Get Awful Ballpark Beer Faster!

How many times have you stood in an endless concession line at a ballpark or stadium wondering how you could get that awful, watered-down, over-priced beer into your stomach faster?

Wonder no more my friend! Check out this new, magnet-based (f**king magnets – how do they work?!), bottoms-up beer concession system...



With a name like "Bottoms Up" they should really look into having Tinto Brass direct their commercials.

Update (1/25/11): The Wells Fargo Center (formerly the more appropriately named FU Center) in Philly becomes the first Delaware Valley arena to try out the Bottoms Up system when it debuts before tonight's Flyers/Habs game. (Thanks to Cheesewit for the tip!)

Wild Card Weekend!

You can have Super Bowl Sunday. Wild Card Weekend might be my favorite sports weekend of the year... four NFL playoff games (including both my Eagles and Ravens), random college hoops and NHL matchups, plus a bonus college football "national championship" game on Monday night. Doesn't get much better than that!

After getting in a quick run I'll be heading to the kitchen to whip up some brats, ribs and chicken for the festivities.

What's on your weekend menu?

You're Not the Master of the Grill...

...till you bring a suckling pig to the Patriots game.

That's just one of the pithy bon mots tossed off by Bill "The Sports Guy" Simmons during his recent BS Report podcast with chef/author Adam Perry Lang. Lang, whose new book Serious Barbecue is getting great reviews over at Amazon, appears on the usually sports-centric podcast to talk about the proper way to tailgate, some under- and overrated cuts of meat, what to order at a steakhouse and more.

I was prepared to hate the guy but loved Lang's down-to-earth approach and his seemingly sincere desire to help people deliver better barbecue.

Check out this podcast at iTunes or go directly to The BS Report archive.

Is It Appropriate...?

Is it appropriate to wear green to a funeral? That's what I'm pondering this AM as I get ready to put on my Jaws throwback and drive down to FedEx Field for today's Eagles/Redskins game. At least the sun's out, temps should be in the high 40s, and we'll be tailgating with some chicken, cold cuts, cool beverages, homemade potato salad, chips and dip.

Each game brings us closer and closer to the end of the McNabb Era (and Reid Era?) in Philly and a loss today could put a final, resounding nail in the coffin of the Eagles' season, dropping them to 3-6 and no wins through four division games. With a second half schedule that includes three "winnable games" (and I use that term loosely) at home against Miami, Seattle and Buffalo and four potential disasters against Dallas, Giants, Saints and (shudder) the Patriots on national TV, I fear the Eagle Faithful is in for a long, unpleasant remainder of the season.

Football Brings Tailgating

In a recent column, ESPN.com's Bill Simmons pondered the origins of tailgating and who was the bold innovator who decided to sit outside his car, cook some hot dogs and drink a few beers in public. It's an intriguing thought to ponder and this article suggests that the practice is basically as old as college football itself, dating back to the first collegiate game in 1869.

With a new pro football season right around the corner here's an article from the El Paso Times on tailgating tips and traditions.