Presumably, RB8's arbitration hearing is complete. Whether we know something within days or weeks is unclear. For my wife's sake I hope he's exonerated... she's having a rough time as half her wardrobe carries the name & number.
Again, we all want our sports heroes to be humble and clean and Beaver Cleaver, but reality is always an amalgomation of the best and worst.

I personally believe Braun's spent too much time on his public persona to jeopardize his standing as the face of the Brewers to do something so blatant. That being said, the MLB testing is extremely black & white.

For those that love hard rock & heavy metal, do yourself a favor & get iheartradio or find Q104.3 online. Friday nights at 10pm eastern, Eddie Trunk. Good guests, fun info, & jamming tunes for 3 hours.

Shame on Scott Walker for being fiscally responsible with WI taxpayer's money. Strange how you need to dig for stories on this, but a gaggle of self-serving fools carrying in boxes of half-bogus names to the Capitol get top billing.

Tip o' the cap to Al's Ramblings

I'm an avid bowler and I don't know Glenn Carano from Adam... but I do know his daughter. Absolutely gorgeous young lady.

Here we go, Crew fans... Braun's appeal heard today.

For a group allowing Adolf Hitler & Mickey Mouse to sign, I would estimate maybe 75% of those million to be legit.
I remember when California recalled Gray and got... The Terminator, who we all know had NOTHING to do with the outstanding financial state CA is in now. Recalls are a waste of money & time. Voters have opportunities every 2-4 years to make their voices heard. In fact, Walker ran on the very changes he's made, so the "outrage" of forcing a heavily-debted state to become undebted should not be a surprise.
I'm tired of hearing the "take from the rich" because everyone should pay their share... that's what the whole point of the public union issue is: pay your share. I'm lower middle-class & when I hear idiots like The Ed Show spew that Walker is balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class, I get a little pissy. A teacher making 60-100 grand on my taxes alone is NOT middle class. My taxes have gone down, my state is finally returning to health, so what's the problem? You're gravy train has been put in the station? Tough times, tough choices. That's your Greater Good.

The Niners coming out jacked up, as most young teams are apt to do. The key is to have the energy to keep that edge for 60 minutes. The Saints are clearly not out of this, even being down 17-0 midway thru the 2nd quarter, but they can't afford any more turnovers.
Give the Niners a short field, they have their share of weapons too.

I'll tell you what, if I'm a Packer player I have to be wondering what more we need to do to get some love. It seems like every pundit is annointing the Giants as the dominant team. I don't think I've ever seen a 15-1 defending SB champion be so universally regarded as an afterthought.
Ranking defenses by total yardage is asinine... last I checked points won games. And while GB is not the '85 Bears, they're also not the sieve they're made out to be.

Van Halen inks a new "Tattoo"

18 years in the making... New VH dropped today, with first single "Tattoo" from the upcoming album A Different Kind of Truth.

The classic VH harmonies are immediately evident. However, the lack of high range courtesy of one Michael Anthony is noticeably absent. Unlike other VH hardcore's I'm not too upset with the lack of the former Mr. Sobolewski. He's got a pretty good gig going on with Chickenfoot these days.
The opening riff is very reminiscent of the groove & chorus of "Hear About It Later" from Fair Warning. Go ahead, check 'em out back to back. I think you'll hear what I do.
It was quite clear that the band chose to let Wolfie groove during the opening verse, as he, perhaps, will be the most scrutinized band member.
Lyrically, it's about what you expect from DLR: campy, half-sung, half-spoken, tongue-in-cheek... essentially, fun. Musically, the tone is recognizable as Balance-era, "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do". A cleaner tone than the Roth-era Brown Sound, but pleasing nonetheless. The real star of this tune is, of course, the solo. Chock full of melody, tricks, squeals, taps, arpeggios, and whatever other trick EVH has bestowed on the 6-string world.
Overall, this tune actually does a great job of growing better with successive listens. After diving into the original 6 Roth discs over the last few weeks, I think this one may just live up to the hype. If nothing else, it's nice to hear the sweet cymbal work of Alex & EVH staking claim to the throne he deserted a decade ago.

I'm sitting here, like everyone else in Wisconsin, wondering what the Packers will get for Matt Flynn now. And with a high draft pick in exchange for his services, the rich get richer. - Mike Hunt, JSOnline


Unless the new labor deal has been significantly altered, a team gets nothing for a free agent, Mr. Hunt. And to think, soon you can pay to read the drivel provided by the Journal Sentinel & it's pantheon of "writers".

2011 Music Must-Hears

A lot of good music this year in the metal/hard rock genre. A lot of excellent returns to form. Here's a short list of what you really should check out:

Anthrax - Worship Music
Megadeth - Th1rt3en
Black Country Communion - 2
Whitesnake - Forevermore
Adrenaline Mob - EP
Mr. Big - What If?
Mastodon - The Hunter
Journey - Eclipse
Warrant - Rockaholic

Fun With Music

So during bowling last night, the convo came up about the farce that is the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Sure, it's pointless, but it's also silly fun. So here goes, the R&RHOF as decided by me... well, at least the top twenty anyways. Anyway, here's 11-20.
NOTE: I've only included the hard rock/metal artists NOT in the RRHOF.

20. Thin Lizzy - Beautiful use of dual guitars, flowing lyrics, & the charisma of the late Phil Lynott.
19. Tesla - Again, classic use of dual guitars, mixed with a powerful voice & melodic songwriting.
18. Pantera - Warped by Van Halen & KISS, Dimebag Darrell helped create the standard in 90's metal.
17. Pat Benatar - The other half of the sexy sirens of rock, along with Ann Wilson, Benatar could sing the phone book & still make it rock. Need more proof, check out Hell Is For Children live...
16. Motley Crue - So called "Hair Metal" takes a bad rap... loud guitar, catchy hooks, fun... the Crue lived it & lived it well.
15. Dio - Little man, HUGE pipes. Dio made keyboards sound heavy. Fantasy lyrics, scorching axe riffs, & a voice that rivals only angels, Dio made his mark solo, even after a brilliant career with Elf, Rainbow, & Black Sabbath.
14. Cheap Trick - Where else are you gonna find a drummer named Bun... HUGE choruses & all out fun for all.
13. Scorpions - from Uli to Rudolph, these Germans could wail. And here's a common theme... dual guitars & big vocals. Sting Of The Tail was a perfect return to form.
12. Foreigner - Lou Gramm & Mick Jones... the AOR Page/Plant. Unfortunately, got saddled with the "Corporate Rock" tag, whatever that means. Good songwriting & memorable hooks. Just good ol' R&R fun.
11. Ozzy Osbourne - He's already in with Sabbath, but his legacy may reign supreme as a solo artist. Known for introducing the world to phenomenal, yet differing, guitar gods, the Oz Man's songs are catchy & listenable.
Top 10 coming soon... & in honor of the Eddie Trunk Rocks year-end show, here's the Top 10:
10. Megadeth - Fueled by his unceremonious exit from Metallica, Dave Mustaine formed a metal band rivaled only by the one he left. A distinctive voice, matched only by its melodic mate, 'Deth proved a soapbox for political & socio-economic musings.
9. Rush - Power trio, virtuosos, distinctive, never duplicated... Rush are truly one of a kind, mixing heavy metal with pop sensibilities, wrapped up in thoughtful lyrics & unmatched musicianship.
8. Heart - Ann & Nancy... two Zep lovin' ladies with a passion for bad ass guitar rock. Ann could sing the alphabet & make it rock harder than most male singers.
7. Def Leppard - Put aside the pop stylings of most of the last 15 years, Def Lep was part of the NWOBHM. They hit the big time with Pyromania & Hysteria, but their true roots lie in On Through The Night & the criminally underrated High 'N' Dry. Need proof... Let It Rock, Mirror Mirror, Lady Strange.
6. Boston - Symphonic is a good word. Everyone knows the multi-tracked brilliance of Tom Scholz, but the real genius was the vocals of the late Brad Delp. Putting those two elements together with melodic, soaring tunes proved to be brilliance. I dare anyone not to become a goofy air-guitarist when More Than A Feeling comes on the radio... see, you can't do it.
5. Iron Maiden - More dual guitars & more operatic vocals, complete with intelligent lyrics & galloping bass lines. Another facet of the NWOBHM, Maiden was personified by lead singer Bruce Dickinson & mascot Eddie.
4. Judas Priest - Common theme: two distinctively different lead guitarists & freak-of-nature singers flying above it. Halford set the standard that the likes of Geoff Tate have been emulating for 20+ years. If you don't feel like raising a fist during You've Got Another Thing Coming, you're not alive.
3. Bon Jovi - They've managed to reinvent themselves in the last 10 years, almost at the expense of what made them famous in the first place. The duo of JBJ & Richie Sambora have created some of the best Springsteen-ian pop metal classics ever. From album one to Keep The Faith, they managed to mature, yet keep their roots alive. Listen to the guitar solo in the middle of the epic Dry County... pure genius.
2. KISS - To paraphrase, Love 'em, Leave 'em. But you can't deny 'em. They changed the face of music in countless ways, even without the incessant merchandising. At their core, they were meat & potatoes rock, but great fun. And what is rock & roll without a little fun? Image, tunes, live shows, they did all & mostly better than the rest... even if they're using substitute Ace & Peter's.
1. Deep Purple - Criminal, criminal, criminal omission from the actual R&RHOF, as they are one of the original triumvant along with Led Zep & Sabbath. Classical music applied to rock by the incomparable Richie Blackmore. Ian Gillan, David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes, Joe Lynn Turner... it's like a who's who of metal vocal genius.

So there it is. Of course, it's not perfect. I left out many deserving groups, such as Whitesnake, Motorhead, Styx, Bad Company, Queensryche but no list is perfect. Feel free to email me to say what a dumbass I am. Otherwise, enjoy it for what its' worth... and thanx for reading.

This is your VP, people... I'll remember that when the next 3000 people are jumping to their deaths from a fiery hell. Biden is as close to a caricature as there is in real life.

I would've thought the MLB Player's Chief would be a tad more upset that one of his stars was dragged through the creatine mud of public opinion unneccesarily...

I'm trying to figure out when exactly being a fiscally responsible politician became akin to eating babies & genocide... isn't that what we want our elected officials to do with our hard-earned money?

We should be thanking governors like Scott Walker & Chris Christie and upholing them as an example of what elections are supposed to be: putting persons of good faith into positions as the voices of the people.

You wanna recall someone, recall yourselves for stealing from the taxpayers for years without conscience & repurcussions.

TMZ Report on Braun's Test

It HAS to be one of the signs of Armageddon when TMZ is upheld as the responsible news source.

This is why there are rules against monopolies... with no other 24-hour sports source, ESPN can do & say whatever they want. And, even more heinous, STILL have not updated or corrected their original PED story (that I can find. I am not, however, a subscriber to their overpriced Insider, which I'm sure is reserved for brilliant journalism & spot-on reporting).

Simply embarrasing & irresponsible.

"Where would we be without a guy like Petak? Here was a guy who cared more about doing the right thing than being re-elected. He lost his seat, but if he hadn't taken that vote, we wouldn't have the Brewers here. And Milwaukee would be a significantly diminished town. We do have a lot of challenges. There's no denying that. We have significant economic challenges within the city. We've got public infrastructure needs. We've got libraries that need to be funded.
"The way to continue to do that and grow as a community is to invest in our entertainment, cultural and sports assets. That's what attracts business to come and expand here. It makes it a great place to live and work." - Mike Marotta, Bradley Center Chairman


Those opposed to such public spending do not realize the money this puts back into the community. Think about this for a second: for a mere 1/10th of one cent, jobs are created, shopping districts thrive, eateries spring up... it's beautiful, sexy capitalism, people.

The QB has become a cultural phenomenon, and barring injury or a sudden dearth of fourth-quarter heroics, the public's hunger for Tebow coverage will remain ravenous - NFL.com

Let me speak for what I think is the majority: as in politics, the coasts are overestimating the interest in fly-over country.

More Praise for "White Jesus"

This is getting ridiculous...

Then again, it takes a lot of hoopla away from the Braun situation & the Pack's pursuit of history, so maybe it's not such a bad thing. But, honestly, he's a serviceable alternative on a team whose defense & RB's have stepped up considerably.

There are 3 things that cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. The world is full of bad, jealous, dishonest, and selfish people...but the truth will set the good free - Larissa Fraser

Like the woman behind the man, Larissa believes Ryan, if I can be allowed to interpret this random, cryptic blurb.