Once upon a Time

Once upon a time, when I was about 8 or 10 years old, I tried to kill myself. I snick downstairs in the middle of the night and took 6 of every pill that was on the kitchen windowsill above the kitchen sink. I then made my way back upstairs to my room and locked myself in my closet.

fortunately (or unfortunately as the case may be ) the pills I took were vitamins and supplements. They did no bodily harm. And I spent all night sleeping in the closet in my room upstairs.

this was the first time, but not the last.

TODD (The Wing) BERTUZZI

Bertuzzi debuts with extra effort

Former foe says he feels excited

March 2, 2007

BY GEORGE SIPPLE

FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER

Todd Bertuzzi was in the house. Just don't expect him to be at Chris Chelios' house anytime soon.

Chelios and Bertuzzi have had a number of run-ins over the years -- Chelios once called him fat -- but the eldest Wing welcomed the newest Wing on Thursday as Bertuzzi took the ice at Joe Louis Arena for the first time.

And if the two don't pal around in Detroit, it won't be because of any lingering animosity.

"Before, I was on my own," Chelios said. "It was easy to hang around with the guys. Now with four kids, it's a big difference.

"Todd's not going to get any rest coming over to my house for dinner. It's hectic."

Bertuzzi, who will wear No. 44, practiced for the first time Thursday as a Red Wing and stayed out for the entire time, which surprised the coaches. Bertuzzi, who has played in only seven games this season because of a back injury, is probably two or three weeks away from his debut with the Wings.

"I knew he was going to go on the ice, but I thought he was going to be out there for a few minutes and gone," coach Mike Babcock said. "Surprised he hung around and was involved in some of the drills you can get bumped in.

"I mentioned to him before, you don't have to impress us today. That's not what you're here for. You impressed us already -- that's why you're here."

Bertuzzi said it "felt great" to be on the ice at the Joe, skating with his new teammates.

"It's nice to come in and get a good skate in and meet the guys," he said. "I'm excited.

"I'm hoping to come in and just help fill a different void and different look for the team."

Bertuzzi knew that in his first face-to-face meeting with Detroit media he would be asked about the incident in 2004, when he severely injured Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore.

"The only people who talk about and discuss it is usually media and all that," Bertuzzi said as he stood at his new locker. "You know, I got to respect that you guys have a job to do, and I understand it."

Bertuzzi said the incident has nothing to do with him playing in Detroit. Asked if he thought about the incident every day, he said: "No. No. There's a lot of guys who live in glass houses, too.

"I'm the same as everyone else," Bertuzzi said. "I just got issues that will take care of themselves. Like I said, it's not for Detroit to deal with. It's for me to deal with. It has no bearing on anything right now with me playing here."

Chelios, who may be booed in visiting arenas more than any other NHL player, said Bertuzzi will be accepted. "As soon as he gets healthy, it's going to be exciting for our fans and our team to see him play for us," Chelios said.

Bertuzzi is expected to be an intimidating force, but Babcock said that doesn't mean a guy who will start fights at stoppages in play.

"It's a guy who plays," Babcock said. "A guy who can eat up minutes and a guy who can play in situations for you and a guy that's going to be a threat to score."

Bertuzzi hasn't set a date for his return but expects to play the way he has in the past when he returns. "I can't be coming back and tiptoeing around, being afraid something might happen," he said. "The main thing here is get 100%, get my back strong enough so I can go out and play the way I know how to play."

Contact GEORGE SIPPLE at 313-223-4796 or gsipple@freepress.com. Check out his Red Wings blog at www.freep.com/sports.

Scary Asian Horror Jazmyn

Kevin calls it "Scary Asian Horror Jazmyn"

I SO NEED ONE OF THESE

Can you imagine the magikjaz house with THIS on FOOTBALL SUNDAYS!!!??!!! SWEET!!!!

YAY TIM CURRY!!!!!

WOS Photos: Spamalot Scores Two WOS Awards
28th February 2007

Monty Python musical Spamalot, "lovingly ripped off" from the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, won two of this year's Whatsonstage.com Theatregoers' Choice Awards, both in performance categories. Tim Curry as King Arthur – who originated the role on Broadway and reprised his performance at the West End's Palace Theatre – won Best Actor in a Musical, and Tom Goodman-Hill was voted Best Supporting Actor in a Musical for his turn as Lancelot.

Goodman-Hill, in fact, made his musical debut in the role, and was thrilled when What's on Stage Magazine's editor, Roger Foss, turned up to present him with his prize.

WHAT GOODMAN-HILL SAID:

"I have never received an award in my entire career and Spamalot is my first musical as well, so for me to receive this accolade is a double whammy. To be voted for by the people who actually come and see what you do makes it even more special. So thanks everyone. What a surprise! I really didn't think I would get it. In fact, I can't quite believe it's happened."

WHAT CURRY SAID:

"A huge thanks to the readers of Whatsonstage.com for voting me Best Actor in a Musical. It is particularly encouraging because all of you who have voted are theatre geeks – in other words, people who have a genuine and ongoing, not to say obsessive, interest in the theatre itself, as I do. Phyllida Law (mother of Emma Thompson) came to see Spamalot and said that she had not seen an audience welcome an actor back home like that since Robert Donat came home after the war. I certainly felt highly blessed that you hadn't forgotten me. I hope that this means I am allowed to come back again, because it is you that matters. Thank you. I am sooooo chuffed!"

TODD FRIGGING BERTUZZI!!! (and other Detroit sports stuff)

It wasn't until late last night when i heard the news that we signed Todd Bertuzzi. TODD FRIGGING BERTUZZI!!! I thought someone was pulling a fast one on me. I *love* Todd Bertuzzi! Have since way before the "Steve Moore" incident. I thought the NHL gave him a bum deal.I'm not saying I agree with what he did, but how is that different from what Darren McCarty did to Claude Lemieux after his brutal attack on Kris Draper. OR the attack itself on Drapes. I don't recall the NHL taking legal action the way they did on Bertuzzi. Perhaps I'm glossing over that in my mind. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, he's a Red Wing now and surely destined to be one of my favorites once he gets on the ice. They're saying sometime in late March. Which is perfect. Just in time for the final stretch before the playoffs. How nice it will be to see a man like Todd Bertuzzi playing with a winged wheel on his chest.

I'm not saying our team isn't strong, but our defense will only get better when he gets on the ice. He's an enforcer who can score. We haven't had one of those since probably Konstantinov (imho). It's something that's been sorely missed.

Another acquisition was Kyle Calder from Philly, with which we lost Jason Williams to Chicago. I was a little sad about that one. I liked Jason Williams...until I saw the game last night. You know the one....where Calder kicked it like a seasoned Wing and got TWO points in his first game as a Wing with a goal and an assist! WAAAHOOO!!! Things are looking good for us as we get near the end of the season!

And of course lets not forget about our Tigers!!! They got their 2nd win in Spring Training (first win over a MLB ball team) against the Mets today winning 5-4. I'm a diehard Mets fan, so this is a little bittersweet for me. They are the only other MLB team I've seen in their own stadium (Shea Stadium back in 1991) and it was spectacular. But one has to always root for the hometeam. so YAY TIGERS!!!

I'm looking forward to maybe getting to a couple games this year at Comerica Park and continuing my renewed love affair with my Detroit Tigers.

Nothing on the Detroit Lions front. They look like their not gonna even try to rebuild this year. I will still root for them, of course. I love them no matter what they do. Kinda like that black sheep brother/sister you have. You don't always agree withtheir life choices and wish they could get out of the situations they're in, but they're part of your heart no matter what.

Pistons big news came the other day when Ben Wallace came back into town and was booed big time by the fans. No surprise there really. We still boo Sergei Federov when he skates at the Joe. Detroit fans have a long memory and we are bitter when someone we love leaves us for someone else. I still don't completely forgive Barry Sanders.

So there you have it.

Fishiepoo singing Saturday Night

A magikjaz update

All is well here on the magikjaz homefront.

Went to dinner with my mom and Aunt Arcie Saturday evening. mexican food from Cinco de Mayo. It was yummy! Had a great time. My aunt is very opinionated and I always worry we're going to butt heads, but I kept my tongue (she is my aunt after all, must respect our elders, even if the rest of my family has a hard time doing that)

We went out Saturday night for karaoke. (deformed eye and all) It's a whole other photo blog, but I had a blast. And I took benadryl before we left our house, so by the end of the night my eye was almost normal.

Sunday we were totally hungover so we didn't go roller skating. I'm so sad we missed it. Instead we hung out at my mom's and watched the Academy awards with her. We critiqued all the dresses. Turns out I felt the same about the dresses as the gofugyourself girls. I love them!

Creepy part was we were watching the performance of the Dreamgirls trilogy of songs and I was thinking "Man I hate Beyonce's dress! It's so weird looking" but I didn't say anything. Out of the blue my mom turns to me and says "you really don't like that dress?" I was flabbergasted. I didn't know what to say. I hadn't opened my mouth and uttered those words, I just thought them, and she responded to me. Kevin verified that I didnt' say anything. Creepy.

We came home late Sunday night and went almost directly to sleep. We were supposed to go out last night (monday) for dinner at IHOP and to see the new movie "Number 23" with Jim Carrey. I wasn't having it tho. I slept all day and all night. Seriously I went to sleep around 2am Monday morning and I didn't get up until 2am Tuesday morning (about 4 hours ago). I feel refreshed and revitalized tho. I guess I needed the rest. My eye is normal, My cough is almost gone and my voice is almost back.

So hopefully tonight we'll get to the movies. In the meantime I got a Heroes I recorded last night I have to catch up on.

My favorite part of the Oscars Sunday Night

edit: in going through my old posts i discovered this was no longer available - to see the video CLICK HERE