Archive for August, 2008
I went to the Hurricanes’ game Thursday night. First Cane game I’ve been to since I was a student at UM from 1987-1991. I didn’t like traveling down to the Orange Bowl… Too long a drive for me and the stadium felt too old. I’m not one of those guys that needs “history.” Give me new, modern, updated, and fresh anytime. My family and I went on a road trip this summer. In two cities we stayed at “historic” hotels. And I hated them. Give me new. Give me fresh.
I got exactly what I wanted from Dolphins Stadium Thursday night. I enjoyed watching the Hurricanes there. I enjoyed the gigantic high-definition screens. I enjoyed the wide variety of food choices. I enjoyed the superior sound system. I enjoyed watching the adrenaline producing videos that played before and during the game. I’m happy the Canes moved to Dolphins Stadium. Now I feel like I can actually take my 4 year old to a Hurricanes’ game and start building the Canes tradition in him. (No one without kids would care about this… but there was a great kids area set up outside the stadium. Bounce houses galore!)
Don’t get me wrong, I do like tradition. I grew up watching Michael Jordan play at the old Chicago Stadium. Now they play in the United Center. And my memories of Jordan and the Bulls haven’t changed. A team’s history doesn’t change when it moves venues. We all like to upgrade things in our lives. I loved the house I lived in when I was growing up… but that doesn’t mean I didn’t want to move into a newer, fresher, more updated house as I got older. Moving didn’t diminish any memories.
So I sat in Dolphins Stadium and watched UM crush Charleston Southern. It all felt good to me. Felt like a home game. Felt like a Canes game. Felt like an old-school Canes thrashing. (Albeit against a sub-division team, but what the hell!?)
I say “well done Canes!” Good luck on the move to Dolphins Stadium. I’ll be seeing you more now.
August 30th, 2008
I love this time of year. Not that I’m a huge college football fan, because I’m not. But I am a “football” fan. I just love when football season rolls around. (I can even watch a quarter or two of pre-season football.) So, my beloved Miami Hurricanes kick off their football season this Thursday night at their new home stadium- Dolphins Stadium. (I’m not one of those people that cares that they’re not playing in the Orange Bowl anymore. In fact, I’ll probably go see some Canes games this season BECAUSE they’re not playing in the Orange Bowl.) But I digress….
The reason I was writing this blog was to invite you to our next Dan LeBatard Show event, which is Wednesday, August 27 at Soo Woo Japanese Steakhouse in Doral. We’re bringing with us to Soo Woo FIFTY PAIR of tickets to see the Hurricanes home opener, which just happens to be the following night. 50 pair of tickets is a lot to give away. My guess is that if you come out, you’re going to have a pretty decent shot of winning a pair. (If 100 people show up, then you have a 1 in 2 chance… and so on.)
Just show up at Soo Woo Japanese Steakhouse in Doral this Wednesday night and enter the random drawing for the tickets. Every 10 minutes we’ll be randomly calling out winners for pairs of tickets… You don’t have to do anything to win tickets, except be there!
Here’s the address:
9753 NW 41 St.
Doral, FL 33178
305-477-4477
And their website is www.thesoowoo.com
I’m always amazed when we do these events, because a lot of people show up and people always tell me that they have a great time hanging out with the show. In my radio history, before doing the LeBatard Show, a “successful” radio appearance would be if 4 people showed up. And no one had fun. And, truth is, no one cared either. This show is different though… We generally try and make it worth your while to show up at one of our events. And 50 free pair of tickets is a pretty good reason, I think.
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Big props, by the way, to all the listeners that showed up at Dania Jai-Alai last Wednesday. The final tally was over 600 people in the building that night, and over 300 of those were LeBatard Show listeners, so thanks for the support once again! We have announced the date of our next Poker Tournament at Dania Jai-Alai. It’s going to be Wednesday, September 17th, and this time it’s going to be a $50 buy-in… That way we’ll have some serious prize money at the end of the night.
If you want to get into our second poker tournament, the easiest way is to head over to the Dania Jai-Alai Poker Room and sign up. If you played in our first poker tournament, you know how much fun it was. This one will be even better. They’re going to be able to stay open later that night, so the blinds won’t have to be raised as often as they were during the first tournament. The poker tourney will sell out, so if you want to play, make sure you stop by the Dania Jai-Alai poker room sometime before the 17th of September and sign up.
I’m going to try and get some good celebs to play in the poker tournament too. Jimmy Snuka anyone? “I fold, brotha.”
August 22nd, 2008
We have lots of Dan LeBatard Show events coming up… All of a sudden we’re crawling out of our shells and we’re hanging out with people all over South Florida. We had a great time at our movie screening for “Tropic Thunder” at the Muvico in Hialeah. That was our first event in a long time in the 3-0-5, and as Dan predicted, we were greeted warmly! (And by warmly, I mean a smattering of “boo” and “you guys suck.”
Tropic Thunder was an excellent movie… I’m hoping we do another event in Hialeah soon. Those are my people! (I have video from the event if you want to see it. There’s going to be a new button on the 790 Homepage that says something like “click here for LeBatard Show Videos” and you’ll be able to see videos from our events at Dania and the movie screenings, etc. Keep checking the homepage, as it could be active right now!)
Our next event is Wednesday, August 20 at Dania Jai-Alai… If you want one of the 100 free t-shirts Wednesday night at Dania, make sure you e-mail me your name to cantstanddan@790theticket.com. I’m making a t-shirt list and the first 100 people on the list will get a free shirt. We’re also giving away a $100 gas card that night, as well as tickets to see the Faber-Brown fight at The Hard Rock Live on September 10th. Also, since our event is on a Wednesday night, there will be dollar hot dogs, dollar beers, dollar ice cream… dollar everything. So make sure you’re hanging out with us Wednesday at Dania Jai Alai. (Also, our next poker tournament is going to be September 17th at Dania Jai Alai. This time it’s going to be a $50 buy-in, so the cash prizes are going to really jump.)
Then on Wednesday, August 27th we’re going to be at Soo-Woo Japanese Steakhouse in Doral. We’re bringing 50 pair of tickets to see the Canes home opener, and we’re going to give those tickets away for free, randomly, that night. Just show up and hang out with us at Soo Woo August 27th after the show, and you might get the tickets.
Then… On Monday, September 8th we’re going to have a Monday Night Football watch party at a Quarterdeck… (Don’t know which Quarterdeck yet, but I’ll keep you posted.)
Lots of events going on, but (if I do say so myself), our events are always fun and you always have a chance of walking away with a great prize for free. I’ll blog more later, but I just wanted to say thanks to everyone that came out to the movie in Hialeah, and tell everyone I look forward to seeing them at Dania Jai-Alai on Wednesday. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to head to the mall food court alone and grab something to eat.
August 15th, 2008
It’s been a while since our show did a movie screening, but we’re back baby! Wednesday night after the show we’re all going to gather at the Muvico in Hialeah and watch the new Ben Stiller movie “Tropic Thunder.” If you’ve never been to one of our movie screenings, here’s how it works: Get there early! The theater holds about 400 people, and thanks to A & P Air Conditioning, all the seats are paid for. I have to give major props to A & P for sponsoring the event. They really came through for all the listeners by sponsoring it. The great thing about the LeBatard Show listeners is that we stick together, so please- if you need a new air conditioner or repairs to your current a/c unit- check out A & P Air Conditioning at www.APAirConditioning.com.
So, I’m figuring if you get to the movie theater by 7 or 7:30 Wednesday night you’ll get a decent seat. Just like we’ve done in the past movie screenings, it will be open seating, so the earlier you get there, the better seat you’ll get. (And it’s not stadium seating at this theater, so be prepared!)
We’ll give out some prizes before the movie… And we’ll also be looking for the best mustaches too. (So, grow a mustache. Now.) If you need directions to the Muvico in Hialeah, check out the Muvico website at www.muvico.com.
Dan’s been giving me shit on the air, saying I have no desire to go to Hialeah, but I actually am looking forward to it. I always enjoy our movie screenings, so I figure this one should be no different. And, even though I’m a Dania Beach guy, I’m looking forward to hanging out with the listeners in Dade. (And I’m looking forward to the Muvico Icee’s. If they’re anything like the Icee’s at the Muvico in Boca, I suggest you get one.)
If you have any questions about the movie screening, drop me an e-mail at cantstanddan@790theticket.com. Hialeah!
August 8th, 2008
Not that anyone noticed, but I was on vacation the last two weeks. Took the family on a road trip in the old family truckster. We drove around for the past 14 days… A few days in Daytona Beach… a day in Savannah… a week in North Carolina…. a couple days in Charleston…. and ended the trip with a couple days in Orlando. Good times with the wife and kid, but I’m definitely glad to be home.
A couple of observations from the trip: Charleston, South Carolina is the hottest place on earth. Maggie Valley, North Carolina has a perfect temperature. Dillsboro, North Carolina has a great smokehouse where I got a pulled chicken sandwich that I’m still thinking about. The tour of Daytona International Speedway was interesting… I’m amazed at how high and narrow the turns are. Makes me appreciate Nascar much more. The sweet tea at Beacon’s Drive In in Spartanburg, South Carolina is the greatest thing you will ever drink in your life. Seriously.
We went to see a minor league baseball game– and that was fun. We saw the Charleston River Dogs against the Hickory Craw Dads. And yes, I paid for the tickets; I didn’t get them for free. Minor league baseball in a different city is always a cool thing to do with your kid. We went to Daytona Lagoon Water Park in Daytona Beach… Much fun, but I’ve realized I’m at a stage in my life where I refuse to be photographed with my shirt off. Just too painful. I added to my man boobs throughout the trip by eating andouille sausage in Savannah… fried blue crab claws in Charleston… and a deep fried Snickers bar in North Carolina.
I had seen deep fried Snickers bars on TV before… You know those specials where they show “World’s Greatest Fried Foods.” I had never intended to try a deep fried Snickers bar, because I do have some dignity… but we were at an amusement park in North Carolina called “Ghost Town in The Sky.” (A fun park—- Wild West themed, of course.) I was in line to buy some ice cream for my wife and son when the man in front of me ordered a deep fried Snickers bar. Before I could even think, my body reacted by blurting out, “I’ll take one of those deep fried Snickers bars too.” They put a stick in the Snickers bar, then roll it in some batter, and then pop it in the deep fryer. And when it comes out, it’s heaven on a stick. The outside batter was soft like a donut… the inside was a mushy, gushy, array of chocolate and peanuts, and whatever else is in a Snickers bar. Anyway, it’s good. I want another one.
But now I’m back… Back in time for the continuing Brett Favre Saga… Back in time to root for Jason Taylor to have a pro-bowl season…. Back in time to watch the Olympics. (Yes, I’m excited to watch.) And back in time to see the latest version of Beverly Hills 90210.
August 4th, 2008
