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Is this the year for the Atlanta Braves?
With about 50 games to go in the 2010 MLB season, the Atlanta Braves are looking much better than was anticipated. I actually like the team to win the NL East, however taking the NL is a whole different story. Certainly we have the the talent. The move to acquire Alex Gonzalez from the Toronto Blue Jays has strengthened the Bravos offense a great deal and rookie Jason Heyward’s bat is on fire. But a lot of teams are still in the hunt, such as the Cincinnati Reds and the defending league Champion St. Louis Cardinals. Definitely can’t sleep on the San Diego Padres or Philadelphia Phillies though. We already know what those two teams are capable of… A LOT!
If you follow the Braves, you might have heard that pitcher Tim Hudson recently signed a three-year extention for $28 million. Check out this cool tool on ESPN.com that actually takes his new contract deal and shows you how long it would take him to earn your salary. Click on the image to check it out. Why didn’t I become a baseball player? Probably because I can’t throw a 90 mph fastball.
“Take me out to the ball game…”
I’m a sports fan and I love attending live games. Football, basketball, baseball, soccer – I’m a big fan at all levels. With summer almost here and baseball season in full swing, I can’t help but think about my favorite part of attending ballgames…ballpark food. You know: chilidogs, peanuts, pop corn, ice cold beer. Ahhh…I can’t wait to get a game in. I’m hoping to be able to catch the NY Mets when they come to town next week to play the Atlanta Braves. In any case, all of this thinking of ballpark food is making me hungry. Here’s a recipe for Chili Dog Casserole that I just found online. Maybe it will satisfy my craving until I get the real deal. Try it out and let me know what you think!
Ingredients:
- 8 hot dog buns
- 8 hot dogs
- 1 (15 ounce) can chili 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon prepared mustard
- 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
- Lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish. Tear up the hot dog buns and arrange the pieces in the bottom of the dish evenly. Slice the hot dogs into bite size pieces and layer the pieces over the buns.
- Pour the chili over the hot dogs, sprinkle with the chopped onion, then spread some mustard over the chili and the onion. Top off with the cheese.
- Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes.
To tailgate or not to tailgate…
April 20, 2010 by Chris
Filed under Around Town, Sports
Just released: the NFL 2010 Atlanta Falcons schedule! Any Falcons fans planning on doing any tailgating this year? I haven’t had much opportunity to tailgate, but the experience seems like loads of fun. I’m more of a big-screen-remote-control-beer-and-chips kinda person. Anybody have any good tailgating recipes?
One GREAT weekend, several GREAT events!
April 15, 2010 by Chris
Filed under Around Town, Food, Go Green, Sports
Alright Preston Mill, this coming weekend is one of those weekends that make you love Atlanta. For the next few days, no one in the metro-Atlanta area can use the excuse that they couldn’t find anything fun to do. Music: check. Arts: check. Sports: check. Food, beer and wine: check. Outdoors: check. Traffic: check (hey, everything comes at a cost). It’s all here for the taking. Here is what you need to know:
If listening to great music, sampling new microbrews and relaxing with your friends at a park (all for the low price of $5) sounds enticing, you’ll want to check out the Sweetwater 420 Festival schedule of events at Candler Park this Saturday, April 17 from noon to 10 p.m. and Sunday, April 18 from 12:30 to 8 p.m. Also to note, The Sweetwater 420 Festival is “pet friendly” as well as a very “green friendly” event. While Sweetwater is a local Atlanta brewery, and organization named Planet 420 (hence, Sweetwater 420) sponsors the event to promote education of earth friendly practices. Sounds like a win-win for all.
One of the coolest things about Sweetwater 420 is that the festival is located just two blocks from the Candler Park MARTA station. Head to the closest MARTA station and there is no need to worry about traffic or parking!
Along with serving as the unofficial start of spring, the historic Atlanta Dogwood Festival provides the opportunity to spend time with friends and family while providing a creative marketplace for many Atlanta artisans, as well as other artists from around the country. It goes on all day at Piedmont Park from April 16-18. Unfortunately, no pets are allowed.
Additionally, you can purchase tickets for the Homegrown Comedy Binge as well as the Friends of Dogwood Pavilion food and wine tasting experience. Participating restaurants include: Dolce, Nakato, Geisha House, Pacci, The Sun Dial, Taqueria del Sol and many others. Piedmont Park is also very much accessible by MARTA.
Sports
If basketball is your thing, snatch up a ticket to see the Atlanta Hawks first game in the 2010 NBA Playoffs. They start their best-of-seven series against the Milwaukee Bucks at Philips Arena on Saturday, April 17 at 5:30 p.m. The Atlanta Braves also have a three-game series against the Colorado Rockies at Turner Field this weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (April 16, 17 and 18).
I usually check craigslist first to see if I can snag a good deal on tickets!
Final Fogelman Four (or Five)
April 3, 2010 by Chris
Filed under Apartment Living, Pop Culture, Sports
Hey Fogelman folks…the 2010 NCAA Basketball Tournament is wrapping up this weekend and if you’ve been following, you know that it has been ripe with upsets. As for the Fogelman Bracket Challenge, it’s still too close to call. There are numerous scenarios that can play out, each one resulting in a different winner.
Here is what we know…
- If Duke wins, Richard Call from Stewarts Ferry in Nashville, TN will be your 2010 Champion. Way to go, Richard! But don’t count your cookies yet…
- If West Virginia wins, then Jon Hawks will take the crown. I’m a Big East Conference fan, so I must admit that I’m in Jon’s corner. Jon, we’re not sure which apartment community you’re representing so if you’re reading this, make sure you drop us a note.
- If Michigan State wins the tournament, then Amanda Hill will be our official champion. However, because she is not officially a Fogelman property resident, she is disqualified from collecting any prize. Any prize would go to the first runner-up that is actually a resident. Sorry, Amanda. Maybe you should consider moving to a Fogelman community J
- And if Butler wins, well, here’s where it gets a little tricky. Because no one gave them a fighting chance at the beginning of the tournament, there is no clear cut winner at this point. It all depends on who they play in the Championship. If Butler defeats West Virginia in the title game, then Janelle Crandall from Metro 67 in Memphis, TN will walk away with the prize. If Butler defeats Duke, the title goes to Dani Soto from Hampton Woods in Shawnee, KS.
Good luck to each of the finalists! Don’t forget to tune into CBS to watch the tournament semifinals tonight starting at 6pm, and then the Championship game on Monday, April 5 at 8pm.
Fogelman 2010 NCAA Bracket Challenge Leader Board: Are you on it?
March 25, 2010 by Chris
Filed under Apartment Living, Sports
The first weekend of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is in the books and the leader board for the Fogelman 2010 NCAA Bracket Challenge is set. With 50+ bracket submissions, this is sure to be a tight race.
A few interesting statistics developed among the Fogelman residents that participated. Among them…
- 31% of the participants picked Kansas to win it all.
- 14% picked Kentucky
- 12% picked Duke
- 7% picked Syracuse
Here is the leader board after the first two rounds of the tournament along with their pick to win the whole thing…
1. Kim Martin (Kansas), 46 pts.
2. Garrett James (Kansas), 44 pts.
2. Kate Asselin (Kansas), 44 pts.
4. Amanda Hill (Michigan State), 43 pts.
4. Heather Towe (Kansas), 43 pts.
6. Zach Hightower (N/A), 42 pts.
6. Chris Gholston (Syracuse), 42 pts.
6. Janelle Crandall (Kansas), 42 pts.
6. Dani Soto (Kansas), 42 pts.
10. Melissa Rosenthal (Kansas), 40 pts.
The tournament itself is proving to be one of the best in years, with major upsets and Cinderella stories playing out as the field battled to join the ranks of the “Sweet 16”. Northern Iowa’s upset over Kansas in the second round will definitely shake up the Fogelman Bracket Challenge leader board in the coming weeks.
If one of your neighbors has made it on the leader board, be sure to drop them a note of congratulations on your community’s Facebook page and cheer them on. And make sure you stay tuned to all of the drama in both the NCAA tournament and the Fogelman Bracket Challenge. I’ll post a new update next week.
The Regional Semifinals play out today and tomorrow (Thursday and Friday, March 26-27), with the Regional Finals being played on Saturday and Sunday, March 27-28. Check your local CBS affiliate for game times.
MARCH MADNESS is here! Join the Fogelman Properties 2010 NCAA Bracket Challenge!!!
Are you ready for March Madness? Join the Fogelman Properties 2010 NCAA Bracket Challenge on Facebook and compete against other residents from your community, and other Fogelman properties, to see who the most basketball savvy resident is! Prizes have yet to be determined. You must enter and complete a bracket before the games begin this Thursday, March 18, 2010.
Also, each submission is automatically entered into the $5k March Mania Bracket Pool created by Citizen Sports.
Follow this link to join the Fogelman Properties 2010 NCAA Bracket Challenge!
How does the bracket scoring system work? The following scoring system is used for the bracket: Round points received for correctly choosing the winning team…
- Rd. 1 (round of 64): 1 pt.
- Rd. 2 (round of 32): 2 pts.
- Rd. 3 (round of 16): 4 pts.
- Rd. 4 (round of 8): 8 pts.
- Rd. 5 (round of 4): 16 pts.
- Rd. 6 (championship): 32 pts.
When and where can I see how I’m doing compared to other people in my pool? Once the tournament begins, click on the pool name from the homepage. You’ll see how many points each person in your pool has scored as well as the team they picked as the national champ.
What can I win in the Fogelman Properties NCAA Bracket Challenge? The top three finishers (in points) that are residents of a community that Fogelman Properties manages will receive prizes yet to be determined. Stay tuned!
What is the $5k March Mania Bracket Pool created by Citizen Sports? Every entry is automatically submitted to the $5k March Mania Bracket Pool. The winner of the bracket pool will win the $5000 cash grand prize (pending eligibility, see full rules here).
Georgia Tech readies for “The Big Dance”
With a 22-12 record and an appearance in the ACC Tournament Championship, Georgia Tech captured a #10 seed in the Midwest region of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament aka “The Big Dance.” The Yellow Jackets open the tournament on Friday, March 19, against #7 Oklahoma State.
According to a scouting report by The Sports Xchange…
Georgia Tech put itself in position to have a special season, then lost three of its last four in the regular season to put itself squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 7-9 record in the ACC. The Yellow Jackets underachieved in the regular season. Their roster features three McDonald’s All-Americans and a nice mix of veterans and freshmen. The ACC tournament, however, was a redemption trip, and the Yellow Jackets have new life starting with a first-round game against Oklahoma State.
Vick “Lazy” In Atlanta
He might be giving his all for the Philadelphia Eagles, but he wasn’t for the Atlanta Falcons. No, I’m not stirring the pot here. Michael Vick said it himself. Michael Vick was on 790 AM The Zone and went on record saying he was “lazy” when he played for the Falcons. The hits just keep on coming huh Vick?
It’s not bad enough you bring the town shame becoming one of this centuries most notorious criminal athletes, but now you have to tell the fans that you didn’t really care?
Please don’t get me wrong. I think Vick is very talented and I think he has paid his debt to society. What I also think is that he needs to just focus on the Eagles right now and stop dragging the Falcons around.
What do you think?
Colts Will Win the Super Bowl
That’s my prediction. I know it’s just a prediction, but I’m glad to stand by the Indianapolis Colts. It seems everyone else is going for the New Orleans Saints. Who are you going for?
I can see why people would choose the Saints. They have Drew Brees, Reggie Bush and the emotional story. Regardless, it’s going to be a great game to watch and I can’t wait for the Super Bowl on Sunday.
