The SoapBoxers

It’s that time of year again…..BIG BROTHER IS ON (CBS Sundays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays)!! This year started off with a bang as it’s different from any other season of BB. Typically the houseguests are “introduced” to each other by meeting for the first time outside the BB house. That was the case this season, except there were only 8 houseguests when typically there are 14 (and houseguests are not allowed to speak to each other until they are INSIDE) the house .

If you’re selected to be on BB, there’s an excellent chance you know how the game works, so each of the houseguests KNEW something was up when there was only 8. Not long after they went into the house in groups of 2, Julie (BB’s host) announced that the 8 current players would be playing in pairs, and they needed to select their partner. Keep in mind that the houseguests had JUST met, so they really knew nothing about each other. After picking partners, there was a ring on the doorbell. In comes Rachel and Brendon (engaged), from last season. The new houseguests seemed star struck, but it wasn’t long before 2 other groups came in – Evel Dick and his daughter Danielle, and the couple Jeff and Jordan.

It didn’t take long for alliances to form, as the new contestants had already formed an alliance, and the veterans who were introduced later quickly vowed to stick together. The first head of household competition was held on the first night of the season, and the veterans made their presence known with Rachel and Brendon winning the first competition (she hung on to a giant banana longer than anybody else….yes, a giant banana). This gave the veterans control over who would be going home first……but another wrench was soon thrown into the game. For the first 4 weeks, if your partner is voted out of the house (1 person goes home each week), you automatically receive a “golden ticket”, which automatically gives you safety to make it to the top 10. You can’t be selected for elimination, but you also can’t participate in any of the household contests (head of household, veto competition, etc).

So, while you and your partner are up for elimination, you really are voting for your person to go home because that grants you safety to get to the top 10. Probably not a huge deal to the newbies, but it could get a little interesting for the veterans. There is an elimination tonight (Thursday), and a team of new guests is up for elimination – Keith and Porsche. Both are assuming they’ll be safe and think for sure the other is going to be voted out. Keith has been much more vocal throughout the game. The veterans want to keep Porsche, and originally all of the newbies wanted to keep Keith, but some are starting to question his moves.

PREDICTION: I think Keith will be going home, as his antics may have done just enough to scare his alliance. The veterans think they can convince Porsche to vote however they want her to for the next few weeks, so I think they’ll do just enough to keep her around.

Anybody else have thoughts? Am I way off on my prediction?

Stay tuned for the next couple of days to see a post on each of the teams on Big Brother and my thoughts on each.

Last week, I gave an overall review of the Road to the Show (RTTS) option from MLB 11 The Show. I discussed making myself a closing pitcher and what my current status was. Since then, I’ve decided to go a different route. Being a closing pitcher just wasn’t as much fun as I thought it would be, so I re-created myself as a starting pitcher. I gotta say, this is the way to go! This week, I’ll talk more about specific skill points.

There are several different categories to train for as a pitcher (and as a position player/batter, but I’ll focus on pitcher). When you create your pitcher, you can pick 3 pitch types that you want to be able to throw. I picked 4 seam fastball, sweeping curve, and sinker. Once you create your pitches, you’ll have 3 training areas for each pitch – velocity, control, and movement. I like to focus more on power to get my fastball velocity up to the mid to high 90’s, so I quickly maxed out my fastball velocity at 99 (of course, like I mentioned in part 1, you have to earn training points by meeting goals during each game you play).

You also have other areas to train in – Stamina/durability, mechanics, pitching clutch, BB/9, H/9, K/9, and HR/9. Training on each specific pitch will also increase your attributes in these other areas. For example, if you increase your velocity on any of the pitches, that also will “train you” in the K/9 category. Working on your control for any specific pitch will also increase your BB/9, and increasing movement for each pitch will also increase your HR/9 attribute.

Working on your stamina, mechanics, and pitching clutch is also very important. You’ll find that you don’t have much stamina to start with, and you’ll quickly decline throughout the game. Assigning quite a few points to work on your stamina is a very good idea, especially in the beginning. I also found increasing my velocity on each pitch was very beneficial as well.
Throughout the season, you’ll also have various training assignments. You can skip them, or you can simply do them. I would HIGHLY recommend doing the training. It’s a very easy way to increase specific attributes, and they only take a few minutes to complete.

Also, keep an eye on the “Advancement Goals” screen (from the main menu in RTTS). This will typically consist of 4 items – 2 attributes that you need to increase over a specified period of time, and 2 goals that are stats related (i.e. Only allow 10 hits over the next 2 weeks, etc). PAY ATTENTION TO THESE GOALS. Even if you’re not performing the greatest but you achieve these goals consistently, it will pay off. If you perform great but don’t achieve the goals, you’ll notice the difference.
All in all, it’s a fantastic game and one of the best game modes available. If you haven’t played and enjoy the game of baseball, pick up a copy…you will not be disappointed!

I’m several months behind in my review of The Show since it came out back in March, but I just recently started playing it. All I can say is….WOW. It is, in my opinion, by far the best baseball game on the market. Each year it seems to improve and you think to yourself “it can’t get any better”, but then the next year it does!

I’ve only played the Road to the Show (RTTS) option in this year’s game, and the improvements made are fantastic. RTTS is an option in the game where you create yourself at any position, and then you can choose to enter the draft or pick the team you’d like to be on. To keep it as real as possible, I entered the draft. I was a LITTLE disappointed because there really wasn’t much to it, the game simply tells you which team drafted you and you’re assigned to that team’s AA ball club. In the very beginning, you do receive a “bank” of attribute points to which you can assign to a wide variety of areas – stamina/durability, pitching cluth, HR/9, K/9, BB/9, and for each pitch type you select, you can assign points to velocity, control, and movement.

I created myself as a closing pitcher, so I chose to focus more on the velocity of my pitches and pitching clutch. My fastball at the very beginning came in around the 90-92 range, and is now up to 96-97 regularly, with good control. How do you earn points during your season? That’s the best improvement to this year’s RTTS, or at least I think so. In years past, you would have a goal for each at-bat or for each batter you faced as a pitcher. The flaw was if your goal was to force a ground out, and the batter flied out, it was considered a “fail”, when really an out is an out.

In the 2011 version, player progression has taken on a whole new level. Rather than the all-or-nothing type points last year, you don’t have a specific goal for each batter you face. If you force a ground out, double play, fly ball, or even a strikeout, you get points (ranging anywhere from 0 to the low-20’s). Strike somebody out on 3 pitches, and you’re rewarded with a “great batter” which earns you 20-something points. Give up a single on 1 pitch, or a home run, and you’ll most likely lose a point. Which, I’m ok with, since I’m being rewarded more fairly on other aspects.

During the season, you also have various training sessions, which range from pitching simulated games to hitting targets that are in the strike zone. Achieve those goals, and you get “free” training on the different attributes of your pitcher. I’m still in season one of my RTTS pitcher, but I’ve earned the closing spot in the bullpen, and currently have 10 consecutive saves. With only a AA club and a AAA club, it shouldn’t take a whole lot of time to get a call-up.

Next week, in part 2 of my review, I’ll focus more on the specific attributes…but in the meantime, anybody else have suggestions on how to make your player better? Or any differing opinions on the gameplay itself?

I was thinking the other day about how excited I was getting to get a new copy of the Madden 12 game when it comes out in early August (like it does every other year). But wait, will there be a Madden game this year with all of this NFL lockout nonsense? I’m not going to get into the gritty details of what’s going on with the lockout, because honestly I haven’t taken the time to figure it all out. I’m a huge NFL fan, and I enjoy playing sports games. This is simply the “sports game playing” side me saying JUST KNOCK IT OFF AND PLAY….preferably on time.

So, I started doing some research….and the first thing I find says the game won’t be released until August 30th this year. What?!?! August 30th. That’s almost THREE whole weeks we’re all going to have to wait to see the new game. Will this hurt sales? I really don’t think so. There is no other true NFL game on the market for any system, so it’s not like the competition is going to take advantage of the “late” release date. EA may not have the stellar sales that they’ve had in years past, but I personally don’t see the release date being a huge problem….just keeps guys like me waiting a few more weeks to play it!

I know that Madden 12 has been developed or is currently in development as several new features have been announced (I’ll save talking about those until I play the game). But if there ends up being no season in the NFL this year, what does that mean for the game? Some critics are saying that it could hurt the game’s sales by as much as 50%. Really? I get the correlation of NFL fans to the Madden game. But I don’t see millions of people not purchasing Madden because of the NFL lockout. Madden really has nothing to do with the lockout….it’s not like the game developers are on the same side as the owners, or the players for that matter.

Several weeks ago, I mentioned that Nintendo had announced a successor to the Wii. Nintendo gave no details on the new gaming system, but rumors obviously had already begun. Thankfully, we didn’t have long to wait until the annual E3 Expo to get more details. Yesterday, Nintendo announced the Wii U, a system that is “different from anything you’ve played before”.

To prove that quote, Nintendo came out swinging, announcing a new type of controller…..one that has a 6.2-inch touchscreen, a Wii-style D-pad, dual analog sticks. The new Wii U controller will also have a motion sensor and front and back facing cameras. I admitted in my previous Wii article that I wasn’t really a Wii guy, but this has my attention. In a world where seemingly every mobile company is introducing some sort of a tablet computer, Wii U goes one step further and gives you something of a tablet controller!

While Nintendo did say that you will not be able to play games on the tablet controller alone (the controller “speaks” with the console), you can play games by watching the controller touch screen and using the dual analog sticks…and some games will most likely require some sort of tilting/moving of the touchscreen controller. The original Wii remote (and I assume the Nunchuck) will still be used in the same way with the new Wii U. The new touchscreen controller will not support HD graphics, but Nintendo did announce that the console will run in HD 1080p. Given the PS3 and Xbox 360 released HD graphics several years ago, this was a requirement (in my opinion) for the new Wii U.

In the one preview video I watched, 4 people were playing a Mario game on the new system. 3 of the players were using the original Wii controller, and 1 player was using the new touchscreen controller. Each person was a character, and the touchscreen controller player was being chased with a goal of reaching the finish line of “board” before being caught by any of the other 3 players. The chasing players played by watching the television, and the player being chased watched on the 6.2-inch touchscreen. VERY cool!

There are still quite a few remaining details surrounding the new Wii U, but Nintendo did exactly what they needed to do. Sales are hurting with the current Wii console, and its shelf life is coming to an end. With the new Wii U, Nintendo has rebuilt the excitement that once surrounded the original Wii. While they have not announced what other capabilities the new controller will have, it seems as though the possibilities are endless. Will the new tablet style controller have Wi-Fi and internet capabilities? That seems like a stretch, and would probably be too much of a cost to what could already be an expensive console. Will the Wii U console play dvds? Seems like it will need to to remain competitive with other consoles, but there are still lots of questions to be answered.

What do you think? Are you excited for the new Wii U?



My wife and I have always been the kind that likes to take trips somewhere…whether it be just driving somewhere for a weekend or taking the longer weeklong vacation. Our anniversary is May 31, so this year we decided to take an extended trip with a longer vacation later in the year. Being from Illinois, we do have several options available to us that are within reasonable driving distance. Our decision this year was to go to Chicago, IL.

After a little bit of research by my wife, she found an outlet mall a little over an hour North, in Kenosha, WI (actually, I think the mall is in Pleasant Prairie, WI, but it seemed to be the same city). Once I looked at the Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets store listing, I was perfectly fine with going. The North Face, Under Armour, Bass (I love their t-shirts), Calphalon Kitchen Outlet (yes, I love to cook), Nike, Harry and David, and lots more.

The outlet mall definitely did not disappoint. We planned to spend 2 half-days there. The first day, since it was Memorial Day weekend, it was absolutely crazy! The weather was beautiful….and there had to be hundreds and hundreds of visitors. I think it took 10-15 minutes to find a parking spot. Once we did and started walking around it wasn’t so bad. The mall has a good layout so it didn’t seem too overly crowded. The next day, however, we lucked out. A storm moved in, and it rained for a good portion of the time we were at the mall. It was still busy, but nothing like the day before. The mall had mostly covered walking, so it didn’t bother us at all. Overall, definitely one of the better outlet malls we’ve been too.

We arrived in Kenosha/Pleasant Prairie on a Saturday, did some shopping, and for dinner we headed to a place called The Brat Stop. Looking at the menu, it seemed like a decent choice, as the website touts “regional cuisine” and seemed to be known for its highly recognizable visitors (directly from The Brat Stop website) – “Micheal [sic] Jordan, Phil Jackson, Tony Kukoc, Al McGuire, Tom Arnold, Steven Tyler, Willard Scott, Bette Midler, Shelly Fairchild, Tommy Thompson, Russ Feingold”. Not just a bar/restaurant, The Brat Stop also has live entertainment, and Memorial Day weekend just so happened to be “Brat Stock”. Over 50 bands on 2 stages…didn’t seem like a bad option to go eat dinner and relax, considering the bands that have played there over the years (directly from The Brat Stop website) – “The Charlie Daniels Band, Styx, B.T.O., Cheap Trick, Foghat, The Guess Who, Nazareth, Molly Hatchet, Joan Jett, Holland, Bad Boy, Night Ranger, Loverboy, Jackyl, Eddie Money, 38 Special, Ratt, Warrant, Saxon, Tracy Byrd, Great White, Mark Wills, Jo Dee Messina, Neal McCoy, Wade Hayes, Trace Adkins, Chris Cagle, Shinedown and Sugar Land”.

Once we walked in, I was extremely disappointed. The place seemed very dark, not the cleanest, and seemed to be broken up into several different sections. From where we were seated, we could hear the band that was on stage, and I’m glad we couldn’t see them. The music they chose to play were good selections, but the performance was not good at all! From the few faint claps, it was obvious that there weren’t many fans (or maybe there were very few people in the crowd!).

As for the food, well, let’s say I don’t ever think we’d go back given the opportunity. We tried an appetizer sampler to start with. It has cheese sticks, chicken tenders, breaded mushrooms, fried cheese balls, onion rings, and jalapeno poppers. It wasn’t terrible, but it was your average frozen variety of appetizers. For our meals, I got a pizza (pepperoni, sausage, and onions) and the wife got a Wisconsin grilled cheese. The pizza was just ok, almost tasted like it was frozen as well. The grilled cheese got a “it’s pretty good”, but it’s Wisconsin, how can they mess up a grilled cheese? On a scale of 1-10, I’d give The Brat Stop a very low 2. Seemed like a good idea for a venue, but seems to be past its prime (assuming the place had a prime)!

Part II next week will include more from Kenosha, along with our visit to Chicago!

Doesn’t it seem like no matter when you turn on the television, the majority of what’s on is reality based? As a society is that all we want to see anymore? I don’t consider shows like Survivor, The Amazing Race, or any other contest type show to be reality. I’m talking more about the shows about the housewives of wherever, The Real World on MTV, The Kardashians, etc. The shows that peer into the lives of people … but yet we must not be able to get enough because these types of shows seem to be more and more popular.

What if you had the opportunity to bring back your favorite sitcom? What show would you pick? If I had that chance, without hesitation, I’d beg to have The King of Queens back. It was on for 9 seasons, so it did run its course. And I have to admit, season 9 wasn’t all that great. I remember reading somewhere that the average “life” of a sitcom was somewhere around 6 or 7 years. After that, they typically begin to lose viewers.

The King of Queens is my all-time favorite sitcom. I laughed just about non-stop through every episode. The show was based out of Queens (duh!) and followed the lives of the Heffernan’s, Doug (IPS delivery driver) and Carrie (secretary at a law firm). And we can’t forget, Carrie’s dad Arthur Spooner who lived in the basement. I think I liked the show so much because it seemed like no matter what the episode was about, anybody could relate to the situation. And the show wouldn’t be nearly as funny if it weren’t for Arthur’s bizarre character, and his daily rants/feuds with Doug. If I could have the show back from when it was in its prime, I’d take it without thinking!

My favorite sitcom that is currently on is The Big Bang Theory. It’s definitely a quirky show that follows the lives of physicists/scientists and their unique social differences and how they try to overcome their differences. You can read my original review of the show. It took me awhile to get used to the “geekiness” of the show, but it’s definitely worked its way to a can’t miss for me.

Another current can’t miss is Mike and Molly, which just finished its first season. Mike (a Chicago cop) and Molly (a teacher) met through their overeaters anonymous group, went out on a date, and have been together ever since. The couple each has their own challenges … Molly dealing with her sister and mother who are both skinny and aren’t afraid to flaunt it in front of her, and Mike, who struggles to lose weight but is encouraged by his cop partner and best friend Carl. Definitely a comedy, and keeps you laughing.

If I had to pick a reality type show as a favorite, I think I’d pick Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives … yet I’m not even sure that could be considered a reality show. I love to cook, so I enjoy watching Guy Fieri travel the country and tasting all the great food at the local hotspots. I’ve been to a couple of places that have been on the show, and I have to say it’s pretty cool. I also like watching the show to see what unique foods all the different places are cooking to get ideas for my own creativeness.

What do you guys think? Which of your favorite shows would you like to have back … or are you stuck on reality TV and wouldn’t change a thing?

Each year around this time, if you follow the gaming industry at all, you’ve no doubt heard lots about the E3 Expo that takes place in June. Attendees of the Expo are offered a chance to see the future of the gaming/entertainment industry. Things such as the new Wii will most likely be on display. In years past, the soon to be released version of the PS3 was available to test, and the same goes for the Xbox 360.

My question to you is … would you go? It’s reported that tens of THOUSANDS or people attend the 3 day event. This year, it’s possible that over 80 countries will be represented at the Expo. Is it worth the hassle of dealing with the crowd to test a product that is most likely still in development? Meaning, you’re not even testing the finished version of the product. Or, would you rather just wait to read the review on the items that were tested?

My answer to my own question is … I can wait to read the reviews! I would not want to deal with the crowds to try certain futuristic products, let alone pay the $500 fee to attend! Yes, I said $500. That’s crazy! Don’t get me wrong, if I could attend for free, and I was the only person there … well maybe not the only, but not with thousands of others, I’d definitely be interested in attending. Video games at this point is high on my hobby list, and to be one of the first to try new products would be pretty cool. But paying the astronomical fee along with the travel just isn’t worth it to me.

Would it be worth it to you?

The game was released in October of 2010, so I’m “late” with this review, but don’t let that fool you. This is the best basketball game I have played for any console. Typically with any sports game I’m a fan of the “franchise” mode…it’s sometimes called something different with each game, but it’s the same thing. You pick a team and “run” that team as the GM from season to season.

When I picked up a copy of NBA 2K11, I decided to branch out and try the My Player mode. You create your player’s characteristics and then go through the draft. My overall rating was fairly bad, in the 50’s, but I was still drafted in the early 2nd round by the Miami Heat. I started the season as the 7th guy … basically the 2nd guy coming off the bench.

The game itself is very easy to play. You receive directions offensive plays with arrows on the screen to show you where you should be and what plays you need to run. Feel free to shoot whenever you want, but you do gain skill points based on the “good” things that you do … make a shot, set a screen, get an assists, etc. Take a bad shot, turn the ball over, or do anything else that it not good for the team, and your teammate grade will take a hit.

The skill points you gain from each game can be used to increase your player’s attributes, which in turn obviously makes your player better overall. It didn’t take long to become a starter, and my overall player rating is already above 80. I’ve played just around 50 games, and I’m averaging just under 30 points a game. I’m a lock for the Rookie of the Year Award, if you ask me.

Once you become a key player on the team, management will start asking you for opinions on the direction of the team. Have players that you want the team to trade or try to trade for? All you gotta do is let them know. You can also do various drills throughout the season to make your player better as well, but I’ve been focusing mainly on the games. That’s the most fun, and the best way to gain the most skill points.

If you haven’t played it, and you’re a sports game fan, you gotta give it a shot. You WILL NOT be disappointed!

I got an iPod touch a few years ago, and I absolutely love it. I wanted one because it was the next greatest thing for music storage….way better than just a plain old classic iPod. Then I discovered the App Store. I think now I use the iPod more for the apps than I do to listen to my music.

Below are my top 5 apps, in no particular order:

1. Angry Birds (all versions) – I’m no longer addicted to the original version of Angry Birds, but I am addicted to Angry Birds: Seasons and Angry Birds: Rio.

The point of the game is to destroy the green pigs on each stage (there are several stages) and to do it by using the least number of birds possible. There are different “types” of birds that do different levels of destruction. On each stage, you get a certain number of birds, and you get 1 to 3 stars based on the amount of points you accumulate. The overall object of the game is to get 3 stars on every stage. I have yet to do this, but I’m close. There seems to be an update with new levels every few months, which keeps you coming back for more!

2. Bejeweled 2 Blitz – See my review of this app here. This could be my all-time favorite app. I’ve been playing it for a couple of years, and I’m still addicted.

3. Yahoo! Fantasy Football – I know, I haven’t used this app in a few months, and might not be able to use it for several more months with the upcoming season in jeopardy due to the lockout. But, if you are involved in a Yahoo! Fantasy league for football, this app is for you. All you have to do is login, and your roster is right there at your fingertips. Need to make a quick change and can’t get on the computer, a couple of touches to the iPod/phone and your roster move is complete. Need to check the scores of your current head-to-head matchup? It’s all right there! Definitely an addicting app during the football season.

4. Tiny Wings – The objective of this game is simple….you’re a bird, but you have tiny wings and can’t fly on your own. So, the game is filled with hills, and the objective is to touch the screen at the right time to make your bird “dive” on the down slope of a hill, which in turns uses the up slope to “fly”. It’s a very simple game, but it is fun and my newest addiction. The longer you fly, the longer it stays daylight. Once nighttime hits, your game is over!

5. DirecTV – of all the apps, this one is definitely the most boring (especially if you aren’t a DirecTV subscriber!). Download and login to the app using the same login information that you would use on the site to pay your bill, view your account, etc, and your DirecTV viewing guide is right there at your fingertips. Have a DVR and forgot to setup a recording before you left for work or to run that errand? No problem, just find the program on your guide in the app and hit record. It’s as simple as that. It’s very convenient, especially if you always forget like I do!

Those are my top 5 most used/favorite apps…..what are yours?

This article mentioned … the iPod Touch