Monday, February 29, 2016

Bugatti Unveils Chiron


There will only be 500 Bugatti Chirons produced.  It's not much faster than the Bugatti Veyron and its $2.6 million dollar price tag puts it almost $1 million dollars above the 2015 Veyron base price. 

Boxer Floyd Mayweather dropped down a whopping $3.5 million dollars on a 2015 Veyron super sport just last October. Guess he couldn't wait for 2016 Chiron orders to begin. I'm sure he'll get a good trade-in price for a Chiron if he chooses to upgrade.

So for those ultra-rich street car aficionados who must have the fastest and most furious car available in the world, don't sleep on the Bugatti Chiron, named after Louis Chiron 


Mr. Chiron was a winning race car driver who's career spanned about 30 years through the 1920's, 30's and 50's. He was from Monaco with dual French citizenship. He loved speed and would've loved strapping down inside the luxurious Chiron to drive this baby, even in his senior years. Mr. Chiron continued racing until his 60th birthday.

"Before a race he used to walk round his car, stroke it, talk to it as if to a horse and then sit smilingly at the wheel."

As for this beautiful 1500 horse powered machine, if you love fast cars, you'll love dreaming about driving this beauty at its top speed of 261 miles per hour. Keep dreaming!









Saturday, February 27, 2016

Ri·dic·u·lous Scores 46 pts, Strikes Down Thunder In OT


Here's what the basketball world is trying to put their head around tonight.  The Golden State Warriors, finishing the final game of a seven game road trip, forced the Kevin Durant led Oklahoma City Thunder into overtime.  How they got it to overtime is mind-boggling. How they won it in overtime is as unbelievable as their 53-5 league leading record. It took guts, composure, tenacity and a long-range shooting guard I call Ri-dic-u-lous. 

I think it was last seasons' Finals MVP Iggy (Andre Iguodala) who pressured Kevin Durant into a bad half-court pass that Klay Thompson tipped, Draymond Green barely saved from going out of bounds and passed back to Klay for the steal.  With less than ten seconds left Klay pushes it up court, passes to Iggy who takes the shot, misses, but is fouled with 0.7 seconds left on the clock.  Iggy is a 61% free throw shooter. He needs both baskets to tie the game and give the Warriors a chance for over-time. No Problemo! Iggy sinks them both, then gives the "Jordan Shrug" on his way back to the bench. Durant misses an inbounds turn and shoot and we go to overtime.

With the Warriors down again in overtime, the man I like to call Ri-dic-u-lous led the way to victory. Game tied at 118-118 and again with less than ten seconds left on the game clock, Steph Curry gets the ball past mid-court and takes the shot from what must've been midway between half-court and the three point line; nothing but net and the Warriors begin celebrating. The game clock is showing 0.6 seconds remaining. Ri-dic-u-lous!

Hell, I and every fan not wearing OKC gear was celebrating .  It was one of the most exciting, clutch shots in a big game this season and Ri-dic-u-lous nailed it like just another day at the office. With the game being a nationally televised Saturday night NBA showcase, everybody was watching and saw the greatness of Steph Curry that over and over only one word can justifiably describe; Ri-dic-u-lous.

The game likely solidified Curry's greatness in the eyes of many fans still stuck in the past. He'd come back from an ugly looking ankle injury earlier in the game, a showing of leadership and toughness. The guy is already legendary, tying or breaking more league and team records in this game. Kids and grown men on basketball courts around the world no longer wanna be like Mike, Kobe or Lebron. They wanna be.........Ri-dic-u-lous!

The Warriors had no business winning this game. They turned the ball over, they missed shots, they were out-rebounded 32-62, they put themselves in a big hole from the start. And yet and still they found a way to put away an elite team who's superstars (Westbrook (26pts) & Durant (37pts) were on fire. 

One stat I heard that shows just how amazing a feat this win was, even for a team like the Warriors, was how they led for only 29 seconds of the game. Practically an entire game plus overtime playing catch-up, unheard of for this seasons' Warriors. That's a 'never retreat, never surrender' attitude that champions are made of. It's a no worries, no panic while under pressure mentality that can bring out your best. The Golden State Warriors, with last year's regular season MVP knocking down 12 of 16 three pointers, were at their best when all looked lost. And this incredible win clinched them an early playoff berth.
46 pts
Ri-dic-u-lous!


Final Score
Warriors 121
Thunder 118

Thursday, February 25, 2016

Warriors Just Can't Lose (51-5)


I swear I'd written off the Warriors in last night's game against the Miami Heat. Early in the game the Heat had everything clicking while the Golden State Warriors struggled.

I believe it was the first time this season, besides in the blowout losses, that I saw a team keep the lead away from the Warriors for the majority of the game. The Heat looked champion caliber last night. But there were some things the Warriors did that keeps them in all games when things are tight; they kept their composure, played solid defense and trusted in their superstars to make clutch plays. 



Steph and Klay. Steph Curry and Klay Thompson put the lid on a hot, three game winning streak Miami team that hadn't lost since the NBA all-star break. The Splash Brothers provided all the offense needed down the stretch for the Warriors to win the game 118-112.

Klay made a clutch defensive play by reading the offense on an inbounds and anticipating the right place to position himself for a deflection and steal.  It might've been the play to seal the game in the final seconds.

Our Champion Golden State Warriors are finding ways to win games when they're out of synch and playing hot teams on the road.  The Atlanta Hawks gave the Warriors a run in the previous night's game that the Warriors won 102-92. Every team is gunning for the champions, bringing their "A" game when facing the Warriors.  Especially in the East where they believe physical basketball wins championships. Doesn't matter the opponent's record, when the Warriors are in their town its a playoff atmosphere with a packed audience, there to see the team that is breaking league records and changing the culture of professional basketball.




Tonight they'll play the Orlando Magic, a team with a losing record at 25-30. Don't expect the Magic to treat this game like a visit from Disney World characters. When the World Champions come to play in your town it's not about fun and games, it's about showing the basketball world that your team has heart and is not intimidated by going up against the best.  

It wouldn't hurt the Orlando team to have some of that Disney World magic dust sprinkling down on them from Tinkerbell's wand come the fourth quarter. Because the Golden State Warriors are defying all odds of losing during crunch time, when the game is on the line.  


Sunday, February 21, 2016

A Crime That Hits Home For Uber

Another mass shooting, more shocked and grieving families. All because yet again, someone with a gun lost all sense of what is right and did the wrong thing.

What caught my attention in this all too familiar occurrence was this description:

The suspected killer, a 45-year-old Uber driver named Jason Brian Dalton, was in custody Sunday but had not been charged, police said.


I understand that suspected killers have to eat too, but to think what triggered this guy to go off might possibly have been the pressure of being an Uber driver is a serious concern. I'd like to think that 99.9% of Uber drivers are well balanced and adjusted individuals just trying to get by making some extra dough on the side.  What's scary is accounting for that 0.1% who are walking (driving) time bombs set to go off at any time. 

Uber is known to not have the best set of screening protocols for hiring drivers. I expect to someday read a story that includes Uber in the heading along side terrorist threat or something of that nature, but that's just me. Not much that's reported in today's media surprises me. Why is it that life just seemed much safer when industries had government regulators breathing down their necks. 



As a global community we should remind ourselves that random acts of kindness far outweigh the random acts of violence in the world.  We must not perceive these violent acts as the norms of life today. Unfortunately, media journalism is a for profit business that thrives on sensationalizing acts like this. It becomes just another form of entertainment for news consumers.

We must see the forest from the trees and acknowledge that sometimes bad things happen in a good world and not the other way around.  Or else how could we ever teach our children to have faith, hope and love for all that is in this big beautiful world they'll inherit when we're gone.

Again, my prayers go out to the families of the victims of this crime. The calming news from this tragedy is that the Uber Driver, I'm sorry, the suspect, has been apprehended and is in police custody.

And remember, Uber doesn't kill people, people kill people. Just a reminder from your friendly neighborhood NRA supporter out there.


Kalamazoo Shootings: 6 Dead, 2 Wounded After 'Random' Shootings in Michigan

Monday, February 15, 2016

Abuelita, Still A Valentine


Sometimes Valentine's Day finds you visiting with those who've touched you in your past.  I had a wonderful visit with my Abuelita and her daughter.

Blessings Grandma & Alva

Sunday, February 07, 2016

Von Miller Leads Broncos To Victory

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!

Von Miller causes two Cam Newton fumbles that lead to Broncos touchdowns. After the first fumble Cam and the Panthers offense would have one good drive the entire game ending in their only touchdown.

But back to that first Von Miller strip sack, it was HUGE!  It put the Broncos up 10-0 and sent a message to players, coaches and fans that the #1 Defense has taken over the game.

The Panthers could do little against the #1 Defense. A few big plays you can count on one hand and some Cam first down runs all seemed to occur on that one touchdown drive at the end of the first/ beginning of the second quarter.

Peyton Manning and the Broncos offense didn't fare much better against the Carolina defense.  Manning was sacked 5 times for 37 yards. He also fumbled twice, losing one, and threw an interception.  The difference was that Carolina only capitalized on one turnover with a field goal whereas the Broncos turned their recoveries into two touchdowns.

Panthers coaching staff had no backup plan to handle the Broncos pass rush. Cam was missing short passes and receivers were dropping some.  Their running game was bottled up most of the night and Cam seemed unwilling or unable to run after doing it successfully on the one touchdown drive.  

If ever a team got into the head of its opponent this Broncos team is that team. We watching the game might question why the Panthers didn't do this or that, but for the Panthers players out there going up against Von Miller and that punishing defense no explanation other than 'we got beat' will suffice.  

Sure Peyton Manning got another Super Bowl ring, likely his last game, but this championship belongs to the Denver Defense with SB50 MVP Von Miller leading the way. 

For us who love hard hitting and relentless pursuit in football, this game was one heck of a show. For those who wanted to see anything else, I hope the half-time show was as good for you as it was for me. Beyonce' in fishnets and stylish boot-pumps does it every time.

So let this football game be a lesson to all fantasy fans once again, Defense Wins Championships. Well, make that defense and a sexy half-time treat, u-go-gurl!

Final Score

Panthers 10
Broncos 24

Broncos Have A Shot


We've seen it before in Super Bowls, high powered offenses matched against number one defenses. More times than not, the number one defense wins the game.  We Raiders fans know all to well how shocking and painful it is to watch a high powered offense get annihilated in a Super Bowl.  

Super Bowl Fifty has the hot Carolina Panthers offense going up against a number one defense in the Denver Broncos.  I'd say a good 90% of people think Carolina will win the game.  As of this morning they're favored by 5.5 points.  

But us who have been around football for awhile know better than to rule out a good defense.  The Broncos can win this thing and give QB Peyton Manning a beautiful parting retirement gift.  But they'll have to find a way to stop the hottest offense in football who's only lost one game all season.

I'd like to see Cam Newton put on a good show and win a super bowl.  But I also like rooting for an underdog, and coming into this game the Broncos are the underdog.  

The Panthers will win this game if they don't beat themselves with penalties and turnovers or an Injury to Cam.  Who's Cam's backup anyways, Jake Delhomme?

The Broncos, fighting for one of the best field generals in Peyton, can win this game with ball control (running game/first downs) and getting to Cam like they got to Tom Brady in the AFC Championship game. I also believe that the coaching favors the more experienced Broncos' Gary Kubiak.

I want to sit back and watch a good competitive game of football.  If I had to pick a final score I'd go Broncos 20 Panthers 16.  Again, that Defense Wins Championship motto is no cliche. Don't believe it just look at last year's Patriots snatching victory from the jaws of the Seattle Seahawks with an end zone interception to end the game.

It's Super Bowl Sunday right here in the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Area, time to grind.