The Babcock Report No. 2

Welcome back to my quasi-weekly rundown of things that interest me from the world of sports and beyond. It has been a great week for roomofzen. Over the past eight or nine days we have increased our emails received by over 800%, and this seems to be just the tip of the iceberg. We want you all to know that we appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and comments with us, and look forward to all of our interactions in the future. That being said, please do not send us any pictures of your genitals. I cannot stress that enough.

Bill Parcels: Not afraid to pull up the shorts.

Whores!

Maybe its just that I am more in touch with the world of sports now that I have this blog to look after, but it seems to me that coaches these days are becoming more and more promiscuous. When Bobby Patrino left the Falcons a couple of weeks ago in the midst of a season he received a lot of warranted critiscism. I may be old school, but I believe that coaches should be held to a higher standard than players...if they aren't that undermines the entire power structure that having a "coach" gives you in the first place. How often do we see these guys taking over a NFL team or a college team and promising to rebuild the program, blah blah blah, and 12 weeks later they are giving the same speech in a different town with a different colored polo shirt on? ALL the time. Lets put NFL coaches aside for a second. Now I may be a naive hillbilly from New Ulm, Minnesota, but I still believe that the purpose of college is to get an education. All that mushy stuff aside, when a kid signs on with one of these Division 1A schools they are making a huge commitment, and a coach has a lot to do with this decision. I just don't know how a guy like Nick Saban, who just took over the Alabama job (with a HUGE contract) can go and throw his name into the mix at West Virginia after only one season with the Crimson Tide. How do these guys look kids in the face and tell them that they can be a part of their system for the next four years and then run off to the next "hot" coaching vacancy? Oh yeah...its the money. I know there are a lot of great coaches out there who are also great people, so lets not forget that, just something I have noticed.

I really almost felt bad for Falcons owner Arthur Blank after the whole Vick fiasco and then Bill Parcells dissing him to sign with the Dolphins (has anyone else ever been dissed by someone choosing to align themselves with the Miami Dolphins?...I am embarrassed for him) and having Joey Harrington on the team and all...then I realized, hey this motherfucker is RICH! I can't feel bad for anyone who has enough money to BUY A PROFESSIONAL SPORTS TEAM. In fact nobody should. So forget about feeling bad for Arthur Blank and feel bad for Bill Parcells. Unless something really crazy happens...like one of the coaches invents that invisible forcefield ball from The Explorers (sick movie and check out the tagline "You don't need a drivers license to reach the stars"...so true) and sticks Ronny Brown inside of it, the Dolphins will suck for at least the next 6 years. By that time Parcells will be enjoying his 17th retirement from the league and somewhere the Patriots will be laughing because their GM will be banging his daughter...we win again!

Ok so while I am writing this column I am drinking a Vitamin Water..Formula 50 to be exact and I'm thinking to myself why didn't they just give you the full 100% of all of those vitamins and minerals? Why I am paying to only get 1/2 of all of these necessary nutrients? Is this a genius marketing ploy (because you have to buy 2) or another example of how stupid we are as consumers? Why am I writing about Vitamin Water? Honestly I don't know..but is it me or is it crazy that we have a nutitional supplement that bears the name of a Rapper? SOCIETY!!!!!

Music

I was planning on writing a review of the Ween concert that Old Man Stratton attended a few weeks ago but for legal issues I will not put any details of the events that unfolded that evening on this blog...let's just say that the show really kicked ass and that I have been taking it easy ever since...very, very, easy. My buddy Jonny was sitting in a Roast Beef place in Haverhill, MA when this song (above) came on...he said that strangely no one seemed to find it out of place at all. These guys are one of the most under appreciated bands ever and they have some of the best random ass-kicking (that is a sick combination of words if I may say so) songs out there. They can certainly be a little inaccessible to new fans, especially if you find it wierd to listen to a song about spinal meningitis, but if you put in the time to check out some of their stuff you will not be disappointed. My favorite albums are 1) White Pepper 2) 12 Golden Country Greats 3) Live in Chicago. They are also awesome live so if you ever get the chance check them out, just don't go with Stratton or I if you know whats good for you. Check out this sick video for "The Mollusk":







I also bought a couple of albums last week that I am very satisfied with..."Sticky Fingers" by the Rolling Stones and "Cure For Pain" by Morphine. I have always been one to choose the Stones over the Beatles, and I could listen to this album a million times and not get sick of it, I cannot say the same for Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band. This album has some great great underrated Stones tunes, particularly "Moonlight Mile" and "Sway" and I would consider this an essential piece of any music library. I have been meaning to grab this Morphine album ever since I heard the title track on my Sirius one day. I just think that they have the coolest sound and you have to respect a band that is made up of just drums, a baritone sax, and a two string bass guitar. Less is more sometimes, its true, except when it comes to having all of your fingers.

Hey look...its Mick Jagger's wang!