Friday Five

1. The Hamilton Documentary that I just watched was probably one of the best 1.5 hours of television I've ever seen!  I may be a bit biased since it was about Hamilton, but honestly it was just so very good.  The writers and actors and even some officials spoke about the show but they also spoke about Hamilton's life and his contributions to the current world.  It was fascinating and pretty much the perfect way to spend a Friday night!

2. In a word - AMAZING! 
          
3. What better way to learn about the delicious food in Baltimore restaurants than from the Orioles and the Ravens.  I just love the way these guys talk about the food and what's good to them.  My favorite is Brandon Williams' PB&J.  He's a guy that takes his sandwich seriously it would seem!

4. In just over a month, we'll finally be treated to the new Gilmore Girls season on Netflix. How is anyone staying calm?  I personally cannot wait and these posters are doing just feeding the excitement!  I love the Year in the Life concept and the 4 seasons theme for the posters is just adorable!

5. And in fairly shallow news this week, I've decided that after watching Matt Bomer guest host Live with Kelly, I totally miss seeing his adorable self every week on my television. Seriously, how dreamy is he?

            

Two Out of Three Ain't Bad

There are exactly 4 sports I care about - Football (Baltimore Ravens), Baseball (Baltimore Orioles), Hockey (Washington Capitals) and Golf (Pretty much everyone but Tiger Woods). And somehow on a Sunday in October 3 out of the 4 managed to collide.  3 Wins would have been nice, but 2 out of 3 isn't bad, especially when 2 out of those 3 are so darn amazing!

First the bad, Ravens lost to the Raiders in a super close game.  Well, not super close until the last few minutes.  But somehow, the Ravens can win 2 road games in the last few minutes, but not a home game in the last quarter.  Seriously?!

Anyway, the next 2 made up for it.  The Orioles have been in and out of the playoffs for the last week or so.  I tend to not understand the ins and outs of the playoffs so every time I check, it's something different.  So I haven't been watching super closely.  Of course, when I don't watch, that's when the clinch it!  Woohoo!  Baltimore is in for an Orange October. Love it! Seeing as the very last World Series they won, was in 1983 (aka the year I was born), it would be really nice to see a win!

Lastly, was the sweetest of the weekend. The American Ryder Cup Team won!  They not only won, but they won in spectacular fashion.  There were some seriously gorgeous matches over the last 2 days and some super sweet victories.  I loved watching the players - European and American - all enjoy the weekend.  They all played hard, but they were playing hard too.  I can only imagine what the celebrations look like tonight!

Fun Night at Camden Yards

Our first and last Oriole's game of the summer - Sun, Baseball, Friends, Fun, and Fireworks all combined for a wonderful evening!  And it also explains why I don't have any brain cells left to compose a coherent Friday Five post. 

Baltimore Sports Fun

It must be said, it's a very good time for sports in Baltimore.  I mean, I may be a bit biased, it's usually pretty good between the Orioles and the Ravens.  However this year, we have the added bonus of Olympics to watch.  You just gotta love Michael Phelps and Katie Ledecky! We Marylanders definitely do!

I read an article earlier this week that said if Maryland had been a country, we would be second place for Olympic gold medals.  How awesome is that!?  I'm not sure what it is about the city of Baltimore that makes great swimmers, but I'm assuming it's something in the water. (See what I did there? : )  The fact that Michael and Katie have been kicking butt has been super fun to watch, if only to give the state of Maryland some good press for a change.  

My favorite part in all of it was seeing Michael Phelps getting his medal on Tuesday evening. During the National Anthem, he cracked up during the "Oh say does that star spangled banner yet wave..." part.  If you're not a Baltimorean you may not know why that was cute. Since Baltimore's baseball team is the "O's", the "Oh!" is almost always yelled loudly. Apparently his friends did that in the stands which made him laugh.  I love it! 

And with all the Olympic coverage you may have missed the Orioles doing pretty darn well. Of course, they're currently making a liar out of me in their road-trip games.  But when they're home they tend to play pretty awesome-ly.  And then of course, you have the whole reason I decided to write this post tonight, after a LONG summer - it's FINALLY FOOTBALL SEASON!!  Woohoo!

And while I'm super excited about having a Ravens game tonight, I'd be much happier if they weren't currently down by 3...

52 Lists: Week 21

I'm not nearly as with it when it comes to sports as some people are, but I'm also not completely clueless.  I like watching certain sports and I do root for a few specific teams.  But when it comes to stats, player rankings, and scoring I usually get pretty lost.  I base my opinions on what I always judge first - the people.  I don't look at how great they are at playing or what their stats were last year.  I'm interested mostly in if they're a good person. If they're not I tend not to like them.  If they are, I'll always root for them - even if they're terrible. 

So in honor of my very favorite sports person being in the lead for the British Open right now (a 63, baby!), this week's list will be favorite and least favorite sports figures. 

Faves (aka Loves!):

Phil Mickelson - Best golfer and best human being around.  Love his personality, and his dedication to his fans.  And such a great sense of humor!  He will always be my number one favorite sports person!

And while we're talking about golfers, also add Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell, Lee Westwood, Matt Kuchar, and Freddie Couples to the list.  (In all honesty, there's probably a lot more to add to the list - golfers tend to be great people.)

Torrey Smith - Even though he doesn't play for the Ravens anymore, I'll always be one of his biggest fans.  He seems like such a down to earth guy and he really reaches out to the community to try to help those less fortunate.

Justin Tucker - Have you seen his Opera singing?  He's hilarious!  And a kick-butt kicker.

Cal Ripken - How can I be from Baltimore and not add him to the list?

Scott Hamilton - I've always loved him!  I will always be hopeless at figure skating but it was my favorite thing to watch when I was little.  His back flips are legendary, almost as much as his positivity and kindness.

Alex Ovechkin - He's always been a great player for the Caps (aka the only hockey team I know anything about), but he got my undying love last year when he took a little girl with special needs who was his biggest fan on a "date" last year.  Adorable!

* I feel terrible that there are no girls on this list, but I know next to nothing about girls sports. That really needs to change!

Least Faves (aka those I can't stand and will always root against)

Ben Roethlisberger
Tom Brady
Tiger Woods
Dustin Johnson
Ndamakong Suh
Ray Rice
The guy that got punched by Manny Machado because he purposefully hit Manny Machado with a pitch
Rob Gronkowski

Friday Five

1. Another week, another awesome performance by the cast of Hamilton? This week it's their contribution to the Broadway Cares Easter Bonnet competition.  Their Sweeney Todd performance was perfect in every way.  Seriously, what can't this cast do?

2. This little girl and her hero garbage man are about the cutest thing ever!  

3. CJ Cregg doing the Press Briefing - Ordinarily this would make me nostalgic for The West Wing, but in a year when Donald Trump is doing his best to destroy the country, I'm even more anxious to see CJ Cregg at the podium and Jeb Bartlett in the Oval!

Allison Janney takes over White House press briefing as character 'C. J. Cregg' from 'The West Wing.' https://t.co/jdDgMDQbm5

— ABC News (@ABC) April 29, 2016

4. Love a good David Tennant tweet.  Especially when they name check Cumberbatch at the same time.  BTW: Rumor has it (well Martin Freeman said it on Graham Norton) that Sherlock will be back by the end of the year!  This is not a drill!

Who is David Tennant? Yes. And vice versa. #LSSChttps://t.co/x8fmOtNreY

— Stephen Colbert (@StephenAtHome) April 28, 2016

5.  A fairly full sports week in Maryland - a 10-5 win for the O's last night, a win for the Caps in the second round of the playoffs and the draft which is apparently going well for the Ravens. Go Caps/O's/Ravens!

Friday Five

1. I've been dying to see "Fully Committed" since they announced it last year.  What's not to love?  A one man show in which Jesse Tyler Ferguson plays 40 different characters, and it's about the foodie world.  It's the makings of perfection.  And seeing as I have to wait until next month to see, I'm loving the chance to sneak a peek at the set design.  So not what I was expecting, but so beautiful!

2. So happy that the Capitals are in the playoffs for obvious reasons, but even happier that these little ones got to share in on the fun.  Seriously, how cute are they?!

3. Seeing as it's April, and it's the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, it's time to geek out over him again.  I was in awe of England again, dedicating a whole show with lots of live performances to the man on this momentous occasion then beaming it all over the UK.  But I was even happier when I heard they would also be beaming it to the States too.  Of course I'll have to wait a month, but it's all good.  Yet another fun thing to look forward to this summer, and another reason why England is the best country ever!

4. If anyone would like to purchase me anything in the near future, please let it be this electric tea kettle because it might be the cutest thing I've ever seen!

5. Up until earlier this week, I was ready to praise the undefeated Orioles, but that streak has since ended.  However, 8-2 is nothing to sneeze at and since tonight they managed to overcome a 4 run deficit to win 11-5, I've decided they're ok with a few losses under their belts.  Since we had quite the ugly season for the Ravens, we need a happy season for the O's and it looks like this one might be it!