DOG: NFL Draft Thoughts & Analysis

Frank "The Tank" Summers

This is the NFL Draft with a Steel City Slant. Not an in-depth analysis, mostly just some thoughts.

• The rest of the AFC North definitely noticed the Steelers pass rush last season. All three other division teams took an offensive lineman in the first round! The Browns took one of the top centers, and the Bengals and Ravens each took a top notch tackle although I think the Ravens got by far the best player among those three.
• Back in my Steel City Slant article of 3/30/09 I attempted to give you some names to keep track of in the draft. I also mentioned 3 areas of need, Offensive Line, Defensive Line and Cornerback. Then Nate Washington signed with Tennessee and WR became an area of need. And I completely forgot about a couple areas that fortuntately, Mr. Tomlin did not. Short yardage offense and special teams Kick Returning. The return game became even more of a need when dumbass Gary Russell was found inside a house in Columbus, Ohio which was raided and a large quantity of marajuana was confiscated. Now he's in Cincinatti where he belongs.
• Where I had hoped to get Eric Wood, we got Kraig Urbik to play Guard. Then later A.Q. Shipley from Coraopolis, PA and Penn State at Center. Fine with both those guys.
• Where I had hoped to get Peria Jerry at DE, we got Ziggy Hood. Fine with that.
• We drafted 2 CBs. Keenan Lewis, Oregon State and Joe Burnett, Central Florida. If there's one position Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau know, it's cornerback! Both these guys are good and can be utilized in the return game as well, especially Burnett.
• The WR from Ole Miss, Mike Wallace, can fly and also return kicks. Limas Sweed damn well better step it up because Wallace can play. Tomlin already said Wallace is expected to fill Nate Washington's spot!
• By far my favorite pick and the only one who was on my wish list from my earlier article is Frank "The Tank" Summers, a 5-9 245 FB from UNLV. Folks, listen to the Dog, 3rd & short, and 4th and goal are no longer a problem. Some would say we overdrafted for "The Tank" but consider that the Steelers spent more time scouting him than Hood and Urbik combined!! You will be glad he's on the team in the fall.

Random thoughts on other teams and other players:

• Detroit did a nice job in the draft although picking first and having many picks helped tremendously. Not having Matt Millen was noticable in a positive way.
• Al Davis is out of his freaking mind. Oakland's draft might be the biggest train wreck I've ever seen on draft day! Idiocy from start to finish.
• Bengals are still the Bengals. Yeah the got the OT from Alabama... with weight problems and who bailed on the combine without telling anybody. Yeah they got Rey Maualuaga but he dropped because he's an asshole and he'll find plenty of company in that regard in the Queen City!
• Michael Crabtree dropped because many thought he was an asshole too, but he landed in exactly the right place. Mike Singletary will bust his asshole wide open if he acts up in SF.
• Outside of the outstanding OT the Ravens got in round one, Michael Oher, the rest of their draft doesn't amount to much.
• Cleveland tried to do the right thing by trading down and accumulating picks, but then they wasted them on over hyped players or positional needs they didn't have. We should be thankful.
• West Virginia QB, Pat White, ended up being drafted way before I thought. Second round by the Dolphins. I guess Parcells is going to run the Single Wing in Miami more than any of us could have imagined. If so, White is a great choice.
• Pitt RB, Shady McCoy, wound up in Philly. Not sure this was a good move for either the Eagles or McCoy.
• Did Denver just become the second most dysfunctional franchise right before our eyes? They have the worst defense in the NFL and, although he's a great back, they pick Knowshon Moreno from Georgia instead of a stud D Lineman?? Or how about a QB to replace Jay Cutler, geez.
• Anybody notice that the really smart teams (Pittsburgh & New England) traded out of early rounds to stock up in the middle which is where the true value of this draft was?
• Everybody seemed to be washing the balls of Mark Sanchez, the Jets new QB out of Southern Cal. But do you realize that Sanchez started all of 16 games in college? He'll have started that many in the NFL by this time next year! I'm not impressed. Although, what else could the Jets do? They have no QBs on their roster... unless Favre or Testaverde make a comeback.
• Green Bay also had a nice draft. They got what they need to make the transition to a 3-4 defense.
• Buffalo also did well although they may have over drafted some players.
• Mel Kiper is a full of shit windbag. Anybody notice he'd say so-and-so was his top pick at a position and on the right of the screen they'd have pictures of "Mel's Top Players" and so-and-so's name wasn't even on the list! He deserves to root for the Ravens, a team steeped in dillusion.

All in all a true evaluation of this draft can't be done for 2-3 years. But I'm very happy with how the Steeler picks shook out. I'm much happier this year than last year when we were scratching our heads all the way through.

Anybody smelling a repeat??

FAN: A Look Under The Hood

Not surprising. He fits the bill as the next guy to be one of the three. The only thing I read that scares me a little is that his lower body needs to add strength. If he is going to be NT we've always had shorter fire plug types who can get low and control. Here are some things I found:

Position: DT

Class: Senior

School: Missouri

Conference: Big 12

Ht., Wt.: 6-3, 300

40 Time: 4.89

BIOGRAPHY: Three-year starter awarded all-Conference honors since his junior season. Senior totals included 62/7/5 after 49/8/5 as a junior.

POSITIVES: Athletic defensive lineman swiftly moving up draft boards. Plays with terrific explosion, quick off the snap, and fluid changing direction. Holds the point of attack, resilient, and flies around the field trying to make positive plays. Displays an array of moves getting off blocks, possesses a burst of closing speed, and makes plays in every direction on the field. Moves well for a big man, and works hard until the whistle blows.

NEGATIVES: Stands to improve the strength in his lower body. Not a big or bulky lineman.

ANALYSIS: Hood is an athletic defensive tackle who has the physical skills to be used in a variety of positions at the next level, and he offers starting potential. He played well as a senior, and he really watched his game take off in the post-season. Hood could be a surprise selection in the late part of round one, based on his performance in the past six months.

FAN: I Am A Rebel

I have had enough of theater prices. We are in the theater right now to see Earth. In the winter it's easier to sneak snacks in because of bulky coats and big pockets. Today we're in shorts and Mrs. Fan had to load her purse with goodies. We already went out to breakfast and now three tickets were $21. I've never dared to walk a fountain soda in, but darn it, $4.75 for a large is criminal. Insane. Airports added chains and are now reasonable and even Disney had food prices that are fair. Today was the day. I went to 711 and bought a bucket of soda for $1.57. Take that evil theater giant! I was sipping from it as I handed the kid manager my ticket daring him to tell me I couldn't enter. HA! Fools.
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

FAN: Roach II

If they are out in the daytime, how many are out at night in the basement?
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DOG: What Are You Listening To? #7

OK, so it's been a while since we had a WAYLT segment. I'm just checking in to see what is vibrating off your ear drums these days.

I know that it is past time for one of these segments because Still A. While finds it necessary to tell us what she's listening to in posts about football and smoked food. So at this point we know she's deeply into Seth Walker right now. And I must admit that's a good choice for her.

But the gorillas at my house are listening to:

10. Adrian Belew - Lone Rhino. I had this on vinyl and finally found it in digitized format. And I find that I like it more now than in 1985 when I first bought the record. He can indeed make an electric guitar sound like a rhinocerous.

9. George "Wild Child" Butler - These Mean Ol' Blues. I was never familiar with Wild Child Butlers music until recently. This is a very good album.

8. Pete Carr - Multiple Flash. Pete Carr is one of the most famous session guitarists of the last 30 years. This album and his earlier one, Not A Word On It, are classics. Get them if you can find them.

7. Oscar Peterson - Night Train. Originally recorded in 1962 this is classic early Oscar Peterson.

6. The Nighthawks - a whole bunch of albums-- but the Live ones are the best. These guys are a local band for those of us living in the greater Washington DC/Baltimore area. They been spreading the blues and boogie round these parts for almost 30 years. And I don't think enough people realize what a treasure it is to have the Nighthawks around here.

5. Larry McCray - The Blues Is My Business. And business is GOOD!

4. Splitlip Rayfield - Splitlip Rayfield. Now this here album is custom made for Still A. While. It is full of all the country she can stand. But otherwise, it's hard to describe other than to say it is one of the most entertaining albums I've heard in a "while."

3. The Atomic Bitchwax - Spit Blood. Every once in a while a metal album strikes my fancy and this one surely has.

2. Pete Haycock's True Blues- Live 2007! Former Climax Blues Band guitarist has put together a top notch new band. And on this album they do some creative covers of a ton of songs originally done by everyone from The Doors, to JJ Cale, Bonnie Raitt, and Joe Walsh, to Elmore James and Blind Willie McTell.

And #1, the current champion... Jaco Pastorius and Birelli Lagrene - Stuttgart Aria. Jaco is probably the finest bass player I will ever hear in my lifetime and Birelli Lagrene was a child prodigy as a Gypsy guitarist. Anyway, this album will blow you away whether you are into jazz, jazz fusion or whatever.

What are you listening to?

FAN: Call Cooter, We May Get Roscoe

Read it here.

FAN: Low Maintenance Showers

I don't know about you, but my needs are pretty simple in the shower. Soap. Washcloth. Shampoo. Done. Conditioner is nice, but who are we kidding, my hair is about 1/4" long. My wife, on the other hand, is a little different. While she is loyal to no brand or product, our shower holder of accessories is always overflowing with stuff that I usually ignore. Razor. A stone type object. A big pink netting thingy called something like a loofa (phonetic spelling by me). Some body lotions with names like Sweet Pea and Vanilla Cinnamon. Other hair type products....who the hell knows. All kinds of stuff. God bless her. Whatever she wants to use in the shower is fine with me. Well, after a particular dirty day for me yesterday of running a 10k loop before 8 AM then digging out several square yards of earth in front of my patio to mulch and border while spray painting various objects in my back yard and grilling chicken on the bone.....I needed a nice relaxing shower. Hmmmm, what's this? Morning Burst Facial Scrub. It's in a nice bright orange tube. Kind of cool. Ooooooooh, it has bursting cleaning beads. Damn. This is some serious shit. I need bursting beads today! What a coincidence. Makes you feel awake and tingly. Sweet, bring it on. I don't know how much you are supposed to use but I filled up the cup of my hands and got to rubbing it in.......right into my eye. Those bursting beads that will make your face tingle and feel alive? Yeah, those. Well, they'll make your eyes feel like somebody held you down and duct-taped your eyelids open while pouring liquefied onions directly onto your pupils. About the fanciest thing I should use is a soap not named Dial. Stop right there. It burned so bad I picked up the stone thing and bashed it off my forehead so I'd forget about the burning. I couldn't scream either or ask for help, lest I risk being humiliated by my wife in public some night...."hey babe, tell them what you did in the shower the other night. No! Not that, the eye thing! ...........sicko".

DOG: Doc Blanchard, Oldest Survivng Heisman Winner Dies at 84

Felix Anthony "Doc" Blanchard, Mr. Inside, died this morning in Texas at the home of his daughter from pneumonia. With him goes another of America's Greatest Generation and it's last surviving Heisman Trophy winner.

A 208 lb fullback, Blanchard (Mr. Inside) combined with Glenn Davis(Mr. Outside) to form the most potent offensive backfield in the history of football. Yes, you will hear about the 4 Horsemen of Notre Dame or the Pony Express of SMU. But Blanchard and Davis were the most feared running mates in all of football, ever. Running out of Coach Red Blaik's Winged T, Blanchard was the best player at West Point during WWII, a time when the service academies dominated college football. He was the first man to win the Heisman Trophy as a junior in 1945 (Davis won it the following year) During 3 years at West Point, Blanchard and Davis never lost a game, finishing their varsity seasons at 27-0-1.

And the Steel City Slant on this story? He was drafted in the first round of the 1946 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers but never played a down of professional football. Instead he transferred to the newly formed Air Force and served as a fighter pilot in both Korea and Viet Nam.

Another great American gone. May he rest in peace.

DOG: We Smoke Everything!

Yesterday was a beautiful day at my house... for smoking fish! I got ahold of 3 real nice trout from my boss and picked up a pound of prime salmon at Wegmans. So I decided it would be a wonderful day to smoke some fish.

First of all smoking meat of any sort is a good excuse for not doing anything on the "Honey-do" list cause you are making dinner. But yesterday I did my smoking of fish primarily because my wife is working on another continent for a few weeks and since she hardly eats any seafood and complains when I make it, well, you get the picture.

Smoking involves relatively low temperatures for long periods of time. I like to smoke fish at just over 200 degrees F. Anywhere from around 185-225 will work but absolutely no more than 225. Therefore, an accuate thermometer on your smoker is imperative.

For the trout, all I did was filet them and remove as many of the tiny bones as possible. For the salmon, I removed the skin and brined it for 10 hours in a solution of water, brown sugar, and kosher salt. The ratio for one pound of salmon is: 1 quart of water, 1/3 cup of brown sugar, and 2/3 cup of kosher salt. Multiply that ratio by however many pounds of salmon you are smoking. One way to know if you've got enough salt in the water is to float an egg in it. If it floats you're good. Once the salmon had been placed in the brine, I put that in the beer fridge (where there is space for them) for 10 hours. 12 hours is probably optimum but after 10 hours I was hungry! After removing the salmon from the brine I pat them dry with paper towels and add just a tiny pinch of McCormick Hickory Salt to each piece.

Next is to prep the smoker. And get the temperature up to around 200. I put my fish on the grates when the temp hit 185. Usually it takes a couple hours to smoke this much fish. But yesterday I struggled to keep the temperature below 225. You must constantly monitor your smoker for temperature control. Too hot, open the smokestack and close off the firebox intake. Too cold, close off the smokestack and open up the firebox intake and/or add more hot charcoal. Use charcoal to create your heat, use wood chips to create your smoke. Yesterday I used hickory chips. And as always, I use Cowboy brand charcoal.

FAN: Buddy Guy In Harrisburg

So I went to church on a Thursday night this week. For the second time in about a year I was fortunate enough to see living Blues legend Buddy Guy in concert. The logistics of the event sucked. I quit work at 3:30, drove to Harrisburg. Went to the G-Man for a mostly liquid dinner, walked to the concert, made the 2 hour drive back and finally wound down and got to bed after 1. Woke up at 5:45 to be in at 7 as I'm extremely busy at work. Was it worth it? God, yes. The man is 72......72....think about that....and you would think he's 50, he has that much energy. he played longer than when I saw him last time in Reading. I think he came on at 8:20 and played until slightly before 10.

I'll try to recap what happened but having 5 vodka tonics in less than 90 minutes sometimes changes perception. The ticket named nobody as an opening act so I was hoping Guy would take the stage at 7:30 but no such luck. Again, I only wanted to see Guy and get home. Instead, we were treated to "Indigenous". I texted Stilladog at exactly 7:32 with 'Who the F is Indigenous?'. i got my answer a few minutes later. A good band consisting of some Native Americans. After two songs I said to my frined how much they sounded like Stevie Ray Vaughn. When I looked them up on Wikipedia a short time ago - it mentions the influence of SRV in the opening paragraph. As it turns out, the band isn't really Indigenous any longer. It's one original member, Mato Ninj and a group of capable side musicians. Meh. Mato is completely badass. Voice and guitar. I will get some of his work to check out. I'm more interested now in the original lineup.

After a short intermission, The Damn Right Blues Band came out and started to jam to a standing ovation of maybe 500 people. The forum is on the smallish side and the top ends weren't sold it looked like. Buddy had a world class keys player with him last night who was very very impressive, Marty Sammon. Ric Hall also lit it up again on rhythm and took over twice on blistering solos. The drummer and the bassist are adequate. I don't think he had keys when I saw him last year.

From what I remember he ripped through Hootchie Cootchie Man, Boom Boom Boom Boom, She's 19 Years Old, Vodoo Chile, Damn Right I Got The Blues, Skin Deep, Fever.....more that I am forgetting. Memorable to me was picking a kid out of the audience who gave him a pick during the walk through and taking him up onstage. Usually he allows someone to strum a solo while he plays with the left hand. Nope. He took it off and let the kid jam. He was decent enough. he was 17. If Rio is reading this, Rio would eat him alive, but the kid was OK. He and Sammons played off each other for Fever and it was live art - no other way to describe it. During one quiet stretch as it seemed like he was taking requests, yours truly screamed out 'DAMN RIGHT BUDDY' and with that he ripped right into the song. Goosebumps. We were so close. Some of the solos were just sick. It's so much easier to get into concerts when you have great seats.

I see he's at Jersey's House Of Blues in June. Maybe I'll go again? I didn't stop smiling the entire concert as he adds his own humor into the set. Wow. I just can't say enough good things about seeing him live. Pictures below are from my phone.

Buddy Walks The Crowd

Buddy is so close I could reach out and touch him

Mato Nanji of Indigenous

DOG: Steelers Cut RB Gary Russell

Short of the possibility that Gary Russell was caught in bed with Tomlin's wife or that he was caught smoking weed with Bam Morris, his release from the Steelers is perplexing to say the least.

All he did was come in as an undrafted free agent and do everything that was asked of him from returning kicks to trying to inject some life into the short yardage offense. He was not great at either of those things but he was the best we had on a Super Bowl team at them. Why was Russell cut ahead of Gary Davis? So, what does this mean?

Here's the Steel City Slant on this situation. First and foremost, no matter if you scored a TD in the Super Bowl or not, if Mike Tomlin has plans that don't include you for whatever reason, you are gone. Secondly I'd look for a fullback type to be drafted at some point who will both replace Russell and beat out Davis. If you're a gambler, you may want to pre-order your Frank "The Tank" Summers t-shirts and jerseys now . Thirdly, this is proof positive that the staff is focusing on improving the short yardage game. Whether that means drafting O-linemen who can actually get movement on 4th and 1 or a fullback who can move the pile, or both, it's obvious that Tomlin did not think Russell was the answer.

Next weekend's draft will be very interesting. The Steelers under Mike Tomlin are very unpredictable in the personnel department. But I believe in Mr. T, and I think Kevin Colbert will go get him what he needs.

Bye-bye Gary Russell, thanks for all you did for the Steelers. Best of luck wherever you end up.

FAN: Silver Back in Black (and Gold)

...and it only took $51 bananas. $20 guaranteed. What a good story. I remember the game Stilladog and I went to that he totally dominated.

FAN: Leftover Sandwich

Well, Leftwich has left us. Rats. I mean, I like Batch and all and I think he's played well when in there - but I think if Ben got hurt for a longish time - I would feel better with Byron over Batch. Batch isn't getting any younger. We just have to hope that all the low mile seasons have kept him fresh. Byron wants to start and obviously can't here so he'll take a shot at the QB Carousel that is Tampa Bay. Good luck, Byron, I enjoyed your time with the Steelers.

FAN: Melissa Huckaby Deserves To Die

Unthinkable. Please just shoot her in the head. Now. Need a volunteer?

DOG: Yes, Roger Goodell Is Ruining Football

I wish I had written this article because it is one of the truest statements made about the state of NFL football today I've seen. But this dude Derek Turner beat me to it and did a much better job than I ever could have. Hit it here: Roger Goodell needs to go!

FAN: When Roaches Attack

I take a back staircase down to a seldom used basement restroom where I work. Nice, huh?
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DOG: Happy Easter!

And on the third day he rose again from the egg...

DOG: Maple Glazed Ham

Except for my Jewish friends, "Mark and Zach and Doug and Stan. They're the boys that eat no ham," lots of people serve a ham dinner at Easter. So I wanted to share my recipe for Maple Glazed Ham with all 3 of our loyal readers... Fan tells me the readership would be higher but half of his family is still in an alcohol haze from celebrating Still A. Unc's birthday... guess he's getting too old to post comments any more.

Anyway, I got this recipe from an African-American friend of mine from Alabama. He served as organist, choir director and chief cook at his Negro Baptist church in deepest darkest Baltimore. The church culture among African-Americans in Baltimore is HUGE. And this dish is served at many of their frequent social fellowship events. So it is most definitely a tried and true recipe which will have everyone sitting at your table smiling. I have been serving it for my family since 2002 and I think it's a big reason why they tolerate having me around during holidays! I last served it at Christmas for my family in Texas and it was a huge success. Please feel free to give it a try. And if you do, post a comment and let us know how your guests enjoyed it.

So with no further delay, I present Maple Glazed Ham:

Maple Glazed Ham

1 can sliced pineapple
1 jar maraschino cherries
1 bottle Log Cabin Maple Syrup
1 12oz Coca-cola
5-10 whole cloves
1 jar honey
1 10 lb. or larger fresh ham.
DOG's note: Get a real ham. Not one of these pre-seasoned, pre-sliced, or pre-cooked hams. Get one with the bone in (the closer the bone the sweeter the meat). Plus, real hams are usually cheaper.

Directions:

Cut the excess fat off the ham.
Attach pineapples to the ham w/toothpicks.
Attach cherries to the ham in the center of each pineapple slice w/toothpicks.
Attach cloves to the ham.
Heat on the stove the leftover cherry juice, pineapple juice, some maple syrup and honey. Do not boil just warm it up.
Preheat oven to 375.
Pour the can of Coke over the ham.
Pour syrup on the ham generously.
Pour the heated syrup, juice and honey over the ham.
Cover w/aluminum foil.
Bake for one hour, basting every 15 minutes.
Remove the aluminum foil and bake an additional half-hour to brown.
Slice and serve.
Watch your friends go crazy!!

As with any recipe, this is a guideline and not a hard and fast, set in stone way to cook a ham. This is the recipe as it was given to me by my friend. I do not follow it to the letter. My usual variation on this is to add extra honey and lots of extra maple syrup during the cooking stage. Another friend of mine uses orange juice in place of pineapple juice. But you can be as creative as you want to be. This is an absolute 'can't miss' recipe. And don't forget to add lots of the secret ingredient, love.

FAN: Slanted Captions - Vultures

"My God, Suzanne, you shit on his face. Isn't it bad enough we're eating him for dinner? No wonder humans say 'You're acting like vultures'."

DOG: Kentucky Fried WHAT?

So I pull into a KFC in Rouzerville, PA on Friday night. I'm driving 3+ hours through the 50mph winds over the mountains and I need to grab something quick to eat.

I walk up to the counter and order three pieces of white meat and a biscuit. The nice, but dumb as a rock, girl at the register asks, "What 2 sides do you want with that?"

"I don't want no sides. I want three pieces of chicken and a biscuit. I don't care if it's two breasts and a wing or two wings and a breast. But I don't want no sides, OK?"

"Well you get your choice of two..."

"I just want chicken. This is Kentucky Fried Chicken, right? And that's a chicken place, right? "

"Yes."

"Well why can't I just get three pieces of chicken at a chicken place?"

She can't find the button on the cash register that says 3 pieces white meat. And she's lost. She tries to come up with alternatives. And I don't know what the hell she did. Anyway my wife orders and since she's not driving she can get the damn cole slaw or baked beans or mashed potatoes, or whatever it is that KFC sells now instead of chicken. So sure enough, when our order finally comes out I end up with only two pieces of chicken. Don't know if I paid for three or what the stupid young lady rang up. Didn't have time to go back in and bitch about it.

All I can say is, screw you KFC and the Colonel you rode in on. YUM brands, you have messed up a good thing... royally. If you can't go to KFC and get a couple pieces of chicken. Is it any wonder that the American economy is in the shit tank? America is one really dysfunctional country and my experience at KFC is a microcosm of how stupid we have become. KFC = Keep Fucking the Customers. Popeyes, can you do any better?

DOG: Allman Brothers @ Beacon Theater 3/28/09

A couple Saturdays ago I made the trip up to New York City to see the Allman Brothers Band at the Beacon Theater on Broadway. It was the 40th Anniversary of the formation of the band and was actually the last in a series of 15 concert dates the band had played at the Beacon between March 9th and March 28th.

The Beacon gig this year paid tribute to the band's founder and slide guitarist extraordinaire, Duane Allman, and featured guest artists galore. Those who attended throughout were treated to surprises almost every night. Starting off with Johnny Winter on March 9, the fans enjoyed appearances by Buddy Guy, Bruce Hornsby, Sheryl Crowe, Billy Gibbons (of ZZ Top), "Steady Rollin" Bob Margolin, Taj Mahal, Kid Rock, Ron Holloway (formerly of Root Boy Slim & The Sex Change Band), and Lenny White (formerly of Return To Forever). And then of course two nights with guest Eric Clapton.

The night I went they brought back former Allman Brothers piano player, Chuck Leavell, and also Phil Lesh and Bob Weir from the Grateful Dead.

Chuck Leavell arrives at the Beacon.

They opened with Little Martha while a Duane Allman memorial slide show flashed on the screen above. And then they burst into the Elmore James classic, Done Somebody Wrong, which set the stage for the evening. After Warren Haynes took some superb solos, Derek Trucks came on and just played some ripping slide guitar. Like no other version of that song I ever heard before. And I thought to myself "If Derek is this hot all night we're in for a treat!" ...he was.

Derek and his Uncle Butch Trucks jam.

Next came the Muddy Waters song, Trouble No More, in which we were treated to more slide wizardry by both Warren and Derek. After that, an extended jam on Rocking Horse and a very nice cover of Walk On Gilded Splinters. Gregg Allman then introduced Floyd Miles, an early mentor of the brothers, who sang an awesome version of the Albert King classic, Born Under A Bad Sign. Floyd stayed on stage for the introduction of Chuck Leavell who joined in for Stormy Monday. Next they did two songs from when Leavell was in the band. Come And Go Blues was followed by a teriffic version of Jessica to close out the first set and where Leavell just tore up the stage. Made me wish he was still with the Allmans instead of playing with the Rolling Stones.

The second set opened with Phil Lesh and Bob Weir joining the band for a couple of Grateful Dead numbers that ran for 45 minutes. Now at this point I got to tell you, I was bored to death with the incessant noodling on the guitar that goes on during Dead songs. When it was Derek's turn for a solo he tried to inject some life into the music but, I guess they don't call them the Dead for nothing! I went out bought some t-shirts, went to the bathroom, watched the cops haul some guys drunk ass out, and the damn Grateful Dead monotony was still going on. Although it was nice to see Lesh and Weir, I didn't pay to hear or see the Dead. I wanted to see the Allman Brothers.

Finally at 11:53 the Brothers came out by themselves again and woke everybody up with a turbo-charged version of Black Hearted Woman. Followed by the shortest version of Mountain Jam I ever heard although it still must've clocked in at around 15:00.

It was after 12:30 when the encore number, Blind Willie McTell's Statesboro Blues blazed through the airwaves. This has been a classic Allman Brother's tune since the inception of the band. And Duane Allman was known for some biting slide solos in this number. But Warren Haynes played the Duane solos almost as precisely as it sounds on the Live at the Fillmore album recorded in 1971. But when it came to the parts where Dicky Betts would have played on those Fillmore recordings, Derek Trucks just took over and blew the roof off the place, turning the song into somewhat of a jam. If there was any doubt of Derek channeling the spirit of Duane on this night, it was removed here. Derek did indeed take the music to the next level. And left his mark forever. Duane would have approved.

The Allmans finish their 2009 Beacon run with Robert Johnson overlooking.

FAN: Taylor Swift & Def Leppard

Even though it debuted almost 6 months ago, I finally got a chance to see CMT Crossroads with Taylor Swift and Def Leppard. It's fantastic. I really like stripped down music and they did a good job. While her voice isn't powerful enough on some of the rock anthems, her strutting around the stage surely made up for it. I couldn't name a Taylor Swift song until today when my daughter saw the special and immediately downloaded Tears on my Guitar and White Horses. There's nothing wrong with Taylor's appearance. Def Leppard is another story. Joe Elliot looks good and has added another layer of character to his voice which is 20 years of hard livin'. Phil Collen is still a good showman and Rick Allen still isn't playing with a robotic arm. Rick Savage....looks like shit. He's on the train to Keith Richardsville. I like how they had both bands present. I went to the webiste for CMT Crossroads to see what other ones exist and I'd really like to catch the 2002 Kid Rock and Hank Jr. but I'm not sure they replay editions that old.

FAN: Best Part Of My Daycicle

I love these NorthEast temperatures right now. It's perfect for running. I went out tonight after dinner with princess. It was a shade over 50 degrees and a little windy at the loop. Superb weather for the really thin long sleeve running shirts and shorts. Also get to hear the sound I hate most as aluminum bats meet balls thrown by coaches as there are four diamonds within the loop. Princess rides her bike in the opposite direction as me on the half mile loop so we pass each other a lot. When I get back to the house on a night like this, with the temperatures falling quickly after 7:00 pm, there is nothing I like more than to relax in the hot tub for 20-30 minutes with my thoughts. Get a nice drink and breath in the chlorine steam as those jets hit you so hard they push you off your seat. I get my drink, get changed, get a towel, throw up the lid.....and the digital readout is staring up at me smiling with a big "65" on it. Huh? Wtf? I put a finger in. Yup, it's cold alright. The heat light isn't on either. Hmmmmmm. I hit a jet button and instead of agitated water, I hear a hum. I knew immediately what the issue was. You see, Princess doesn't like the jets on. Nevermind there are two completely different sets of jets. Nevermind there is a seat with zero jets on it. Nevermind there are two settings to one of the pumps. She turns them all to the OFF position manully inside the tub. She likes to just sit there like it's bath water sometimes. Most times. When we're in together, I have to tell her to leave some open because thats how the water cycles through the filter and the heat. I'm sure she hears "blah blah blah blah". She gets that from her mother. Well, Princess had a sleepover last Saturday night with two other girls here. They went out in the hot tub. Hmmmm. Imagine that. There were dolls out there....swim goggles..... You know what Barbie hair does to filters? Anyway, when I came back in to pronounce the water temperature at 65, I got a lot of looks. Yeah, the water isn't cycling THROUGH THE INTAKES AND THE HEATER. Oh. Nooooooooow we understand. "Sorry, Daddy". (sigh) It's Ok, Princess, give Daddy a hug. I'm going to go take a shower. I'm lucky the motors didn't burn out on the normal cycles. I saw a little water being pushed through the jets that don't cycle so there must have been extreme pressure on the ones she closed. Lucky really that a hose didn't burst. (sigh) Men, don't burst your hot hoses.

Nice Ghetto Umbrella

Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

DOG: When Greedy Dickheads Fight

Look what I got in my email yesterday! A message from the NFL Network reminding me of how I can watch their gluttenous marketing machine after they discontinue being distributed by Comcast. And every time I turn my TV on I am reminded by Comcast that the big bad NFL is making them take NFL Network off the air. When they could include it in Basic Cable and continue to carry it. A pack of liars both of them.

Let's get one thing clear, both Comcast and the NFL are dickheads. They are like two greedy children fighting over the same toy. Pulling it in opposite directions so hard that it comes apart at the seams and nobody can play with it. Comcast refuses to let basic subscribers watch the NFL Network and charges a premium to it's customers who must order a "Sports Package" in order to receive the NFL Network. The NFL charges Comcast to carry the NFL Network but doesn't want the customers to have to pay extra for it. The dickheads are at an impasse. And on May 1 Comcast will remove the NFL Network altogether... without reducing the charges for it's "Sports Package" too!

Roger Goddell is building a legacy of slowly killing the goose that laid the golden egg. All he is interested in is building new revenue streams with no regard for the product on the field. An 18 game season is ludicrous but it will be upon us before we know it. His rule changes (a complete new topic for another day) are unbelievably stupid. His attempted manipulation of the cable TV industry is almost as preposterous as his shit-ass network. He has practically run Steve Sabol and NFL Films out of the NFL. Everything is about the NFL Network. When the best shows on NFL Network are the NFL Films productions!

The long term goal here is to put all NFL games on the NFL Network as pay per view attractions. The only flaw in this plan is that the pussified rule changes he keeps implementing will drive the true fan away from the game. People will still watch it but the NFL will become just like the WWE.

As for Comcast, they know their days are numbered anyway and are just trying to suck every dollar out of the consumer they can before the entire cable industry as it exists today becomes defunct.

I hate Comcast because they don't care about the consumer and I hate the NFL because they don't care either. And I really hate the NFL when they put Steeler games on their stupid exclusive NFL Network Thursday night broadcasts.

If your goal is service you likely will make a profit. If your goal is profit you likely will go bankrupt. Hey NFL and Comcast, remember that GM was once sitting on top of the world and look at them now. Putting money ahead of people nets the same result every time.

To whoever at Verizon can help: Please bring Fios soon!