Friday's Off The Wall Blog: Quiet Evening Edition

I'm not sure if there's anything I like more than Friday. Well, maybe money--but unlike money--Friday comes every week at the same time. So that means another blog about nothing in particular, just some interesting stories and such that I've found while coming across the news wires. This week is no exception, another great week of stories.

• This is a case where some people have too much damn money. NBA superstar LeBron James is building a 35,440 square foot mansion in suburban Cleveland. That's good for Cavs fans who were/are worried about LeBron possibly leaving Cleveland for a bigger market such as New York, Chicago or Los Angeles. But I could care less about where 'Bron Bron' goes, check out the house. It will include a two-story walk-in closet, a limestone sculpture of LeBron--among other things. As first reported on ESPN's Pardon The Interruption, the house will also include a barbershop, a bowling alley, an NBA regulation size basketball court, a movie theater and 11-bedrooms. I know you're asking: why would someone build something like this? I have the answer: because they can.
• More news from the courts. Last night, the West Virginia Mountaineers won the NIT Championship with a 78-73 victory over the Clemson Tigers. However, that's not where the news comes from. The shirts given to the Mountaineers after the game commemorating their championship misspelled "Virginia," with the second 'I' missing. Of course no authority figures could be reached for comment, and why would they be? People stress over if these kids should stay in school or go pro---maybe we should look at our institutional figure heads that can't even use spell check to see if Virginia, the name of a damn state--two states in fact--is spelled correctly. Ahhh, the joys of being a journalism major and English minor.
• One last sports story, I promise. This one is less of a story and more of a public service announcement. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Rawlings Gold Glove, the good folks at Rawlings have put together a list of the best Gold Glovers in the history of the game. You can vote on who you think is the best here. The list is packed with great defenders. So who did I vote for? P Greg Maddux C Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez 1B Don Mattingly 2B Ryne Sandberg 3B Brooks Robinson SS Ozzie Smith OF's Roberto Clemente, Ken Griffey Jr., Willie Mays. Those are my guys. There were some close decisions I had to make, such as choosing Robinson over Scott Rolen at 3B. Though he's a Cardinal, Rolen is the best defensive 3B I've ever seen--but Brooks is a Hall of Famer, not to mention my father's favorite player. Another deserving Cardinal was Jim Edmonds, but the fact of the matter is that he's the 4th best CF I've seen behind Griffey Jr., Torii Hunter and Andruw Jones. Personally, I found it hard to vote for guys that I never saw play live and in person, but I've seen enough file footage of the "old timers" to know who was worth voting for.
• Finally, my favorite story of the week which begs the question "How quickly can I get my passport?" The genius behind those 'Girls Gone Wild' videos is looking to open GGW-themed restaurants in Mexico. I use the term "genius" loosely because he's more of a "right place, right time guy" because really---making money manipulating ...err... capitalizing on drunk college girls isn't something you can necessarily talk about at the dinner table. My problem is that how can u have a GGW-themed restaurant without the topless girls? It's Mexico, they'll be topless by the end of the night so why bother with the clothing in the first place. I wonder how many girls will sue him for exploitation? Only time will tell.

FRIDAY'S FIVE. Five Songs On The I-Pod That Helped This Week Be Awesome!

1. I'm Real, What Are You by Paul Wall featuring Juelz Santana
2. Go Getta by Young Jeezy featuring R. Kelly
3. One & Only by Timbaland featuring Fall Out Boy
4. Beautiful Liar by Shakira & Beyonce
5. Face Down by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

FRIDAY'S FIVE. Old School Edition.

1. Play That Funky Music White Boy by Wild Cherry
2. Give Up The Funk by Parliament Funkadelic
3. Sunday Kind Of Love by Etta James
4. Can't Hide Love by Earth, Wind & Fire
5. Mr. Sandman by The Chordettes