It's Game Day!

Football season has started and tailgating is underway! We are season ticket holders for the Oakland Raiders and attend the majority of the home games. I think we'll be skipping their Christmas Eve game again this year but besides that we are at the games. We don't just attend them we tailgate at them and have a lot pass to do so. Our typical home game day timeline...

The night before we load up the car. We put our tent, grill, ice chest, chairs, charcoal, utensils, food that doesn't need refrigerated, paper towels etc. If we need it for the game it goes into the car the night before.

Game day...
5:15 a.m.- Wake up and get ready.
6:00 a.m.- Leave the house.
8:00 a.m.- In the line of traffic at the gates of the Oakland Coliseum.
8:15 a.m.- Park in our spot and immediately get the tent up.
8:30 a.m.- Get the grill heating up.
We grill out, eat some food. I people watch hardcore. Have you ever been to a Raiders game? These people are crazy! They come in costumes, they sell items in the parking lot, your tailgating neighbor asks for forks or foil etc. Anything goes during this time.

So what do we grill? Well hot dogs are a must. I love eating hot dogs off the grill. We will also do either chicken or a tri-tip. Sometimes we will do all three. It just depends on if we are expecting to see anyone we know during tailgating. First game of the season we did hot dogs and chicken.

If it's a 1:30 p.m. start time we have the tent and dismantlement done by 12:15. You've got to walk from the lot to the security lines and then fight the crowds to get into your seats. If you've ever been to an Oakland game then you know walking and maneuvering through the crowds can be tough! The lines for the concessions go out in to the walkway making it extremely difficult to make your way through the crowds.

Once we are in our seats, I try to stay there! We do love getting a Round Top pizza for the 3rd quarter. So one of us will face the crowds or we will get lucky and one of the guys walking around selling items will come near us with the Pizza. We usually get the cotton candy guy or the lemonade guy always coming down our row. During this time I'm people watching yet again. You never know what can happen in the crowd. Last week I watched two Raider fans actually get in an argument about them winning. After a touchdown one man ran down the isle and acted like he was going to punch the guy but ended up giving him a hug.

You just never know what you'll see at a Raiders Game!

The Greatest of All Time

On Friday night the world lost a living legend.

The greatest boxer of all time... Muhammad Ali.

 

At the age of 74 he left this world. Not only known for his boxing but his amazing spirit. He will not be forgotten. "Float like a butterfly. Sting like bee."

 

KO'd

Will they or won't they?

 

That is the question ever is asking right now. Will Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather actually step into the ring and fight each other? For years there has always been hope that these two legendary fighters would step into the ring and fight each other. Floyd's upcoming retirement and the fact that these two fighters fight on different Paid Per View channels have given people little hope. That is until recently... these two fighters have come to the table to actually talk about stepping into the same ring.

 

Manny Pacquiao flew to America this past week and has publically said that he has signed the papers to fight Floyd. Now the world awaits Floyds signature on the contract. Will he finally step up to the plate and put the naysayers to rest? Will he risk his perfect 49-0 record to fight the other living legend? The world sure is hoping so! We've waited for a decade for this fight and this is the closest the two fighters have ever came to the table.

 

If the fight takes place it will be happen in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. The rumored date is in May. The fight is said to be taking place on both Showtime and HBO for PPV. If this fight takes place, we will be booking a flight and trying to get tickets to the fight! We already have our bet on which fighter will go home with the belt.

 

So if these two step into the ring, who will you be rooting for?

KO'd

 

Mayweather vs. Maidana Part 2.

This is the fight we'd all been waiting on. The moment it was announced that Mayweather had granted a part two with Chino Maidana, I jumped with excitement. I've followed Mayweather's every move on instagram. I googled where Oxnard, California is actually located in the state. It's home to Chino's coach and practice area. I waited for the Showtime All Access episodes and with each one airing the anticipation grew. I even started following Mayweather's ex Miss Jackson and his new girlfriend Bad Medina. Who doesn't love a good love triangle back story?!

The history between these two is known. The gloves incident from the first fight. The head butt. The fights that have broken out on the press tour. Chino's coach getting into it with Mayweather. We know it all. You know my favorite memory from the first fight? The moment Floyd "Money" Mayweather thought he finally lost a fight as they were announcing it was going to score cards. Then the fact that Mayweather won.

So when the 70.00 dollars was paid to view it on pay per view and the pizzas were hot. We sat there hoping to see another great match up and maybe the fight that would put change Mayweather's undefeated zero to a one loss.

This fight was completely different from the first match up. It was obvious in round one. Chino was throwing far less punches and Floyd was running around the ring to not be caught on the ropes. Chino seemed in a haze when he was throwing punches. Many weren't landing. Floyd seemed depressed. He spent the majority of the fight running around the ring trying to avoid punches. He would spend half of each round either running around avoiding the fight. The other half he would let Chino hit him once then hold him so the ref could break them up and start fresh. Then the infamous incident happened...

Floyd was holding Chino's head down after a punching trio. The next thing the audience knows, Floyd is holding his glove out saying that Chino bit him. He claimed that Chino bit down through the mouth guard and glove to get to his hand. The ref said he didn't see it. The crowd didn't see it and neither did anyone in the television audience. Chino said after the fight that he did not bite him. Mayweather says still that he did. He said his hand became numb afterwards and could hardly use his hand after that.

So how did this fight end... with Floyd winning yet again. It was probably the most boring ending to a fight ever. The entire last round Floyd ran around the ring avoiding a punch. He claims to THE BEST EVER.... well to me the best ever doesn't need to run around the ring. He stands there and punches toe to toe with his opponent.

SUCK IT FLOYD.

PS: I think he's depressed.

Weekend Review

Beezy and I took the plunge. Last week we took advantage of the Labor Day sales and bought a giant television. He had been pouring over the Sunday ads for months, comparing tv against tv, commenting about how he'd like a new one and even made it number one on his Christmas wish list. When the Labor Day ads came out, I knew it was time to give in and give up a large portion of the living room to an over 40 inch screen. Monday off we went to the store. What did Beezy want? He originally wanted a 60 inch television. We left the store with this one...

He read so many reviews that we went with the Samsung 55 inch Smart TV. Once we bought it, we were so nervous. The boxes on TV's are huge and we were so nervous that it wasn't going to fit in his car. We had to put the backseats down and it barely made it. We got it home and it was the fastest I've ever seen someone set up an electronic. I'm glad he likes it. We made a compromise that this is the last tv we are buying for a few years.

In other news, I tried making something new! Beezy always makes dinner and I'm usually the one to do breakfast. I decided to mix things up and make dinner one night during the week. This was the first time I had ever made stuffed peppers and I think they turned out pretty good.

I used red and green peppers because honestly I didn't know which one Beezy would like better. I stuffed them with hamburger meat, cheese and rice. I also topped them off with a lot of cheese. The peppers could have been a little softer but overall he really liked them. I'm going to try to make them again but a little different so I'm hoping that works out.

I also started reading a new book...

It was recommended to me by one of my best friends who's a librarian. I'm about ten pages in because I haven't had a lot of time to read but it's good! Why haven't I had a lot of time to read? Well Sunday started the NFL season and we have Sunday ticket so of course guess what I had to watch...

And that's a weekend folks.

KO'd

Danny Garcia vs. Rod Salka

The match was set and the ring was ready. The Barclays Center in Brooklyn was the scene for Danny Garcia to fight Rod Salka. This fight was originally set for 12 rounds but since the boxing commission refused to sanction the fight the center made it 10 rounds. Now you might be asking yourself why would they not sanction the fight? The boxing commission wouldn't sanction the fight because Rod Salka isn't a ranked fighter. He isn't on the same level as Danny but this was the fight Danny was doing. So the fight went on...

Rod Salka known as the Lightning Rod stands at 5'7'' and 31 years of age.

 

While he has 3 Knockouts under his belt he's far inexperienced in the ring compared to Danny Garcia. That fact proven once the boxing commission wouldn't sanction the fight.

His competitor Danny Garcia known as the swift cherry picker, stands at 5'8'' and 26 years of age. In his history of boxing he has 17 knock outs and 29 wins. He has never lost a fight.

When these two fighters stepped into the ring the audience could immediately tell that Danny was in control of the fight. He was by far a better fighter than Rod. So much so that a lot of the fans feel that Danny should never have been fighting him. When the cards were counted and the winner announced it was no surprise that Danny was the victor. His next match will be in a few months. Hopefully this time he picks a fighter that will create a better match for him.

Pre-Season Started

On Friday, the Oakland Raiders began their season by taking on the Detroit Lions in a pre-season game. This was my first game at the Oakland coliseum but Beezy has been going for years. Since he's a season ticket holder that means we'll be going to all of the games together. If you live in Sacramento there is two ways to go to a game. You can either ride a game bus which is kind of like a large party bus filled with fans. Not only do they give you food and drinks but a ride to and from. Then there's the way we decided to go, you can drive. We chose to drive over to Oakland and tailgate.

 

The game didn't start until 7:00p.m. but we loaded up the car at noon and made our way over to Oakland. Once we got there, we set up the tent to block out the sun, got the food ready and plopped down in some chairs. We also set up our new grill! Beezy saw this online a few weeks ago and said he had to have it. He saved up his winnings from Caveman Keno at Thunder Valley and there you have it...

This was my first time really tailgating. In college, I twirled for Marshall so there wasn't really any time for tailgating because we had things that we had to do on game days. Once I finished college, I moved away. So this was a new experience to say the least. There was definitely some characters in the crowds. I saw some of these guys...

They also had a marching band! Um that's right up my alley. I told Beezy next time I should bust out a baton and start twirling. Judging from his facial expression, I don't think he agreed. Haha! He's just never seen me in action. That's all! Once night fell it was time to get in to the stadium. After being chose by a Lake Tahoe resort for a discount night at their resort and a free two night trip to Cabo including airfare, we got to our seats!

 

I decided not to take my dslr to the game but next time I will for sure! I got to see the stadium field which is the only NFL one to share with a baseball team so the diamond is still on the turf. We also saw the famous Oakland Cheerleaders. It was a good game and the Raiders won! So pre-season is 1-1.

Fun fact... we had to turn around twice for things that we forgot at the house. We never thought we were going to make it to the highway. Haha!

KO'd

 

Welcome to my first installment of KO'd! This new feature will be all about the sport of boxing and the contenders. Normally KO'd will come out on Sunday's after a Saturday night fight but you never know, you might see it pop up now and then in between.

 

So let's talk about the latest fight.

 

Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Geale

I watched all of the prefight shows before this fight. I think one of the most interesting things going into a fight is learning their background history. I think you can tell a lot about a fighter if you see where he comes from and learn what his motivation for winning really is. I like seeing where they train, hearing from their trainers and seeing their family support system. When they showed these two fighters you could tell that they both came from very different styles of training and even more different backgrounds.

 

Gennady Golovkin

 

Known as triple G , he stands at only 5'10'' but has a reach of 70 inches and is 32 years old. He's originally from Kazakhstan and one of four brothers. He's never been knocked out during his professional and amateur career. He's the knock out king because he's knocked out 27 people in 30 fights. He's even so good he's got a silver Olympic medal hanging at home for his boxing skills. He trains hard for each fight and gives it everything he has in the ring.

 

Then there's his competition...

Daniel Geale. Hailing from the land down under of Australia, Daniel has proven himself to the boxing world. He's a year older than Triple G and an inch shorter but he's also competed in the Olympics. He didn't walk away with a medal but he got there. He's also got 16 knock outs in his winning pile and hungry for another one. His mother is currently battling cancer so he's been training especially hard for this fight. He wants to add another knock out to his win.

 

So when it came time for the fight, I was interested to see who would be victorious. I felt like they would be equally matched up with their age, weight and height. You know what they weren't matched in? Their level of hungriness and wanting it. You could tell at the start that Triple G was going to be hard to take down. He wanted it. He was going for it. He was tossing Daniel around like a rag doll.

( July 25, 2014 - Source: Mike Stobe/Getty Images North America)

 

Daniel started to feel the gravity of G's punches and couldn't handle the ferocity behind them. His speed and blocking weren't up to par and after a few rounds he couldn't hang on. Triple G dominated this match up and easily won the match with a less than surprise KO. I'm sure Daniel will think long and hard again about taking on Triple G in the future. He'll have things to work on if he plans on fighting again soon because G made it look way too simple this time around.

 

Sorry Daniel but you got...



Raider Nation

On Friday, Beezy and I made the hour and a half drive up to Napa for the 2014 NFL Training Camp being held for the Oakland Raiders.

Beezy has been a season ticket holder for many years and each year he gets included in some of their extra events. In turn that means I get to be included in their extra events as his plus one. This was our first event of the season and it was a hot one. Napa is usually experiencing cooler temperatures but not Friday. It was 102 degrees and no shade was to be found. If you've ever been to training camp then you may know what I'm talking about. The Oakland Raiders set up camp where they have rows of short bleachers to watch their practice on. Unfortunately, those bleachers were facing the sun and not in any shade. Thankfully the organization passed out waters like there was no tomorrow. I think I drank four bottles within an hour.

 

The Raiders took this photo of us and posted it on their website. Clearly this was before our serious sweating in the sun. We had a really good time though and Beezy got to finally get an autograph from his favorite Raider- Charles Woodson (on his new hat too)!



We also made sure to get some great photos of him practicing...

We also got some good shots of the players working out and preparing for the season...

Considering this was my first time going to a training camp for an NFL team and the first time I've been to any Oakland Raiders event, I feel like it was a good time. Granted I never want to be that hot again because it was hot. I had a tan line on my feet from my sandals within minutes. That should give you an indication at how hot the sun was that day. Beezy has already warned me that the beginning games in the season are almost just as hot. It'll be interesting for sure. I know I won't be wearing a black t-shirt.

Have you been to a pro team's training camp before?

Current Obsessions

My current obsessions...

True Tori

 

I watched the first episode because I was interested in the truth. I've read her books and I had seen the first season of their reality show years ago. When I heard he cheated I wondered if it was true. Let's be honest, those magazines don't always get it right. I tuned into the first episode to see Tori sitting on her couch telling the world, "Yes, it's true!" Since then I've watched all the episodes. At first I was really annoyed with Tori for not voicing her anger. For letting Dean not feel bad about what he'd done. Now home girl is starting to voice it and I can appreciate that!

 

 Butter Croissants

 

I've always loved them but lately I have been addicted. In the morning, in the afternoon and the evening. Does three butter croissants a day keep the doctor away? Add a little cheese or some maple ham and yummy! Safeway has got some good ones. You can get an entire box for only 5.00 dollars. Done and done!

 

Floyd Mayweather vs. Miss Jackson

A few Saturdays' ago, I watched the Mayweather vs Maidana fight. Normally I would not have. My extent of knowing boxing is Mr T. and the Russian vs. Rocky. However, Beezy is a big boxing fan. Well all week long leading up to the fight they have these little 30 minutes videos that shows them at home, with family, with friends and living their every day life. So naturally, like any reality tv fan, I got addicted. I was very intrigued as to why Mayweather separated from his fiancé of many years. Thank you Miss Jackson for posting a photo on instagram because that hit a nerve with Mayweather and he put it on blast why they broke up. Since then I've been watching their instagram feeds and it's interesting to say the least.

Vacation

I know I know. I have a ton of vacations planned for the rest of the year but I can't help it. I want more. What I really want is a small RV and to never work again so I can travel around the country and visit tons of places that I've always wanted to. However, this is real life and that's not going to happen soon unless I win the lottery.

 

Bill Laimbeer

About a week ago, I was sitting at home with beezy when he turned on ESPN for the 30th time that day. Instead of being a game or a talk show talking about a game, it was a documentary on the Detroit Pistons during the late 1980's when they were trying to win a championship. This thing was 2 hours long but I got into it. It had interviews of the players today and what things meant to them back then and now. Since I didn't watch basketball back then and I don't really know a lot about other teams, I had no idea they struggled to win and came so close years in a row.

 

So while the documentary is going through the timeline, I kept asking Beezy if they won. Well of course he wouldn't tell me. So I found myself wondering did they win? I put aside what I was doing and starting watching the documentary and I became strangely interested in it. I couldn't get enough. The documentary ended, I found out if they ever won and I still can't stop thinking about it. I wonder what the players are all doing now etc.  I can't get enough. My favorite player now might be Bill Laimbeer. Yeah some people didn't like him but guess what, he was a winner. Does anyone else like him or the Pistons? 

Weekend Review

Weekends go bye way too fast! I need every weekend to become a five day weekend. Who knows how to only work two days a week? Let me know!

So let's see... I got a new outfit compliments of Beezy.

 



 

It's a Piko top in white and the maxi skirt is called Free Life Maxi Skirt in Sky. The entire outfit is from Red Dress and I love it. The top is so comfortable and can be styled many different ways. The skirt's material is so soft and comfortable. I have a feeling this outfit is going to be one of my summer favorites. I'm packing it for Hawaii that's for sure.

When I wasn't lusting over clothing, I stuffed myself with this yummy meal from Brookfields Restaurant.

Bacon and potatoes is my favorite breakfast items. Add in some waffles and we've got a happy JMO. I always love this restaurant so when Beezy suggested we go for breakfast I was all about it. He tried to short cut it and go to ihop but heck no! The next day I made a breakfast even Ihop would have been proud of...

Check out that All-American placemat. Yep! I've busted out some Summer theme/patriotic décor.

Apart from eating and shopping, I was stuck watching the NFL Draft all weekend. What can I say, Beezy is a fan and I'd do anything for him. Including watching hours of draft picks of people who I've never heard of and will probably not remember.

Happy Monday!