volume of your doings. Hopefully you're not like me and don't have much gas. In case you are not, just be careful of your surroundings when you're about to let one go. If you're a single guy who might be using the gym as an outlet to meet women, your best bet would be to avoid farting altogether. But if you have to, perhaps just walk over to the bathroom and then walk back to work out might be your best option. Thank God I have a girlfriend who is accepting of this bad trait that my dad will swear I picked up from my mom's side of the family.

Now that I grossed you out with that thought, I shall bid you good night for now.

For my sports-loving people, I'll be writing a sports blog soon. I needed a break after the Super Bowl - another New England/NYG tilt that lightened my wallet. I have a few ideas on blog topics - notably the Jeremy Lin phenomenon and its comparison to Tim Tebow (and how the situations are completely different).

On the Fast Track: The Restarting of My Weight Loss as a Local Fast Food Joint Perishes (Chapter 1)

You may need to lose a pound or ten if the disappearance of a fast food place in your neighborhood makes you mildly depressed.

Last month, I saw the Arby's that's a couple miles away disappear from our town. No, I didn't leave a bouquet of roses next to the building or pour a 40 ouncer on the ground for my dead homie, but I was disappointed that I didn't get to have one last Giant beef sandwich there with the delicious Arby's sauce.

Thinking about this set of events more in-depth made me realize, subconsciously more than anything, that I definitely need to lose some weight.

I think I mentioned this back in August or September on how I wanted to do this. The major difference between then and now is the attitude and dedication: I didn't have it then, I definitely have it now.

I started thinking about a lot of different things:

My upcoming trip to Costa Rica in a month. My brother's wedding in July. My recent back problems that crippled me for a portion of 2011 - which I'm convinced had a little something to do with being overweight again.

How I Ate Your Brother (or: How I Lost My Good Habits)

It's quite easy to pinpoint exactly where I went wrong in my dietary & exercise regimen. After having about three months off of work in 2010 on what I'll call a "vacation", I got hired at my current job that has me working from home. At the very same time, I started a night school program at the Illinois Center for Broadcasting, which had me at the school from 6:30pm-10:30pm three days a week, with me often going there early to get the necessary studio hours that are required to graduate. Often, I spent a 4-5 hour period on the weekends at the school as well, some of that time that in the previous years would have been spent at the gym.

I was able to fit in some workouts at the gym, but definitely not at the 4-5 days/week frequency that I was doing for much of my time since becoming a member (Nov 2008 thru July 2010).

Five times a week devolved into 2-3 times a week, which then became a once a week event after a while.

Before you know it, I stopped going to the gym for months at a time. All 45 pounds I lost during my intense workout period got put back on. Pants started to lose their comfort level as I struggled to put some of them on once again.

To start this year, I had it in the back of my mind that I wanted to go back to the gym. But I knew I'd have to be in the right mindset to do it. Working out and getting into shape is something that has to be done right or you might as well not do it.

As many of you know, I try not making New Year's Resolutions like "Losing Weight", as I believe change should happen at any point of the year, not just the first day.

So Here I Am....

Now that I'm back in the mindset that I was back in November 2008 when I joined the gym, I know that getting back into shape will come in time. I've already started eating better - no Diet Cokes or fountain pops of any kind in the past week & only one fast food appearance on the resume in that same time.

I've been away from my gym for so long that it changed its ownership while I was MIA. I had to get a new card for the gym, which is now Charter Fitness. Today was my 4th time in the gym in the past week.

I'm looking to lose 1-3 pounds a week - my first week I lost exactly 1.2 lbs. For narrative purposes, I started at 220.8 (now at 219.6, for those of you who are math-impaired) and will be weighing myself once a week hoping to reach my goal. Perhaps I'll give an update every now and then

With the better weather coming around, I'll look to take walks on my lunch breaks from working at home. Maybe I'll start walking the chunky dog around the block a little more.

No more will I mourn the loss of a fast food joint. I'm back to embracing Subway and grocery shopping more so I don't have to eat out as much on my lunch breaks.

Rest in peace to the Arbys. Your death, much like the sandwiches of yours I used to eat, will not go to waste.

They're Super (Bowlers), Thanks for Asking!

As the AFC & NFC Championship weekend was about to commence, I was wondering how often a mediocre quarterback has won the Super Bowl. With Alex Smith still in contention, this was a reasonable thing to research.

Smith & the 49ers lost, but that didn't stop me from researching the history of Super Bowl quarterbacks and how many of the quarterbacks were average (or at the very least, not Hall of Fame worthy).

I broke down the QBs into two different eras - Super Bowls I - XXX (1 thru 30 for the Roman Numerically-impaired) & then the rest (many players since then are not eligible for the Hall yet).

I also took a look at the Pro Football Hall of Fame to see how the QBs from the Super Bowl era are represented. I used several sites that verify starting QBs in the Super Bowl history.

Super Bowls I - XXX Era

During this time, there were only 33 different starting quarterbacks in the 30 year period (out of a possible 60). This shows that many QBs stayed dominant for extended periods of time. During this time, 4 distinct dynasties (Green Bay in 1960s, Pitt in 1970s, SF in 1980s & Dallas in early 90s) dominated the league - so the lack of QBs to appear in the big game makes sense.

18 different QBs won championships (7 QBs won multiple titles) in the first 30 Super Bowls. Out of these, 10 are in Canton, with only one QB (Jim Plunkett) that has failed to make it despite winning multiple Super Bowls. The others who won include average slingers like Jeff Hostetler & Mark Rypien. Surely not worthy of HOF-busts.

Of these champions, 21 of the 30 were won w/ a Hall of Famer behind center. I'm not going to break down the other positions, but I'd have to guess that the 70% clip that QBs have in this time frame of going to the Hall of Fame is the best of any position.

I found it strange that only three Super Bowl losers have had Hall-of-Fame QBs in this time frame: Jim Kelly (lost 4 straight), Fran Tarkenton (lost 3) & Dan Marino (lost 1).

That means that the other 22 Super Bowl losers featured a QB that was less-than-Canton-worthy. Names like Joe Kapp, Tony Eason, Stan Humphries & Neil O'Donnell are among those who could be answers to trivia questions of Super Bowl losing QBs.

Bears fans don't need me to mention Rex Grossman, but that's for another day.

Looking at this group of QBs, it makes me think that Alex Smith making a run in the playoffs and potentially making a Super Bowl wasn't as far-fetched as it seemed. Although one point is clearly proven - you may only need to be an average/above-average QB to make a Super Bowl, but you have to be a spectacular QB (HOF-worthy) to win them consistently.

In fact, only 4 QBs of the 18 who have made the Hall of Fame from the Super Bowl era did not make a single Super Bowl (Warren Moon, George Blanda, Don Fouts, Sonny Jurgeson). It definitely helps a passer's chances to go from having a passing chance of making the Hall of Fame to a legitimate one to make at least one or two Super Bowls (and preferably win one or more).

XXXI - current: More of the Same

There's been 15 Super Bowls in this timeframe, and no surprise, Hall of Fame QBs (future and potential) dominate the appearances. Particularly the AFC, who has seen a trifecta of New England, Pittsburgh & Indianapolis appear in 9 of the past 10 Super Bowls - who by no coincidence have 2 sure-bet Hall of Famers & a potential one (Big Ben being in the latter). This time span also includes John Elway's 2 titles before he retired.

While the NFC has had scattered success (the Giants are the first NFC team in the past 11 years to make 2 Super Bowls), it has still had its share of HOF or fringe-HOFers representing them. Among them: Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Brett Favre & Eli Manning - all of which could make the Hall.

Obviously, like the first 30, the past 15 have seen its share of duds. I count 9 QBs of the 19 who made it in this time frame who definitely will not make it, including two winners (Trent Dilfer & Brad Johnson), 5 who will (Brady, Peyton, Favre, Rodgers, Brees) and several question marks (Eli & Big Ben among them).

If you give all of my ? mark QBs the Hall nod, that'd be 10 of 19 QBs from this era in the Hall. The other ? marks I had were for McNabb, Kurt Warner & Bledsoe, with Warner the most likely of the 3 to make the Hall in my opinion.

Compared to the 70% of Super Bowls in the first 30 to feature a Hall of Famer behind center for the champion, this current era has featured 13 of 15 titles won by HOFs or future HOFs (assuming Eli, Warner & Big Ben would make it). With Brady and Eli facing each other this year, it'll be 14 for 16; so 35 of 46 Super Bowls have been won by a HOF-caliber quarterback.

If you wonder why teams scout this position so carefully in hopes of finding the franchise savior, the above stat is why. Getting the right guy behind center, even if it's just for one championship, can be the difference between the Colts building Lucas Oil Stadium & being in Los Angeles right now if they would have drafted Ryan Leaf instead of Peyton.
As far as the QB category of those who have not made a Super Bowl making it to the Hall in this current era, only Tony Romo comes close to that designation at this point, and if you read the blog I just posted, you'd have to imagine he'd have to make a Super Bowl (and probably win it) to get consideration.

XLVI Prediction

With this being the last football blog before the big game, I am being paid by unnamed sources to provide my Super Bowl pick.

Much of the public is on the Giants, as they have hit their stride since their Week 15 loss to the Redskins. Meanwhile, the Patriots have put together the quietest 10 game winning streak ever.  Their bend-but-don't-break defense will be tested by the aerial attack led by Eli Manning, who has greatly benefited from the emergence of Victor Cruz as a top-notch target.

A lot of focus is on the Gronkowski injury, which I believe has gotten a little too much press. Brady has won with crappy receivers before - he wins with subpar receivers better than anyone. And before you say Welker is awesome - I'm in the camp that Brady has made Welker good. His stats broken down:

Pre-New England: 96 catches, 1121 yards, 1 TD in 2 seasons as a receiver with Miami
New England: 111 catches, 1221 yards, 6 TDs AS AN AVERAGE SEASON in 5 years w/ NE

Brady may be the one great QB who doesn't get enough credit for what he has done with such little talent at wide receiver. The only great WR he ever had was Randy Moss, and look what happened the full year that they played with each other. Welker and Hernandez would be sufficient enough of targets for Brady but it looks like Gronk is going to play, which is fantastic for New England.

With how much pressure the Niners got on the Giants line a few weeks ago, I'm surprised that the NE defensive line isn't getting as much attention in the press, particularly Wilfork. I think the Pats will be able to get decent pressure on Eli enough to rattle him.

I'm going Patriots 31-20 (so I'm likely betting Pats -2.5 or 3 and the under of 54).

Good luck to anyone betting this game or anyone who is rooting for either of these teams outside of gambling (you know, that whole fandom thing).

I know my girlfriend is counting down the minutes until football is over and smiling thinking about it, while I'm on the verge of tears as another season ends.

Hey, at least there will be Thursday Night Football almost every week next year!