A dozen reasons not to hate the rain

A rainy Labor Day Weekend (at least here in Greater Boston) is enough to make you hate the rain.

Don't hate the rain; listen to these 12 Great Rain Songs instead.

Know your "mid-period" Beach Boys: A 5-song primer

For most casual music fans of the 20something variety, the history of the Beach Boys is a 3-chapter saga that breaks down something like this:

1.  The candy-striped, surf & car-obsessed Beach Boys.

Mama don't let your babies grow up to be Bills (or Mets) fans

Sports shouldn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things the ending of a particular game or how one of my favorite teams performs shouldn’t affect me. I mean, I’m not the one getting paid. My future isn’t riding on this outcome. Hell, the chances that the result of a particular game changes my activities for the day is relatively small.

When I was little, I would rise and fall with every game. Every Mets and Bills game seemed so incredibly important. A win would equal euphoria. A loss would mean heartbreak.

As I’ve gotten older, I have been able to gain perspective. Every game doesn’t matter. Sure, I still get wrapped up in the occasional big game against a certain New England rival or a particularly big series with the team from the City of Brotherly Love, but I’ve been able to grow enough where it doesn’t seem like a matter of life and death. Sports are a form of entertainment. They are there for enjoyment and shouldn’t be taken so seriously that they become the focal point of somebody’s life.

#FlashbackFriday: Would-Be SI for Kids Masterpieces

I drew a lot of artwork back in the day with the idea of getting it published in the "Art Gallery" section of Sports Illustrated for Kids.  But I only finished some of it and, more notably, submitted none of it.

Why?  Because no one wants to stuff their masterpieces in an envelope and toss them in a mailbox, potentially never to be seen again.  And (of course) because I knew, if I stashed them away for a few decades instead, they'd eventually make a grade-A #FlashbackFriday blog post.

Good call, young self.  Good call.

The End of the World: One Fan's Story

I'm in New York for this.  On Long Island.  Just under an hour east of the Barclays Center in the sleepy hamlet of Bellmore, at my girlfriend's family's house, visiting for a long weekend.

The girlfriend is keeping the TV on E! until 12:00 on the dot, watching a Keeping Up with the Kardashians re-run.  Yes – one featuring Kris Humphries (gut punch no. 1).  When the time comes, we'll switch over to YES, since I'll be watching this unfold on the official network of the New York Yankees (gut punch no. 2).  The suspense builds with each minute as we approach high noon.

11:56... 11:57... 11:58... 11:59...

And we're in.

Four Guys Midsummer Madness

In honor of the 2013 MLB All-Star Game, Four Guys has cooked up a (admittedly half-baked) Midsummer Classic of our own.  Filling out all nine spots, plus a manager, we each assembled All-Star teams of our all-time favorite fictional characters from the big and small screen.  The only restrictions?

1. No more than one (1) athlete-character per team.
2. No more than one (1) "super hero" per team, defined as a character with supernatural powers (e.g., Bruce Wayne wouldn't fill the quota.)
3. No one gets Superman.  DQ'd on account of excess awesome.

Next, we each ranked each others' squads on a scale of 1-100 based not only on our All-Stars' abilities, talents and personalities, but also on the justification of our picks.  And finally, we averaged those peer scores and came up with a "winner" – who, of course, will receive home-field advantage at the Four Guys TV & Movie Character World Series.

Understand?  Good; we're still not sure we do either.  But we had fun with this anyways and we hope you do too...

The Best and Worst of the Alternate Jersey

One of the most emblematic features of professional sports is the jersey.  The spirit and essence of your team of choice is displayed in every stitch, every color scheme, and every numbering/lettering pattern of that team’s respective uniform.  As fans, the jersey is our way of connecting to the players.  It is the only situation where the professional and the lay fan stand united.  The jersey allows us to display our colors loudly and proudly.

Although sometimes a little too loudly.  A development in professional is the creation of the third or alternate jersey.  Most of the time, the alternate jersey is a refreshing option.  Whether it’s a playful take on the team’s traditional color scheme, celebrating the team’s history with a throwback option, or creating a retro/vintage look to commemorate those glory days of yesteryear, the alternate jersey invites the die-hard fan to have a little fun with their favorite team and injects a little joie de vivre in the pressure-filled world of sports.  Unfortunately, these alternates can go horribly wrong.  These third-option monstrosities make up some of the worst marketing decisions in sports.  Almost as bad as the decision to green-light Joey for NBC.  Because that worked out well for everyone.

So without any further ado, Four Guys brings you their picks for the best and worst of alternate jerseys from the four major sports leagues.