So, about that female...

I promised to post later today about a certain female I encountered over the weekend, and damn it, I'm going to do it.

After a mostly lazy Sunday, I coerced Nick into going out downtown, thinking there would be decent nightlife due to the fact that Monday was Labor Day. Other young people had to be out partaking in "communion" as my old buddy Matt from college used to say. Well, as it turned out, that really wasn't the case.

We went to my favorite watering hole, The Flying Saucer. The place was mostly dead save for a few sparse groups of 30 somethings. However, that would soon change. Five minutes into my favorite dark beer (Battlefield Black), a pair of young women walk in and proceed to take the two bar stools to my immediate right. Lucky for me, the really beautiful one sat right next to me. As soon as this occured, I was searching my brain for something witty to say to her. Her friend, who was apparently already drunk before they got there, got up and went to the bathroom almost as soon as they sat down. This gave me an immediate chance to make a move, but I needed an in. And as luck would have it, she gave me an easy one. At a bar known for it's incredible beer selection, the girl proceeded to order a rum and coke.

Before I allowed my brain to jump in and and stop me from confronting my fear of approaching and talking to women, my mouth blurted out some teasing, chastising statement about her beverage of choice. She laughed, and instantly, I felt at ease. It was completely out of character for me. See, I've never been one to go out and pick up girls, get phone numbers, etc. Of the two girlfriends I've had in my life, both of them pursued me. This experience was completely new for me.

The conversation was standard fair for the most part early on...career, hobbies, etc. I quickly ran out of material and the conversation fizzled. She went back to talking to her friend for 5-10 minutes. Luckily, I quickly thought of something I had forgotten to mention: I'm writing a book. Girls love to read, so this easily re-engaged her interest in me. We talked about it for a good 10 minutes, when the strangest thing happened. She mentioned how much she enjoyed reading. I immediately said, "I know you do," to which she said "You do?" I said yes, you read Nicholas Sparks books. She looked astonished and said something to the effect of "How the hell did you know that?" I played it off like it was nothing for a minute or two, but she persisted. Then I said possibly the greatest thing I've ever said to a woman: "Yeah, you read all his books, you know, when you're not watching Grey's Anatomy." She practically fell out of the chair this time. I was in.

We proceeded to talk about general dating topics. It turned out she had been on a blind date the previous week, but it was nothing serious. I figured it was my time to close quickly having learned of this, so I said "That means you're open to dating other guys then." She nodded yes. I then wittingly said "So you don't mind giving me your number then", and damn if she didn't give it to me willingly. I had succeeded. I'm going to call her tomorrow and try to set up something simple in the near future. Today's lesson boys and girls: Maybe this whole picking up women thing is much easier than I originally thought. Stay tuned.

Did I mention she was beautiful?

Football, Good Food, and a Female

Thank God for extended weekends. I took Friday off from work to make my holiday weekend even longer. I can't even remember what I did on Friday, but I can assure you of this: I enjoyed it. Sometimes being lazy is so fulfilling, especially when it's well-earned.

Saturday was awesome, as it marked the return of college football, which means I'll be seeing my good friend, and the foremost expert on football outside of John Madden, Randolph, quite often. He came over and we went to Chapel Hill for the UNC vs. James Madison game. The game wasn't until 6 PM, but we arrived in Chapel Hill around lunch time to soak in the atmosphere Butch Davis has created in promising the return of big time college football to Chapel Hill. Following the departure of Mack Brown in 1997, Carolina fans suffered through 9 seasons of mostly sub-par, mediocre-at-best, football. Butch Davis has been tapped as the savior to turn that all-around, and after game 1, so far so good. I'll get to that in a minute.

Let me first address the giant killer Appalachain State Mountaineers. For those of you who live in a cave and have yet to see the highlights, or hear a second-hand account of the events, the Mountaineers went into The Big House in Ann-Arbor, Michigan this past Saturday to face the fifth-ranked Michigan Wolverines. No one in their right mind with any knowledge of college football even expected this game to be close, yet some how Ap. State came away with a narrow 2 point victory in one of the most bizarre endings I've ever seen in a football game. After somehow denying inevibility for 55 minutes of football, the Mountaineers gave up the go-ahead score to Michigan with about 4 minutes left in the game. At that point, you had to think to yourself, well they played better than anyone expected, they should be proud of themselves even though they're going to lose. That thought was further solidified when with about 3 minutes left Ap State threw an interception deep in their own territory. Hold on. "Not so fast my friend!", as Lee Corso would say on ESPN College Gameday. After a quick 3 and out, the Mountaineers proceeded to block a Michigan field goal, and with just under 2 minutes left, somehow still had a small glimmer of hope that they could drive the length of the field and win this game. Sure, the chance was dire at best, but still possible. Then it became reality. After several plays for huge yardage gains, there were the Mountaineers, on the Michigan 5 yard line with a chance to kick a field goal and win this thing with 20 seconds to play. The snap was good, the hold was good, and the kick was good. Michigan fans stood stunned and shocked - all 100,000+ of them. Ap. State proceeded to celebrate like they just won the BCS Championship. But again, not so fast my friend. With one last gasp of desperation, Michigan ran a hail mary play to perfection, and suddenly they were on the 20 yard line of the Mountaineers with another chance to escape an upset of tremendous proportions. with 5 seconds left, they set up for a 37 yard field goal to seal the win. The snap was good, the hold was good, the kick was good. Or at least it would have been, if a Mountaineer lineman hadn't blown through the line untouched and swatted the ball out of the air. Ap. State had won, but that wasn't enough. The same guy that blocked the kick proceeded to scoop up the ball and attempt to take it to the house for 6. And he would have proceeded, had he not cramped up just a few yards shy of the goal line. But it didn't matter, the greatest upset in college football history had just occured. Are the Mountaineers the best team in the state of North Carolina right now? I think so.

Now back to Butch. It was apparent that big time football had returned to Chapel Hill before the opening kickoff ever occured. A capacity crowd filled Kenan Stadium a full hour before game time, whereas in the past, the less than capacity crowd that came to games would show up late and leave early. But not this time. Anticipation was in the air. When the redshirt freshman quarterback read the defense perfectly and threw a 65 yard touchdown pass on the third play from scrimmage, it was evident Butch knew what he was doing. Am I expecting a BCS season? NO. This is a young team, and it's going to take time to get to that level. But the first game couldn't have been more promising. Flashes of brilliance and signs of improvement abound. As if the fireworks and having the game ball brought in via paratrooper from 14,000 feet weren't enough. Nice touches Butch. Of course none of that matters as much as the win column, but it was still fun.

I apologize for my misleading post title alluding to food and females. I don't have time to get to those stories right now, but I promise I'll get to them later today. I'll also give my review of the new Kanye West album I had a chance to get two weeks bfore it's release date. First impression? It's hot.

Be patient folks, it's coming.

Anticipating a great weekend

After that big trip to San Francisco in April which afforded me the opportunity to fulfill a dream of playing golf at arguably the greatest course in the world in Pebble Beach, I've been going strong at the office. I posted record numbers for the bank in July. August stands to be just as good. The problem is, other than a couple of days to stay home and watch the Britist Open or the PGA Championship, I've been living in my office. Even those of us with the best careers in the world get burned out from time to time. This might be one of those times for me. Thankfully, a mini vacation of sorts is coming this weekend.

There won't be any big elaborate trips this time around. Instead, my time off is going to be filled with good food, a couple of good bottles of wine, a few Blue Moons, quality time with my good friend Randolph, and the glorious beginning of college football season.

The bank already observes Labor Day as a federal holiday on this coming Monday, so I thought I'd take Friday off to make it that much sweeter (As if college football and the coeds that come included in the deal don't make it sweet enough to begin with!). For those of you not fortunate enough to attend a game between the pines in beautiful Kenan Stadium in Chapel Hill, let me tell you what you're missing: Coeds.

I've been fortunate enough to attend football games at colleges all over the southeast: Clemson, Georgia, Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Miami, Ole Miss...the list goes on. I think it's a safe bet that the University of North Carolina has the finest coeds this side of the Mississippi (Ole Miss in Oxford, Miss. is a close second). And get this, they have brains too! So while I'll be attending Saturday night's opening game against James Madison, I won't be attending just for the football, I'll be attending for the surrounding eye candy and the off chance that I "accidently" bump into one of those fine young specimens and am lucky enough to start a conversation with her. By the way, there's a reason you see all the old men bring binoculars with them to the game, and it's not because their cataracts prevent them from seeing the action on the line of scrimmage. They're checking out the coeds. With the level of technology available today, I'd be willing to bet they can see the little beads of sweat dripping down the cheeerleaders perfectly tanned, taut abdominals and pooling inside their pierced belly buttons.

Believe it or not, while this glorious event is taking place, there might actually be some football being played. Excitement is high this year for Tar Heel football, yet the bar for expectations among the masses is considerably lower. We're excited for the coming of the next Messiah, Coach Butch Davis, who for those of you are not aware, resurrected a Miami program coming off NCAA probation ( a time in which their scholarships were severely limited) in the late 90's and took them all the way to the top of the college football world within 5 seasons. The year after he left, Larry Coker won it all with Davis' players, then came within a couple of plays and a Willis McGahee broken leg of doing again the next year. Of course, Coker has since been fired. So that tells you how much of a factor his coaching was in winning a national championship, as opposed to the level of talent that Butch Davis recruited. Davis had enough players go in the first round of the NFL draft who played for him in five seasons in Miami to field an expansion team. The guy has an eye for talent, and he can coach that talent.

People are expecting big things in Chapel Hill, and I'm not referring to Roy William's hardwood Heels (Although they will be the preseason #1 team this year and the favorite to win it all with Junior big man Tyler Hansbrough's leadership). Davis is the chosen man to turn around what Carl Torbush and John Bunting ruined in the 9 seasons following Mack Brown's departure to Texas. This righting of the ship is not expected to happen right away, however. It's going to take 2 or 3 seasons. This years team is nearly half freshmen and redshirt freshmen. There's going to be a learning curve. It's inevitable. On the way to greatness, expect them to win some games they shouldn't win and lose some they should win. Regardless, it's going to be fun, because Heel fans know as long as Davis is in place, things are going to be headed in the right direction. Progress is going to be made, week by week. By the 12th and final game of the season, expect the team to look completely different than they did on that first weekend in September. They'll be better. Things like that just take time.

In the meantime, expect the ride to be a fun one. I know I'll be in Kenan Stadium Saturday night with my good friend Randolph, both of us not knowing what to expect from this young team. But it's going to be fun. Besides, if the football gets ugly, I'll borrow the binoculars of the old man seated next to me. There's always coeds!

Call me crazy, but...

I believe Michael Vick. I believe he's sorry. I believe he realized he made a mistake, and that he had to be a man about it, own up to it, and put himself out there for all to see as an example of what not to do.

Vick stood in front of that podium, and the world, for nearly 15 minutes expressing his remorse. It wasn't scripted. If it were, it would have been filled with far more legal jargon and grammatical correctness. But it wasn't. He stood there, took the time to gather his thoughts, and spoke from the heart.

He even went as far as to issue a disclaimer, saying he was just a football player, not a public speaker, and that because of this the things he was about to say weren't going to sound like a prepared statement, because they weren't. They were true, genuine thoughts and feelings of remorse that this man - who is still a human being believe it or not - was about to attempt to put into words in front of the entire world.

I give Vick credit. He could have easily had his lawyer prepare a statement to be read while he was hiding in some back room somewhere deep in the bowels of that Richmond, Virginia courthouse. But he didn't. He took it like a man. He faced the fire. He took responsibility. He pledged to redeem himself. Think of how many others didn't. You listening, Pacman Jones? How about you, Jayson Williams? Mike Tyson? Paris? Lindsay? Are you people listening?

Our athletes, musicians, and movie stars need to learn what that word means: "responsibility". Whether it's killing a limo driver accidentally and later denying it, raping a woman, or driving drunk multiple times with disregard for the lives of those around you, they need to take responsibility for their actions. They're not above the law, as much as the bottom line on their bank statement, or their athletic ability may lead them to believe they are.

Therefore, young people and celebrities alike need to let Michael Vick serve as an example of how not to act. You can be filthy rich, beautiful, or the most athletically talented person in your particular sport, but none of that matters if you don't know right from wrong.

A big factor in the numerous events that have caused the downfall of many of our celebrities and athletes in the past couple of decades has been hip-hop. It's not been the music so much as it's been the culture. Let me first issue a disclaimer of my own. I'm a white guy, and because I'm a white guy, I can't speak for the black community. What I have to say would have absolutely no credibility within the black community because of the color of my skin. However, I'm going to say it anyway.

The so-called hip-hop culture that arose in our society in the 80's and 90's ,and has since culminated into a media giant in the past 4 or 5 years should shoulder at least a portion of the blame here. I say this, having grown up listening to rap music practically from the time I could walk. I play it loud in my car, I play it loud at home. I even know all the words. However, I know the difference between talking about something and doing it.

For whatever reason, black athletes these days have become woven into the very fabric of hip-hop culture. The two almost go hand-in-hand. The trouble is, some black athletes, who have come to think they're above the law as I mentioned earlier (whether it be through ridiculous paychecks, fan worship, endorsement deals, or groupies), have started to take the things hip-hop artists talk about literally.

Adam "Pac Man" Jones of Tennessee Titan fame is perhaps the best recent example of this. During NBA All-Star Weekend in Las Vegas a couple of months ago, Jones got involved in an altercation after "making it rain" on a stripper and a brawl ensued. Shots were fired. And where do you think he got the idea to "make it rain on them hoes"? Lil' Wayne. Rap music.

Even more sickening have been the comments in the past few weeks from other athletes like Stephon Marbury and Deion Sanders. They've all but condoned dog-fighting, calling it a part of black culture and even a sport.

With athletes acting the same as rappers, there aren't too many role models left for our children. Except parents. Parents should be the front line against teaching our kids right from wrong, not athletes like Michael Vick. Sadly, we can't count on athletes to be role models these days. The Tiger Woods' and Arthur Ashe's of the world are few and far between in 2007.

It is because of this that it felt so refreshing yesterday to see Michael Vick on television, admitting, in what I believe to be a sincere manner, the error of his ways. It took a troubling matter of monumental enormity for Vick to wake up, but I belive he has. He openly rejected dog-fighting and other criminal activity. He told kids not to be like him, but be better than him. And he didn't mean Michael Vick the football player, but Michael Vick the person.

It's unfortunate it took something as horrifying as dog-fighting to set this example, but at least it's been set. For years to come, we as a society should not forget these events, but rather let them serve as a reminder of what can happen to any of us when we go astray. I just hope other athletes, celebrities, and most of all, black American youths have their eyes and ears open. Michael Vick is not only learning a tough lesson, he's teaching us all one too.

Call me crazy, but I believe Michael Vick.

So I deciced to write...

the great American novel. At this point I have no idea what it's going to be about. I've done some brainstorming but haven't come up with anything decisive as of yet. Yes, I know I'm a banker, but it's always been my belief that I should have been a writer; a belief that is shared by my the most influential person in my life, my mother. I'd probably be a sports journalist if I could do anything I wanted. However, this book probably won't be about sports. It will probably be about life, love, and the general pursuit of happiness. While this will most likely be a work of fiction, I will use parallels in my own life to shape my characters, whether it be a character who is a projection of myself, or one whose attitude and mannerisms are influenced by those around me (friends, family, co-workers).

Any ideas you may have can be directed to me at bpcoxjr@yahoo.com. I'll keep you updated here about my chosen subject, working title, plot, etc.

An 11th random thought

11. Guys who wear the cell phones clipped on their belts really need help. Do they not realize how ridiculous they look? I think it's a safe bet they either A) are virgins, or B) rarely get laid. Stick it in your pocket man.

Ten Random Thoughts

1. I really, really, really hate the people who walk around with a Bluetooth earpiece stuck to the side of their face, regardless of whether or not they're actually talking to anyone. Newsflash: This isn't Star Trek, and you're not Captain Spock.

2. Fat people disgust me. Besides the fact that they are gross to anyone that has to lay eyes on them, what really gets me is the excuse they like to use about how people should mind their own business because they're fatness isn't affecting anyone else. Riiiiight. Try telling that to my health insurance company, fat ass.

3. People who drop big words in everyday conversation, without even knowing what those words mean are poseurs. They interject them merely to project an image of being intelligent. Please. Quit feigning intelligence. You either have it or you don't.

4. While I'm on the subject of the written and spoken word, I would be remiss without mentioning people who use words that don't exist. Irregardless isn't a word, and it never will be, REGARDLESS of how many times you use it.

5. I can't stand when someone says "Can I ask you a question?" Didn't really give me much of a chance, did you?

6. Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson and Kanye West both have albums dropping on September 11th. The very public, very verbal jabs coming from both sides in the leadup to their album debuts are growing more personal every day. This could very easily become this decade's Biggie versus Tupac rivalry (hopefully without the gunfire). Rap is relevant again.

7. Speaking of September 11th, can anyone else believe this will be the 6th anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon? Momma wasn't kidding when she said time flies the older you get.

8. I had the opportunity to stand in awe of that enormous abyss in lower Manhattan last October. For the first time, I truly felt the pain of all those who died on that tragic day, as well as the family and friends they left behind. We're so desensitized to tragedy as a society. My first thought was that the media is to blame. But maybe it's not the news media. Maybe it's the television. We see stories of rescuers trying to dig miners from the darkest depts of the earth, and a catastrophic hurricane leaving a path of destruction that will forever change the lives of countless human beings. Some of us even remain oblivious. Yet with the simple push of a button, we can easily escape to Grey's Anatomy or ESPN, and return to our regularly scheduled lives. We can change the channel. They can't.

9. I wonder if I'm the only one who thinks it's ridiculous to call somewhere in this country and have to press 1 to hear the options in English. Last time I checked, this is America. If you want to move here (hopefully legally), learn to speak the language. I wouldn't move to the Amazon and expect the spear toting natives in loin cloths to learn to speak my language. I'd learn the native tongue and attempt to fit in.

10. I'm very excited about the start of the college football season. I'm not so much as excited for the football, as I am for what it signals. College basketball is right around the corner!