As posted previously, I attended a few professional sports events over the Thanksgiving holiday. Last Wednesday (Nov. 23) my parents left Rogers City bright and early. I’m not sure why they came down so early, but I wasn’t too happy that they interrupted my Xbox 360 time since I had just hooked it up the night before. Luckily they went off to do a little shopping and I had a little more time by myself. We met up with my brother and ate lunch at the mall.

Warning! This post might be a novel since it’s been weeks since my last “real” update.

Detroit Red Wings 7 – Colorado Avalanche 3

Dad, Isaac, and I headed down to the Joe a few hours early for the hockey game. It’s a good thing we did because the weather was getting a little nasty. We finally parked and got into the arena a little less than an hour before game time. Our tickets said “Obstructed view” on them, so I couldn’t wait to see what we were in for. Up the stairs we walk until there are only two steps left. We were 2nd row from the top and in a corner. We couldn’t have been further from the ice. The good thing was that barely anyone showed up to sit in the seats around us, so we could move freely. We actually had to sit on the backs of our seats for most of the game.

It was a great game to watch. The Avalanche took an early 1-0 lead on a power play, but Detroit answered quickly and it was 1-1 about 2 minutes into the game. After seeing a live game I’m not too sure I like the new rules. When the Red Wings scored to make it 5-3 in the 3rd period we decided to take off to get a head start on traffic and the weather. Detroit ended up scoring 2 more goals to make it a blowout.

One thing I noticed over and over during the game was how Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg play at a much higher level than anyone else that stepped on the ice. The things Datsyuk can do with a hockey puck and stick make you sick. Most of the other skaters look down once in awhile, but he does it all on feel. It’s like he’s dancing around the other skaters and mocking them. Pure joy to watch.

Detroit Lions 7 – Atlanta Falcons 27

The Lions suck. That’s all I should really say. What a horrible game to watch, even if it was Thanksgiving. Michael Vick is much faster to watch in person than on TV. What a freak!

Not much to say about this game. Our tickets were in the Family Fun Zone, so we didn’t have to put up with any of the loudmouth drunks you usually find at football games. That was kind of nice. I can’t think of a single good thing to say about the Lions in this game. I don’t even recall them getting past the 50. When Jeff Garcia came into the game the crowd went wild, but that’s about it for excitement. We left with 5 minutes to go in the 3rd quarter along with 90% of the other people in attendance. The walkways and street were jammed packed with people leaving early. They are truly a sad franchise.

On a good note though, the Lions took a step in the right direction by firing head coach Steve Mariucci. The only problem I have is there are two other people that needed to go first; Matt Millen and Joey Harrington. One out of three isn’t bad though. I have to wonder how much Millen is kissing ass to keep his job. The guy hasn’t done anything since he came to Detroit and the Lions actually have the worst record in the league under him.

Detroit Pistons 114 – Washington Wizards 120

I’ve been a basketball fan my entire life so I was looking forward to the Pistons game the most out of the three. My brother and I got to the game about an hour early after grabbing a bite to eat just down the road before the game. Since Isaac drove the first thing I did when I walked into the Palace was buy a beer. Damn it was good.

For most of the game the Pistons didn’t look like they came to play, but the teams stepped up the intensity in the 4th quarter. They took a brief lead, but lost it and the game ended up tied at the end of regulation. The first overtime ended the same way and we headed to double OT. After Chauncy Billups and Ben Wallace had fouled out Detroit lost their spark and ended up losing by 6. It was an amazing game to watch. It went back and forth through the overtime periods until the Wizards came out ahead. Flip Saunders is doing a great job with the Pistons.

If I ever attend so many games on back to back days I’m definitely staying in town. It was a blast, but I’m not sure I’d do it again. It was a bit much for three days.

Xbox 360

WOW! The Xbox 360 is one kick ass video game console. Since it arrived on Tuesday night I’ve played it every day. Way too many hours, but I’m having fun and that is what counts with gaming. I bought 4 games to start off with Madden NFL 2006, NBA Live 2006, Perfect Dark Zero, and Project Gotham Racing 3. I’m happy with all of them, but you can tell the EA Sports games were rushed for the launch date. I don’t blame them for getting something on the market, but the $60 price tags are too high for what turns out to be half of what the game should be. Two other games I’ve been playing are through the Xbox Live Arcade. Hexic HD is a game given for free on the Xbox 360 hard drive and Mutant Storm Reloaded is a game I bought with Microsoft Points, which turns out to be $10.

Microsoft is making big money from all of the accessories and extras on the Xbox 360. I’ve dropped about $925 total on everything I bought, but I’m happy with what I received. Xbox Live and the Xbox 360 Dashboard have gone through some major improvements and it makes for a great gaming experience. I won’t go into an details because there are countless reviews out there which explain everything better than I ever could. All I can say is that the Xbox 360 is worth every penny.

Blogging

My blogs haven’t had a lot of posting activity in the last couple of weeks, but I needed a break from it all. Hopefully I can get back in the swing of things as the holiday season approaches. I still can’t believe the opportunities blogging has brought me in the past year. If I wanted to, I could be making a living off of my web sites. Un-fucking-real!