february 8

In the annals of Chiefs history, has any day ever meant more ... and hurt more ... than February 8?

From our friends at Arrowhead Pride yesterday, the unbelievableness that is February 8. Namely:

* On February 8, 1963, Lamar Hunt announced the Dallas Texans would be moving to Kansas City.

* On February 8, 2000, Derrick Thomas passed away from a massive heart attack, two weeks after losing control of his car on ice-covered roads on the way to the airport.

I mean, what other franchise could see one day, one single day, as the founding of the franchise ... and the death of the "franchise"?

Oy.

So rather than reflect on either event yesterday, I did what I do best: go to a wine tasting event! Thanks to our good friends at HyVee and Major Brands, last night's was without question the second best liquor sampling event they've ever held. (Nothing is topping Shiner night).

The amazing thing was ... seven of the eight wines sampled were not just "good", they were good enough that "worth purchasing" was noted. Every one of those seven earned the "I'd spend (insert cost of bottle here) for that" status that few, if any, bottles at these tasting deals attain. The seven worth buying:

* Ecco Domani Pinot Grigio. I am not a white guy. Wine wise, anyways. Sadly, because I live in a part of the country where it's currently 3 degrees outside, I am a shade of pasty white. But I definitely prefer the reds, be it wine or sunburnt skin. Anyways, this one I'd rate 7th of the "Sweet Seven" from last night ... but I wouldn't turn it down if it was offered.

* Louis M Martini Cabernet Sauvignon. Phenomenally good. This was the last one of the night, and it didn't disappoint. Highly recommended. And yet, I'd rate it 4th of the 5 reds we had last night. (The only one of the eight, shockingly a red, not worth buying? The Bridlewood Pinot Noir. It also was the highest priced, believe it or not. As I noted when the Major Brands dude asked me what I thought of it, "in the words of Charles Barkley, it's TURRIBLE!")

* Frei Brothers Dry Creek Merlot. Another really good dry red. Would love to have this with some quality seafood.

* Dancing Bull Zinfandel. I've never had a bad Dancing Bull.

* Alamos Torrontes. Amazingly, this white ranked 2nd on the New York Times list for "best new wine" of 2008. It was good, and I'd definitely go back for a second or third glass ... but 2nd? Out of everything? 2008 must have been a really crappy year in the wine industry.

* The Naked Grape Chardonnay. Yes, anything with the words "naked" and "grape" deserves a first sampling. What made this one a winner was (a) the taste -- for a chardonnay, I absolutely loved it, and you can count the number of chardonnay's I like on two fingers. (I'm definitely not my mom's kid in that regard).

But also (b), one of our hosts last night, the assistant manager of the liquor department, well ... how to put this politely, because I love the folks that host this thing, if only because a couple times a month, it gives good friends a good opportunity to get together, sample some new beverages, and enjoy a night of drinking said new beverages afterwards. Always a great night.

Having said that ...

One of our hosts last night, well, we like to make fun of her. Because she is the textbook definition of the words "ditsy blonde". I mean, if Wikipedia ever defines that phrase, this host, and for sh*ts and giggles we'll call her "Amber", "Amber" would be the picture attached to the article. This is the girl who wanted all of us last spring to root for this dude I'd never heard of to get drafted because he was her "baby's daddy". (For the record, he was ranked 67th in the running back ratings, and 699th overall, on nfl.com last spring. Yeah, he's probably drawing unemployment right now). This is the girl who brought by her current (*) fiance for one of these deals last year ... and let's just say, the words "skuzzy", "white trash", "he looks homeless", and "definitely an ex-con" were used to describe him.

(*) I assume she's still engaged to the dude. She wasn't wearing the engagement ring she so proudly showed off at the last one of these I went to in December last night. Hang on, I'll get to the reason why.

So last night, we walk in and assume our usual spots in the back of the room. "Amber"'s boss "Tom" comes over and makes his usual polite small talk. Apparently his dog just got neutered ... and didn't wallow in misery for a week. Dude, that dog's a keeper. P Diddy was horrible the first few weeks we had him because he'd just gotten his, uuh, "you know" snipped. Anyways, after shooting the sh*t with each other, grabbing up some crackers and cheese, talking with the familiar folks we see every month at these things ... "Amber" started making the rounds.

Actual conversation as it occurred (*):

(*) keep in mind, Katie is my ex.

steve: wow.
katie: she's, uuh ... yeah.
steve: surgery?
katie: maybe.
steve: oh come on, she's definitely bigger.
katie: doesn't mean she had them enlarged.
steve: what, you doubting me? guys know when they get bigger!
katie: no, they're bigger! i'm just saying, she might be ...
steve: (pausing) oh christ.

So for the next three minutes, we stare at "Amber" talking to some other folks there, only we can't tell if she's pregnant because she keeps strategically positioning a chair to block her midsection. (Reason 1,093,835,376 why we need Gregg and/or Brent to go to these things: we'd have had a "is she or isn't she" gambling pool with at least 25 wagers on it by the time she moved the chair. You're damned right "The Voice of Reason" and I met because we were running competing NFL gambling pools in study hall back in the day!)

So, "Amber" finally moves ... and well ...

katie: oh yeah.
steve: at least 12 weeks.

So that led to some "hey, this summer, we're coming up here sh*t faced and making her grab the top shelf bottles just for the hell of it" jokes. "Amber" dropped a line about how she is "always giving and taking", which led to the "nope, just taking" line. Somehow I worked a funny joke with the punch line "busted condom" in it, and when I'm dropping one liners that are bringing the back of the room down, you know it's classic.

Anyways, let's just say, "Amber"'s definitely pregnant. Had to love her even trying to hide it as she walked around pouring the glasses by putting on a coat, and constantly pulling up her jeans. As Katie noted, "the poor kid, he's probably like "stop, you're choking me"!" Another brought the back of the room down moment.

But the best wine of the night? (See, you totally forgot what the post was really about didn't you? I'm sneaky good like that).

* Apothic Red Blend. This was the 4th wine of the night, and the first red, we sampled. The dude from Major Brands noted that "after this one, every other wine will be a disappointment". I nominate that as the 2nd biggest understatement of the year, right behind "she's definitely bigger". (I'm telling you, as a guy ... holy God. Most amazing of all, "Amber" was definitely trying to hide the whole "yup, I'm knocked up for a second time" thing ... but was ROCKING the enhanced cleavage. As Mona noted, "who would wear a pink bra underneath a see-through grey t-shirt"? As I responded, "I love it"!)

This wine? Phenomenal. We plowed through four bottles afterwards. Its an incredible kick ass mix of syrah, zin, and merlot. Absolutely worth whatever price tag they attach to it, so give it a try.

Speaking of give it a try ...

* Tonight on DirecTV, is the series finale of my favorite television show, "Friday Night Lights". At this point, if you haven't gotten into the show, you probably never will. But man, what a show it was. Alan Sepinwall has a great look back at the series' best moments today at Hitfix. My favorite episode is either "Mud Bowl" from season one, or "The Son" from last year. Both of them will have you crying by the end, they're that emotionally compelling. Hopefully television develops another series with the realism, the honest of look at life, that "Friday Night Lights" gave us the last five years, sometime soon. (DVD of season five out on April 5; NBC begins airing season 5 on April 15th. I swear, for the last time: give this show a chance! You won't regret it!)

Until whenever the next post is, hope all is well in your world ...