New Thing #334: Voting For A Friend's Video

Have you seen these commercials during NFL games about why people love football? I know I have, but they didn't make huge impressions on me at the time.

There was some woman who was a Jets fan who battled breast cancer, there was some little girl who participated in Punt, Pass, and Kick I think, and if I'm not mistaken there was one with Condoleeza Rice.

Well, apparently, people submitted their videos in the hopes of winning a trip to the Super Bowl.

And now the contest is down to ten finalists.

And I have a suggestion for which one you should vote for.

Please.

I have a friend named Rob who currently works at NFL Films.

We met more than a decade ago when we worked together at a Boston TV station, spending countless dinner times together watching and talking sports before frantically slapping together highlights before our respective 10pm and 11pm sports broadcasts. (Countless might be an exaggeration. We didn't work together for all that long. It was probably something like a couple of hundred. If that.)

We became fast friends, and even though we didn't work together for a terribly long time, we've stayed in pretty close touch in the years since we last worked together.

It's notable, because I'm not too great about keeping in touch with people. But Rob is one of the nicest people I know.

It helps, too, that we have a ton in common, and so whenever we text or talk on the phone, even if something seems to come out of nowhere we're pretty much on the same page.

I tell you all this because the last time I talked to Rob was a couple of weeks ago as he was driving to Harlem. (I think that's what he said - the phone connection was terrible, and we wasted the good connection talking about Andy Dalton's completed Hail Mary to A.J. Green. It's what we do.) He was working on a piece for this NFL promotion, and you can see the work he and other producers did at togetherwemakefootball.com.

And then while you're there you can vote for Rob's piece, on Khordae, because he asked me to spread the word about it, and he never asks for anything, so I'm glad to help him out.

It's easy - I voted already, and all you have to do is submit an e-mail address when you click on 'Vote'.

Rob pointed out that Khordae's story might not have been the most compelling on the site. But I watched a few of the others. They're all well done…but none of them are terribly inspiring. (I liked the 74-year-old football player…but with all due respect, I'm sure he can pay his own way to the Super Bowl.)

All I needed to know was whether or not Khordae was as good a kid as he seems in the video. Rob confirmed that the boys and their dad were good people, and great for him to work with.

Rob - a good person who was great to work with - knows what he's talking about in that department.

So do me - and Rob - a favor and vote for Khordae.

Thank you.

New Thing #177: Caked By Kate

I'm no expert in the kitchen. (Well, there are a lot of places I'm no expert. The kitchen is just one.)

But I'm not jealous of people who are experts in the kitchen.

Interestingly, and I'm just coming to this realization as I write this, this is one of the few instances where this is true.

Sometimes I watch certain people who are in a different profession than me (like broadcaster, say) and jealousy creeps in: "I can do that," I think.

But bakers? Chefs? Cooking hobbyists? I support their work and appreciate it tremendously.

Such is the case with my friend Kate.

Within the past year Kate has begun a little baking business - and I can't even begin to tell you about the amazing artistic ability she has in designing and making cakes and cupcakes.

But I'll try.

First I should tell you that we ordered a cake from Kate for our youngest daughter's second birthday last week - we ordered a rainbow cake with chocolate icing. You see the outside of the cake in the picture above. As for the inside:

Pretty cool, huh?

And believe me when I tell you that probably falls into the 'easy' category of cakes Kate has made.

I've seen Goodnight Moon-themed cupcakes for a baby shower, birthday cakes ranging from Spongebob to race cars to baseball diamonds to Legos.

They're all amazing.

'Caked By Kate' is based in Sudbury, so if you're within driving distance, it's definitely worth checking out. (She delivers all her cakes.) Her Facebook page features all of her creations, so you can see the designs I told you about and get an idea of pricing and such.

And, oh yeah - the cake tasted pretty good too. But I feel like that's almost secondary when you get such a good-looking cake. But we enjoyed it and, if it's possible, liked it even more the next couple of days as we had leftovers from the party.

We'll be repeat customers...my other two daughters already have thoughts on what kind of cake designs they want for their birthdays in the fall.

New Thing #116: Succumbing To The Word 'Playdate'

For so many years I hated the word 'playdate'. I resisted it.

I thought it sounded silly.

Maybe even elitist.

I swore I would never refer to something one of my children did with a friend as a 'playdate'.

Well...today my daughter had a playdate.

It wasn't her first.

But it's the first time I haven't called it "going over a friend's house." Or "getting together with a friend."

See...it's not like when I was growing up.

I used to be able to go down the street and hang out with my friends. I used to go home with a friend, or have a friend come home with me, or walk around the neighborhood together...it wasn't a playdate. We were just playing together, or later in life, hanging out.

The way we've set up my daughter going to school, she doesn't live down the street from classmates. If she's getting together with someone after school, it has to be scheduled. It requires a car ride to someone's house. It requires more than your average coordination.

Like a date. A play date.

New Thing #79: New AT&T Commercials

There's a new round of AT&T commercials out featuring the children-in-a-classroom focus group and the guy who reminds me of my friend Kevin. I was alerted to the fact that there were new commercials during some of the basketball conference championship games on Sunday by none other than Kevin himself.

"There is a new AT&T ad with 'me' and it's great," Kevin texted me. "He starts high-fiving the kids. It's hilarious."

The best part of all of this is that Kevin refers to the guy in the commercials as 'me', because I was reminded of Kevin and his interactions with children the very first time I saw these AT&T commercials.

It's not an insult. All of my friends who don't have children have been fantastic around my daughters.

Kevin's approach, though, is unique. He talks to the girls in a frank manner. And when I saw the first AT&T commercial with these focus groups, it immediately made me think of those interactions.

In an interesting twist, not long after Kevin told me about the new commercial, The AV Club, which I wrote about as New Thing #78, published this article about whether or not these AT&T commercials are effective. (I tend to disagree with the site. I think they get across what they're selling fine.)

It seems with the NCAA Tournament on the horizon there's a new batch of these commercials. I've already seen two - neither of which involves any high-fiving. So there must be more to see.

Like the Super Bowl, the Tournament serves up some pretty good commercials. I'm sure there will be some good new ones this weekend. They'll have some work to do to make me laugh like the AT&T commercials. Especially since I know Kevin's enjoying them so much too.

New Thing #61: Fantasy Baseball Draft In New York

One of the highlights of my year is the fantasy baseball draft. Quick background: It's a 4-team league. Me and three of my closest friends. Because of the small number of players, we stick to only the teams in the American League East and National League East. This is great because the 4 of us are Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox fans, so we can pick players we like to root for, avoid players we hate rooting for, and it allows us to use a clever league name: East Coast Bias.

Usually this draft takes place in the Boston area - we all went to Boston University, so it serves as the centerpiece of a sort-of annual reunion.

Now, as it turns out, I'm the only one of the 4 remaining in the Boston area.

This year, as it turns out, our get-together will take place in New York.

And so will the draft.

Truth be told, I've proposed a New York get-together on more than one occasion. I look for any extra opportunity to get a weekend in there. But I understand the draw of Boston, and I enjoy hosting when able. (Read: when my wife is not about to give birth. This happened in 2011. It was crazy.)

And though this year is going to be a short weekend for me, for a variety of reasons, it's going to be great.

Especially because my parents were generous enough to host the draft.

Not that it involves a ton of effort - they'll just be providing us with food and beverage, most likely, in addition to the space for our draft. But it means a ton to me. It means my friends can visit with my wife and daughters without us having to pack everyone up and head into the city...not to mention taking time away from time they could be spending with their grandparents.

I don't know what else the weekend holds. I hope it results in a couple of more New Things. All I know is that as you read this sometime on Saturday, I'll be participating in a fantasy baseball draft in my parents' living room in Queens.

I couldn't be happier.

Unless I also get to draft David Wright.

New Thing #7: The Modern Lovers

Each week on Monday I'm hoping to talk about some new music I've encountered along this journey of '365 New Things In 2013'. It may be brand-new music, or a brand-new band. It could be a single, it could be an entire album. It may be something that's been around forever that I've never heard before.

This week it's a band that I didn't know anything about, and it's perfect for a number of reasons as a kick-off for 'Music Monday'.

I'm going to be relying on some outside help for 52 weeks' worth of new music to write about.

One person I'll be turning to often will be my brother, a musician in his own right.

Another person whose judgment in music I trust is my friend Justin. Allow me to give you some background: Justin and I met as freshmen at Boston University. I think our first encounter happened at a meeting for the college radio station, and we paired up to do a sports show. Eventually that led to us also co-hosting a music show. My musical tastes were very narrow back then, and Justin exposed me to a lot of music then that it would be embarrassing for me not to know of now.

And now he'll do it again.

When I asked him for ideas his first suggestion was for me to go to YouTube and look up "Roadrunner" by the Modern Lovers. He calls it his favorite song to put on when he's leaving the house. "It's a great 'first song of a walk' song," he says.

So here's a little bit about the Modern Lovers, pieced together from a little research I've done and what Justin has told me:

They're a Boston band, and the great majority of their lyrics makes references to the greater Boston area. (And that's where I met Justin, so that's part of why it's perfect for this occasion!)

The lead singer and main songwriter is Jonathan Richman. Justin tells me he's also "the guy with the guitar who showed up from time to time in 'There's Something About Mary'." Wikipedia tells me he grew up in Natick, Massachusetts, which is the town that neighbors Framingham, where I now live. (Yet another reason this is a perfect starting point for Music Monday!)

The band recorded one album in their original time together from 1970-1974, the label didn't like it, dropped the band, and the band broke up. A couple of years later someone else at the label heard the album, loved it, and decided to release it. The record did OK, but the band no longer existed - one guy joined 'The Talking Heads', another co-founded 'The Cars'. "It's like this one perfect moment in time that was never recreated," describes Justin.

So that's The Modern Lovers. Justin also suggested I listen to a few of their other songs: 'Pablo Picasso', 'Government Center', and 'Modern World'.  ('Modern World' includes references to Boston University.) I don't love the songs (although a couple, after repeated listenings, definitely were growing on me), but I certainly don't hate them.

I learned something new about music, though, and that's the point. I wanted to share with you the video for 'Modern World' - it's from 1976, and it shows scenes from around Boston at the time. I'm a little obsessed with Boston before I lived up here. I was transfixed by it, and the song's not bad:

New Thing #5: Playoff Fantasy Football

I used to be crazy about fantasy sports. Ridiculously crazy. Stats, records...I immersed myself in it.

I still get into it, just not with anywhere near the same level of intensity.

I'm still willing to try some fun new fantasy twist.

Thus, this year's foray into NFL.com's Playoff Fantasy Football.

It actually wasn't my idea.

My friend Kevin (I'll introduce him further at another time...I'm sure he'll pop up again multiple times over the course of the year) sent around an e-mail to a few of us who play fantasy baseball together suggesting we sign up. It doesn't take much more than that to convince me.

What's striking about this game (actually called "Fantasy Playoff Challenge"), though, is how different it is from anything I've attempted before. You get somewhat traditional fantasy points from each player, but the longer they are on your team the more the points are worth. So you kind of get double-rewarded for picking players who last deep into the playoffs. And if the player has a bye in the first week, you still get double points in his first game if you have him the first week. (Hence the gamble I'm taking at QB and TE...I still think the 49ers are going to the Super Bowl, and I don't know if there's a better tight end out there than Gronkowski.)

And I am sure that I know nothing more here than the others in the mini-league, which is why I have no qualms about publishing my roster here.

I don't want to get too deep into sports details here on you, but I'll wrap up with this: I've done playoff pools (and I'm doing one this year), I've done fantasy football before where you pick a team and stick with that team straight through the Super Bowl, but I've never done it like this. And there's nothing at stake here other than pride.

I'm excited about trying out a new fantasy sports activity. And with the Jets missing the playoffs for the second straight year, it's good for me to have as many possible things to root for in the post-season that distract me from that fact.