Ravens Week 4 -To the Left

Neo took the red pill. Indiana Jones choose the plain cup. Clemens picked the Yankees. And the Ravens chartered busses made a left (instead of their usual right) when leaving the training facility on Saturday afternoon sending the team, and the broadcasting department, in the wrong direction for the rest of the weekend. Despite the atypical turn, we did land in Cleveland on schedule. However, upon our arrival, the only thing more startling than the unusually long ride to the team hotel was Yamon Figurs' plaid pants. I'm sure the rookie received his fair share of shots from the rest of the Ravens, but how many people could legitimately pull off plaid below the belt? I'm thinking athletes, actors and the occasional hip hop artist looking to amplify his wardrobe. But what do I know? The closest I come to running in those circles is the fact that I was rocking, or would it be rapping, the new Kanye West album aboard our chartered flight. I have to imagine at least one of the players parked in the 32 rows in front of me was singing some "Stronger" along with Kanye and I. Back to the ride to the hotel as the busses bristled past the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Jacobs Field and then through some of the underdeveloped areas of the Forest City (ironic considering we didn't see a tree for at least 20 minutes). The hotel was brand new and nicely appointed, but the distance to downtown would demand a taxi cab or two to take us out on Saturday night, which would prove to play a prominent role in the evenings events. Cleveland is apparently known for its polish cuisine and micro-brews, however, one restaurant has become a ritual for RaveTV over the years and the tradition continued this weekend with a ten-top table at Sushi Rocks. I don't want to know where they get their fresh tuna from but the soft shell crab, shrimp tempura and even one roll topped with kiwi covered the table for all to consume. The reviews were all positive after the feast was finished, but the tastes were just a tease for what hopefully lies ahead next weekend in San Francisco. I can only assume that the fish is fresher when you can actually see where the seafood is caught. For all my west coast readers, recommendations are welcome. Our next stop of the night was at a local sports bar called The Blind Pig. Being a Saturday night in Ohio, all of the TV's were fixed on the Ohio State-Minnesota game, which was pretty boring for anyone not born in the Buckeye State. By my reasoning, I would have to believe that just about everyone else in the bar was bred within the Columbus city limits as a cheer went up from wall to wall whenever OSU would score. Seeing that none of us cared about the Big Ten match-up, and our respective rooting interests had all lost that day (Syracuse, Rutgers and Penn State to name a few) we decided to pick up and head to the hotel for a few hands of poker. Now this is where the night really got started. Enter Harry. Harry was our cab driver. Harry is the man. Harry didn't know what he was getting into when he picked up the 7 of us that still remained on the streets of the Warehouse District. That's because our first thought upon stepping into the cab was if we were going to play cards, we would need some refreshments. Harry knew just the place and didn't even start the meter until Don Barto Jr., our audio technician and self-certified beer aficionado, returned with two twelve packs. But Junior wasn't the only one who needed Harry's help as Don DiRaddo, Director of Broadcasting and newly appointed Secretary of Energy, realized that our shoot on Sunday would be sabotaged without a new supply of 9-Volt batteries. Okay, a beer run followed by a battery run doesn't sound real exciting even as I'm writing this, but the laughs we had? To find how much the cab ride cost and how I found a silver lining in the loss on Sunday, go to www.coffeeonthe50.com