Great News

It seems those Brian Roberts trade rumors were just that... rumors (Thank GOD). As management says:

(From Orioles.com) Baltimore has already moved on from a couple plans of their own, most notably one that involved a huge trade with Atlanta. In a potential deal first reported by The Baltimore Sun, the O's were expected to send second baseman Brian Roberts and pitching prospect Hayden Penn to the Braves for Marcus Giles and Adam LaRoche. (If that were the case, Toine would so have to find me a job selling Braves tickets and spruce up that guest room)That deal allegedly came close to completion but fell through and is thought to be beyond resuscitation. Neither Flanagan nor Duquette denied that report on Tuesday, but they acknowledged the difficulty of trying to keep things secret at the Winter Meetings. And more to the point, they talked about how rumors can affect their players.

"When I played, I hated to see my name in the papers with trades. It's very upsetting to people's families," Flanagan said. "And we get a little upset when our players' names get out there. They're mentioned when these deals aren't down the road. We've probably talked about 25 different scenarios -- at the minimum -- of things."

"It's not an exaggeration," added Duquette. "Almost every one of our players has been talked about by other teams. That's what we do at this time of year. We talk about trades. We're at a point where we're going to explore everything. Unfortunately, that particular one gets out, and I'm not sure it's going anywhere.

What? You're "not sure" it's going anywhere?! It better not be, as Roberts seems to be a pretty big bargaining chip when it comes to getting outfielder Luis Gonzalez to Baltimore. Roberts has spent some time talking up the recent trades and the city and there is a valid interest there even though Gonzalez seems to want to stay in the NL. That's about all the action we've had at the Winter Meetings.

Apparently Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston are splitsville.. for real this time? I guess we'll have to wait and see if that's confirmed. So far it's just speculation, but I'll take it.

Last night I cooked... well.. kind of. I made Four Cheese Chicken Helper. It was actually quite good and J. and I ate the whole thing! Granted, he eats like a horse so that's not a big deal but even I had seconds. Guess I better get more helpers and see how they work.. Baby steps people.. I'm not going to be joining Top Chef anytime soon!

Speaking of which, a new episode of Top Chef is on tonight after a one week hiatus so I'm curious to see how that turns out. Also on tonight is the finale of America's Next Top Model where Melrose, Eugena and Caridee will battle it out for No. 1. I don't know.. I can't believe Eugena got this far and Melrose is just f'n crazy so.... my vote will go for Caridee but I have a sinking feeling Melrose will win, unless Nigel can finally convey to the judges that she looks too old to be America's Next Top Model. Guess we'll find out tonight!

If you're looking for a new show to get into, may I suggest "Big Day?" It's a cute show starring Marla Sokoloff of "The Practice" as a bride on her wedding day. There are tons of mishaps and it goes through 24-style with relatively real time occurrences. The second episode was on last night and they're only on 10:15 am so it's got quite a ways to go since I'm pretty sure the wedding itself isn't until 6:00 pm. Here's a pretty good description from ABC.com:

Each season, the show 24 tackles one very, very bad day in the life of a special agent in charge of national security. This fall ABC will also present one very, very bad day in someone's life... a young couple's wedding day in the beautiful backyard of a family home. And while no one is defusing a nuclear bomb - they're arguing about when the salad is going to be served - the stakes (as anyone who has been through a wedding knows) are just as high.

Big Day tells the stories you don't see on the wedding video -- the father who sits his daughter down on the morning of her big day and tells her he really doesn't think she should marry this guy; the bitter bridesmaid older sister who sleeps with the best man and accidentally drinks his contact lenses, which he left in a glass of water on the nightstand, blinding him for the rest of the proceedings; the groomsman who's secretly in love with the groom; the tightly wound mother of the bride who intimidates the nervous wedding planner into changing the salad (the bride's choice, Caesar, is just so tacky!).

The interaction between the bridemaid sister and the best man are priceless. She was "helping" him get ready for the manly football game and outfitted him in a tight t-shirt with DIVA splashed on it in rhinestones, not to mention sweatpants (of the juicy couture variety) with TRAMPY on the ass. It's entertaining and I think there are aspects of it that everyone can relate to, married or not. (Thanks for the pic ABC.com)

Just about time for lunch so I'm gonna get a move on. I'll try to come up with more later, I promise! Happy Hump Day!!!!