What an exciting time of year. The weather is finally starting to get nice, St. Patty's Day is right around the corner, and of course March Madness is about to get under way. As an Irishman there is nothing that excites me more than thought of drinking all day and betting on the college basketball games.

As far as the NCAA tourny goes, this is the time when we all feel our best. We look at our brackets and tell ourselves that this is the year we pick all the games. On paper, we feel unbeatable. By the end of this weekend there will be some no name school that manages to fuck up everyones pool, except the one girl in the office who has no clue whats going on and accidently picks that shit head school to go to the final four. If this sounds like a bitter rant on George Mason from last year, it is!

This is a time of year when we are also full of excitement and expectations for the upcoming St. Patrick's Day. Now, I grew up on the south side so the recent parade is the one I am most familar with. This will be my first north side adventure for St. Patty's Day so if anyone has fun tips for things to do, let me know.

With all that being said, Have a Happy St. Patty's Day and Happy Gambling!

For about the last 6 months I have been listening to this band from the east coast and they are continuing to blow my mind. The band is Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers. In 23 years I have been to well over 300 shows ranging from the smaller independent groups to the groups who sell out amphitheatres, and SK and the Sixers is the most entertaining experience of all of them. I have seen the full band three times, and last night I saw SK play acoustically at the Park West in Chicago. Each show different and better than the last.

Musically speaking, there is no better voice that SK. He has truly found a way to sound original in a day where conformity rules the industry. The band has amazing chemistry and they all feed off of each others talents.

The live show is second to none. It boast powerful lyrics and music, while keeping each show different and new. There are many on stage antics that take place throughout the course of the night that keep the crowd entertained. After an SK show, you feel like you know the band on a personal level.

SK and the Sixers tour all over the country and they are about to kick off their new tour Feb 15. They will be at the House of Blues in Chicago April 14, 2007 and i highly recommend checking them out. Go to their Myspace page or their website www.sk6ers.com to listen to some of their tunes...you will NOT be disappointed

The most annoying joke is the one where the little boy goes to school and tells the teacher he is a Bears fan. When she asked why he responded because his parents are Bears fans. The teacher said well what if your Mom was an idiot and your dad was a moron...what would you be then. The boy says...well then i would be a Colts fan. This joke is about 100 years old and it is supposed to be a Cubs/Zox joke. I have received about 100 emails like this one in the past week and its driving me nuts.

I am officially posting this blog to tell all the people who are sending me this shit to cut it out. I like the spirit and the excitement, but for fucks sake, send me something funny or orignial. Don't recycle jokes from a few decades ago and swithc a few thigns around and flood my inbox with your shitty jokes.

On that note, GO BEARS!!

Also just wanted to add that I shot a music video for a band called Bottle of Justus and you can check it out on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz7_EL864bM.

Comments have ranged from "If you thought Hurricane Katrina was bad, wait until the Bears are done with ya" to jokes about Hurricane Urlacker and Hurricane Ditka.

On local Chicago sports radio they said it best. This is championship football game in Chicago where some of the loudest and craziest people in the country live. While the events of Katrina were horrific, they have nothing to do with this football game.

If you want to say the Saints are a team of destiny because a tragedy happened in their city over a year ago, you are an idiot. If someone says something about Katrina being mild compared to what the Bears are gonna do, find a way to get even without acting like a whiny, crying, little bitch. Its a sports game and its trash talk. Don’t start re-living the past because someone brought it up as a way to show their team is going to win.

We will let the events of this Sunday decide the future for both organizations. Until then let the fans run their mouth anyway they want. This political correctness shit is killing me. Final prediction for the game...Hurricane Urlacker and Company drown the Saints 24-17.

Food for thought.... Premises It snowed in Malibu, California this week. The last time it snowed in Malibu was 1985. The Bears won the SuperBowl in 1985. Conclusion When it snows in Malibu...The Bears win the SuperBowl!!!

I hate to see so many Chicago fans turn their backs on Rex, me included, but this is a tough town to play for, and if you suck ass...ya better be able to handle the criticism.

Chicago paid a shitload of money for Brian Griese, and it might be time to let him take the reigns. Over 75% of super bowls won in the last 5 years or so were won with a backup QB.

It’s not like Griese isn't an established QB either. Who holds the record for highest QB record in a single season...that’s right Brian Griese. I say the Bears work with Rex hard for the next week while they enjoy their week off, and if his shit isn’t together, he’s done.

I am just sick of Rex being the MVP for the opposing team. Last week he managed to throw three interceptions and fumble the ball in one half of football. To post stats like that, you almost have to purposely try and suck. This was one shitty way to start off NYE (check last blog to see this prediction).

Finally, I will leave you with this pic from the Green bay game. Let me preface this by saying that I HATE Green Bay with a passion, but this picture does capture the very essence that is Rex Grossman.

New Years Eve is a night full of more excitement and expectations than any other night of the year. It is finally time to forget that raise you didn’t get this year, or that your girlfriend slept with your brother. It’s time to look forward to the New Year, which will undoubtedly, be just as shitty as last year. With all this excitement and promise of a new year, how could NYE suck?

First of all, NYE is a night where all the idiots who normally don’t drink decide to go out and get drunk. This means I, as a drinker, have to deal with the idiocies of not just the regular crowd, but also the "I never get to go out and now is my chance to get drunker than I ever have before" crowd.

This also means it will be impossible to get a cab until 6 in the morning. It means I will have to wait extra long to get my overpriced drink of choice. You would think with torture such as this, they would give you reasonable prices, but NO...$125 for a few hours of open bar. Are you fuckin’ kidding me? If I went into that same bar with $125 any other night I could live like P Diddy for a few hours and not be subjected to long ass lines and shitty well drinks.

Don't forget that when you arrive at your trendy bar or exclusive downtown hotel, that they will herd you in like cattle. They will fit every last person they possibly can in to make you as uncomfortable as possible. This is how you want to bring in the New Year? Probably waiting in line to get you and your date a drink as the clock strikes midnight.

With all that being said, you would think I would be smart enough to stay in this NYE and have a party, but nope. I'll see the rest of you out and about this NYE. Call me a hypocrite, call me a bitter asshole, but don't tell me that I am not right about NYE being the most over rated drinking holiday of the year.

I do hope everyone has a terrific New Year, and an awesome night on the town, it just seems like the actual NYE party is never what you want it to be!