Charlotte Bobcats!

Well this past month has been my official re-intro to NBA basketball I suppose.

My official up close and personal intro to the Charlotte Bobcats, Charlotte second NBA team (first officially being the beloved Charlotte Hornets).

About 3 weeks ago the Bobcats took on the ATL Hawks and I was lucky enough to sit courtside on the team bench thanks to a great friend and connection. So my buddy B-radd (aka DoubleD) and I headed off for the full experience; (a) park underground with the players, (b) sit with our feet on the actual court, (c) sit 4 seats down from Coach Larry Brown, (d) sit about 10 seats down from His Airness aka Michael Jordan #23, (e) eat and drink in the private Hardwood Club, (f) fist bump with "Jack" Stephen Jackson, and (g) have the up close experience of a lifetime.

Then it was time for to head off to a playoff game! Although we got swept and looked pretty dang bad it was still fun to see the city back on the NBA wagon for a few nights at home playoff games.

Yet, I can't truly say I am completely won over yet, but could be with the following changes; (a) we get a point guard that can play (meaning he doesn't do a predictable spin move each time he passes half court - uh-hum Mr. Felton), (b) we need a true power Forward or Center badly as we have no skills in the art-form of reboudning.

All said and done I am pretty pumped for next season and the energy does seem to be rising for the home team. So here is to a successful season...hey at least we "made" the playoffs.....and here is to hopefully a season with a "playoff win" next year!

3eb @ Elon!

YES, Third Eye Blind played the Elon University gym baby!

So this past week it was time to venture back to the ole stompin grounds.......the place where the likes of the B.O.B. (fyi that new rapper definitely stole my name - friggin poser) Sheezy Welborn, Raudy Laudy Laudick, BJ Double-D's, and ole BH once ruled the city (ok well it's officially a town)!

It's Dranking Time!This time the whole gang wasn't there but Magnum BARR and I took Elon by storm when we hit town on a Friday for the Third Eye Blind show at the Alumni Gym. Of course no Elon trip is complete without a planned trip to WestEnd Bar for the enjoyment of a few "code blues", "KOB - King of Beers", and a "Johnny Walker"!

We then hit the upstairs seats for the opening acts where we were a few feet from the back stage activities then after Joshua James and Shwayze opened it up it was time for what I consider one of the bands of the decade Third Eye Blind (3eb).

The timeless group that brought us hits like "Semi-Charmed Life", "Graduate", "How's it Going to Be", "Deep Inside of You", and the favorites that make most of us true 3eb fans just stop in our tracks on the second the frist beat hits; "Motorcycle Drive By", "Wounded", and the best ever track "God of Wine"! Yup, they closed the show with the ole classic "God of Wine" before doing a crowd chant rendition of "Bonfire" off their new album Ursa Major.

They also played a good bit of the new album which has some great tracks; "Bonfire", "Water Landing", "Montov's Private Opera" (which live Stephan Jenkins brought out ole fashioned glow sticks) , "Dao of St. Paul" and others.

Overall is was a pretty sweet show! As always Elon was a good time!

The Finished Product!

Well the construction is done and now the final results are being to come together. The new patio looks stellar!

Enjoy a few pics below.....more to come once we get furniture in and begin the planning stages of the Patio Kickoff Party!

(Left: Shows the right side driveway walkaround that was built up with a 145' retaining wall AND the right shows the step up from the walkaround onto the patio)

Then you can get a feel for the main entertainment area on this bad boy below a 30' x 35' main patio with sitting walls, grill inlay, cap lighting and pillars

You can then see the look back towards the SunRoom access and Garage access onto the patio.

There is also a wrap around the outside of the SunRoom that will allow for the firepit and rockingchair porch.


Once this bad boy is all set-up it will be pretty dang sweet. So the end quesiton became what do we do with all the leftover RiverRock from the yard...............well keep tuned and you will see what became of that..............can you say the "19th hole"?

Golfing, Eds, then Easter Weekend in Chucktown!

Last week ended pretty dang nicely!

On Wednesday Ole Man Leve and I hit the links up in Huntersville, NC @ Skybrook Golf Club for some golf to launch the Easter Weekend a little early. We then decided to hit Ed's Tavern in Dilworth for some dinner and music trivia!

Then it was off to the the ole beach (aka Heaven on Earth);


The next day Ape and I hit the road to Charleston for some stellar weather and time with the family.

Pops and I hit up a round of the ole white ball at Dunes West Country Club then followed it up with some good food, some cold beverages, and some beach time.

To top it all off we decided to hit up some steamed Oysters at the house.



We headed back to the Queen City yesterday (Sunday) and wrapped up a great weekend! As always once arriving back in Charlotte, I still question why I don't live by the beach.............even Sir Charles couldn't understand why we were leaving the best place on earth...?