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World Cup 2018 Bracket

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June 29, 2018

We are down to just 16 teams at the World Cup, and here are my completely wrong predictions for it!

ROUND OF SIXTEEN

Uruguay vs. Portugal – Uruguay — Suarez vs. Ronaldo will be the big storyline, but I think Uruguay walks away with this one. Their defense has been tighter (have yet to let in a goal, vs. the four that Portugal has), and they have just had the stronger World Cup to this point
France vs. Argentina – France — I mean, it is all about Messi…but France is young and incredibly fast. From the 19-year-old Mbappe, to Pogba and Griezmann (only in their 20s) and will run past Argentina, who struggled in the first rounds

Brazil vs. Mexico – Mexico — El Tri limped into the Round of 16, after getting blown out by Sweden, but I think that was more about Sweden’s strength, then about Mexico’s weaknesses. Meanwhile, Brazil, which should’ve been flying high, haven’t been the team that they were expected to be, and I think they have an early knockout.
Belgium vs. Japan – Belgium — Belgium has looked almost flawless this World Cup, which isn’t something that can be said about most teams…while Japan isn’t going to be able to keep up

Spain vs. Russia – Spain — I picked them as my winners…but now that we’ve gotten thru the Matchdays, I may have to revisit that, but I do think that Russia’s dominance in the first two days disappeared once they faced Uruguay, and it won’t come back now.
Croatia vs. Denmark – Croatia — Denmark has been unable to get the ball in the back of the net (2 goals in 3 games), while Croatia has come out really strong, and is +6 on the tournament.

Sweden vs. Switzerland – Sweden — Sweden’s win over Mexico was not a fluke. They are a very strong team, and while Switzerland has had a great showing, I think the yellow and blue walk away with this one.
Columbia vs. England – England — This is the one tough pick in a seemingly easy side to the bracket…it all comes down to James. If he’s injured, Columbia loses. If he’s healthy, they will put up a good fight against The Three Lions.

QUARTERFINAL

Uruguay vs. France – France — Uruguay didn’t let in a goal in the Matchday Round, but that should change in round 1 against Portugal, and France’s speed will just overpower them
Mexico vs. Belgium – Belgium — Despite Mexico getting past Brazil, it’s going to take a lot more to get past Belgium, and they just don’t have it in them

Spain vs. Croatia – Spain — Spain got lucky by ending on this side of the bracket, giving them an easier path to push through to the Semifinals
Sweden vs. England – Sweden — England has a very complete team, but one thing they are missing this World Cup is a finishing punch in the final third. Harry Kane has had his moments, but I don’t know that they can land the uppercut against the strength of Sweden

SEMIFINAL

France vs. Belgium – Belgium — This one should be the Final. Both these teams probably weren’t anyone’s favorites coming into the tournament, but they have both shown up and are keeping a very strange World Cup in order.

Spain vs. Sweden – Spain — Like I said earlier, and like I said in my initial review, Spain was my favorite coming in. But then they didn’t look fantastic…yet ended up in what should be a much easier bracket. And while Sweden may have a better team this time around, Spain will smell the final, and their experience will come out ahead.

FINALS

THIRD PLACE — France vs. Sweden – France — France has so much firepower, and while Sweden does too, I think France is more complete from top to bottom

CHAMPION — Belgium vs. Spain – Belgium — Since the World Cup kicked off I’ve liked how Belgium has performed. From the Hazards’ and Romelu Lukaku to De Bruyne and Dries Mertens, this team is stacked and ready to win their first FIFA World Cup!

That left bracket is so much stronger than the right. Because of that both third and first place should come from it…but it can also work to a disadvantage as they will get beat up on their way to the finals.

It should be noted that I correctly picked Germany to win in 2014 🙂 …over Belgium.

Luke Cage – Season 2

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June 28, 2018

Luke Cage, the Power Man of Harlem, is back for another funfilled Marvel season.

Luke (Mike Colter) is trying to keep Mariah (Alfre Woodard) and Shades (Theo Rossi) from bringing guns into Harlem, but a new Jamaican foe, Bushmaster (Mustafa Shakir) and fresh hierarchy at the NYPD stand in his way.

Just because you are a woke superhero, doesn’t mean you have to be a broke superhero.

I have some trouble with two of the characters…Shades is a little hard to watch at times, as his acting style is a tad boring, and Bushmasters heavy accent requires some help from subtitles (which take liberties in translating).

This season is one of the best complete stories that Marvel has put out there, since Season 1 of Jessica Jones, and the dual scenes of Luke with his father (House of Cards’ Reg E. Cathey) and Bushmaster with Mariah are some of the strongest moments as the storylines play out.

Meanwhile, there are a lot of guest appearances, from the aforementioned Reg E. Cathey to Daredevil’s Foggy (Elden Henson), and a host of ESPN personalities, like Stephen A. Smith on First Take and the duo from the now failed “6”, Jemele Hill and Michael Smith.

Other returning characters include the now one-armed Misty Knight (Simone Missick), Nurse Claire (Rosario Dawson), and from Iron Fist, Colleen (Jessica Henwick) and the man himself, Danny Rand (Finn Jones).
And while he has not been the most lovable characters until this point (as seen in his first season, and The Defenders), he was a lot better this time around, maybe when not having to carry the show. With that in mind, Luke playing Patti-Cake with Danny is going to become one of the more iconic scenes for the Immortal Iron Fist.

Sweet X-Mas.

This season is a solid watch and gets another 8 out of 10.
You can read my Season 1 review HERE.

Whiteface Mountain

@iAmAviG

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June 27, 2018

Whiteface Mountain, home of skiing in the 1980 Winter Olympics, and the redone Veterans Memorial Highway.

The mountaintop is the fifth highest in New York, and the long winding 5-mile highway offers scenic stops all the way up, as it covers 2,300 feet vertically.

Once at the top of the road you have to hike to the final summit, reaching 4,867′. But before you climb, explore the castle built from stone, which has a cafe, gift shop, and elevator to the top. Unfortunately, well not for me but the older peoples, the elevator is currently under repairs, so you can’t experience the insides of the mountain.

When you finally reach the apex, it offers gorgeous 360-degree views, which on clear days can see as far as Vermont and Canada, or as close as Lake Placid (seen below).

Tomb Raider

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June 26, 2018

Alicia Vikander is taking over Angelina Jolie’s iconic role of Lara Croft, and she more than does it justice.

Lara’s Dad has been missing for many years, but she refuses to take the inheritance and step into his shoes, believing that he’ll be back one day. Working as a courier to make money, the job is just not meeting her needs.
She finally gives in and goes to sign his death papers, and discovers one last riddle and trail, that will lead her down the Tomb Raider path, in search of Himiko, the first Queen of Japan.
Once on the hunt, she discovers treachery and hostility and continues to follow her father’s notes.

This movie is well shot, and although some of the adventures are unimaginable and gets a tad boring at times in the beginning, the story gets good and interesting, getting a 7 out of 10, and I can’t wait for the next installment!

Lake Placid Olympic Center

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June 25, 2018

The Lake Placid Olympic Center is at the heart of Lake Placid NY, and is one of the more historic sites in Team USA lore.

The building is home to the ice rink from the Miracle on Ice when the US Men’s Hockey Team defeated the Soviets in one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
For anyone not familiar with the story, Disney made it into a movie called Miracle, and there’s a great book by Wayne Coffey called The Boys of Winter.

In the lower levels of the building is the Lake Placid Olympic Museum, which houses all sorts of 1980s Olympics material. From hockey to bobsled, and cross-country to figure skating. All the winter gear that Team USA has sported over the decades, replica torches from all the games, and of course Roni the Raccoon, the mascot of the 1980s Olympics.

Next door to the Olympic Rink is a High School. The school was a school until a week before the Olympic games…and was a school again a week after the games…but during the games, it was the media center.
And just outside this building is a track, used for speed skating…outdoors in the elements. I wish we still had stuff like that these days.

Summer Country Song of the Day

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June 22, 2018

Some country music to kick off the first full day of summer!!

Babe by Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift

This song is written by Taylor Swift, originally for her Red album, but didn’t make the cut. Now she’s featured in the song as its sung by Sugarland.

You really blew this, babe
We ain’t getting through this one, babe
This is the last time I’ll ever call you, babe

Get Along by Kenny Chesney

Get along while we can
Always give love the upper hand
Paint a wall, learn to dance
Call your mom, buy a boat
Drink a beer, sing a song
Make a friend, can’t we all get along

In Case You Didn’t Know by Brett Young

In case you didn’t know
Baby I’m crazy ’bout you
And I would be lying if I said
That I could live this life without you
Even though I don’t tell you all the time
You had my heart a long, long time ago
In case you didn’t know

Life After You by Daughtry

All that I’m after is a life full of laughter
As long as I’m laughing with you
And I think that all that still matters is love ever after
After the life we’ve been through
‘Cause I know there’s no life after you

Lake Placid Sports Complex

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June 21, 2018

The Lake Placid Olympic Sports Complex, located at Mount Van Hoevenberg in Lake Placid NY, was the home for a large part of the 1980 Winter Olympics.

Lake Placid was the only bid for the Olympic games, and from the top of the Olympic Sports Complex (OSC) you can see all the sites for the games.

Among the things at the OSC:

  • A large track that hosted luge, skeleton, and bobsledding, and nowadays you can take a bus tour to the top. The tour stops at the multiple starting points along the track, and gives a brief overview of the Olympic Games.
    Once at the top they give you the option to take the bus back down to the beginning, or you can walk down inside of the bobsled run…and you should definitely take the opportunity.
    Walking down inside gives you great views of the mountain and a good look at the curves and starting points for one of the exciting winter events.

    Throughout the year, albeit not the week I was there, you can take a bobsled down the bottom of the track (1/2 mile), or a skeleton/luge trial (1/4 mile), reaching speeds of 55MPH on a 40-second run.
    This is available most of the year, as they use dry sleds for it.
  • As you drive in you pass by the cross-country/biathlon course, including the shooting gallery
  • Before you take the bus tour there is a short history exhibit, that has older sleds, awards from various years, and a lot of info about the sport at Mount Van Hovenberg

Best Western Saranac Lake

@iAmAviG

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June 20, 2018

I quickly discovered when looking for hotels on this trip was that Country Inn & Suites, my hotel of choice, didn’t have locations in the Northeast…so I turned to Google to help find a hotel and discovered a Best Western in the area I was heading towards.
This was how I ended up at my first Best Western, in Saranac Lake, NY.

The building is quaint and old style, but with more modern-ish looking rooms, albeit a very small bathroom space, with the door barely scraping past the toilet/blocking the shower.
This two-story building has no elevator, so if you bring any luggage, you’ll be lugging it up to that second floor.

Free WiFi worked nicely, and there was a pool located on the ground floor.
There is a restaurant next door, on hotel grounds, that serves breakfast and lunch, with a 10% discount to hotel guests, and with this in mind, the vending machines in the hotel are lacking in choices.
The good news is that there is a Dunkin Donuts and Tops Supermarket just a two-minute drive away that will help with anything you need.

Right in front of the hotel is Saranac Lake, and a nice little spot to sit out and enjoy the mountain air.

If you need something to do in the area without leaving Saranac Lake, besides the obvious of Lake Placid (to be detailed in the upcoming days), head over to the Robert Louis Stevenson cottage a few blocks away.
This was the home where RSL lived for all of 7 months but wrote a fair amount of essays in that time.

Cooperstown – Baseball Hall of Fame

@iAmAviG

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June 19, 2018

Cooperstown, NY. The home of the Baseball Hall of Fame. A quaint little town, with a trolley system, and free parking lots dotted around the city…and if you’re lucky a metered spot in town, right in front of the Halls gates.

The Baseball Hall of Fame is a great place to visit, whether you are a casual fan or a baseball purist…and if you’re a Yankees fan, half the hall is just about you.
I’m someone that tends to move quickly thru museums, but this one was enjoyable and I took my time with, even going back to some exhibits multiple times.

The building is split into multiple sections, each with their own uniqueness and excitement, here are some of them:

  • Lockers Rooms — All 30 teams are displayed with their own locker, showing a lot of recent history for each team. From jerseys to cleats, gloves to balls, and a list of all retired numbers, each item has a little piece of history to it. Take the New York Yankees locker, below, as an example, with some of the pictured items:
    • Andy Pettitte’s glove from when he set the franchise Strikeout record
    • Tyler Austin and Aaron Judge’s bats from when they hit back-to-back homers in their first plate appearances
    • Gary Sanchez’s “Kraken” jersey, from the 2017 Players Weekend, the first time that Yankees jerseys had names on them
  • Babe Ruth: His Life and Legend — Babe Ruth is arguably one of the best players of all time. But what’s not debatable is that he is one of the early heroes of the game, larger than life, and making the game fun for people to come out and watch.
  • Exhibits on some of the key eras throughout baseball history. These included the Pirates of the 1910s, the Negro League, and Women’s roles in baseball
  • ¡Viva Baseball! — A celebration of Latin American baseball, and a fully bilingual exhibit.  It focuses on baseball being played in those countries, as well as some of the top players that have come from there…like Albert Pujols, Alfonso Soriano, and Miguel Cabrera
  • A Whole New Ballgame — A focus on the modern game, from the 1970s on. From the Yankees “Core Four”, to how Pine Tar has affected the game, and they don’t shy away from controversy, with talk of steroids and the McGuire/Sosa sagas, plus the famous run of 1998.
  • Sacred Ground — Former fields are preserved here, as they have pieces and artifacts from retired stadiums, like Ebbets Field and the Polo Grounds, and the exploding scoreboard from Comiskey Park (below)
  • Hank Aaron: Chasing The Dream — A look at Aarons historic career, as he looked to set records at all levels of play, and led a lot of philanthropic efforts
  • Record Books — A full collection of all the records in baseball, and who the current holders are, and of course a full collection of gear from those events
  • Postseason — Postseason history, the Yankees Championship trophy from 1999 lives here (below), as well as a duplicate of every World Series ring that’s been created (and watches, or other strange pieces from the early years of baseball)
  • Who’s On First — Abbott and Costello made baseball funny, and they have their own little room with the famous skit on loop
  • The Art of Baseball — A collection of arts and photos that showcase the game
  • Hall of Fame — And of course you end your walk around the building with the most important part: The Hall of Fame. A collection of all the plaques for the HoFers, and a special hall for recent entries

Set It Up #Netflix

@iAmAviG

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June 18, 2018

The life of an assistant is not glamorous. Running errands, getting food on the snap of a finger, and just being there for every need of your boss…all at the risk of getting fired when they get bored.

Harper (Zoey Deutch) and Charlie (Glen Powell) are working in the same building, as the assistants for two crazy, yet single, bosses: Kirsten (Lucy Liu) and Rick (Taye Diggs).
So when our two heroes meet in the lobby one day, they hatch a plan to get their bosses together, in an elaborate set up, in an effort to make their own lives a little easier.

From locking them in an elevator together, to having them sit near each other at a Yankees game and arranging a Kiss Cam, every single step is meticulously planned out, and any missteps are quickly worked around.

And it’s not just the main characters that are fun to watch, as the side roles played by Tituss Burgess, as creepy Tim, and Pete Davidson, as Charlie’s gay roommate, are both hilarious.

This cute Netflix exclusive rom-com gets a 7.5 out of 10.

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