1. Choose a theme. Having a themed cookout is always fun and it makes things easier. Set the mood with custom invitations and carry it throughout the entire get together. Having a luau? Be sure to encourage your guests to strap on their coconut bras and grass skirts. Or download the Best of the 80’s hits, have a “Big Hair” contest, and go with an 80’s themed party instead.

2. Plan a menu. Since it is a cookout, your menu should consist of food that tends to be prepared outdoors on a grill. Burgers and hot dogs are perfect for a Patriotic Stars and Stripes theme, but for a festive Fiesta theme, impress your guests with yummy chicken and steak fajitas. Serve signature drinks like Shirley Temples, fruity daiquiris, or more creative cocktails if you’re planning an island-inspired casino cookout.

3. Create a great setup. Having your guests RSVP is important. It allows you to know how much food to prepare as well as how many place settings you need. If you don’t have enough space for everyone to sit and eat at the same time, make the party very informal by setting the food out buffet-style, and arranging conversation sitting areas.

4. Party! As guests begin to arrive, get the party going with music and appetizers. Plan at least one activity that engages everyone. An icebreaker that ties with the theme would work best.

There you have it. Four simple tips and tricks to pulling off the summer’s best cookout.

Got more helpful ideas? Feel free to share with us!

Moises D. – One of the best moment(s) of my life is to be with my nephew, Steven, at the Citi Field Stadium in NYC. Mariano Rivera, won the 500th Career Save on Sunday, June 28, 2009 against the New York Mets. We were invited by our friend Mariano R. and family to attend this great game and unforgettable accomplishment.

Jim B. – Right after the pirates played the Cardinals on September 5, 1998 my wife and I along with 8 other couples were married in a group ceremony the ladies all wearing wedding gowns, the guys in tuxedos (I wore my authentic pirates hat). We bought 83 tickets and rented a greyhound bus taking about 45, the rest drove their cars. A huge fireworks display (happened) right after the group wedding. We were spread out from 1st to 3rd bases with the Justice of the Peace on the pitcher’s mount. The Pirates paid for our tux rentals, 50% of the gowns, and gave $3 off each ticket plus a video of the ceremony, along with several 5×8 pictures and flowers for the ladies. One of the couples were renewing their vows on their 50th anniversary.

James T. – My best Baseball moment was in 1992. The Atlanta Braves were playing the Pittsburgh Pirates in game 7 of the National League Championship Series and Sid Bream slid in home with the winning run sending the Braves to the ‘92 World Series. After that the Braves were a powerhouse and won the World Series in 1995.

Make memories this year with the best of the best MLB gear!

Soccer has never held the attention in the United States that it has in other countries, but we now have the chance to bring it back in 2018 and 2022. If your city is on the short list of 27 cities still in the running to have the honor of hosting the World Cup, you can give it a nudge by signing this petition here.

If it’s not, maybe you can be persuaded to put in a vote for mine – Jacksonville.

I asked this very question on Twitter today and had two replies… not surprisingly, they were not the same. I would answer the question with Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, Florida. The stadium isn’t state of the art, but the atmosphere is second to none.

@JasonRubacky replied “Fenway on the monstah!!!”
He even provided a picture from his seats

@Mountaineer replied “Um.. Milan Puskar Stadium aka Mountaineer Field!”
This would be the stadium where the West Virginia Mountaineers play football.

@Switz1873 replied “Fenway, hands down. Just visited for the first time on Friday. So much history and energy = great.”

@jgsteeler replied “Kaufmann Stadium!!!!”

@leegientke replied “Petco and AT&T. (what can I say? I’m a Californian)”

@lennychiarello replied “Fenway Park no doubt about it”

For those of you not on Twitter, please post a comment with your answer to “the best stadium you’ve visited.”

If you’re on Twitter, please follow us @FFanatics and look out for our questions. Who knows, you’re reply could be featured here on the blog.

My excuse for being so bad right now is injuries. I swear half my roster has been on the DL at some point in the season. Kevin Youkilis, Jose Reyes, Jose Valverde, Brad Lidge, Edinson Volquez and now Roy Halladay have all missed time… and with the way Alfonso Soriano is playing he may as well be on the DL. Jose Reyes was my first pick in the draft and I’ve gotten about 3 weeks out of him. There is no time table on his return (I’m guessing late August).

If I can manage to pull it close to .500 by the MLB All-Star Game, I think I’ll have a good shot at making the playoffs. I just need my players to start playing like they should (Soriano, Oswalt …). Check out my roster, it’s not that bad is it?

Click to zoom in

What a difference a week makes! You might recall my recent post titled “When Will It Stop”, asking that very question regarding my frustration with the Orlando Magic’s habit of playing well enough to build double digit leads in the fourth quarter, only to let it slip away in the final minutes of at least five of their playoff games in only two series. Well I got my answer, it was the next game. Since blowing a 10 point lead with less then 6 minutes to play to the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their series the Orlando Magic have been unstoppable. The most impressive part of this three game run is that they have faced every situation possible. They played a very tight game 6 against Boston where their offense was not clicking on all cylinders, yet their defense in the second half of that game was downright AMAZING and forced the series to a deciding game. In Game 7 at Boston they were on fire, leading most of the game by double digits. Yet I was still counting down the minutes anticipating them to collapse as they’ve done all playoffs, but they held on to the big lead and won by 19.

Then there was Game 1 at Cleveland, where the Cavaliers looked poised to slaughter the Magic by half time. At that point Lebron James was looking like the closest thing to Michael Jordan I have ever seen playing terrific defense, dishing out assists, dunking, shooting and just plain scoring at will . Not to mention Mo Williams draining a three pointer from three quarters of the court away as the buzzer sounded at the half. In my mind the game was over. I actually was surprised they were only down 15, it looked like they should have been down 40. Stick a fork in them, they’re done. The Magic couldn’t even hold a lead when they built one themselves, let alone come back from 15 points down to take one. Stan Van Gundy was supposed to panic, he was supposed to let his team down when they needed him most.

WRONG! That’s about the time Orlando Magic Head Coach said four words that not only criticized their play, but inspired them to not give up. He said to his team “You are all witnesses”. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it is the marketing slogan for Lebron James referring to the fans who are lucky enough to sit back and watch him play. I have to give it to the Magic head coach(who looks a lot like Super Mario to me), it was simply “genius”. What better four words could he have used to describe his team not playing defense and basically standing there watching the NBA’s golden boy, Lebron James, take the game from them by himself.

The Magic responded to their Coach’s comment! They came out a different, rejuvenated and fired up team in the second half. While Lebron James still put his numbers up; ending up with a packed stat line including 49 points(it was almost like he couldn’t miss), the Magic didn’t back down. The Cavs just couldn’t keep a body between Dwight Howard and the basket the whole third quarter, allowing him to convert some NASTY alley oop dunks. Since the start of the second half the Magic were on a roll and pulled within 4 by the start of the fourth despite only hitting 3 three’s the first three quarters(Now that’s amazing!). When the final quarter started it was all about the Magic’s forwards, Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. Hedo being the facilitator and Lewis being the sharp shooter. Hedo ended up with 14 assists, 7 in the fourth quarter alone. Lewis hit timely three pointer after three pointer, including one with the shot clock running out and another with less then 15 seconds to play to put the Magic up for good(assisted by Hedo) after Dwight fouled out the game with 30 points and 13 rebounds.

The crazy part to me is the whole final five minutes of the fourth quarter the Magic looked like they knew they were going to win. This was not the same team I saw in the previous two playoff series that stopped playing hard and panicked when things got close, this was a relaxed team on a mission that was confident they were going to get it done. After a couple dead balls, I saw Turkoglu laughing to himself implying the ref had just made bad calls but it wasn’t going to stop him. Before their final offensive play of the game with the Magic down by 2, I saw Rashard Lewis wink at Dwight Howard on the bench three times signaling he was going to go for the three pointer and the win. It was utter and sheer confidence and I have to tell you, it was fun to watch.

On the other end of the spectrum for the Cavaliers, it was a different story. Lebron looked surprised, almost saddened he was in this position. He couldn’t believe his team just relinquished a double digit lead in the second half of a playoff game after he was playing so well. I can’t blame him, he made some ridiculous shots and passes to keep his team in it but it wasn’t enough. He looked tired, and he even missed three key free throws in the final quarter that would have almost certainly gave his team the victory(I’m sorry to say but Michael Jordan would have made those). I believe he even signaled for his coach to call 2 timeouts in the final minutes(he later admitted it was because of cramps). It was then when I thought to myself “They’re beat”. I saw a shift, a changing of the guard. I think this game is more significant then just Game 1, I think it is a sign of things to come. The Magic look like a well balanced, resilient and good defensive team that now has the confidence that they can beat the team with the best record in the league. The Magic answered my question “When will this stop” but there is no need for them to answer “When did this start?”……”We Are All Witnesses”!

Oh yeah, don’t forget to take lots of pictures, and most of all enjoy!

20 Things You Should Do This Summer:
1. Have a picnic
2. Learn a new language
3. Attend a cookout
4. Go to the beach
5. Take a roadtrip
6. Enjoy a bike ride
7. Sip on frozen fruity margaritas
8. Lay out on a boat
9. See Mickey
10. Catch up with long distance friends
11. Have a weekend with the girls
12. Have a weekend with the guys
13. Dance in the rain
14. Catch a movie
15. Complete a puzzle
16. Blast Will Smith’s “Summer Time” in your car
17. Play Twister
18. Make a prank call
19. Read a novel
20. Host a party

Let us know your progress…

The Rockets played a tough, physical game with the notion that defense can still win championships. Without Yao, the Rockets top scorer, other players had to step up. Point Guard Aaron Brooks scored a career high 34 points and Shane Battier added 23 points. “I think everyone but us got the memo that we weren’t supposed to show up today without Yao,” Battier said.

The Rockets never trailed and at one point led by as many as 29 points. “I’m not surprised,” said Battier. “It almost sounds cliche, but we’re a resilent group. We talk about bouncing back. Through adversity, through lineup changes, through trades, through injuries, we’ve never quit and we’ve never stopped believing.”

Kobe Bryant only scored 15 points and never once made it to the free throw line. Without Yao in the lineup though, Lakers Center Pau Gasol had his way in the paint, scoring 30 points. If the Rockets want to win Game 5 in Los Angeles they’ll have to figure out a way to stop Pau.

But that’s nonsense!! Invite over your closest friends and family and have your own Cinco de Mayo celebration. Here are five steps to pulling it off in such short notice.

1. Stop by Taco Bell and pick up a family pack of tacos – hard and soft. Request lots of mild, medium, and hot sauce.
2. Visit your local party store for a pinata and margarita mix.
3. Ice your cerveza (beer) and tequila as soon as you get home.
4. Since you’re hosting you have to look the part. Girls – Slip on a long, breezy, colorful dress or off-the-shoulder ruffled shirt. With your hair in a bun, accessorize your look with hoop or chandlier earrings. Guys – a sombrero is perfect, but if you don’t have one around, slick your hair back. Choose a white button up, black slacks, and tie a bandana around your neck. Perfeccione!
5. Hang fun patio lanterns outside, setting the mood for your guests to know they’re coming to a muy buena fiesta!

Aclamaciones!

There’s no doubt that last year’s Derby brought a lot of attention to the sport and will likely bring in new viewers to the race this year. I Want Revenge is the current favorite at 3-1 odds.

The Field includes:
Post, Horse name, Trainer, Jockey

1 West Side Bernie, Kelly Breen, Stewart Elliott
2 Musket Man, Derek Ryan, Eibar Coa
3 Mr. Hot Stuff, Eoin Harty, John Velazquez
4 Advice, Todd Pletcher, Rene Douglas
5 Hold Me Back, Bill Mott, Kent Desormeaux
6 Friesan Fire, Larry Jones, Gabriel Saez
7 Papa Clem, Gary Stute, Rafael Bejarano
8 Mine That Bird, Bennie Woolley, Calvin Borel
9 Join in the Dance, Todd Pletcher, Chris DeCarlo
10 Regal Ransom, Saeed bin Suroor, Alan Garcia
11 Chocolate Candy, Jerry Hollendorfer, Mike Smith
12 General Quarters, Tom McCarthy, Julien Leparoux
13 I Want Revenge, Jeff Mullins, Joe Talamo
14 Atomic Rain, Kelly Breen, Joe Bravo
15 Dunkirk, Todd Pletcher, Edgar Prado
16 Pioneerof the Nile, Bob Baffert, Garrett Gomez
17 Summer Bird, Tim Ice, Chris Rosier
18 Nowhere to Hide, Nick Zito, Shaun Bridgmohan
19 Desert Party, Saeed bin Suroor, Ramon Dominguez
20 Flying Private, D. Wayne Lukas, Robby Albarado

Will you be watching the Kentucky Derby tomorrow? Who do you think will win?