The NHL has caught my attention again, mostly due to the success of the Bruins in 2008/2009, but also by the ridiculous All Star voting this year. The starters from the East and West are from a total of 4 teams. (Montreal, Pittsburgh, Anaheim and Chicago). I’m not complaining because Bruins players were ignored, I’m complaining because 26 other teams were left out of the starting lineups.

OK, the game is being held in Montreal this year, so you can chalk up some of those roster spots, but the Canadiens hold 4 out of 6 starting spots in the East. That would be the equivalent of 6 St. Louis Cardinals starting at the 2009 MLB All Star Game.

Either there are some serious flaws with the NHL’s All Star voting system or… well, honestly, I can’t think of a reason to allow just 4 teams represent your league in your yearly showcase of NHL talent. I suppose it’s just another example of why the NHL continually takes last place in professional sports.

I’m a big fan of the Guitar Hero franchise, but was torn between GH World Tour and Rock Band 2. After comparing the song lists and features however, coupled with a $44.99 price drop this week, I decided to continue my love affair with GH.

I’ve been told that Rock Band 2’s set list is more “friendly” to a larger range of audiences and to put that in perspective, my 10 year old nephew got Rock Band 2 for Christmas and is loving it. But, if your tastes skew away from the Go Go’s and Devo and towards Tool, Jimi Hendrix and Jane’s Addiction, then perhaps you should consider Guitar Hero.

However, I’ll probably get Rock Band 2 as well the second it goes on sale.

I’m still not sure how I feel about Doggystyle, probably one of the most influential rap albums in history (well, at least my history), being discounted down to $2.99 (digital download), but regardless if its because its bargain bin or encouragement to finally educate today’s youth on what rap is supposed to sound like, that’s one hell of a dizeal.

It’s sad it took this long to create something that could make everything taste like bacon, but Bacon Salt, according to it’s creator (J & D’s), can do just that.

They also make Baconnaise, which I’m assuming by its name, is the greatest tasting mayonnaise in the history of the world.

This site has not grown as I had hoped and even though my postings have been far and few this month, traffic has basically stayed the same over the last several months… this means either my readers are so damn loyal, they’ll read old posts over and over again or most people are coming here looking for hot lady pictures that were removed over a year ago.

That tells me interest in thought-provoking diatribes about bacon and other manly type things just aren’t as compelling to the masses as they are to me. So, with a heavy heart and even heavier gut, I think it’s time to shut this site down. I thank all of my loyal readers (all 2 of you) for sticking around so long and who knows, maybe LiveManly will live again.

As if the president elect didn’t have enough to worry about (Iraq, US economy, what color to paint the oval office…) he mentioned last night on 60 minutes that he planned on leveraging his executive powers to encourage NCAA football to adopt an 8-team playoff bracket to determine the nation’s top college football team. Finally, a political talking point that I’m interested in. Here’s the clip:

I bet you didn’t know the Beastie Boys produced a movie and obviously you didn’t know they put out some new tunes to go along with the film. Sure, the name “Gunnin’ for that #1 Spot” is a bit lame, but the 4 new Beastie (instrumental) tracks sound pretty damn funky. If the studios would only green light my screen play for “Brass Monkey: The Musical”…

Not that I needed much help in wanting Guitar Hero World Tour…

I know I’ve been web comics happy lately, but this one was too good to pass up.

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net