Dive Bar Shirt Club: Tiny Tap

My Dive Bar Shirt Club t-shirt for the month of July just arrived in the mail, and for the first time since my VERY FIRST T-SHIRT over one year ago, this shirt features a design on the front breast and the entire back.  Very cool -- almost all of the ones I've received just have a design on the front center.  So, it's a nice change of pace.  Plus, it's a color I've never had (cream).  So, straight from Tampa, here's Tiny Tap.  I was able to find this little blurb online:

A dive in tony SoHo? You bet, and it's one of the best in Tampa Bay. It's certainly Tampa's oldest, having opened in the 1930s. Low-key, lo-fi and low-cost (cheap PBRs keep the Urban Outfitters crowd coming back for more), Tiny Tap's an unfussy oasis in a desert of chic.


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A Case of Beer - Life-Size Beer Pong - [a case of the blog]

This is a fun twist on a classic game!  The rules work just the same as regular beer pong, everything is just.....bigger.  So how does it work?

Each team sets up six 5 gallon buckets that you typically see painters using to mix paint or hold their supplies.  Set them up in a diamond, just as you would if playing beer pong, and fill them up about 1/3 of the way with water.  The other team sets up their diamond across the yard.

While standing behind their respective buckets, both members of Team A attempt to throw a softball into one of Team B's buckets.  If they make it in, that bucket is removed, and one of the players from Team B must drink a beer (which is filled in a Solo cup, also about 1/3 of the way).  This process continues until one team completely eliminates the other team's buckets.

So, if it essentially works exactly the same way as beer pong....and you're drinking the same exact amount as you would if you were playing beer pong.....then what's the point?

Like I said in the introduction.....it's a fun twist on a classic game.  And sometimes that's enough of a reason.

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Trending Topics - What closes MITB? - [a case of the summer]

In this week's edition of Trending Topics, I thought I'd discuss Kyle's question in this past Monday's LIVE Raw thoughts thread.  Here's what he asked:

Now here's the question, what goes on last at MitB? 2 weeks ago it was obviously going to be the John Cena Title match yet again (in this case, Money in the Bank, barring a necessary angle which required MitB to go on earlier so they could cash in later in the same show), but Punk/Bryan/AJ was MUCH hotter with the crowd and has actually gone on last two weeks in a row. At this point how do they NOT put Punk/Bryan on last?

If you asked me two weeks ago, the "safe bet" (although not necessarily obviously) was the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match, only because Cena and Big Show have been pushed so heavily (plus they were hyping it as this super exclusive, special thing).  If I was forced to pick today, I would actually probably say the WWE Championship match.  And that's kinda awesome.

While I don't want to discount the fact that Punk/Bryan/AJ is super hot right now, I think the thing that really works in their favor is that logistically, the championship HAS to go on after the MITB match.  They've brought up the fact more than once that Kane cashed in the night of the event, which means they likely want us to keep that possibility looming in our heads.  That would of course be impossible if the ladder match happens after the title match.

Plus, knowing the result of the MITB match adds a significant amount of intrigue going into the title match.  Let's say Big Show wins.  They could easily do a backstage skit in which Big Show reminds Bryan that Bryan cashed in his contract against him last year.  Big Show can promise to do the same if Bryan wins the title that night.  If Kane wins, he could remind either competitor (or the announcers can) that last time he won, he cashed in that night and won the title.  If Jericho wins, he can confront Punk backstage and tell him that he'll finally do what he failed to do earlier in the year and take the title from him.  They quite needlessly miss out on all of these possibilities if they close the show with the MITB match.

And quite frankly, the fans ARE far more into the WWE Championship match.  Why waste this opportunity to let them shine just to remind everybody that John Cena is their biggest star?

Another thing working to their advantage:  WWE LOVES ending their PPV's with a cliffhanger.  I'm convinced that's why they closed Over the Limit with Cena/Johnny Ace.  Having AJ turn on Punk or Bryan and helping that individual win the match is right up the alley of how WWE likes to end their shows.

The fact that Punk/Bryan/AJ has pretty much dominated Raw and Smackdown for the past couple of weeks really makes me believe that that match will rightfully close the show.

Now, one of two mini rants:  It is absolutely tragic how much they've crapped on the World Heavyweight Championship MITB match.  They immediately made the WWE Championship counterpart seem more special by making theirs exclusive to former champions (spoiler alert:  That's the second mini rant) while opening up this match to anybody.  Then on Raw, the WWE Championship MITB match gets about 15 minutes, with a Cena promo and each person getting an entrance.  The WHC one doesn't get any entrances, and less than 2 minutes.  It's really sad and entirely counterproductive.

And then there's the WWE Championship MITB match.  First off, you have only four people in the match.  Ordinarily that wouldn't be a problem, except for the fact that two of them are not really fit for that sort of match (Kane and Big Show) and one of them is too important to risk a serious injury (Cena).  And the last remaining guy (Jericho) isn't exactly a bump artist or a super high flyer.  So the match will probably fall a lot flatter than the World Heavyweight Championship MITB, despite the significantly greater star power.

On top of that, who exactly should I pull for here?  While MITB has undoubtedly tarnished the prestige of some first-time World title runs, it has been a great first step for building the anticipation towards a Superstar's journey to become champion.  It was legitimately exciting when Daniel Bryan won last year.  Ditto for Edge the first year and CM Punk's numerous victories.  Who am I to get excited about here?

First, there's Cena.  The guy has held a World title, what, ten times?  He's in the title scene, typically, numerous times per year.  The guy doesn't need another title reign any time soon, and he certainly doesn't need a briefcase to get it.  Big Show, meanwhile, spent a significant part of last year feuding for the World Heavyweight Championship.  That was less than a year ago....would you be excited to see HIM in the title scene again?


Jericho and Kane are in similar boats.  Hell, just LAST MONTH Kane was fighting for the World Heavyweight Championship.  And he had a lengthy reign with the gold a couple of years ago.  Jericho also had a multi-month feud with CM Punk over the WWE Championship.  And during his last stint with the company, he held the World Heavyweight Championship a couple of times.


And I think that's what it comes down to:  Money in the Bank works because we're to believe that this individual needs the briefcase to get a title shot.  Not necessarily because the person isn't good enough, but because he hasn't been afforded the opportunities.  All of these guys HAVE been given those chances.  There's no emotional investment.


The only upside would be if one of these guys won the briefcase but failed to win the title.  This is the time to do that, since the Superstar is established enough that they won't suffer from the loss.

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LIVE Raw thoughts - July 9, 2012

11:08 - It was a rightfully intriguing ending to an extremely weak episode of Raw (last week would've worked better as the go-home week).  And for all those people who said there's too much AJ....don't tell me that this week wouldn't at least have been a bit better if there were more AJ segments.

11:04 - Also, you gotta love the fact that the WWE Championship storyline ended the show.  Again!

10:58 - One highlight of tonight:  It's always awesome when Daniel Bryan wears his ring jacket.

10:52 - It's not a good ending to the Anonymous GM storyline.  But at least it's an ending.

10:49 - I'm confused.  Why don't they just put the lines on the screen instead of putting a print out on the keyboard?

10:35 - Come to think of it, why on earth is Kofi Kingston -- you're extremely over guy who can do absolutely amazing acrobatic feats -- not in a Money in the Bank match?  Now THAT'S outlandish.

10:29 - Actually, pretty cool promo from Eve.  Hit the nail on the head pretty effectively.  At least THAT story is building some intrigue.  Outside of the WWE Championship match, the difference between the feeling of anticipation going into this year and last year's Money in the Bank PPV is remarkable.

10:18 - The one match that gets more than 2 minutes has an ending that doesn't even make sense?

10:10 - By the way, I also hate how the announcers always seem to forget the countless times Cena has slammed Big Show when they're in the ring together.  Don't get me wrong -- they should absolutely sell how incredible that feat is.  But why not just push it as an unbelievable display of strength?  Why act like he's never done it before.  Didn't he did it, like, a month ago?

10:03 - John Cena's promo about the WWE Championship Money in the Bank match lasted longer than the tag match with the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank contenders.  How sad is that?  WWE has never been so transparent in their belief that the World Heavyweight Championship pales in comparison to the WWE Championship.  Yes, that's almost always been the case (but actually, NOT always) but they always at least tried to make the WHC seem just as prestigious.  Now they don't even seem to try.

And it's even sadder that the match with Christian, Ziggler, and Kidd gets NO time....yet Big Show and Kane got to bore the crap out of everybody for 5 minutes.

9:54 - According to one of the people I'm following on Twitter, there's been less than 4 minutes of in-ring action in the first hour of Raw.  That's pretty damn sad.  It's not unforgivable, however.  I mean, we've had some extremely light wrestling episodes that have been highly entertaining.  The thing that's killing me is that we've had, like, no action and a bunch of Santino backstage segments and Cole and Lawler arguing.  Not a great go-home show, so far.  Let's hope hour 2 is better.

9:46 - So we've had a really long opening segment, and each match has had at least one person who didn't even get a televised entrance.  And the matches have been, like, less than two minutes.  I have a bad feeling about tonight's show.

9:38 - Oh, I see.  Christian, Kidd, Ziggler, and Tensai couldn't get an entrance and their match lasted less than two minutes so that they could focus on some drama between the announcers.

9:34 - Kinda sad that NONE of the competitors in the World Heavyweight Championship Money in the Bank ladder match are even worth an entrance.  Yeah, while the competitors in the WWE Championship MITB match are getting the main event slot.

9:29 - I'll tell ya' what.....I'll tolerate Santino's "comedy" skits throughout the night if they actually properly wrap up the Anonymous Raw General Manager storyline by revealing his/her identiy.  Deal?

9:27 - I don't think there's a less interesting main eventer than Alberto Del Rio.  Having practically Sheamus' entire title reign associated with him (despite God's repeated attempts to NOT have their match happen) certainly isn't helping.

9:20 - I don't recall an opening segment that turned around so significantly.  After my introduction -- where I sung the praises of AJ and this storyline -- I thought I was going to have to eat crow.  The promo got off to, shall we say, a really slow and rough start.  It picked up significantly, though, when AJ made her proposal (simply because the audience ate the hell out of it).  Then Bryan's arrival, of course, picked up the pace a great deal as well (I LOVED his "don't you talk down to my future fiance!" line).  The return of the Anonymous Raw General Manager was especially awesome.  It's been such a long time since we've seen the blinking lights and instant message sound that it was really cool seeing the classic interruption again.  Once this thing got moving, everybody -- from AJ to Punk to Bryan to even Cole -- seemed to eat it up.

9:17 - THE ANONYMOUS RAW GENERAL MANAGER IS BACK!!!!!!!!!!!  YES! YES! YES!

9:06 - AJ's facial expressions are great.  Her look of concern and pain that brief moment after she introduced Punk, but before his music played.  Quickly followed by her happy expression of reassurance when his music did play.

8:55 - Yes, there will be LIVE Raw thoughts tonight.  But I am absolutely exhausted and may tap out and watch from the comfort of my bed.  I'll hold out as long as possible, though.

Over at Scott Keith's blog, they're getting awfully anti-AJ lately.  I'm in a whole different boat.  I absolutely LOVE the fact that she's becoming such a focal part of the show (in part because it brings more attention to the WWE Championship storyline, too).  And hey, they're kicking off the show with her too.  Love it.  And keep it coming.

Check back in five minutes for my thoughts throughout the show.

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Summer of Excitement - #ZRvsDZ - [a case of the summer]

We're doing a special video edition this week!  Check it out below:

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A Case of Beer - Anchorman - [a case of the summer]

This week I'll be discussing another lesser-known but very enjoyable game -- Anchorman!  We started playing this game over the summer during college, and I'd play it more now except for the fact that you have people who really don't like drinking out of the same pitcher (thus, they would not care for Dunk-A-Roos either).

There are two teams, and each team has an Anchorman.  For simplicity sake, let's say each team has 3 people, and we'll call them "Team A" and "Team B."  All you need to play is a pitcher and a quarter.

Let's say Team A is up first.  Team B fills the pitcher up with as much or as little beer as they'd like.  The catch is that whichever team loses needs to drink the beer, so filling it up all the way is a gamble.  Team A, meanwhile, has the quarter.  The three members of Team A will pass the quarter between each other with their hands under the table, so that Team B can't see.  You can do whatever you'd like to try and trick the other team, like acting like you're passing the quarter when you're actually not.  

Once Team A has decided upon who is holding the quarter, all three members put both fists on the table.  Each member of Team B now gets to guess which hand is holding the quarter.  If Team B successfully find the quarter, they win and Team A needs to drink the beer.  If they can't, Team B loses and they need to drink the beer.

So where does the name "Anchorman" come into play?  Well, the designated Anchorman needs to finish the pitcher no matter how much or how little is left.  If the two other team members want to be nice, they'll drink it evenly.  If they want to be jerks, they can each take a small amount, leaving the bulk for the anchorman to drink.

It's a rather fun game that doesn't need much prep time or props, and can be played with any number of people (although I find it best to be played with 3 or 4 people per team).  Give it a try, and feel free to ask me any questions!

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Happy Birthday America!

Hope you enjoyed the day!

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Trending Topics - Barbershop Window T-shirt Review - [a case of the summer]

In this week's far less agitated edition of Trending Topics, I'm going to review the first shirt I've ever ordered from the increasingly popular Barbershop Window website.  For those of you unfamiliar, Barbershop Window is (to paraphrase from their website) "laid back folks who enjoy life, and enjoy wrestling. In that order.  They started this company because they love wrestling and they love T-Shirts…..so why not combine the two?  Their goal is to create shirts that wrestling fans enjoy, would want to own, and wouldn't be embarrassed to wear to the bar." 

And truth be told, I already HAVE worn it in the bar, so they're advertising the truth, folks!  They sell two or three new shirts that are only on sale for a limited time (some are put back on sale in the overstock bin).  I decided to go with the #FACE t-shirt.

Why did I go with this shirt?  Well, there were a few reasons.  First and foremost, it was the least expensive shirt, at only $9.  You can't beat that price.  Along with that, Dolph Ziggler's #HEEL shirt, in my view, kinda kicked off this boom of witty t-shirts with obscure wrestling references.  This shirt, in and of itself, references that t-shirt while retaining some originality.  And the final reason?  Hey, why not celebrate the fact that I'm a good guy?

That's the backstory.....but how's the shirt?  It's pretty impressive, I must say.  It's not the super soft, slim fit type you'd get at Urban Outfitters, but it's comfortable and fits the body well (the tag says "anvil," although that company doesn't ring any bells).  Perhaps most impressive is the screening process.  The lettering in the "#FACE," for example, isn't raised or rough, and it reads great against the black t-shirt.  It's really a much nicer quality, in my experience, than you'd get at a customized t-shirt mall kiosk station.

If I had one complaint -- and that's a stronger word than I'd use -- it's the shipping process.  Now, let me make this perfectly clear:  they are completely upfront about the fact that it will take approximately 10-14 days for the item to be shipped.  This is totally understandable, as they're a small operation that works on a order-by-order basis.  However, I made my order on June 3rd, and didn't receive it until June 29th.  That's over three weeks.  I e-mailed them on June 15th and they (very promptly) responded to tell me that the shirt was on backorder and that they were hoping to send it out the week of the 25th (which was true).  This was totally understandable and it wouldn't discourage me from ordering from them again, but it would have been nice if they had e-mailed me (instead of the other way around) to let me know of the delay.

However, again, that wouldn't stop me from ordering from them again -- and I definitely recommend their t-shirts to my readers.  There are several on there I really like, actually.  Give 'em a shot!

Barbershop Window's website
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LIVE Raw thoughts - July 2, 2012

11:08 - I loved everything about that ending.  Particularly, that they got rid of Cena and Jericho and finally allowed CM Punk and Daniel Bryan to get some actual attention (much deserved).  And the stuff with AJ is still intriguing to me.  In a cry of attention, she teased jumping off the top rope onto a table.  She was stopped by Daniel Bryan first.  But why?  Did he truly care?  Did he simply have his own agenda?  And then Punk tried to stop her.  What were his reasons?  Then she kissed Punk, and while he was stunned, she pushed him off the turnbuckle, onto Bryan, and both went through the table.  Intriguing stuff.  And the right way to end the show.

10:45 - Good thing they stopped that momentum Tyson Kidd was on.  Oh, and if they're not careful, they might accidentally put their WWE Champion in the final segment of the show.

10:40 - I'll settle the debate.  Both Jericho and Bryan's jackets rule.

10:37 - Have him win, have him lose, have him beat up Sakamoto.  People still don't care about Tensai.

10:28 - Remember about a half hour ago, when I was talking about how they booked Lesnar to lose to Cena but are now pushing him as an unstoppable monster that we have to pay to see get beat?  See the Big Show.

10:19 - Good job teasing us with Doink as the special guest (allowing Slater to get a clean victory) and then surprising us with DDP.  Although Page needs to get a tan or something.  He's starting to look like Sheamus.

10:13 - I hate when they bring back Doink and it's clearly not the original.  I mean, sneakers?  Really?  And the original Doink never wore that outfit.  And the dude looks like he has chicken legs.

10:07 - In his review of Raw last week, Scott Keith said he might be getting tired of AJ.  I'm nowhere NEAR there.  I don't even care that she completely overshadowed the World Heavyweight Championship storyline.  I think she's great and she's doing an awesome job with this storyline.

Oh, and did Punk trim his beard since the beginning of the show or something?

9:56 - As you all know, I've defended Brock Lesnar losing to John Cena.  I didn't think it was the right decision -- Lesnar definitely should have won (just like how I thought Cena should've beaten Rock) -- but I didn't think it was the worst in the world either (there was a lot of overreacting).  There was a lot they could have done with it, but the route they decided to go wasn't the right one.  What's the incentive for fans to want to see Triple H vs. Lesnar?  Lesnar has already been beat....we don't need to see Triple H do the deed.  And they're clearly establishing it as "Lesnar = bad, Triple H = good," so they seemingly don't WANT us to buy to see Lesnar win.

9:43 - AJ and Bryan.  Love 'em together.  Again, I think I'm pleased with pretty much any way this story plays out.

9:40 - So isn't there legit heat between ADR and Sin Cara?  As in, like, one pulling a gun on the other or something?

9:33 - God is clearly trying to send a message to WWE by canceling Sheamus/ADR for THREE PPV's IN A ROW!  Take the message.

9:20 - Wow, I'm pretty shocked that Cody Rhodes is coming out to the Prime Time Players' theme music.  Surely he must be higher on the pecking order than them.

9:15 - Effective opener, but I didn't love the fact that they so quickly disposed of the WWE Champion and his challenger in favor of focusing on the Money in the Bank match.

9:12 - Hey, Punk is wearing one of my favorite uniforms....the green and black.  And hey, it coordinates with his tag team partner Cena's current color of choice.  And this is a great promo foursome.

9:04 - I REALLY think they need to add more former champions to the WWE Championship ladder match.  Frankly, I don't know if it's the type of stipulation match that can allow Cena and Jericho to carry Big Show and Kane.  Cena isn't a bump artist -- nor should he be.  He's too important to be injured -- which just leaves Jericho to carry the load.  Big, lumbering guys like Show and Kane can work in a ladder match -- when there are enough other guys to do their magic.  Any shot Rey or Miz return in time for the match?  Or maybe ADR?

9:00 - Is this "interrupt the opening signature with a string of ads" routine going to become a running gag?

8:41 - Can you believe July is upon us?  For those of you wondering, my skin is at about 85% normal now.  Lips are at about 65%.  If only the big wedding was today!  Anyway, for your pre-Raw discussion, check out this WWE ad promoting Raw's move to three hours (viewed on the EW website):

http://insidetv.ew.com/2012/07/02/wwe-raw-promo/

To tell you the truth, I found that to be pretty funny and charming.  And I LOVED the fact that AJ was included amongst the company's top stars.  I mean, you have John Cena, CM Punk, Sheamus, Triple H, Vince McMahon, Kane, and AJ!  That's pretty freakin' awesome.  Pretty good stuff.  Enjoy, and check back in 20 minutes with my thoughts throughout the show.

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Summer of Excitement - Wedding at a brewery - [a case of the summer]

It's the first official week of the Summer of Excitement, and it was an entire weekend of excitement!

One of my good friends from high school (and college, for that matter) got married this weekend.  That's not even the most exciting and interesting part -- they got married at a brewery!  And their two friends (who are married to each other and introduced them) officiated the wedding.  It was actually a really cool and unique way to get married if you don't wish to go the religious route.

So yeah, as I said, the wedding was held at Allentown Brew Works in Allentown, Pennsylvania.  I arrived Friday afternoon with my two friends.  I had dinner and drinks at the hotel bar before we met a few other friends at the brewery (not for the wedding, just to hang out).  We ended up hanging out there several hours, even making friends with some of the waitresses and bartenders there.  In fact, when we went back to the hotel bar later that night -- around midnight or so -- one of the waitresses and bartenders can back with us.  On top of that, the hotel bar had karaoke as well.  It was quite hilarious and adventurous.

Not to offend anybody from the Allentown area -- as some blocks are actually quite nice and quaint.  However, if you drift a little too far from the hotel area, it can be.....dangerous?  And I made the great decision to walk a little further than I probably should have Saturday afternoon.  I walked past this one lady who was just sitting outside a shop.  She says to me, "Wanna cigarette(?)"  I tell her, "I'm fine" and I keep walking.  A few blocks later I decide to turn around and head back to the hotel.  I purposely crossed the street as to not pass by her again.  As I'm walking by, she crosses the street towards me and again says, "Wanna cigarette."  I've been interpreting this as her offering me a cigarette to buy, so again I say, "I'm fine, thanks."  She then tells me, "No, I want to buy one!"  I guess it was my responsibility to pay for this desire?  So I just kept walking -- much faster -- and I returned to the hotel.  Quite the adventure, it was.  As my friend told me after I recounted my tale, I really do have the most unusual run-ins with strangers.

Saturday night was the wedding.  And yes, I was still quite self conscious about my red discoloration.  It looked MUCH better, but it was still quite noticeable.  I was especially worried when I saw the majority of my friends, who I figured wouldn't restrain from repeated jabs.  I had worn a hat the rest of the weekend, as my forehead was really the only beat up part (and my lips, which were blistering as well).  Shockingly, after an initial "wow were you tanning?" we pretty much moved on.  However, I WAS still feeling some lingering self image issues, so I didn't take advantage of an opportunity that I otherwise would like to think I would have.  So that was personally disappointing -- but that's all I have to say about that.

The reception itself was a great time -- with LOTS of beer, of course.  Brewed right at the location, no less. And as we've now been out of high school for a decade, it's always nice getting a large amount of my high school friends together in one place.  We've got some people in Jersey and New York City, but others are scattered around Connecticut and DC and various other places.  So getting all together is a lot of fun.

Oh, and after the reception ended we returned to the hotel bar.  And while there wasn't any karaoke this time around, we did get to hang out for one last hurrah.  It's also where I spilled my beer all over the groom's brother.  So, yeah, that happened.

It was a real great weekend and a great way to start off the Summer of Excitement.  This upcoming week has big shoes to fill.

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