Feb 7-10 Happy Bdays

Happy birthday Raleigh McKenzie. Raleigh played 10 seasons for the Redskins from 1985-94. #63 played every position on the line but played most of his 144 games as a Redskin at center or guard. Raleigh is a 2-time Super Bowl Champion and one of the 70Greatest Redskins. In retirement this "Hog" became a teacher and high school football coach in Herndon, VA. Happy 47th Mr. McKenzie.



Happy birthday Joe Lavender. Joe played 7 seasons for the Redskins from 1976-82. Joe was a 2-time Pro-Bowler at cornerback for the Redskins. #20 appeared in 99 games and accumulated 29 INT's (5th all-time) during his Redskins tenure. Joe is a Super Bowl Champion. Happy 61st Mr. Lavender.



Happy birthday Juwan Howard. Juwan played 7 seasons for the Bullets/Wizards from 1994-01. Juwan was drafted #5 overall and wore #5 while playing Forward for the Wiz. Juwan averaged 18.4 PPG 7.4 RPG and 3.3 APG. Juwan was an All Star in 96' and was rewarded with a $105 million contract (after briefly signing with the Heat.) Juwan is currently playing for the Trailblazers, in his 16th NBA season. Happy 37th Mr. Howard.



Happy birthday Felix Pie. Felix is entering his second season as an Oriole, having finished the 2009 season strong. Felix looked lost at the plate early last year, but hard work with O's hitting coach Terry Crowley produced final #'s of .266-9-29. Felix also became only the 4th Oriole to hit for the cycle last season. Happy 25th Mr. Pie.



Happy birthday Lenny Webster. Lenny played 3 seasons for the Orioles from 1997-99. The former catcher was the last Oriole to wear #42 before the # was retired by MLB in honor of Jackie Robinson. Lenny batted .265-17-86 during his Orioles tenure. A native of New Orleans I'm assuming Lenny is pretty happy about the Saints right now. Happy 45th Mr. Webster.



Happy birthday Benny Ayala. Benny was a DH/OF who wore #27 and played 6 seasons for the Orioles from 1979-84. Benny batted .257 with 33 HR’s and 120 RBI’s during his O’s tenure and had a WS ring from the 83’ Champs. His best season came in 1980 when he went .265-10-33. In retirement Benny recently sold his WS ring, so I’m going to assume he’s not doing to well. Happy 59th Mr. Ayala.

Cheers and Hail

Lorenzo Alexander's Charity Benefit

It didn't take me long to figure out that I was going to be a big fan of Lorenzo Alexander. The first time I saw him play he was running 15 yards down-field with no helmet on to tackle a running back...in an exhibition game! You can see the NFL.com video of that right here (complete with reaction from Gregg Williams.) I also enjoyed the commentary of the lady who filmed the play from the stands:



"Oh, but he still tackled him." "Why did he do that?"
Because he is a hard-nosed bad-ass football player...and yes he is bleeding.

And of course, the hits just keep on coming:



The guy plays offense, defense and special teams...I wish the Redskins had 53 Lorenzo Alexanders. Lorenzo has also become big in the community and has a charitable foundation named ACES. ACES currently has 4 charity events planned for 2010, 1 of which takes place this Thursday, February 11 at Jaxx in Springfield, VA from 6pm-10pm.

Ahhh Jaxx...takes me way back in time to a place where a single Fatpickle frequented this establishment, it was quite the spot back then (Jah Works is playing, that takes me back also.) A silent auction is scheduled to take place as well as appearances by celebrities and Redskins players.

So if you get a chance stop by and help a good guy help out a good cause.

Cheers and Hail

Hog Of Famer

Russ Grimm became the first (possibly last) member of the Hogs to gain entry into the HOF Saturday evening (click here for video.) I’ve been on record before about my feelings for Russ as a player and a coach, so here’s what some of his peers have to say about the 2010 Hall of Famer.

Chris Cooley (recounting a pre-game speech by Gibbs)

Joe Gibbs describing why playing against Pittsburg would be tough in 2006. "Russ Grimm believes in a lot of the same things we do. Tough, physical, smart. Up here, hey, ya gotta have a pair."

Don Warren

He was a hard-nosed player. He was a fierce, fierce competitor. He wouldn't let injuries knock him down at all. He was a guy that I saw get punched in the eye, get stitches, and get carted off the field. He had blood rolling down his face, had stitches, and within 10 minutes, you look in the huddle, and he's right back next to you. He's a fierce competitor, and just a tough guy."

Joe Bugel

"The Super Hog has been Russ Grimm," Bugel said on the day of his retirement. "He has ended up being a heck of a football coach, and I loved coaching him. He was allergic to the weight room, he was allergic to conditioning, but liked him because he had the ugliest body I've ever seen, and he was a good football player."

When you combine those 3 quotes you find a guy who didn’t look pretty playing, played hurt, played smart, played physical, was coachable and “had a pair.” When you form a core group of players like that…you win 3 Super Bowls. Congrats Russ.

You would be doing yourself a disservice if you do not visit the great Russ Grimm stories at the Redskins Blog, D.C. Sports Bog and the Washington Examiner.

Cheers and Hail

Super Bowl XLIV: Pickin On The NFL

Who dat? Dat be the Super Bowl champions? No…really? For the past 2 weeks I’ve told anyone who asked for my opinion that the Colts would win the game. In fact, I told my co-workers this morning the Colts would win by 2 touchdowns. I mean…it’s hard not to believe that if Tony Dungy believes it. But, I guess I drank the Saint’s Kool-Aid for breakfast because I’m officially going on record as picking the Saints to win the game.



Picking the Saints definitely puts me in the minority as most of the experts are picking the Colts; even most of the celebrities are picking the Colts. But hey, I’m in good company…if the Saints are good enough for Phyllis Diller, they’re good enough for me! Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir (what’s that guy been smoking) even picks the same final score as I do…Saints 30 Colts 28. Who cares what the “experts” think with all their breaking down game film and well-informed information? I feel like I’m in good company with Phyllis and Bob.



It’s tough to pick against Peyton Manning, he may be the best I ever saw. The key to game will come early, with the Saints needing to do 1 of 2 things. The Saints need to come up with a couple of stops early, or if not, they need to answer the Colts scores. The Saints falling behind early would not be a good recipe for winning. Hopefully, Gregg Williams will bring a solid defensive game plan to the table and try to create some confusion for Manning…something that is not easy to do. I’m predicting a Joseph Addai fumble at some point in this game to swing things in the Saints favor.

So there you have it…put some Jambalaya in the crock pot, cue up ‘When the Saints Go Marching In’ and enjoy the game. Maybe I'll cruise on over to Orlando this week and see Drew Brees at Disneyworld.

Saints 30 Colts 28

Cheers and Hail

Oriole Birthdays

Happy birthday Roberto Alomar. Roberto played 3 seasons at 2B for the Orioles from 1996-98. Robbie was a switch hitter who wore #12. During his O’s tenure Robbie batted .310 with 50HR’s and 210 RBI’s. Robbie made the All-Star team all the 3 years as an Oriole and won the Gold Glove twice. Robbie narrowly missed first ballot introduction to the Hall of Fame recently, missing by just 8 votes…I expect to see him voted in next year. In retirement Robbie has kept a fairly low profile besides the whole AIDS thing. I don’t know about that but the joke back in the day was Robbie spits and Brady swallows. Happy 42nd Mr. Alomar.



Happy birthday Fred Lynn. Fred played 4 season for the O’s from 1985-88. An center fielder who wore #19, Fred was known to sacrifice his body running into the outfield walls to make amazing catches. During his O’s tenure Fred batted .265 with 87 HR’s and 232 RBI’s. Fred was traded to the Tigers at the trading deadline in 88’ for Chris Hoiles. For his career Fred was a 9 time All-Star, won 4 Gold Gloves and was the first player to win the ROY and MVP awards in the same season. In retirement Fred has devoted much of his time to charity work. Happy 58th Mr. Lynn.



Happy birthday Melvin Mora. Melvin played 10 seasons for the Orioles from 2000-09. Melvin came to the Orioles in a trade with the Mets in exchange for Mike Bordick. Initially a utility player, Melvin settled into the 3B in 2004 and wound up appearing in more games there in an Orioles uniform…other than some Robinson guy. During his O’s tenure Melvin batted .280 with 158 HR’s and 662 RBI’s. Melvin’s best season came in 2004 when he batted .340-27-104. Melvin recently signed with the Colorado Rockies. Happy 38th Mr. Mora.



Happy birthday Scott Erickson. Scott played 7 seasons for the O’s from 1995-02. A tall(6’4”) righty who wore #19, Scott came to the Orioles in a trade with the Twins. During his O’s tenure Scott won 79 games and had a 4.73 ERA. His best season came in 97’ when he went 16-7 with a 3.69 ERA. Scott didn’t make any All-Star teams or win any Cy Young’s as an Oriole…but he was on People magazines most beautiful list of 2000. In retirement Scott married television reporter Lisa Guerrero and started a production company. Happy 42nd Mr. Erickson.

Cheers and Hail

The Six Degrees Of Fatpickled

Six Degrees of Fatpickled is a list of 6 links I recommend you check out...



Cooley (Ron Burgundy) is working for OCNN covering the Super Bowl. (Cooley Zone)

Analyzing the Redskins options at QB. (Real Redskins)

Remembering the dumbest question (Doug Williams) ever at media day...a question that was never asked. (Redskins Blog)

Why the Bullets are now the Wizards. (D.C. Sports Bog)

This Rick Majerus story is kinda old, but it's so disturbing I've been unable to get it out of my head. (Deadspin)

A must see video below of a Packer fan who announces he will be back to drink another year. (The Onion via Hot Clicks)


Packers Fan Announces He Will Return To Drinking For Another Season

Cheers and Hail

Music Monday: Better Than Ezra

I’ve chosen one my favorite all-time bands for today’s edition of “Music Monday,” Better Than Ezra. My first memories of BTE are from 1995 when I first heard ‘Good’ on WHFS. I remember driving in my car and horribly singing the lines “aha, it was good living with you, aha.” At the time BTE had already been making music for 7 years and they are still going strong today, after 22 years. ‘Good’ was the first and only #1 song for BTE (to date,) but the truth of the matter is, as “good” as ‘Good’ was…BTE has gotten better with age.

BTE has released 7 studio albums to date and in my opinion they started really hitting their stride with album #4 Closer. Don’t get me wrong BTE’s first 3 albums rocked, including the underrated How Does You’re Garden Grow? However, Closer is on a different level and it’s one of my desert island albums…it’s also an album that my 5 year old has been enjoying lately, we’re wearing out ‘Misunderstood.’

In addition to churning out great albums, BTE still tours regularly. They are a bad ass live band with their shows featuring various covers and medleys. My wife and I never miss a chance to see BTE. It’s no surprise that our 5 year old loves BTE…it was his first concert…when he was still in his mommy’s tummy.

The past couple weeks have been very good to BTE, they are natives of New Orleans and huge Saints fans…so they got that going for them, which is nice. In addition, Taylor Swift (a big BTE fan) performed a cover of their song ‘Breathless’ on the Hope For Haiti Now Telethon.

I recommend all of BTE’s music, but you can start your BTE collection by purchasing some of the tunes listed below. GO SAINTS!

PS- 15 years later I’m still singing “aha, it was good,” and I still sound horrible.

Good

Desperately Wanting

Extra Ordinary

A Lifetime

In The Blood

Breathless

Absolutely Still

Just One Day

At The Stars

Misunderstood

Daylight

A Southern Thing

Under You

Our Last Night

Hollow







Cheers and Hail