Submitted without comment

Wearing my now-retro CP3 jersey at the gamewatch last night at Handsome Willy's.

GEAUX HORNETS!

(Note: Check out hornets247.com. Those guys are HIGH-larious and very cool.)

I'd just like to point out...

...that Michael Phelps has more gold medals than France.

Hehe.

So I'm in agreement with Jeffrey. The Hornets unis?

Do. Not. Want.

Pinstripes only belong in baseball, folks. And creole blue? A more "passionate" purple?

Spare me.

But I do kinda dig the new logos.

Hornets' new unis...

...thoughts?

Cheap Shot Rob

I'm not kidding:

http://hoops.blink.ph/2008/05/16/desperate-champs-desperate-measures/

Robert Horry is a schmuck.

Kicking off Friday on a happy note!

Last night during D.'s live chat for NOLA.com, I made him post the link to Tony Parker's French rap video.

It's as if Kenny G met Shaq and produced a cheesy song in a post-modern French black-and-white documentary style.

Ergo, it makes me giggle on this rainy Friday morning.



Geaux Hornets!

ZOMG, David West...

Robert Horry took him out last night with a well-placed elbow to the back. West had injured his back in Game 5, but played most of last night's hideous Game 6 loss to the Spurs. Should David West have been playing in the 4th quarter when the Spurs were up by 20 points? Probably not. But should Robert Horry be such a jackass?

Well, you probably know my feelings on THAT.

And Spurs fans? They. Cheered. Horry. As. If. He. Were. Some. Kind. of. HERO.

Which clearly he is not.

http://deadspin.com/5009314/cheap-shot-rob-strikes-again

Seriously, I'd been a Spurs fan for YEARS until I moved to New Orleans...but last night, watching Bowen's flops and Horry's douchey moves, I was angry.

So here's a question, Hornets fans - good defense by the Spurs or just Oscar-caliber acting?

See for yourself...



As for Horry - just remember, he committed a flagrant, nasty foul (not that he was really punished for it) on Steve Nash last year, shoving him into the boards during the playoffs.

Happy Fun Wednesday Time!

So it's been a crazy week - we spent Mother's Day in Pensacola in the emergency room of Sacred Heart Hospital after Mom became disoriented and confused. Turns out, she has pneumonia and was hypoxic (low oxygen).

She was released from the hospital 24 hours later, and I brought her back to New Orleans with me so that we can look after her for the next week or so.

Congrats to the Hornets for their 22-point win over the Spurs last night - and major kudos to David West, who scored 38 points. Let's hope we can ride that confidence back into San Antonio tomorrow night.

Ooooh.

This is funny right here; I don't care who you are. (Kudos to this guy for producing this.)

"Frustration: if you know you can't win, go break somebody's neck."

Here's looking at you, Jason Kidd. Perhaps you mistook Pargo for your wife?

(Ooooh, snap.)

Jason Kidd tried to kill Jannero Pargo in the face.

I kid you not.

What a punk.

You know you're really engaged when...

...you both change your ringtone on your cell phones to Europe's "The Final Countdown."

On a sobering note - what the heck was with all of the shootings this past weekend?

And can someone explain to me WHY Coach K picked Jason Kidd over Chris Paul for the Olympic basketball team? I mean, has he SEEN the matchup?

I wonder if he watched Saturday night's come-from-behind win over the Mavs. All I'm sayin' is - it reminded me of that Celtics game...which could be a great thing, or a disastrous thing.

We'll just have to see.

Your Friendly NOLA Sports Update

So yay, the Hornets are still atop the Western Conference and facing the Warriors today--they're looking to make it five-in-a-row. They hit their playoff bid earlier this week and can now safely cruise for the next 8 games...so why isn't CP3 a safe bet for MVP?

Hmm...

The VooDoo won last night - they beat the AFL defending champions, the SaberCats, and now sit comfortably on top of their division. Clevan Thomas, who played DB at FSU while I was in Tallahassee, plays for the 'Cats - as does former UM WR Jason Geathers. I took some pics for NOLA.com - you can see them here.

In awful news, it looks like my parish church is closing. :(

A few shots from tonight's game...

Tonight at the Hornets-Celtics game, I got to meet both Glenn Dorsey and Mike McKenzie.

Both were supernice, and signed autographs for almost an hour after tonight's game for fans.

And I snuck a cute pic of D. hard at work.

The Hornets overcame a tremendous deficit to beat the best team in the league - it was an exciting game, and to watch the sell-out crowd (the eighth sell-out in the last 13 home games!) yell. Seriously, the fans were so incredibly loud, D. is still having trouble hearing out of his right ear.

Then again, we are getting old. ;)

P.S. How funny are these two guys?

Yes, well...

I have been dreadfully absent of late, but I promise, I have a really, really good excuse.

More on that later.

In the meantime, as the Hornets head down the home stretch to the playoffs, people are really starting to give them a lot of promising attention. Fans crowded the Arena for the team's fourth sellout of the season, and media pundits are raving about Chris Paul.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=hornets-080320

The Hornets host the Celtics on Saturday night.

In unrelated news, New Orleans officials are kvetching that the census numbers on the city's revived population are too low.

I tend to agree. Traffic is insane, and as a result, the streetcars are insanely backed up. That's a good sign that the population is getting up there, folks.

D. is pretty sick, so I'm going to go get him some orange juice. I'm still recovering from my two days as a movie extra.

Happy Fun Wednesday Time!

Tonight harkens two important matchups for the Dave-and-Cait household:

-Hornets v. Warriors (we'll be at the Arena for that!)- the Hornets are on an amazing 9-game winning streak.

-K-State vs. KU (it's a home game at Bramlage for the Wildcats!) - could this be the year that KSU breaks the Rock Chalk Curse?

To mark these events, and to possibly overcompensate for the fact that I won't be posting all that much this weekend due to Mardi Gras overtaking my life, I offer up this:

We're #1! We're #1!

Well, actually, the Hornets are, but hey, I can live vicariously through their success, right?

As my ridiculously tall D. points out:

ESPN's Marc Stein ranks 'em No. 1, and he correctly points out that the Hornets have won six straight contests by at least 14 points. According to Stein, that's only happened four other times in NBA history.

That deserves a "wow" right there.

I could't agree more - so who's in for tomorrow night's game against the Warriors? D. and I will be there.

GEAUX HORNETS!

Kicking off Friday on a happy note!

Hooray! It's Friday! Let's get down to the videos...

First of all - support your Hornets, Orleanians. Despite a lack of depth at the bench, these guys are goooooooooooooooood. They're the real deal this year - their only loss in January so far is to the Lakers. Let's keep them here in NOLA - tickets are only $10, and there isn't a bad seat in the Arena. (Yes, I'm a Spurs fan, but the Hornets are wearing me down gradually.)





Geaux Hornets!

And just for our great neighbors, Alita and Suni - here's a little "Yeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaaah!" for you:

Geaux Hornets?

Amazingly and wonderfully, the Hornets are off to a 9-2 start - which is a franchise record. The Hornets are playing very well, despite some key injuries (cough, Chris Paul, cough).

So why aren't people going to the games? Tickets aren't that expensive, folks.

http://www.nola.com/hornets/t-p/index.ssf?/base/sports-3/1195453507141410.xml&coll=1

FREE AT LAST!

Don't let the door hit you on the way out, you racist, incompetent (albeit nattily-dressed) hypocrite.

http://blog.nola.com/times-picayune/2007/10/sources_talks_underway_for_jor.html

I'm fairly sure Jake, our dog, could have prosecuted the capital crimes cases that plague this city far better than Eddie Jordan. Heck, Jordan's trademark hat would have probably been more effective.

I'm also pretty sure that I'm doing the happy dance - which Michelle and Kevin know as the "Cait-does-the-inpretative-cabbage-patch-whilst-wearing-a-goofy-expression" dance.

I've been gone for a while, I know. October's been pretty hectic - work, the car, etc. have all taken their toll, but this past week, D.'s brother Younger D. and his wife, Rachel, visited from Missouri. They took in a Saints game, a ghost tour, and walks around the French Quarter and uptown. They saw military police roaming the 9th Ward, saw my car flood, and sampled beignets, Abita and crawfish. They checked out Napoleon House, Port of Call and Parasol's, and enjoyed the whimsical atmosphere of Dick and Jenny's. In the midst of this, Rachel turned 26. So happy birthday, Rachel - I hope you enjoyed your week here in the Crescent City. I'm only sorry I ended up working so much while you were here!

I should be posting quite a bit more - things are stabilizing at work, and given a good nap, I'll have a lot more energy. In the meantime, here are some pics taken by Younger D. and Rachel:

Don't D. and I look great when caught off guard? D. is looking mildly irritated because of work, and I'm making an ass of myself sheerly to try to amuse him. Woot!

Beignets and cafe au lait at Cafe Du Monde, nestled in the base of Jackson Square.

My favorite pic, apart from the classic of D. looking rumpled and warm in his bathrobe on the front porch, is this one, of St. Louise Cemetary No 1., where Marie Laveau is buried.

I suppose I like this one best because I adore this time of year - Halloween is great here in New Orleans. It's a time to enjoy the crisp weather and pumpkin ale at the Bulldog, and it's great for snuggling up to D. on the couch while watching "Hellraiser" and "Leprechaun 41231274: His Descendants are Still Battling the Little Dork in an Alternate Reality." Awwww, yeah.

(Plus, there's a built-in excuse to eat candy corn!)

Tomorrow night, D. and I will don our K-Fed and Britney costumes and roll down to the Quarter and the Marigny for some quasi-tame debauchery.

Geaux Saints, geaux Hornets (the home opener is tomorrow night), and happy Halloween!

P.S. We saw Tom Morello at the Moonwalk on Thursday.

Looky, looky...

There's a new blog of note on NOLA.com...

http://blog.nola.com/gladow/2007/08/welcome.html

I told D. that in the "About the Author" section, he should include the following:

"Occasionally the author is known to parade around his home wearing jhorts. Without. A. Belt. And no, he is NOT a Gator fan."

Halloween in the Big Easy...

It appears as though THREE major (okay, I'm definitely reaching on the third event) events will overrun the Crescent City over Halloween weekend. Halloween in New Orleans might be only second to Mardi Gras in terms of sheer madness and libertine tendencies. People here take Halloween SERIOUSLY - I mean, this is a nearly three-hundred year-old city, with the dark underbelly of its history inspiring how many ghost and vampire stories?

The most important news is the Hornets are returning to New Orleans. Their 2007-2008 schedule was announced yesterday. I know C.D. will be psyched about this - he's been adamant about calling them the NO Hornets, despite the fact they've been playing in Oklahoma City for two years. Per NOLA.com:

The biggest Halloween party in town will be at the New Orleans Arena.

The Hornets will open their 2007-08 regular season at home against the Sacramento Kings, marking their momentous return to post-Katrina New Orleans. This coming season will be the team's first full season in the Crescent City since 2004-05. The Hornets moved to Oklahoma
City for the two seasons following Hurricane Katrina, playing nine scattered games in New Orleans while the team and city prepared for a permanent reunion.

Opening night on Oct. 31 will be the first of 41 home games, featuring a youthful Hornets team that was in the playoff hunt last season up to the final week.

(Source: http://blog.nola.com/tpsports/2007/08/hornets_release_schedule_open.html)

And then there's VooDoo Fest, which will this year feature performances from the reunited Rage Against the Machine, Smashing Pumpkins, Wilco and your humble blogger's much-adored Spoon and Cold War Kids. Check it out:

http://www.voodoomusicfest.com/2007/index.html

Because of more widespread interest, the festival in NOLA's gorgeous City Park has been extended to three days. Here's a random factoid - did you know that City Park is the second largest municipal park in the country, behind New York's Central Park?

D. and I will also begin what we hope will be an annual tradition - a seven deadly sins-themed Halloween party, inspired by two certain Auburn residents. ;)

Which sin would you dress as for Halloween? And don't say "lust." I mean, "Mean Girls" said it best, I realize, by noting that Halloween is an excuse for gals to dress as slutty as possible...but where's the creativity? Where's the fun?

That said, I plan on dressing as Britney Spears - ratty black wig and all (yeah, I'm so NOT shaving my head). I figure she embodies at LEAST 5 of the 7, right? What could be more fun than that? M. is dressing as La Lohan, complete with powdered sugar smeared on someone else's pants and under her nose.

So, folks? What about you?

(P.S. Welcome back to New Orleans, Hornets players and staff. You've been missed. Here's to hoping we show you the same support we've shown the Saints!)