And the diagnosis is...

After four months of constant bloating and belching I've been officially diagnosed with Celiac disease.  This nasty sounding ailment means gluten does damage to my colon which is causing the bloating and also has other long range effects if not treated. 

 

The only treatment is removing wheat, barley and rye from my diet.  Yeah.  That sounds easy until you walk into your pantry.  There were only four items in mine that I could still eat.  Four!  The refrigerator wasn't much better.  There are tons of Celiac websites to help those afflicted with this malady.  Tons of recipes.  Links to sites, restaurants, and manufacturers so that I can know what items have gluten in it.  All great stuff and I'm extremely grateful. 

 

But while my family and friends are very nice to help me look on the bright side, and it is very nice of them, don't let anyone fool you.  This is not easy, not even close, it is heck!  First the mental aspect of living with the fact there are favorite foods of yours that you will never eat again - ever - is a real head trip!  Once you get past that you, or your spouse (sorry dear), has to get down to figuring out the meal plan.  Cooking gluten free can be done but it boils down to cooking from scratch to avoid items with gluten or buying expensive grocery items to help the process along.  Ugh.  Luckily I'm a meat eater because most, but not all, meat is ready to eat.  That helps for when I go to restaurants.  That alone can be tough.  I've been to places where 99% of the menu is off limits.  Sure glad they had mashed potatoes...  No fried foods, no breads, no this, no that.  It is maddening.  You would not believe the many different types of food which I cannot digest.  Good news is there is gluten free beer...

 

This isn't on woe is me post.  It is a fact of life and I'll deal with it.  It just isn't easy at age 44 to completely retool your diet while saying goodbye to some of your favorite foods.  I will get through this though.  First and foremost I'm glad it wasn't more serious.  The docs had a whole list of things I could have been suffering from and some were much worse than this.  Thank you God.  It is also good to know what I'm dealing with.  After months of having no idea I can at least attack this head on now.  Will I cheat?  I'm sure at some point I will but thanks to the long term possible ramifications those times will be kept to a minimum.  But it will happen... 

 

I must also think of my family.  I want to be around a long time to harass them and my grand babies of the future.  My daughter has been suffering stomach ailments for years but has put off definitive testing for fear of what might be found.  This may be exactly what she is dealing with and I have stepped up the fight to get her to testing.  She is starting college and doesn't want to deal with something like this but as an adult she needs answers and can then make informed decisions on how she wants to proceed. 

 

Bottom line is I now know what I need to do.  I'll do that and get the healing process started.  And things will get better, physically and mentally. 

 

Move Review: Iron Man 3

 

I was able to enjoy Iron Man 3 on my birthday with my wonderful youngins in early May.  I really enjoyed the movie and think everyone should watch it in the theaters.  I still see the first Iron Man movie as the standard bearer for this franchise and I can't say Iron Man 3 was quite as good.  I do think it was better than Iron Man 2 but as the difference between them is slight it doesn't really matter. 

 

The villains were good.  I always think Iron Man must have super powered bad guys to fight and they were there.  I still think there are some bad guys in the Iron Man rogues gallery who would make a good transition to film and have high hopes for any new films in the franchise.  There is a big twist in this movie concerning the bad guys.  I won't ruin it. I never saw it coming and that I like.  Overall I thought the pacing was good and I never got bored.  There were minor plot points that I am not a fan of but they didn't detract from my movie experience.   

 

Probably the best gauge for this movie would be how the kids like it.  Mine ranged from 12 to 25 (my 70+ year-old mother also went) and all really enjoyed the movie.  A couple have made multiple trips to see it again.  I've always liked Iron Man and Robert Downey Jr. is the best guy out there to portray him.  I'm not sure anyone knows if he'll be back but I hope he'll be back for more.  You always have to worry about sequel fatigue but the makers of Iron Man have done a good job of keeping this franchise going strong.   

NBA Playoffs - 31 May 13

Been way too long since I've been on here but this month has been crazy busy.  I'm back for the moment and wanted to touch on the NBA playoffs while I have a chance.  My Hawks were thrown to the curb fairly easily by the Pacers.  I thought it would be more of a series as Atlanta has some talent and even thought they could win. I was wrong and the Hawks found a new coach and are looking for an upgrade to the roster through free agency this summer. 

The Spurs have looked great on their run past the Lakers, Warriors and Grizzlies.  For the first time I've been able to watch Tony Parker quite a bit and wow he has impressed me.  I've never sold him short but haven't been able to watch him enough to truly appreciate him.  It helps when he torched the Grizzlies as San Antonio swept their way to the NBA Finals.  My only concern for the Spurs is Manu Gionobli.  He is not playing like his old self.  I know he's dealt with some injuries but he has to be better if they expect to win their fifth championship for Tim.  Speaking of Tim Duncan I love how he is playing.  My buddy Yaj (check out his take on the Spurs here) said Tim figured out he wasn't the low post guy anymore and losing weight helped him to get up and down the court better.  I can't argue with any of that.  He is really getting up and down the court well and doesn't plant himself on the block but is still able to get his share of rebounds.  I'm not sure this team can beat Miami, if they were to play them, but I think they could give them a good run.  They have a great mix of talent that I think lends to making Miami work on both ends.  I think Indiana would be a tough matchup with the bigs but I can't see David West outplaying Duncan and while Tiago Splitter can't hang with Roy Hibbert he would be better than Chris Bosh. 

Miami looks just fine in spite of the tough series with Indiana and the fact that Bosh and Dwayne Wade are not playing up to par as part of "The Big Three".  LeBron is doing his part and doing it very well.  Can he carry this team to a championship?  I think so.  He obviously needs help (like the role players actually hitting jump shots last night) but I agree he makes everyone on the team better.  He can also take over a game as he did in the 3rd quarter last night.  I think he will be a tough matchup for the Spurs while I can't say Miami has a great answer for Tony Parker.  I think Miami finishes off Indiana Saturday night but there are definitely no givens in this series. 

Indiana is playing great and I love rooting for them.  They have disappeared many times in the Miami series for quarters at a time and it has cost them the series lead.  They gave away game one in overtime letting James drive for a layup with 2 seconds left.  That was horrible to watch after they had played so well to get to that point.  I really hope they can come up with a few miracles and still pull this series out but you won't see me putting any money on it.  Not sure how their free agency situation looks for Indy but if they can keep this core together and add a piece here and there and they should be able to compete for years to come. 

New York was destined to lose after most of that team went MIA in the playoffs via injury or just plain failure. Carmelo did what he did best...try to score...but that offense has to be retooled to add other options other than one on one play..........You had to love Chicago's heart with all the injuries they faced but that second round matchup with Miami doomed them.........The Warriors were another fun team to watch and I really wanted to see them advance.  They were just overmatched by the Spurs but again another team I hope can challenge for years to come..........Boston=old.........Memphis - what the heck happened there?  They were setup for success getting to face OKC with no Russell Westbrook and a Spurs team who everyone thought their bigs could take advantage of.  I like many thought they had a better than even chance to beat the Spurs.  They just didn't show up for the series.  It has to be one of the huge disappointments of the playoffs.  I'm not sure Memphis management or fans will look too fondly on these playoffs unless they can bounce back with a better effort next year..........I think there are plenty of good games ahead in what is left of the playoffs.  I can't wait. 

2013 NFL Draft

I like the draft but definitely am not one of those guys who can watch the entire process.  But it is a great time to get excited about what your teams do and what it may mean for them in the upcoming season.  I'll look at my Bills and Falcons as well as the local boys, the St. Louis Rams.  First if you like this stuff at all you have to be looking at Pro Football reference's website which give you easy links to drafts of the past as well as those for each team.  The best part is with each of those you can easily see how those picks have performed by showing you not only the careers stats for each player but also the number of seasons they were a starter, number of seasons they were named an All-Pro and how many times they went to the Pro Bowl.  Great stuff in an easy format from a great website.  If you aren't using this site then you are missing out.  Here is the link to the drafts - Pro Football Reference Draft Page

 

My philosophy on the draft is this.  Be excited but don't expect the world.  The draft is a crap shoot.  Just look at any draft (I gave you the link above) and you'll see that is true.  Doesn't mean your team won't score big but you have to take it all in in perspective.  No matter how much tape someone watches you'll never know for sure how good these guys are when they graduate to Sunday football.  But like any fan I'll be excited today for what "might be" this upcoming season. 

 

Atlanta - Atlanta Falcons 2013 Draft Picks

I liked the Falcons moving up to pick cornerback Desmond Trufant.  After losing Brent Grimes and Dunta Robinson this was a huge need which they also addressed in the second round by picking Robert Alford.  From there they took a tight end from Stanford and three defensive players (DE, CB, S) before grabbing a QB.  Overall I think they looked at their needs and addressed them.  Tony Gonzalez will probably retire after this season and they haven't made any big moves to help the defense which lost prominent players in the off season.   This team was very close to making it to the Super Bowl.  I think they needed to be aggressive in the draft and had 11 picks so it isn't a surprise they were.

 

Buffalo - Buffalo Bills 2013 Draft Picks

The biggest "wow" moment of the first round was Buffalo picking EJ Manuel (Florida St.) with the 16th pick.  I don't think anyone was surprised that they traded back (with St. Louis) or that they took a quarterback but I don't think anyone saw them taking Manuel.  I'm not an expert on Manuel or any of the other top quarterbacks.  As a fan I heard much more about Geno Smith and thought that is who they were going to pick.  I just hope Buffalo wasn't wrong on this.  They haven't had a steady quarterback situation since Jim Kelly retired forever ago.  For now I'll just be excited about it and try not to have too high of expectations for the youngster.  Receiver Robert Woods (USC) was next.  The Bills need someone opposite Stevie Smith and the hope here is Woods is that guy.  Linebacker Kiki Alonso (Oregon), WR Marquise Goodwin (Tex) and safeties Duke Williams (Nevada) and Jonathan Meeks (Clemson) were next and all fill needs.  The secondary needs all kind of help so I was glad to see them go with safeties with back-to-back picks.  Next was the Florida State kicker.  I'm ok with picking a kicker in the draft but only in the later rounds.  These guys are too interchangeable.  The last pick was a tight end/h-back from Arkansas.  Manuel needs as much help as possible so hopefully this will be just that.  Good draft.  Hindsight will tell us if Manuel was the right pick so I'll go with it for now and I'm happy they drafted for needs and picked up some quality players throughout who can hopefully help Buffalo rebuild. 

 

St. Louis Rams - St. Louis Rams 2013 Draft Picks

Great job trading up and picking receiver Tavon Austin out of West Virgina.  QB Sam Bradford lost Danny Amindola to New England this off season and what was left of the receiving corps isn't much to speak of.  They then took linebacker Alec Ogletree (Georgia) with their second pick of the first round.  Another great pick.  He will probably move to the outside backer spot but could be a very good player for years to come.  They went with needs for their last five picks (S, WR, G, CB, RB).  Fans have to be happy.  They've been irritated over the lack of a decent receiving corps for years.  It has probably stunted Bradford's development and clouded the debate on how good a quarterback he really is.  My only question would be why they didn't go offensive line earlier.  They went big with the free agent pick up of tackle Jake Long but that line was horrible.  Still the team had many holes so it is hard to get to picky. 

 

Extra Points:

I agree with many that New England shot themselves in the foot.  With Brady aging it would seem that at some point they would trade up instead of back and try to get impact players who can help get them get over the top.  Hard to argue against a team who is right there every year but the fans must be frustrated...  The Vikes did a great job getting thee picks in the first round which should make an immediate difference in the new season...  No clue why Eddie Lacy fell as far as he did but Green Bay has to be one of the happiest teams out there.  They were able to address the defense in round one and still get a guy many thought as the best running back available...  Jets also benefited from a player falling as they grabbed quarterback Geno Smith on the second day of the draft.  Now they must trim the fat as they have five quarterbacks on the roster. 

 

Review: Iron Man 3 Cards

Saw the Iron Man 3 tradings cards at Wal-Mart today and picked up a pack.  I believe the set was released on the 24th.  There are five cards in each pack and it sold for $1.48.  Inside were all cards from the basic set, no inserts, to include #5 seen above.  A "banner" runs the length of the card on the bottom front of each card.  The fronts have the Iron Man 3 logo to the right and bottom of each cards which are horizontal.  The Marvel logo is just above that.  In the left of the banner is the Iron Man helmet/artwork.  The pictures are nice.  Pretty standard fair for movie trading cards of today but I do like the lack of a border which maximizes the area for the photo. 

The back of the card is shaded in red with the card number in white in the upper left hand corner.  Along the bottom is the upper deck hologram, their logo, the Marvel logo, and the same Marvel/Iron Man 3 logo from the front.  To the left on the back is a circle with a cropped image of the front picture inside of it.  To the right is a small description to go along with the front picture.  Again everything is shaded in red. 

Below is a breakout of the set and chase cards:

60 card base set featuring first-look images of Iron Man 3. Four (4) base cards in each Hobby Pack.

Palladium Poisoned foil parallel of the entire base set.

Actor autographs and pieces of memorabilia that came directly from costumes shown in the movie.

Two (2) movie memorabilia cards per box.

Look for any one (1) of the following per hobby box: actor autograph, sketch card or on-card comic book artist or writer autographs.

Chase one-of-a-kind artist sketch cards from some of the greatest comic artists in the industry.

Look for randomly inserted Hall of Armor insert cards featuring the many suits of Iron Man.

Looks for Authentic 1 of 1 press plate cards.

Link to the Upper Deck press release for the set - Upper Deck Press Release

Overall I like the set.  Again it is pretty standard fair for today's movie card releases.  For a movie aimed at the younger crowd I do like the price point even if it means you only get five cards in each packNot sure I'll pick up more packs but I'd definitely tell anyone interested that they should.  .   
 

Atlanta Hawks fall to Indiana Pacers 107-90 in Game 1

The Hawks go down one game to none after a tough loss to the Pacers.  Defense, free throw shooting (7-14) and shot selection were their doom.  None of the Hawks played exceptionally well.  Josh Smith played like he was Dale Ellis shooting from anywhere he touched the ball.  Of course Ellis could hit most of those shots.  The defense lacked any bite.  Jeff Teague had as good a game as any with 21 points and 7 assists.  Al Horford looked good in the first half but was not a factor in the third or fourth quarters. 

Indiana's Paul George couldn't hit a shot (3-13) but was able to drive and get to the line (17-18) finishing with 23 points.  He added 12 assists to boot.  Roy Hibbert didn't have a rebound in the first half but finished with 8 while adding 16 points.  George Hill had 18 while the rest of the starters added 13 apiece.  Just an overall solid game from Indiana.  They were the defensive team I was worried about going into this game.  Good on them. 

 

As the Czar Mike Fratello said this is only one game.  Atlanta has to know they can beat the Pacers.  They were winning early on in this game but they have to play within themselves if they expect to be winning at the end of the fourth quarter much less win the series.  Josh Smith will have to be much more of a factor.  If he can get his offense going in the post I think Atlanta has a shot.  I'll stick with my original prediction of Atlanta in five.  

Movie Review: Skyfall

 

Been looking to seeing this moving for some time and got the opportunity last night with my son.  I wasn't disappointed.  Tons of action, great story, nasty villain, and the women are always great.  There were very few moments where the movie seemed to slow.  This will be a short review but if you like either the Bond series or action movies in general this is a must see.