Parting March Shots

Greensboro, NC -- There's no definitive topic in tonight's blog, just some random musings, as we gear up for the start of the baseball season. One of my favorite Mondays of the year -- and there are only a few of them -- is Opening Day. It's where time ends, and then begins anew. The 2009 MLB predictions by B's Bistro will be posted in this space on Thursday. For now, here are the hot topics...

• The Braves extended Chipper Jones's contract by 3 years/$42M. For an injury prone, about to turn 37 years old player, $14M/year is a ton of cash to invest. Sure, Chipper has restructured his contract a couple of times for the team, and he'll always be an Atlanta Brave, but having your pay cut to $10M/year isn't going to make you or your family go hungry. I think the Braves will be regretting this one.
• The Orioles are assigning uber prospect Matt Wieters to the minors (until mid-May) to delay his arbitration by 1 year. Smart move considering that the Orioles are still 2 years away from contending.
• Mike Rizzo has returned some normalcy to the Nationals front office. The agent for Joe Beimel received a call from Bowden at the end of February, indicating that the Nats had interest in signing him. However, the agent described the interaction between him and Bowden as hot air, or bottom of the barrel shopping by Bowden. Rizzo called Beimel's agent during the first week of March and cordially described the Nats' plans, indicating that if he has a better offer than $2M to take it. Sure enough, Beimel signed with the Nats one week later thanks to Rizzo's honesty and organization.
• Speaking of $14M annual salaries, the Tigers cut Gary Sheffield and his bloated $14M contract. While currently stuck on 499 HR's, Sheffield is going to have a tough time finding work. I'm sure some team will find $400K in their budget in an attempt to make a buck or two off of his 500 HR's campaign. BTW, what's the difference between Sheffield and Bonds? Did Sheff not take steroids, deny using them, became injury prone after he stopped taking them?
• Did you notice that the three out of the four NCAA Final Four teams this year were beaten by George Mason in the 2006 Big Dance?
• What is the lure of going to a historic sports program and trying to revive it... Notre Dame football (Weiss), Alabama football (Saban), and now Calipari to Kentucky? Is it all about the cash?
• U2 has announced their 360 Degrees Tour with a 4-pronged "claw" hovering over a circular stage, planted in the middle of football stadiums. As a longtime U2.com member, I was able to secure my tickets to the show in Charlottesville, VA today (random spot on the tour). The past two U2 tours have been in arenas, and with the instant sellouts, the band was forced to tack on extra shows in that city, sometimes up to 4 shows in a city like Chicago or New York. With the move back to football stadiums, these facilities limit the shows to 1 (sometimes 2) in a particular city. Also, the number of tour stops is much smaller than the last two tours. No North Carolina stops. I'm wondering if the economy has anything to do with it.

Happy Birthday, Schnookies!

No Line on the Horizon

Greensboro, NC -- It's been over three weeks since U2 released their 12th album, No Line on the Horizon. After listening to the album at least two dozen times through now, I can safely say with an unbigoted view that No Line on the Horizon is a top three U2 album. "The new sound," as Bono has proclaimed this month, is much more wide ranging than the narrow minded "new sound" of Pop, a dozen years ago. No Line on the Horizon incorporates some upbeat melodies, fused with some modern machinery, without going overboard with the power theme. Here's my track-by-track insight of the variably sounding album:

1. No Line on the Horizon -- The album leads off with a classic U2 style to it; The Edge's guitar takes over, supported by a solid bass line, and acute drumming. "No, no line on the horizon, no, no line." How can a simple chorus line sounds so good? Bono and The Edge have mastered their harmonizing over their careers to perfect it. In some songs, you don't know if Bono is singing or The Edge; that's perfection.

2. Magnificent -- I predicted that this song would be the biggest hit off of the album, and it's now officially a single. The keyboards and sharp drumming in the opening line, "I was born, I was born to be with you..." is just beautiful music. It's the shortest 5 minute song you'll ever hear. With a nifty drum beat, synthesizers, and angry guitar chords to open the song, one might believe that the remaining sheet of music is one of anger, but it's quite the contrary. It's one of the many anomalies on the album.

3. Moment of Surrender -- This 7 minute masterpiece has taken me awhile to enjoy. The drum and bass lines skew this tune under the "blues" classification. However, Bono's vocals takes a gospel tone. This compression leads to a long, drawn out story that I've yet to fully understand.

4. Unknown Caller -- Following the 7 minute ensemble, U2 comes back with another marathon in this quirky, but cool song. The opening guitar rift sounds like "Peace on Earth" from All That You Can't Leave Behind. Then, enter the drums, and the listener is taken down a different path, back to The Unforgettable Fire's "A Sort of Homecoming." It's a classic Edge guitar piece, but the lyrics have nothing to do with a U2 homecoming. "Restart and reboot yourself" might be the most technical word in the history of U2 lyric.

5. I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight -- This track is slowly becoming my favorite song on the album. The lyrics are simple, the drum beat is catchy, the guitar work is superb, and the shifting bass lines may be the best, subtle part. The song is very neat and compact with short choruses. Bono's improvising of the choruses, "It's not a hill, it's a moouuuuunnnnteeeen" makes it seem longer than it appears.

6. Get On Your Boots -- The first single, IMO, is a "fusion of 'Vertigo' and 'Fast Cars' in one song." I can see listeners getting this pop song confused with "Vertigo" because the DNA of the song is the same. It may be about women taking over the world, but the real intention of the song is for U2 to grab the world's imagination in their upcoming stadium tour.

7. Stand Up Comedy -- I haven't read anything in depth on the meaning of the song, but one line stands out in the bouncy, uptempo track, "I"m little man with big ideas." Was that the purpose of this song -- for that one line? I'm not sure, but for now, I enjoy the melody.

8. Fez - Being Born -- I'm glad that U2 was able to incorporate some of the environment and surroundings where they recorded a majority of the album -- Fez, Morocco. A Middle Eastern twang, coupled with some duplicated lines from "Get On Your Boots" makes this track a must-listen. But, this song is one that must be listened to several times before maximum enjoyment can be obtained.

9. White As Snow -- Sung to the tune of "Come, Come, Emanuel," it's Bono's best vocal performance on the album. Coincidentally, it's also the slowest song, in terms of rhythm, on the album. The story involves a soldier dying in Afghanistan; his last moments on earth. The context can be taken out of proportion and made into a happy story if you don't listen to it carefully.

10. Breathe -- Ever want to hear Bono rap? I feel like Edge's guitar riffs are in a sword fight with Bono's vocals. This track may be the best one on the album in terms of creativity. The melodies intertwine with each other, causing a fireworks style of riffs and beats.

11. Cedars of Lebanon -- I'm not of the Middle Eastern theme, but U2 has a knack to make the last track on an album an interrogative piece -- "Wake Up Dead Man," "Grace," "Yahweh" have all left us hanging and thinking. Same goes for Cedars of Lebanon. In "Wake Up Dead Man," was Bono calling Jesus out before the turn of the millenium? Friends vs. enemies becomes the underlying theme in Cedars. But what's the big idea, and will the question ever be answered?

5 Stars from B's Bistro on this album. If you haven't heard the album yet, be sure to pick up a copy today. It'll be worth your hard-earned cash.

Bracketology

Greensboro, NC -- After a whirlwind week at the office being infiltrated with cyber bugs plaguing our official web site, the Bistro is back on the blogging circuit. It's not as if we ran out of topics; that would be equivalent to McDonald's running out of french fries. I was hoping to have the big review of U2's new album by this time, but I'm here to inform you that it'll have to wait a little while longer.

Anyways, today is "Selection Sunday" and after reviewing the official bracket, I'm here to report that I couldn't be more excited. With Greensboro hosting a set of first round games, the Bistro has a couple of tickets to this Thursday's and Saturday's games. Hoping to coax a North Carolina team to the local area, the Greensboro officials hauled in a slam dunk (2 points) when it was announced that both Duke and UNC would be playing here this weekend. Not that the Greensboro officials had anything to do with the selection, but this coming weekend should be very exciting for the Triad area. #1 seeded (South) UNC will match-up against Radford, a small school nestled under Virginia Tech's blanket in the Blacksburg, VA area. #2 seeded (East) Duke will play Binghamton in their opening game. Both ACC schools should route their respective foes. Also in the East, #7 Texas and #10 Minnesota becomes an enticing game as well. Rick Barnes versus Tubby Smith! In the South #8 LSU faces #9 Butler, a NCAA tournament staple. I don't know much about either of these two teams, but the 8-9 match-up's are usually very even.

Outside of the Greensboro games, it was very clear that Pitt and UConn should be top seeds. I must not have been following college basketball very closely recently because where did Louisville come from? Sure, they won the Big East, but does that qualify them to be a top seed over Memphis? I like Memphis this year, but I also like Pittsburgh as well because of their premiere big man DeJuan Blair. When you have a big man who is an excellent rebounder and who can score, you have a good chance at winning in the collegiate level. My early pick: Pittsburgh.

*Happy B-Day, JB 3.14

A Letter to a Giants' Fan

Greensboro, NC -- I received a letter from a typical Giants' fan -- basking in their glory when times are good (we wouldn't know if they were alive when the team is awful) -- this week about the state of the Redskins, following their most-recent spending spree. Rather than take out my frustration on the Giants' fan and their ridiculous PSL's, I pointed my anger at Daniel M. Snyder, the very reason why I'm distraught.

"YA Tittle:"

I guess it's good to be a Giants' fan right now given that you have a team that recently won a Super Bowl, a realistic shot at a deep postseason run next season, and a competent group of upper management. I'm sure that I wouldn't find this type of e-mail in my inbox if we were all big NBA fans talking about the state of the Knickerbockers.

When the free agent season launched on Friday, I was pretty sure that the Redskins would add Chris Canty, and then stockpile linemen (O & D) in the draft. I'm not sure if New Yorkers would ever imagine that there would be a second coming of Steinbrenner, but he does exist in the form of Daniel M. Snyder. It's too bad that Snyder doesn't own the Nationals; they could use some wreckless, kamikaze free agent spending to bolster the moribund, "we're not paying rent for our new ballpark" team. Over the last several years, I've come to realize that superb football teams are built on the lines. Sure, Snyder can outspend any owner to lure the next superstar to DC, but he's too caught up in playing "fantasy football." To paraphrase an article in today's Washington Post, Snyder is looking for the next big name to have his picture taken with. If he owned the Nats, he could've traded for A-Rod... and invite Madonna in his luxury suite. Did the Giants need to sign Canty given that they have three star DE's in Tuck, Kiwanuka, and Osyneurma? No; however, it's an intelligent move to build depth at this key position. When the Skins' FO starts crying over the number of injuries, we can all point to the three free agents that consume all of the payroll needed to construct that invisible bevy of competent linemen.

Such is life under the Snyder regime. Who's calling the final shots in the "war room" on draft day? Snyder! A fan, somebody who's never played competitive football, is running our team! It's no wonder that we use free agency to re-paint the entire roster following every disappointing season, rather than mirror the Colts, Steelers, Patriots, and Ravens, who use it to shade in a hole here and maybe there. Speaking of cash, Snyder's profligate move of cutting 20+ (IT, marketing, and sales) employees for economic reasons, and then signing Haynesworth to a $100M contract three weeks later is a pyschological slap in the face to those fans struggling big-time in this recession. Whoever said there was fiscal responsibility in Washington? I'm done with my Snyder rant; Hail to the Redskins.

Southern Snowstorm

Winston-Salem, NC -- Other than a few super markets, pharmacies, and maybe McDonald's, I believe that my company is the only one open for business this morning in the state of North Carolina. Yes, we do have a call center that needs to be open to answer borrower and school telephone calls from around the nation. However, jeopardizing the safety of employees is a risk that no company should take. Our bogus HR "Director" is always fretting about being sued, because she apparently was at another job. Somebody should harangue her for forcing us to dodge swirling cars and drive in unplowed snow and ice on the interstate. My wheels were spinning like crazy on uphill stoplights. Not good. Anyways, on a lighter note, here are some pictures of my neighborhood from this morning:

Backyard:

Backyard:

Front:

Street:

Street:

In like a lion...

Greensboro, NC -- The Bistro is currently engulfed in "southern snowstorm," easily surpassing all previous accumulation totals since I moved here over two years ago. Personally, I haven't had much fun or success in the month of March; however, there are numerous events going on that could change all of that. First and foremost, there's only one card that could trump a "snow day," and that's a new album by U2! It's been over four years since their last album, How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb. I'm extremely excited about the new album, No Line on the Horizon, to be released on Tuesday, March 3rd. Following Bistro tradition, I'll be purchasing the new album on Tuesday morning, and follow that up with incessant listening all week. While I have heard several cuts off the new album ("Magnificent" is my favorite), I hope to have a full review blogged right here sometime on Wednesday. As icing on the cake, U2 will be on David Letterman ALL WEEK LONG to promote the album, so be sure to tune-in!

Spring training has started, the WBC kicks off this week, and Jim Bowden has resigned. It's time for Mike R-to-the-IZZO, to step up and clean the dirt off of the Nationals organization... faster than he moved the Dominican Republican facility last week!

One bracket of the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament will be played here in Greensboro! I'll be attending some games whoever ends up playing here. I won't be attending the Women's ACC Tournament, which will be played here in Greensboro as well.

While St. Patrick's Day is on a Tuesday this year, Finnigan's Wake will be celebrating the day early at their annual St. Patrick's Day Festival on Pi Day (3.14). If it's anything like last year's event, it'll be a wonderful time, and yes JB, I'll be sure to give you a toast on that day as well.

Speaking of St. Patrick's Day, the W-S Dodgeball tournament starts on the 17th with the first and second rounds. The championship game will be on the following Tuesday, the 24th. Also in the neighborhood of elementary school sports, kickball launches at the end of the month... details to follow.

Hope everyone has a great March!

... out like a lamb!