Finding Peyton and Losing with the Pacers

Well, thanks to Tim and Jessie for being such good friends and snagging some discounted tickets to the Pacers/Hornets game. It was quite a 'splediforous' evening. From grubbing on some eggplant and mu-shu, to finding Peyton Manning on the streets, to getting snubbed by Verizon, it was a great night.

But let me start from the beginning, our friends Tim & Jessie invited us to join them for a Pacers game. To make an evening out of things, we all decided to do dinner at PF Changs. Of course, Stacy & I shared a platter of our favorite, Honey Chicken. Tim decided to go out on a limb, and got the Pork Mu-Shu, while, Jessie grabbed some eggplant. Since the portionings at the restuarant were huge, both Tim and Jessie shared a little with me. Loved the mu-shu, and the eggplant was good, but you probably won't see me ordering it again. For drinks, we sipped on some Kirin Ichiban and a Bistro Ginger beer. I'm not sure Tim enjoyed his Ichiban, but its still worth a recommendation.

After dinner, Stacy got us lost in the mall. After cutting through Harry & Izzies (a rather upscale restaurant) we were able to exscape the death trap called Circle Center Mall. As we meandered our way to Conseco Fieldhouse, we entertained each other with a conversation about the philosophy behind the one-boobed female character in Wii bowling. If you've ever played the game you have probably noticed that the female characters are far from anatomically correct. On top of that, the prestigous Downtown Hooters sign was missing a lighted S, so it just spelled H-O-O-T-E-R, which I found fitting.

Now what I am about to tell you is true. He we are walking toward Conseco when we are passed by none other than Peyton 'MVP' Manning. He was wearing a long leather coat and was carrying on a gentle conversation with his companions. At this point, my mouth flew open. I was two feet from arguably the greatest QB in the history of professional football. And no, I didn't ask for his autograph, I didn't interrupt his conversation, or loudly yell "Go Colts", I played it cool. I thought about grabbing the camera, but it was burried deep in my pocket, and I didn't want to seem like a freak digging to get it.

Now on to the game, the Pacers lost. It happens. They played hard, and I was able to chatter on endless sports trivia to Stacy (which I don't think she appreciates as much as she should, these are nuggets of gold.) But it was a good game, the Pacers held the lead most of the way, only to lose in the last 2 minutes. They had Blue Moon on tap. And most of all, I was able to find some Ice cream for Stacy to munch on.

All in all, it wasn't a bad evening.

The Indianapolis Pacers select...Kosta Koufos

I bet you $1000 that the Pacer's mess this up. They'll select some big nobody who will be arrested for smoking pot or beating their girlfriends within the first year, but if they draft with a little brains the Pacer's may be able to turn this team around.

So, the first player on my wishlist is fellow Ohio State big man, Kosta Koufos. At 7'1 and 265, Koufos is a scorer and fits well with a line-up featuring Dunleavy and Granger. He brings a variety of offensive weapons. While not the most dominant post player in the draft, his back to the basket moves are better than those that any current Pacer can offer including the much maligned Jermaine O'neal.

Here's a quick snippet of what Draft Express states about Koufos, " Looking at Koufos’ game, there is certainly a lot to like, starting with some of his abilities in the post, specifically his back-to-the-basket finesse game"