Moose Views - Blayloc Cafe

Went out to watch the Duke - VT game yesterday (Duke -11.5, o/u 141.5) at Blayloc Cafe, a new nightspot in downtown Durham. I think its an okay place, but needs to find an identity. Let me explain:

It has a bigscreen TV, pool tables, Golden Tee '05 and hosts Duke game nights - but it isn't a sports bar.

It has couches, big pillows, WiFi, and shows artsy movies - but it isn't a coffee house.

It has a dance floor, mirror ball/laser lights, and hosts local bands - but it isn't a club.

It has an extensive martini list and gormet pizzas - but it isn't a martini bar.

All of those things I listed above are cool and all good night spots have these things. But none of those night spots have ALL of these things mixed and matched together. I seriously have no idea how to categorize the place.

I'd want to go back on a weekend to see how it changes. The quote of the night was from Boat (that's just like Boat). Upon walking in to the bar and seeing that we (i.e. about 10 of us) were the only people there, he says:

"Wow, good thing they closed the place down for us"

The best parts of the evening:

1- Duke winning
2- The bartender hitting on Monique and Steph by asking them to waitress a "private party"
3- $1.50 PBRs
4- Golden Tee

I don't know how long Blayloc is going to last. Mabye the revitalization of Downtown Durham can give it a boost. Maybe it'll find an identity. Who knows. I'll just have another $1.50 PBR, please.

24, bitches!

OK... as if 24 weren't awesome enough... check this shit out, just to make the whole thing even funnier:

http://www.wayfaring.com/maps/show/4698

Track Jack on his journey... real time this bitch!

Jack's body count: 7 (Well on his way to 27 after 5 hours)

And, since the great DP is dead... one last time... "I say FUCK-YOU, Jo-Boo! I do it myself!"

I may have a problem...

Okay, as the title states, I think I may have a problem. Interventions are welcome, especially if you bring beer. It's okay to transfer one addiction to another, right?

I've recently opened a Sportsbook account. I can't stop gambling on sports. Usually, I can watch any college basketball game on any given night and be happy with myself. Usually, I watch the big games, top conferences, ESPN stuff.

Here's where things go horribly wrong...

I watched Gonzaga vs. U of San Fransisco last night. On Fox Sports Pacific. Until 1am. Why did I watch such a game which I could care less about???

I had 50 bucks riding on it.

Now, before you say "whaaaaaaaa?!?," let me rationalize this. I was down 5 bucks for the day. Something told me that 'Cuse would pull off a win at Pittsburg (-5) and they got dominated (who would have thought Cuse would lose 3 in a row even if they were away at an overrated Pitt?).

Therefore, I had to get even. I decided to go on a limb, take a horrible money line (Gonzaga to win, -460), but wager 50 bones on a sure win. USF put up a fight, but Adam Morrison scored 41, and Batista had a double-double. Zags win by 9 (by the way, the line on the game was Zags -8.5; didn't want that action). So somehow - in my head, at least - the 50 buck bet was justified. Won 11 and was up 6 on the day.

This morning, I rethought the bet and went through the many reasons why I shouldn't have done that. USF was at home, Gonzaga had lost at USF last year, Zags haven't been the force everyone thought they would be. I may have a problem.

Sigh, I think I'm going to limit my betting to Duke games, weekend games, and other ESPN stuff. Even though I'm actually up about 20 bucks overall (even after the disasterous Panthers game - sadness!), I welcome the interventions.



Methinks the Fourventeenth cometh. Madness!

Ouch!!! My liver!!

Well, I think that I may finally be able to talk about the city that I like to call "The Vegas!" or "The greatest place on Earth (if you are only there for 3 days or so, perhaps 2 in my case as the third day was spent in what I like to call "the bed")" Perhaps I will go with the first name as the second name is a little bit long.

Anyway, what a fantastic trip. I realized multiple things on this trip.

1. Stealing a coffee cup and taking it to the gentlemen's club and proceeding to drink Jack and Cokes out of it makes you "weird" to the strippers.

2. Stealing multiple coffee cups during the trip makes you "weird" to your friends, but in a funny way I suppose.

3. The only way to do a bachelor party right is the way that things were done in Vegas (i.e. Saturday night...Ian totally rocked it out....)

4. My gambling problem isn't as bad as I thought it was. Once I had lost a certain amount of money, I realized that I don't have to gamble to have fun....or perhaps I was just too incapacitated to place any bets and had to remain in bed to recover.

5. Just about anything is funny when you are going on absolutely no sleep. (You win. You always do!!--I mean just that alone made me laugh for at least an hour during the flight(s) back)

6. Hanging out with a bunch of people with similar senses of humor makes one laugh...to the point that their stomach hurts, and that's a good thing!

7. Just when I thought I couldn't be any more offensive, I talk about how a certain someone has their ass and ball hair in dread locks (or was it corn rows?)....then the talk of the combination to get stuff out occurred...not sure who came up with that one!!

8. I can stay up for 24 hours drinking for a large portion of those 24 hours, go to sleep for 3 hours, get ready to go to the sportsbook, have a beer and be drunk again at 9:30 in the morning.....awesome!!!

9. I can walk 92 miles in one day...i.e. Monday...holy crap did my feet hurt!!

10. That MulletMan and Lola have some of the coolest friends that I could hang out with for days on end!!!

It was a once in a lifetime trip (that is until I have a bachelor party), and I am glad that I was a part of it....long live the legend of COFFEE CUP!!!

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a $3 slip to cash in!!

Like the Phoenix from the ashes...

... so returns The Fourventeenth!

Yes, that's right... we're back with avengance and we're ready to rock. Well, at least ready to sit on the couch and try to let our wallets and livers recover from Vegas. Damn... I don't even know what to say about Vegas. However, here are my top ten memories / lessons learned from Vegas:
10. I have the coolest fiancee ever! (Illustrated by the fact that she laughed when I tried to explain why I had make-up on my pants.)
9. Australian dudes are greasy, just like Italians! (Illustrated by the fact that my fiancee lost her veil... at least that's the story...)
8. We all love Coffee Cup... and why shouldn't we?
7. Chuck Norris doesn't go hunting... hunting implies failure. Chuck Norris goes killing.
6. Drinks with straps that go around your neck are sweet... you don't lose it, and your hands are free to do other things!
5. For one night, the guys got to be complete ballers... limo, velvet rope, private seating area, our own personal bottles of liquor and bartender! Damn! (Even if it was only for a couple hours, it was awesome.)
4. If the night at Margaritaville was any indication Lola and I are gonna have a lot of fun dancing to reggae in Jamaica.
3. Vegas is insane! I was never tired, hungover, or sick. It was like being in Disneyland for adults. And seriously... who doesn't want to go there.
2. Our friends are awesome. They let us drink, they let us dance, they let us gamble, they let us fight, they lets us party, and most importantly... they all got along and partied thier asses off for 3 days! Damn, it was a great time!

And the most important thing I learned in Vegas...

1. YOU CAN GET AWAY WITH ANYTHING! (As illustrated by my destruction of the MGM Grand sportsbook lighting system.)

Seriously, though... every time I think of our trip, I just get a big smile on my face. What a great time. What an ostentatious display of everything that people hate about America. It was bigger, more extravagant and more obnoxious than anything I ever expected. It was so much fun! From the "roudness of the glass" letting me know what was regular Coke, to the "double" Jack and Cokes, to our new friend Ben's antics in Da Club, and from the Spearmint Rhino to the Thunder From Down Under... what a great bachelor/bachelorette party we had.

So many more memories... so little time... fight in the Bellagio, brunch at the Bellagio, Stevie Wonder taking $100 from me and Lola in 3 hands of blackjack, Uncle Kracker, The Final Parlay, Sudio 54 (or so I am told), and just everyone living it up in general... nice. Good Times!

Well, I could go on and on, but I won't. For those of you who are new to the blog, you might want to check out the archives. An post which really encapsulates this blog and all that it stands for can be found in the March archive under the heading "Come Strong or Don't Come at All." Read it. Read the comments. You'll start to get it!

Long live the Fourventeenth!!!

Vegas, baby! VEGAS!

Okay, I'm sure I won't be the only person to post on the trip, but MAN was it awesome. Or at least kinda awesome. We even got some woo-woo's in watching the Vonage commercial during the Duke game. It seems like college basketball is in full swing again!

One of the best times was watching the football playoffs and college basketball at the MGM Sportsbook on Saturday (Jan. 14th). Yes, there were bets made. Yes, there were drinks had (Hooray for Celebrations!). And maybe there were bets made while drinking. Maybe.

From what I remember:

Duke (-10.5) over Clemson - Duke won by 10, we lost by 0.5. By the time Mullet and I walked from our seats to the betting booth, the line went from -10 to -10.5. By game time the line was down to -9.5. Our bet was placed at the ONLY time where we would have lost. That sucks. (-20 bucks)

Western Michigan (+11) over Buffalo - If I put money on western, how could Patti be upset at my gambling habit, right? Come to find out, Uncle Kracker went to Buffalo and bet on them to win by 11. Oh well, Uncle Kracker. You lose. You always lose. (Push, -20 overall)

OKST (-7.5) over Baylor - Hmmmm. Baylor's second game. OKST never loses. Of course we win this one. (+10, -10 overall)

Washington (+9.5) over Seattle - We'll say I've been drinking at this point. Its a good assumption. Last second impulse buy while waiting in the aisle, along with some chicklets and a copy of People. (-5, -15 overall)

New England (+3) over Denver - I think Patti said on the phone to bet on New England. Either that or something about me sounding drunk. Yeah, it was the New England thing. (-10, -25 overall)

Denver (-1.5, first half) over New England - What could be better than trying to parlay the 10 dollar OKST win into 20 bucks? That's right! Winning that bet before we get some strippers. (+10, -15 overall)

Virginia (+7) over Virginia Tech - What the hell. Go Wahoos. Let's put some money where my mouth is. But this time, its a sober impulse buy! (+10, -5 overall)

And to the coup de grâce - the triple team parlay! What could go wrong!

Akron (-8.5) over Cleveland St. PLUS
Missouri (money line) over Kanas PLUS
UCONN (-1, halftime) over Syracuse:

Well, Mullet assured us that Cleveland St. sucked. So at least we've got that going for us. It takes two missed free throws and an overtime comeback for Missou to get the win. At this point, I'm sure everyone at the Monte Carlo bar hates us - seriously, everyone. Finally, UCONN blows away Cuse in the half. Wow. A parlay that actually won for us - And a hell of a way to get out of Vegas. (+70, +65 overall)

Total for MGM sportsbook? 8 bets, 65 up. There's some juice lost in there somewhere, but the math is easier this way. Hell of a sports betting trip.

I'll write more when I can think of it. Vegas baby!