December | 2009 | SuburbanDaddy

Tiger Woods Hits Rock Bottom On Clearance

By now you are well aware of Tiger Woods recent “transgressions“. I figured there would be some minor impact to his image, brand, and maybe endorsements. But I had no idea he would fall this far, this fast.

Today in Toys R Us I spotted Tiger’s action figure stuck way in the back of the store. On the clearance shelf. Next to last year’s toys nobody wants. Prices slashed.? And just before Christmas.

Remember in Toy Story 2, when Woody gets shelved?? To a toy, that’s the worst thing possible.

Tiger was just shelved.

Tiger Woods On Clearance

Week 13 Picks by The Greek and The Swami

Thing 1 (The Greek) and Thing 2 (The Swami) have made their predictions for Week 13’s Game of the Week – New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys.

The Giants (6-5) are at home and favored to beat the Cowboys (8-3) by 2.5 points by the so-called professional experts. The over under is 45.5 points.

Thing 1 sees it as a typical NFC East slug fest with the Giants prevailing 26-15. An astute prediction given Dallas quarterback Tony Romo’s poor track record in December.

Thing 2 expects a different kind of game. He predicts a high scoring contest with Dallas wining 55-30. At first he said the Cowboys would score 88 points. But after discussion with Thing 1, and careful consideration, he changed his pick to 55 points. As you can see, he likes when both numbers are the same. And the highest number he knows is 100.

As a lifelong Giants fan, Thing 2’s pick causes me great pain. But there is still hope to convert him. Thing 2 has been known to quickly change team allegiances based on the outcome of a game. He only likes to root for the winner.

Who Are The Bad Parents

Preschools everywhere have an annual Halloween parade. Kids dress up and parents, family, and friends watch as the kids parade around the parking lot.

Our preschool has infants through kindergarten, with two or three classrooms for each age group. There were easily 150 kids in the Halloween parade.

As we watched the kids walk by, every single one was wearing a costume. Firemen, princesses, Spiderman, witches and all the usual suspects.

Except for one kid. This poor kid was in the parade in street clothes. Jeans and a red shirt. What terrible parents forgot their kid’s costume?

Any guesses who this kid was? Yes, it was Thing 3. For the second year in a row.

In our defense, we did bring the costume. A Yoda robe, hat, and ears. He just refused to wear it. Perhaps “refused” is the wrong word. More like the king of all tantrums despite the teachers’ best efforts. We weren’t surprised.

Here is Thing 3 as Yoda. Minus the Yoda.

Another Sports Talent

You’ve already seen evidence of Thing 1’s sports knowledge. He reads the sports page, knows all the standings, players, and scores. Now it’s gone to a new level.

Thing 2 looks up to his big brother and copies whatever he does. So it isn’t too surprising that he has been studying under the tutelage of the sports master, otherwise known as Thing 1. Whatever sports information Thing 1 spews, Thing 2 absorbs it.

Sometimes the information source is faulty. For example, I heard Thing 1 tell him the Cowboys are 7-3 but they are really 8-3. A small discrepancy.

Sometimes Thing 2, in his imaginative 4 year old way, creates his own information. On Monday, he was going around saying the Redskins were playing the Bills on Monday Night Football. In fact, Monday’s game was between the Saints and the Patriots. He has also said that Jason Campbell, the quarterback for the Redskins, can run as fast as a cheetah.

Before Monday night’s game, I had Thing 1 (aka The Greek) and Thing 2 (aka The Swami) make their predictions for the outcome.

Thing 1’s pick: Saints 39-26
Thing 2’s pick: Saints 30-12
Actual score: Saints 38-17!

Not only did they both pick the correct winner (something SuburbanDaddy and SuburbanUncle, two self-professed sports experts could not do), but the scores they predicted showed a keen knowledge of New Orlean’s high powered offense.

I need to test if this was a fluke, or if there is some innate talent at work. So expect to see score predictions here each week from The Greek and The Swami. Be sure to check back in a few days for this week’s featured game: Giants vs Cowboys

KidsMobile Stops in Washington, DC

Washington, DC is a great destination for kids.? You probably already know about the world class museums and American history attractions.?? But you may not know about everything else that Washington, DC has to offer.? Check out these lists from local bloggers? for tips on more Washington, DC popular attractions.

Trekaroo?s growing community of families from all across the country have pitched in with their votes for the most kid-friendly stops in Washington D.C. Here?s the line up for 2009!

Continue reading KidsMobile Stops in Washington, DC

Sneak Peak and Review – Men Of A Certain Age

Yesterday I received a sneak peak video of Men Of A Certain Age, premiering December 7 on TNT. The series follows the bonds of friendship between three college friends ? Joe, Owen and Terry ? who are now in their 40s. Joe (Ray Romano) is a slightly neurotic divorced father of two who hoped to become a pro golfer but now owns a party store. Owen (Andre Braugher) is an overstressed husband and father, who is a car salesman at his dad’s dealership. Terry (Scott Bakula of Quantum Leap fame) is a struggling actor dating a much younger woman.

I was a big fan of Ray Romano’s previous show, Everybody Loves Raymond. So I was very curious how Romano would pull off another show where he is a middle aged slightly neurotic father.

Actors from successful sitcoms have a hard time breaking away from their well known roles. See all the actors from Seinfeld or Friends as examples. Sure, Jennifer Aniston was able to establish a different identity in movies, but not in another television show. Have you seen Courteney Cox in Cougar Town? I rest my case.

After just a few minutes of the pilot, I was surprised how well Romano was able to make himself into a different character. I didn’t feel I was watching Ray Barone. Part of this could have been that he has aged since Everybody Loves Raymond went off the air in 2005. He looks older.

The other reason is because the show is not a sitcom. It’s billed as a comedy-drama but I’d put it as more drama than comedy. There were a few trademark Romano chuckles as he pokes fun at himself or his two buddies. But I get the sense these characters will have dramatic scenes sprinkled with just a few comedy one liners. I kept expecting the jokes to come but most of the scenes were serious dialog.

If the goal of the show is to make viewers feel the despair and tediousness of a man struggling with middle age, then it succeeds.? You can meet the characters and judge for yourself.? I’ll probably give the show a try for an episode or two, if only because I am such a fan of Ray Romano.